Bonus Translator/Editor Chat!

[Liz/TL]

Well, it’s a snowy day in January, which I guess makes it as good a time as any for a fireside chat. But before we talk about the chapter, this volume made me realize something that I just need to get off my chest.

[Meg/ED]

You’ve gotten my attention!

[Liz/TL]

(long, deep, Lina-esque sigh) So I was checking the title of the first chapter in the volume, and I realized it was cut into three sections. That made it pretty obvious. Oh, it’s 5-7-5. It’s a haiku.

Then I checked the other chapter titles for the volume. Wait... they’re all haiku. Is that a theme just for this volume?

So I check back. No. Every single Slayers novel chapter title since volume 1... has been a haiku, or at least very close to it. And I completely did not notice this until now!

[Meg/ED]

This is such a cool piece of series trivia, because I’ve been treading in this fandom for two decades now and I’ve never heard any mention of it whatsoever. It also makes perfect sense to me from an editorial perspective, because I remember looking at some chapter titles with you in the earlier books and wondering why in the world they were written the way they are. This explains it!

[Liz/TL]

Yeah, I remember those discussions and just being like “well, the language is a little florid and dramatic, so let’s try to preserve that.” But until I saw that one chapter title broken up into three segments of 5-7-5—they’re usually two segments of 5-12 or similar—I never even thought to read it aloud in my head and check the meter.

I think early on, I really had the anime title schemes in my head, the alphabetical “English Word! Long Description” style titles, so the two-segment titles had me leaning into that a little more.

And it’s extra funny because I did notice the meter for the spell chants, and we’ve been very careful to preserve those as best we can. (Bonus for those reading—I’m very bad at translating into meter, so a lot of that wordsmithing has been Megan’s work. Thanks for that, Megan!)

[Meg/ED]

(I feel like it’s a bona fide team effort! I admittedly had a lot of fun poring over it.) One of the things I love so much about Slayers is just how much there is to sink your teeth into here. And I guess this goes right back to discussions we’ve had prior about how well considered even the minutest details of the series can be.

[Liz/TL]

Yeah, and it really shows how even when you try your absolute hardest to get every little detail, things can still slip through the cracks. That’s part of what makes it a challenge to localize, but also what makes it rewarding to stay with it.

And if you’ll let me get personal for a minute, it’s also a reminder not to get too possessive about the things you work on. I’m honored and humbled to get a chance to bring Slayers to people, and I hope we’re doing a good job on the series and that people are enjoying it. But I never wanted to approach it with the attitude that our version had to be definitive and final in some way. Because there’s always going to be some extra little detail or in-joke that’s as yet unrevealed.

Not to mention that with Slayers in particular, there are usually at least three separate accepted romanizations for basically every major character’s name, without even getting started on the spells... It’s not like our take on the Dragon Slave chant needs to outstrip “Darkness beyond twilight” in the public consciousness or we’ve failed, you know? That one’s way too iconic, and for good reason.

And that’s another fun and unique thing about Slayers in English, that there have been so many takes on the material in so many formats over so many years that it’s kind of impossible to get possessive about it. At the end of the day, people will use the terms they like best, and we get to be part of that lineage and throw a few of our own into the pot. And then in twenty years, maybe someone else will get to make another go at the novels and do things differently. Maybe they’ll give us Zelgadiss, a 2040s flare to Lina’s narration, and also include chapter title haiku. I think that’s great.

[Meg/ED]

That genuinely strikes a chord with me. It’s something that’s been on my mind constantly while working on Slayers too. Honestly, I’d love to see my favorite series get retranslated every twenty years or so just to see what gets brought to the table afresh each time.

[Liz/TL]

Especially given that one afterword where Kanzaka talks about the cheap naming schemes he gives everything. It suggests there are secret little in-jokes and references hiding everywhere just out of sight!

[Meg/ED]

Agreed. And speaking of cheap naming schemes... Everyone’s favorite villain is back this volume, isn’t she?

[Liz/TL]

She is! But surprisingly not for long.

[Meg/ED]

I suppose her last appearance was quite brief as well, but talk about getting cut short... I actually got so caught up in the boss fight this time (read: I was deathly afraid for Luke) that the abruptness of its end was a relief to me rather than a surprise in the heat of the moment. When I got around to reading Lina’s doubtful reflections on the battle, all I could think was, “Oh... Oh no.”

[Liz/TL]

I think this is where the deaths in the previous volume really shake us. Even if our heroes get out okay this time, we have that faint reminder that they might not. I mean, Lina and Gourry are probably okay... probably! But everyone else is about as fair game as you can get.

[Meg/ED]

Fingers crossed! Outside of Jade’s family, it feels like we dodged a lot of bullets this volume. And you’re right—my thinking that way is probably some residual anxiety from previous storylines. On the subject of Jade, I was expecting something terrible to happen to him too!

[Liz/TL]

His story is still pretty tragic, though. Speaking of, one interesting thing in this volume is that General Allus turned out to be a pretty decent guy, and he and Jade come to a very human understanding. He definitely seemed set up for one of those classic Slayers “actually a secret demon” reveals.

[Meg/ED]

Gyria does have a history with that.

[Liz/TL]

Yeah, and I like that they’ve returned to Gyria for all that. It makes sense that it would be an important location given its role as kind of “first line of defense” against the demons of the north, and the eerie rumors about King Dils and all that. I think the anime gave a lot more of that story weight to Saillune (for obvious reasons).

[Meg/ED]

Definitely. Almost all of our city-based destruction in the anime falls on Sairaag too. Gyria hasn’t been quite that unlucky (yet), but it’s certainly not at the top of my “places I’d like to live in-universe” list. Dils and Lyzeille have it pretty rough from what we’ve seen and heard, and based on Milgazia’s warning toward the end of this volume, I’m guessing that trend is going to continue.

[Liz/TL]

Quite a warning indeed! The Incarnation War is definitely not something the anime went into very deeply, but we’re about to learn a lot about it.

And I have to say, I was just so happy to see Milgazia again. I think I mentioned in an earlier afterword that he became one of my favorite characters, and it’s on the strength of what happens here and in the next volume. Or maybe I was just really missing a stone-faced (not literally!) Zelgadis-type in the party.

[Meg/ED]

Milgazia appearing again did warm my heart, at least until that dire warning dropped. I’m glad to know we’ll be seeing more of him. That said, this has got to be the biggest bombshell we’ve ever ended a volume on. I’m nervous for what comes next.

[Liz/TL]

I do think it’s the biggest proper cliffhanger we’ve had since volume 7 (though not as dramatic as that one). After a few episodic adventures with a loose theme tying them back together, it feels like we’re back into truly serialized territory! And when things get serialized, you know it’s on.

[Meg/ED]

Okay, I’m nervous and excited. This is uncharted territory for me.

[Liz/TL]

Don’t worry! Jade survived this volume so I’m sure he’s fine forever.

[Meg/ED]

You still have my attention, but now I’m terrified.

[Liz/TL]

He might be okay. Probably. Shall we wait until next time and see?

[Meg/ED]

I’ll be on the edge of my seat!