Odenvard

Despite there being a few good editing blogs on Fuwanovel, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of translation blogs. I think part of the reason for this is that editors in the fan translation scene are often doing things the translator could very well be doing themselves, often to the detriment of the final product. Look at, say, the “big back” entry Fred wrote. Now tell me why this issue couldn’t be avoided back at the translation stage.
There are two reasons why you would do this: one, you don’t know Japanese well enough to understand what is actually meant, so you put down whatever it says literally. In this case, the sane way to handle the issue is to ask someone who knows Japanese better than you for advice. Two, you’re just lazy. Who actually thinks “the date changed” sounds right in English? An edge case of this is prioritizing speed; Ixrec and MDZ* both prioritized speed and neither had very good results to show for it, but they did complete things. Personally I still think this is ultimately lazy; it is significantly more simple to translate literally than to try to actually write well. In this case, ask yourself if you really want to produce a shitty translation.
What I’m trying to get at is this: if you actually want to produce something good, you can’t just leave writing the thing up to the editor. Editors are not miracle workers; they have to deal with what they’re given. Furthermore, many editors working on fan translations, and well, translations period, are not very good at the job. Any time you leave something bad in, there is always the possibility of it sticking around in the final product. I’m not saying you have to be perfect. I’m saying this: for the love of visual novels, try.
If you ask me, before you hand your script to the editor, you should have already done an editing pass on it. Or two. The lines should connect with each other rather than float like islands in a sea of prose, there should be at least an attempt at character voice, and all ugly stock translations should be kawari-fucking-mashita’d, much like the 日付 at midnight, with extreme prejudice.
Sometimes you’re still going to come up short. Sometimes it just won’t sound right whatever you try. That’s when you should pray that your editor knows better than you – leave a note at the line explaining the problem, move on, and hope to hell that your editor is actually good enough to work it out. That’s what the editor is for. The editor should not be translating from weeb to English. The editor should not be doing your job.
*Its not just the fan translation scene that does this, by the way – there are companies, like Aksys, which demand its translators write a colorless literal translation to be punched up by superstar editors later. Unsurprisingly, they’ve put out some real stinkers; I have a lot of respect for Ben Bateman’s work on 999 for this reason.

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Villains have always fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was the way they operated, the way they moved. Their goals always so divergent from the heroes or so eerily similar that it made you question who you were really rooting for. Almost every story has em' or inserts something to take their place, such as society, nature etc. A villain right can give you someone to really root against, or for if you are so inclined. They can drive the story along like no other and pull the hero into the most strenuous and exacting endeavors. A villain done wrong however, can have all the impact of a wet fart in a scorching plain. What makes a good villain? I think a good villain is made up of five things appearance, presence, voice, power, and goal. I think these are essential for a villain to work in a story. Without these traits you might as well just drag up from the earth your cliche mustache twirling villain and prop him up for all to see. So without further ado here are my favorite villains and why. This isn't a comprehensive list and the order is nonessential.
1. Slade

Slade was a incredible villain and he is essential to why I still count Teen Titans as one of my favorite shows. He had everything I wanted in a villain. What I most loved about him was voice, power, and presence. First off was his voice, Ron Perlman did a amazing job with the voice of Slade. He lent Slade a voice of menace and absolute confidence that broke time and time again upon the Titans backs. His power to was impressive. He could go toe to toe with any of the Titans and beat them and it took all of their power to stop them. His presence was also incredible he dominated every single scene that he was in without question.
2. The Joker

Joker is the perfect villain and I think he shines the brightest in the animated series. He is a perfect counter to Batman in every way and is the absolute opposite of everything that he wants to protect. I like the animated Joker the best simply because of Mark Hamil. I truly believe that voicing him is the best thing that he has ever done.
3. Vernon Schillinger (OZ)

Schillinger easily represents everything I detest in a person. He's an out and out Nazi, and as cold and callous as they come. Yet it was his detestable nature that made him such a good villain. In a show that's known for it's brutality he was easily the most vicious. What really made me like him was the brief glimpses of something resembling humanity that he would show. To this day it is hard to look at JK Simmons and not see Schillinger, no matter how many goofy Dads he plays.
4.Frank (Once Upon a Time in the West)

In the movie this is how Frank is first introduced it's such a brilliant and brutal scene that really impacted me
This early act of callous cruelty gives him a malignant presence in every scene he is in. He's completely willing to do anything and everything to get what he wants. Henry Fonda gives him a air of quiet detachment and a sense of invincibility.
5. Perfect Cell

I love Perfect Cell because he is such a amazing antagonist. He has the abilities and weaknesses of all the greatest warriors. He is confident and arrogant without overdoing it. So many villains like him are just over the top that it just becomes laughable. It was great to see him evolve from his imperfect state to his perfect one. I also like that his goal was simply to find a worthy opponent to test his power on.
6. Mr. Dark (Something Wicked This Way Comes)

Mr. Dark is another good villain that is so understated and yet so powerful. He operates a carnival that promises people their deepest wishes and feeds on them. Jonathan Pryce does an amazing job of giving him such a threatening edge with just a few words.
7. Cluny the Scourge

Now Redwall had a lot of great villains but Cluny is always going to be my favorite of them all. He is such a perfect adversary he is ruthless but also clever, brutal yet cunning. His mere presence inspired instant fear and his drive inspired hundreds.
8. Kirei Kotomine

Kotomine was a perfect villain in Fate/Stay night and a great foil for Shirou. What really made him a great villain in my eyes was seeing his corruption in Fate/Zero. I also like that he sought the grail for the shear curiosity of what it would spawn.
9. Maou

Maou is a great antagonist because he is constantly two steps ahead of everyone. He has plans within plans and he sets himself up as the adversary of Haru just for the shear joy of it.
10. Jack Of Blades (Fable)

Jack Of Blades is one of my favorite villains simply because of his appearance and voice. That alone makes him such a menacing villain. I also loved the mystery behind his mask and background. Who was he before he found the mask? That question goes unanswered witch makes the allure of him all the more powerful.
Well that's all the villains I can think of at the moment I will probably add to it later. What are your favorite villains? Let me know!

This is my first ever review, so I would love feedback on this or even general advice on review writing!
The Setting
Danganronpa is a murder-filled mystery told over six chapters. Fifteen students are gathered at a school (ironically named Hope’s Peak) by an emotionally unstable teddy bear (Monukuma). The only way to leave the school is by playing Monukuma’s twisted game - to commit murder, without being caught. If the murderer is caught, he is brutally executed, if he succeeds he is set free while the remaining students are executed.
Gameplay
Chapters are divided into three parts, Daily Life, Deadly Life and the Class Trial.
Daily Life is where you the initial character development takes place. In this phase you can walk around and talk to other people, advancing the plot. You are also given “Free Time” where you can get closer to specific characters, which then unlocks power-ups that can be used in the class trial mini-games. The “Daily Life” period usually ends once a murder occurs. The nature of the game, makes most of these murders of the “whodunit” type. These tended to be fun and lasted around an hour each.
Deadly Life is the investigative period. You explore your murder scene and examine items as you look for clues to help solve your mystery. This holds several similarities to “Phoenix Wright” investigations.
The Court-Trials were basically the final showdown in each chapter where you solved the mystery. These were fast paced and interesting. The trial-system itself was horrible though. It was littered with some of the most irritating mini-games of all time. Several obvious statements that can be inferred from the evidence, have to be explicitly found through multiple mini games. On the other hand, the comic-style closing arguments was done very well.
The PC port was horrible. The controls were not mapped out well at all, and to advance text, you are forced to use your mouse rather than the enter key or spacebar. This was very irritating and definitely affected my overall experience with the game.
 
Soundtrack
The BGM is very catchy, the kind that ends up sticking in your head for a while. While not all of it is amazing, there will probably be at least one or two tracks that you will enjoy.
Visuals
The CG’s and graphics are beautiful and the video-clips are well made. One thing that could have been better was the gore. All blood and wounds, were a bright pink color. If it actually looked like blood, a lot of the gruesome deaths would have impacted me a bit more.
The Story
Danganronpa starts of very strong. The very first case tries to drive home that anyone can die. I enjoyed the first two cases the most. The third and fourth cases were good as well, but by then the number of people remaining had reduced making it easier to identify the culprit. The last two chapters, were basically the same case. While I enjoyed them a lot some things have still not been explained.
. Overall several good mysteries with innovative solutions. Also Danganronpa is Kinetic in nature. If you are given a choice, you either advance, or it loops back until you pick the right choice. The epilogue doesn’t really conclude the story well and is very open/teaserish in nature. (Most Spike Chunsoft games seem to do this, like 999)
The Characters
Most of the characters were strong personalities, the kind which would naturally end up being the center of their groups. Gathering them all in one place would naturally cause conflict. Most of them exemplified a single quality to an exaggerated degree, almost to the extent where their whole personality could be built around it. Each character was unique and interesting, which lead to interesting motives as well as murderers. While I could never support the murderer, I found myself understanding and sympathizing with the killers as well as the victims in some of the cases.
Pros
Great mysteries
Well explored characters
Fun investigations/Large World to explore
Court System/ Case Arguments
Monukuma
Cons
Pink fake blood/gore
Some plot points left unexplained
PC port
Court System/Bullet Time Battle (This had no purpose but to infuriate anyone playing the game)
Verdict – 9/10