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This week I had the most honorable chance to interview Naomi Kokubo, translator of the .hack//legend of the twilight mangas and the upcoming AI Buster. Naomi was nice enough to answer all the questions I asked her. Give the interview a read, as it may answer some lingering questions.
Besides translating, Naomi Runs LavaMind, which develops educational content for computers, television and film.
Q: Tell us briefly about yourself, I'm sure many fans of the legend of the twilight mangas are interested.
Naomi Kokubo: I am native Japanese. I was born, raised and mostly educated in Japan. I've done many things and worn many different hats since I moved to California. I've run a computer game company called LavaMind. I was the co-founder of Spiderdance, a venture-backed interactive TV startup. And now I'm involved with another startup called Moventum. But my true passion in life is manga, anime and novels. My dream is to continue to work with them even when I'm 90 years old. My passion stems from my childhood. I grew up reading manga and watching anime, although as a teenager, I never imagined that I might wind up translating and, at times, adapting them to the U.S. market.
Q: How did you get involved with the ".hack project" and TOKYOPOP-translating mangas?
Naomi Kokubo: I worked on a number of different manga projects for TokyoPOP before I was asked to work on the .hack project. I am grateful that TokyoPOP gave me the opportunity to work on this project.
Q: Do you have a favorite legend of the twilight character?
Naomi Kokubo: I know you won't like my answer, but I like them all. They all have interesting things about them. If you removed any one of them, the story wouldn't be the same.
Q: Which legend of the twilight volume is your favorite, why?
Naomi Kokubo: I liked the first one the most because it intrigued me. There was a mystery to the world and the characters.
Q: Are you an avid fan of anime and manga? If so, which series/mangas are your personal all-time-favorites?
Naomi Kokubo: I have read and watched so many manga/anime that's it's hard to pick just a few. However, I'll admit that my all-time-favorite is the "Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind" -- which I first encountered when the feature-length anime was released in Japan. After that, I bought the manga version, and I was totally and utterly engrossed. I couldn't wait for the next volume to be released. I was glad that the final volume had a satisfying ending. It is such a grand epic with a wonderful message.
Q: How is AI Buster coming along? Do you know if there are any plans to translate the other .hack Novels in English?
Naomi Kokubo: I finished translating the AI Buster. It is currently in the rewriter's hand -- unless he completed the rewrite process and it is back at TokyoPOP already. I was asked to focus on translating it so that it stays true to the original. My understanding is that the rewriter and the editor will be making the final creative decisions for the English version.
Q: A lot of people are confused over AI Buster. Is AI Buster a straight out novel, or a Graphic Novel?
Naomi Kokubo: AI Buster is a novel. It has a several illustrations, but it is not a graphic novel.
Q: Have you heard anything about a new .hack game in the works?
Naomi Kokubo: No. I'm the last to know.
Q: Do you have any advice for people that would like to pursue a Japanese to English translating career in the future?
Naomi Kokubo: I think it applies to any kind of job, but if you're willing to work hard, I'm sure you'll get better at whatever you're doing and more opportunities will come your way. I've worked extremely hard over the years, but I love what I do, so I don't mind working nights and weekends.
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