Didn't this novel end?

Jun 9, 2020 5:36 AM

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Apr 2013

7940

No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

Jun 9, 2020 5:42 AM

#3

UaEfAlCoN83

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Aug 2013

360

Zefyris said:
No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

So the original novel is a web novel?

Jun 9, 2020 5:44 AM

#4

Zefyris

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Apr 2013

7940

UaEfAlCoN83 said:

Zefyris said:
No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

So the original novel is a web novel?

The original version is a web novel on shousetsuka ni narou, yes.

Jun 9, 2020 5:47 AM

#5

UaEfAlCoN83

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Aug 2013

360

Zefyris said:

UaEfAlCoN83 said:

So the original novel is a web novel?

The original version is a web novel on shousetsuka ni narou, yes.

I see. I think they should specify that in MAL. I never knew about web novels :)

Jun 9, 2020 5:53 AM

#6

Zefyris

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Apr 2013

7940

MAL only references officially published material, so things like amateurs publishing on websites like narou will probably never be referenced here.
Considering that most of the story is now available in proper novel format, I would advise against reading it in web novel format as well anyway.

Jun 9, 2020 5:56 AM

#7

UaEfAlCoN83

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Aug 2013

360

Zefyris said:
MAL only references officially published material, so things like amateurs publishing on websites like narou will probably never be referenced here.
Considering that most of the story is now available in proper novel format, I would advise against reading it in web novel format as well anyway.

I just checked the web novel. It looks like it was translated using Google Translate :)
So I will wait for the official translated volumes, which will take forever.

Jun 9, 2020 6:06 AM

#8

Zefyris

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Apr 2013

7940

hmm, well, considering the amount of content remaining it will certainly take a good while, but the official translation isn't really what I would call slow either.

Jun 22, 2020 1:31 PM

#9

FireFistYK

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Jan 2016

1944

UaEfAlCoN83 said:

Zefyris said:
MAL only references officially published material, so things like amateurs publishing on websites like narou will probably never be referenced here.
Considering that most of the story is now available in proper novel format, I would advise against reading it in web novel format as well anyway.

I just checked the web novel. It looks like it was translated using Google Translate :)
So I will wait for the official translated volumes, which will take forever.

The web novel translation available is a machine translation so I'd avoid that at all costs.

Also, the novel is published by JNC, which is literally the best publisher for LNs in the west right now. They release 1 volume per 2 months which is lightning quick if compared to publishers like Yenpress.

You can also subscribe to JNC and read the chapters as they're translated so that you don't have to wait for long. You can read 3 chapters per week which is amazing for those who tend to forget stuff over months.

Oct 9, 2020 11:45 AM

#10

The_Silver_Nuke

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Aug 2015

75

Zefyris said:
No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

I've recently discovered this LN thanks to the anime. I had no idea such great work existed, and quite frankly I'm disappointed that I binged all of the available material. It frustrates me that I would literally have to wait something like 5 years to wait for the English publications.

It would actually be faster to just learn Japanese and then read it directly.

Is the completed web novel English translated? Are there fan translations of the existing novels beyond the eighth book? I absolutely must read more if there is, so any information would be appreciated.

Oct 9, 2020 11:58 AM

#11

Zefyris

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Apr 2013

7940

The_Silver_Nuke said:

Zefyris said:
No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

I've recently discovered this LN thanks to the anime. I had no idea such great work existed, and quite frankly I'm disappointed that I binged all of the available material. It frustrates me that I would literally have to wait something like 5 years to wait for the English publications.

It would actually be faster to just learn Japanese and then read it directly.

Is the completed web novel English translated? Are there fan translations of the existing novels beyond the eighth book? I absolutely must read more if there is, so any information would be appreciated.

There are some but it's machine translated, so it's horrible and I wouldn't recommend that. It's like the best bread you can find and put something horrible on it because you didn't have anything better to put on right now; that's such a waste.
If you're not already subscribed, you know you can subscribe (I think it's like 5$ per month? to Jnovel club to get amongst other thing the possibility of reading online each new chapter as it gets updated. I think there's one new chapter of honzuki every monday or something like that.

Also even without it the english version has something like one new volume every one month and half / 2 months so it's fast.
No need to rush, it's not going anywhere.

Oct 9, 2020 12:38 PM

#12

The_Silver_Nuke

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Aug 2015

75

There are some but it's machine translated, so it's horrible and I wouldn't recommend that. It's like the best bread you can find and put something horrible on it because you didn't have anything better to put on right now; that's such a waste.
If you're not already subscribed, you know you can subscribe (I think it's like 5$ per month? to Jnovel club to get amongst other thing the possibility of reading online each new chapter as it gets updated. I think there's one new chapter of honzuki every monday or something like that.

Also even without it the english version has something like one new volume every one month and half / 2 months so it's fast.
No need to rush, it's not going anywhere.

Thanks for the swift reply! I'll try the Jnovel club as you suggest, but while the novels might not be going anywhere I wouldn't want to put this story off indefinitely as it gets translated slowly from my perspective.

I may have to seriously consider picking up Japanese after all...

Oct 8, 2023 11:16 AM

#13

Yadava98

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Jul 2020

80

Reply to Zefyris

No it's not.

The web novel was completed online, but its published version is currently at the beginning of the 5th arc (23 volumes +2 short stories volumes) , which will be the last arc; but it's still missing around 8 volumes to complete the arc so it won't be finished before 2022.

@Zefyris I am reading now part 4 and I was wondering at which point the story was. So the story is actually complete and they are just adapting it in LN version? If yes, how many parts amd volumes should have in total?

Oct 8, 2023 11:28 AM

#14

Zefyris

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Apr 2013

7940

Reply to Yadava98

@Zefyris I am reading now part 4 and I was wondering at which point the story was. So the story is actually complete and they are just adapting it in LN version? If yes, how many parts amd volumes should have in total?

@Yadava98 The final volume of this series will be published this December in Japan.
It will be the 33rd volume of the main series, with Part 5 being the last part, containing 12 volumes (part 4 was 9 volumes long).
There's also 3 (supposedly a 4th is coming) short stories volumes published to add to those 33 if you want to read everything.

... Now, on top of this, the author has already written on the side a side story with Hannelore as the protagonist, and she said she has plan for a sequel of the main series later one; so there may ultimately even MORE bookworm to come after the end of the series and the 4th short story volume. But nothing is certain yet for us outside of the end of the main series this December.

Oct 8, 2023 12:15 PM

#15

Yadava98

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Jul 2020

80

Reply to Zefyris

@Yadava98 The final volume of this series will be published this December in Japan.
It will be the 33rd volume of the main series, with Part 5 being the last part, containing 12 volumes (part 4 was 9 volumes long).
There's also 3 (supposedly a 4th is coming) short stories volumes published to add to those 33 if you want to read everything.

... Now, on top of this, the author has already written on the side a side story with Hannelore as the protagonist, and she said she has plan for a sequel of the main series later one; so there may ultimately even MORE bookworm to come after the end of the series and the 4th short story volume. But nothing is certain yet for us outside of the end of the main series this December.

@Zefyris thank you for your informative and quick reply! I saw that J-novels is quite at a good point and if they continue like this all volumes will be translated by september 2024. Can't wait!

Jul 3, 10:13 AM

#16

Nox---

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Jan 2014

105

I see many references and recommandations for the J-Novel Club translation. Well, it is true that if you were to look for an english version, that would be your only choice. Still, i am going to say it... even if the opinion were to prove impopular. I am not a fan of the english translation.

The english language there is downright butchered. I am not even a native speaker, and still, quite honestly, i cringe while reading. Admittedly, it is mostly the former volumes that suffer from the butchering. It does get somewhat better over time. But up to volume 6 or 7... i really can't recommend this version. Maybe the translator is not an english native speaker? Well, but since this is a "professional and commercial release", this would be no proper excuse. And you know, i am not one to say such things without working hard to illustrate what i say with facts. Because obviously, anyone who just criticize others' job without making the effort to prove their point should just shut up. So, here we go...

What do i mean by "butchered english"? Well, here is a list of my grievances:

1- the vocabulary used in the translation is extremely poor. Nothing to do with J-Novel work on "Kusuriya no Hitorigoto" (which is great), for example. Or even "Koukyuu no Karasu" (equally commendable). But instead, In "Honzuki", the vocabulary used is grade school level. For example, any job related to wood work will be called "carpenter". Any action of making/scultping/cutting/trimming/shaping/ something out of wood will be described with the verb "to carve". 95% of the time. Anything that is traced with a pen and that is somewhat close to a drawing will become "the art", no matter what it is. And so on, and so forth. English being originally my 3rd language, i barely learned any new word here, no matter how many books i read, when the "Kusuriya" translation taught me plenty in a single volume. Night and day.

2- partly because of the poor vocabulary used by the translator, there are countless repetitions. As far as i know, the japanese language tends to be like that, too. Especially since it doesn't tend to use pronouns for people, most of the time. But english is different. Oftentimes, the turns of phrases are awkward, heavy, and don't flow at all. It often sounds the same as how someone may depict things in everyday conversation. But this is meant to be a literary work. And tied to this...

3- there is an absolutely unsufferable amount of american slangs. It is not even meant to translate a certain crudeness in the way commoners and other such uneducated people may express themselves... since it is everywhere, even in the prose. "Kinda", "Gotta", "Gonna", "Gotcha" are everywhere. Sometimes, even in nobles' dialogues... There are expressions like "go to town" that simply feel awkward in the context. And he even shortens words, too. Winter preparations become "winter prep". "Preparation work" becomes "prep work". The next step is using stuff like "FYI" in official commercial releases. This is meant to be a novel, not a chat between buddies on Skype.

4- there is plenty of broken english, too. A few examples? This translator has no idea when to use adjectives, adverbs or something else. There are hundreds of those, but a few examples in Part 2:
*"Wilma suggested that I use all the words on the karuta so that kids could learn to read easier" (more easily. "easier is a f***ing adjective. Easier is basically "more easy", it doesn't work here ! you need a frigging adverb !)
*"Books for babies and books for children were a lot different" ("very different". "A lot" is used to quantify objects. "A lot" defines a quantity, not a quality)
*"this food is a lot different from what you’re used to" (surely you see the problem there).
*"the reality was far different" (again. Everywhere. "very different". Or any kind of adverb: "strikingly", "completely", "funnily", "f***ingly, whatever)

5- plenty of superlatives are broken here. While there are no clear rules for this, it should be easy to see when a sentence turns out for the worse. Examples: he uses "most simple", "more faint", "more nice", "more cute", "more broad", and so many of those, i won't even bother to list more here.

6- he uses plenty of broken associations everywhere like: "The black cape signified the night sky". No. I am pretty sure the black cape "symbolized" the night sky. Or "stood for" maybe. Or "represented"? I don't know. I am not a native. Teach me, please. This is the reason why i read in english in the first place. To learn vocabulary. But there is seriously nothing to be learned here. Oh, and obviously, he doesn't know what "concave" means. In the same vein, he uses very awkward (to me at least) expressions that do not fit the context (and almost sound like slang, too). Like "low-tech tape measure" when i would use "rudimentary". This is a medieval kind of setting, after all. He will use "approximate flowing water" when he actually means "mimic" or "emulate". He uses "piece of paper" when he means "sheet of paper". He uses "to want" for inanimate objects, like in "the book would want to" when, probably something in the lines of "would be required to" would fit better. "Everything relied on Lutz" (no. "depended on Lutz". Only damn people "rely on" others. Not your damn chair). And so many things like this... i can write pages of it. He mixes up consistenly "to be reminded of" and "to remember". And so on, and so forth...

7- some things simply don't make any sense. I can't tell if the problem comes from the original japanese or the translation, but seriously... "I grabbed the doorknob just as someone opened it from behind." See the problem? "it" refers to the doorknob here. Because the word "door" only appears afterwards in the original text, in the following sentence. And i have seen people "open a door" in my life, but nobody i know of every "opened a doorknob". For real. What is more, what does "opening a door from behind" even mean? Probably, it was opened "from the other side"... Again, there are countless examples of this. While we can understand what he means, it remains that many sentences are plain broken.

8- to him, anything somewhat related to garments are basically socks... "a pair of blue robes" (no, there is only one bro). "a pair of clothing" (same, we are talking about an "outfit" here. Is that too high level a word?), "pair after pair of ceremonial clothing" (are you f***ing serious?), "buying new pairs" (of shirts? Ah no, socks everywhere. Actually shirts), and you see that everywhere. But the moment i almost died was here, when he wrote: "Normally you’d use a rake or something like a comb to stir, but there wasn’t much bark here, so I had Lutz make me two more pair of sticks which I stuck into the pot to stir.". This one sentence encapsulates the problem i have with this translation. Part of it at least. "Stir" is repeated here, and the sentence sounds horrible as a result. Yes, it does. You need to use synonyms to avoid repetitions. Never get used to this please. Moreover, "Stuck" is probably not the best verb to use here either, since it doesn't fit the way Myne tends to behave, but ok, let's forget about that. Let's instead look at... yes, "two pair", where despite there being more than one, "pair" apparently doesn't take a "s". But worse my friend... he didn't even mean 4 sticks here. He really meant two. He meant "a set of sticks", " a pair of sticks" or more simply, "two sticks". But for this guy, as soon as something comes alongside something else, it becomes "a pair". So, a stick becomes "a pair of sticks" like a robe becomes "a pair of robes". And so, two sticks become "two pair(s) of sticks". That is seriously ludicrous. Too much for a single sentence.

9- he rightfully tries to convey a higher register of language when it is used in the original japanese. But he oftentimes does so awkwardly. This is a massive problem here, considering how important this is in this series. The register of language used tells a lot about the context, and even the character that uses it. Part of the storytelling is naturally implied through this. It tells a lot about Myne's evolution, too. But this notion falls mostly flat in this translation. Now, it is not easy to do, because the english language particularly sucks at translating this in the first place (there is not even the spanish usted(es) or the french vouvoiement in english, that doesn't help), but the translator makes it even worse. As we have seen, he has poor vocabulary, poor grammar, and on top of that, even when he tries to convey a higher register of language, he shoots himself in the foot because he is too used to slangs. An example? Here we go... "Thank you for coming with me, Fran. Please return to the temple now as the sun has begun to set sooner. See you tomorrow.” So here, he uses "as" as a coordinating conjunction to emphasize that Myne uses a higher register of language. Why not? But then, why use "See you tomorrow" after this??? The correct way to say it when a nobles speaks would be, maybe, for example... "I will see you again tomorrow". No matter how the japanese looks like here, since english can't translate even a quarter of what the japanese language can convey when it comes to language registers, there is no choice but to convey it whenever possible. But here, i am actually even somewhat surprised that he didn't write "see ya" instead... I mean, at some point, i came to expect this kind of thing.

10- sometimes, it seems like he doesn't understand what the author meant. But instead of taking the time to research topics, to figure things out, he throws haphazard translations that hardly make any sense. Like: "It was basically just going through the open parts of the holes". Ok, so do you suggest that there are "closed parts of the holes"? What does that even mean? Or, in the very same page "Just pass the needle through here and the thread will connect.” Ok. So, it connects with what? Is it a brawl? A fistfight? No. It isn't. That means nothing. And then, he will create some pretty interesting concepts. Like "curved hexagons". What is like that in japanese? Do you even understand what a hexagon is? If it is curved, it is not a hexagon anymore, it is something else entirely. What do you mean??

11- And then, obviously, there are the many typos, doubled words (like "the the") or missing words. Things like "too" instead of "two". I can forgive this to some degree, because it has to be difficult to track everything down. Nevertheless, i feel that there are still too many of those, considering that it is a commercial translation of a literary work. Literary works should promote as much as possible perfect english and perfect orthography, because books are meant to be the place where people develop their mastery of their own language. It is even the foremost mean i use myself to improve my own mastery of the english language. I am far from having reached a proficiency level that i can be satisfied with, so why exactly do you think i bothered to get this in english? Isn't it obvious that official translations should strive to be examplary? No wonder the english language is getting poorer by the day. If i despair because of this, i can't even fathom how the damn britishs may feel...

Probably, i would recommend reading this in french or in spanish instead. Translation is much slower, but from what little i gathered... while far from being perfect, it is still better. Faster is definitely not better, sorry. I don't want translators to create precedents. I want them to respect both languages they handle while translating, because i believe this to be the most important aspect of their jobs. To me, translating is not merely about "somehow conveying the general meaning of something". It is about "transposing as much as possible not only the meaning, but the general style and purpose of an author". It is hard work, and it takes a lot of time. But here, the translations are churned out without much care, for the sake of "coming out fast". Seems like an american thing to do. When i do translate things, at the very least, i take the utmost care to respect languages. I spent so many hours improving my language proficiencies so as to respect the foreign languages i learn. How come these guys can't even respect their own mother tongue? How infuriating is that really? Everything in this world should not be about "immediacy". And so, i can't recommend this botched, rushed, and coarse english translation.

But there is still a good thing about that: if your english proficiency is average, you will probably still be able to read this translation without much of a problem. So, in this particular case, i can somewhat recommend it.

What is more, as stated in the beginning, these problems are most noticeable in earlier volumes. I feel like starting from volume 6 (Part II, Book 3), things are getting slightly better.

Nox---Jul 14, 9:24 AM

Jul 22, 6:30 PM

#17

elkensteyin

elk sensei

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Oct 2013

8542

Just two weeks left until the translation is completed

Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Part 5 Volume 12 (END) Discussion elkensteyin - Aug 5	6	by abystoma2 »» Sep 9, 1:09 AM
» How would you want it to end. DEEP_SLASHER - Jul 12	1	by DarkAnima »» Jul 20, 3:14 AM
Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Chapter 32 Discussion NiQ1 - Jun 10	0	by NiQ1 »» Jun 10, 3:18 PM
Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Chapter 31 Discussion NiQ1 - Apr 16	4	by TheMidnightWolf »» Apr 25, 10:05 AM
» Volume 30 (Part 5 Volume 9) Discussion abystoma2 - Mar 26	1	by hayato_bun »» Mar 26, 10:59 AM

Didn't this novel end?

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Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Part 5 Volume 12 (END) Discussion

» How would you want it to end.

Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Chapter 32 Discussion

Poll: » Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Chapter 31 Discussion

» Volume 30 (Part 5 Volume 9) Discussion

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