Note: This blog post was originally written in Japanese for our Japanese website. We use our machine translation platforms to translate and make automatic corrections, and then partially edit to fit the content in English. The original Japanese post can be found here.
In recent years, the accuracy of AI translation has improved dramatically. For general content, internal policies, and manuals, the benefits of using AI translation in terms of speed and cost are substantial, and it is being adopted increasingly in business settings.
However, when it comes to translating manga, many challenges remain that AI alone cannot fully address. This is not simply a matter of language conversion; manga translation also involves subtle elements directly tied to a work’s character portrayal, presentation, and reader experience.
So, in what specific ways is manga translation difficult for AI alone to judge? Below, we introduce several points where differences are especially likely to emerge in actual translation work, along with some concrete examples. All of them are important factors that directly affect a work’s impact and the reader experience.
1. A character’s "way of speaking" is difficult to capture as data
In manga, a character’s personality is shaped by their first-person pronouns, sentence endings, tone, and even their choice of words. While AI can understand context and translate accordingly, it struggles to judge whether a line sounds true to that character, and even a slight mismatch can make readers feel that something is off (some readers may even stop reading because of that discomfort alone).
For example, if a character who is usually calm and gentle is mechanically rendered in stiff, rigid language, their personality can seem to change.
2. Speech bubbles have strict constraints
In manga, dialogue does not work simply because the meaning is correct. It must also satisfy multiple constraints at once, including character count, panel layout, the pacing of the lines, and the timing of line breaks. AI translation tends to add too much explanatory detail, which can result in translations that do not fit inside speech bubbles and are difficult to read.
In addition, humor and wordplay also need to be adjusted so that they come across to readers. That is why human judgment is indispensable for trimming the text and checking the pacing. In particular, the rhythm within a page and the natural cadence of dialogue directly affect the reading experience.
3. There is no single correct way to handle onomatopoeia
For onomatopoeia (sound effects and mimetic words) such as “don,” “zawazawa,” and “kyun,” whether to translate them, leave them as they are, or replace them with other expressions depends on the specific work and scene. They must be handled differently based on the tone of the work, the target audience, and the overall approach of the series, so simple language conversion alone is not enough.
Because a single choice of onomatopoeia can greatly change the emotional nuance and impression of a scene, translators need to understand the original work’s intent and choose the most suitable expression. This process directly affects the work’s consistency and the reader experience, making it an important judgment that AI alone cannot fully handle.
4. In serialized works, the “first choice” can have lasting consequences
Comics are read not as standalone works, but as series that continue across multiple volumes. Translation choices and style decisions made early on can often become constraints in later volumes. For example, if the protagonist’s signature catchphrase established in Volume 1 has changed by Volume 10, readers will naturally find it jarring.
While AI translation produces the best possible solution in the moment, it is not particularly good at ensuring consistency across an entire series or taking into account each character’s linguistic design. Therefore, people need to establish consistent rules from the very first volume and manage them so they are applied in later volumes.
5. In manga translation, the artwork is important translation information
It goes without saying, but when translating manga, we always refer not only to the text but also to the artwork in the original manuscript.
The meaning of a manga is created through the integration of words and visual expression, and the subject, object, and omitted information must also be inferred from the artwork.
For example, even a single word like "betsuni (literal translation: not really)" can be:
• whether the character is sulking,
• whether the character is happy,
• whether the character is holding back anger,
• whether the character is genuinely uninterested
The meaning can change significantly depending on the artwork. If interpreted incorrectly, it can even alter a character’s personality.
In addition, elements such as the intensity of sound effects, silent panels, and exaggerated visual expressions are translated based on visual information. It is also essential to adjust the text for lettering, taking into account the size of the speech bubbles and the number of lines. Since AI alone cannot understand the nuances of the artwork, this step also requires human judgment.
What we have discussed so far is not that AI translation is useless, but rather that in manga translation there are many areas where AI alone struggles to make the necessary judgments. At the same time, AI can be used effectively to improve efficiency in tasks such as creating first drafts, suggesting wording options, identifying terminology, and checking for wording inconsistencies with previous volumes. Especially when working on serialized titles or large numbers of pages, increasing the speed of first-draft creation is a major help in practice.
However, whether a translation feels true to the character, fits within the speech bubble, or matches the emotions in the artwork is difficult for AI alone to judge. The process of carefully drawing out the original author's intent, the world of the work, and its distinctive atmosphere, and then shaping them so that the same appeal comes through in another language, depends heavily on human sensitivity and experience. Making adjustments from this perspective results in a translation that is more closely attuned to the work.
Furthermore, rather than viewing AI as something that replaces translators, using it as a tool that supports judgment and tasks can create more flexibility in how work is carried out. When it is incorporated on the premise that humans will refine the final wording, it becomes easier to produce translations that maintain efficiency while also taking quality into account.
Manga translation is not simply a matter of replacing words from one language with another. It requires careful planning and execution to ensure that the characters, the world of the work, and the story continue to work in another language.
AI translation is an extremely effective tool in terms of speed and cost. However, when dealing with subtle shifts in characterization, emotions inferred from the artwork, and maintaining consistency across an entire series, human judgment is indispensable. That is why how to approach this is not a binary choice of “AI or humans” but designing “how to use AI and which parts humans should handle.”
The quality of manga translation can vary greatly depending on this division of roles.
At Kawamura International, we offer manga translation services that carefully recreate the work’s world, character portrayal, and even the pauses between lines of dialogue. By combining AI efficiency with human quality, we flexibly design the translation process to suit the genre and medium, so please feel free to reach out whether you have a project in mind or just want to see how things work with us!