FanSub community believes it's wrong to pay/charge more than $8 a tape for fansubs (and some argue even a penny is too much).

Yamabuki thinks it's outrageous to pay translators more than the cost of the LD to translate a 30-min episode. Isn't it great that Yamabuki translates as a hobby? One day, Yamabuki hopes to make a living as a Japanese-English translator, but first things first (like graduating *ugh*).

Background
Yamabuki grew up in the U.S. (Los Angeles area), but attended Japanese school (Asahi Gakuen, Pasadena) for 10 years. Taught elementary Japanese to 7-10 year olds for one year. Took Japanese classes (language, linguistics, history, etc) at UCLA (still attending).

Resources
The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture by Schilling
Sanseido's New Concise Japanese-English Dictionary, 2nd ed.
Yamabuki-mom (useful for Japanese names)

Translating Procedure
Yamabuki translates this way:
1) Watch anime episode once all the way through.
2) Record anime episode onto a MD.
3) Transcribe word-for-word in Japanese onto paper.
4) Translate off of the transcription; typed into computer using Word97.

This procedure takes 1-2 days per 30 min episode. and even faster when motivated! (ie. not wanting to clean up room, study, call Yamabuki-mom)

Anything else you want to know about Yambuki? Send e-mail to doki2@usa.net with any questions!