Japan formed a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia in May 2017 and has developed the Saudi-Japan Mutual Vision 2030, in an effort to transfer Japanese technology. This manga project came in as a bridge to help those efforts, by explaining about Japanese business culture and how SMEs work. We helped JETRO execute such project by working closely with manga companies to help them understand the Saudi culture and how to correctly draw specific clothes and write certain expressions. We also later translated the manga into Arabic and rewrote some of the expressions so that it fits the Arabic reader’s mind. In addition to translating sound effect and completely localizing the content.
Link to the manga https://www.jetro.go.jp/ebook/arabic/manga/index.html
Client
Government Agency
Date
August ~ December 2017
Work
Translation, Advisory
Overview
Japan formed a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia in May 2017 and has developed the Saudi-Japan Mutual Vision 2030, in an effort to transfer Japanese technology. This manga project came in as a bridge to help those efforts, by explaining about Japanese business culture and how SMEs work. We helped JETRO execute such project by working closely with manga companies to help them understand the Saudi culture and how to correctly draw specific clothes and write certain expressions. We also later translated the manga into Arabic and rewrote some of the expressions so that it fits the Arabic reader’s mind. In addition to translating sound effect and completely localizing the content.
Link to the manga https://www.jetro.go.jp/ebook/arabic/manga/index.html
Client
Government Agency
Date
August ~ December 2017
Work
Translation, Advisory
Press on the image to go to the reader website. (Manga is in Arabic)
Our Approach
Consult on the cultural aspects and translate Manga.
This manga was meant to be presented to Saudi Arabia’s senior officials as part of reinforcing relations with Japan. We took it upon ourselves to make sure the story is interesting to Saudis, and that the visual and verbal expressions are suited to be presented to Saudi.
The Japanese side wants to introduce how SMEs work in Japan, and also introduce the traditional mix with modern society that attracts tourists from all over the world. We explained to them about the VISION 2030, and the Saudi-Japan Mutual VISION 2030, and how can they implement that into their story. We also explained the typical image that Saudis have about Japan, and how can they -cleverly- play on that to capture interest. With that, the creators had the clarity they needed to begin writing the outline of the story.
The most subtle part of such creative work is verbal expressions. Usage of words, the tone of talking, names of people…etc. We made sure to write -in detail- comments about each sketch, what is culturally different, and a suggestion on how to make it better.
Up till now, there has never been any manga that captured Arabic tradition clothes right. We have made use of our cultural background and artist network to let the creators accurately draw such traditional clothes. The end result is amazingly accurate.
On another level, we were looking for tiny details that can cause problems if noticed. For example, taking off what appears to be wine glasses, pork-related food. Also, some scenes that were depicting the characters in a culturally offensive way.
After the manga has been drawn, we translated the content from Japanese to Arabic. But that was not enough. we double checked on all expressions used, and rewrote some bits of the text to suit Arabic readers. Furthermore, we translated the sound effect (usually displayed in Japanese) and used Arabic ones.
The only manga -up till now- that is completely localized for Saudi audience, with the most accurate visual representation.
Services Used
Project Management
Cross Cultural
Working with different cultures can be difficult. With our level of understanding of cultural aspects, we offer a range of depth of interaction from the support of the ongoing project, all the way to systematically building a project management practice in the organization.
Coaching & Advisory
Esoteric Knowledge
Due to our unique position between Japan and Saudi, and our extensive experience, it is inevitable that we share our esoterical knowledge to both sides in a coaching & advisory capacity. 10 years worth of knowledge and experience at your disposal.