[Revised Edition] Review: I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl – Volume 1
Review of the First Edition (June 5, 2022) | Review of the Revised Edition (January 17, 2023)
The first volume of I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl by Azusa Banjo was officially released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment on May 31, 2022. The revised edition was translated by the Childhood Friend Translation Team and lettered by Elena Pizarro, and is available now on digital platforms including Amazon, BookWalker, and Google Play. As of writing, the release date for the revised edition in print has not been announced, but hopefully it’ll be in stores by the time the second volume comes out on February 21, 2023.
Originally published as Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata by Ichijinsha under their comic POOL imprint on pixiv COMIC beginning in February 2020, the series currently has five volumes released in Japan. It features Mido Kenshiro, a boy who loves cosmetics, and Hiura Mihate, his (male) childhood friend, and what happens after Mido tries putting makeup on Hiura for the first time.
Today, I’ll be comparing selected portions of the first printing and the revised edition of the official English adaptation of the first volume. (Note: I worked on a fan translation into English of the manga beginning with episode 5.③ until the official English version was announced. I make no claim that the fan translation is free of mistakes.)
Checking which edition you have
The easiest way to check which edition you’re looking at is to flip to the back of the book and check the copyright page. The first edition will have “First Printing: May 2022”, while the revised one will have “Revised Edition: February 2023”. Note that both editions have the same ISBN, so you can’t use that to check which edition you have.
If you’re checking a sample of the beginning of the book that doesn’t include the last page, you can look at page 3, the first page after the table of contents. The text box for Mido’s narration in the bottom-right corner will have the words “You see…” written on one line in the first edition and on two lines in the revised edition.
Regarding pronoun usage
The revised edition consistently uses masculine pronouns (he/him) for Hiura throughout the entire book. The teacher in ep1.①, Mido, and the omniscient narrator on p. 38 and p. 84 all refer to Hiura using masculine pronouns where feminine pronouns (she/her) were used in the first edition.
ep0.①
The “Anjo” and “Tenka” typos are fixed:
- p. 4
- The new Anjo lipstick just dropped yesterday!! (1st ed.)
- That’s the new Anju lipstick that dropped yesterday!! (2nd ed.)
- p. 5
- “Buy me…”
“three ramens at Tenka.” (1st ed.) - “Buy me…”
“three bowls of Tenya ramen.” (2nd ed.)
- “Buy me…”
Note that both of these lines have also been revised for flow. On p. 4, it’s been rewritten to make it explicit that Mido noticed the lipstick on a girl passing by, rather than just suddenly remembering that it came out yesterday. On p. 5, the plural “ramens” has been replaced by “bowls of ramen”.
ep0.③
Let’s take a look at a scene that was completely revised:
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ほう…これがウワサの 新作品…!! | Hō…kore ga uwasa no shin sakuhin…!! | Oooh…a legendary new snack!! | Oooh…the new snack everyone’s talking about!! |
| 流行りの服では あるし 似合わないことも ないけど | Hayari no fuku de wa aru shi, niawanai koto mo nai kedo | Pretty trendy! I can’t say it looks bad… | Pretty trendy! I can’t say it looks bad on him. |
| なんだろう… | Nandarō… | but something’s missing. | But it just… |
| 日浦のかわいさが 全く活かされて ない…!! | Hiura no kawaisa ga mattaku ikasarete nai…!! | Hiura’s cuteness is going to waste in that sack!! | It doesn’t show off how cute Hiura really is!! |
| こんな高級素材を こんなに雑に 扱うなんて 姉ちゃんたちは 何やってんだ！ | Konna kōkyū sozai o konna ni zatsu ni atsukau nante nēchan-tachi wa nani yattenda! | Such luxe materials! What were my sisters thinking?! | What were my sisters thinking putting something so perfect in a sack like this?! |
| …いやそもそも こいつのかわいさって なんなんだって 話だが!! | …Iya, somosomo, koitsu no kawaisa tte nan nandatte hanashi daga!! | And why am I still fixated on his overpowering cuteness?! | And why am I so fixated on his cuteness, anyway?! |
Overall, this scene flows much better in the revised edition compared to the first edition. These are the sorts of changes that are present throughout the entire volume in the new edition.
In the first edition, こんな高級素材 Konna kōkyū sozai is translated as “Such luxe materials!”. In isolation, this is a perfectly fine translation. Reading the English text, you might assume that this is referring to how the clothes are made of high-quality materials, but since those clothes were just described as a sack, it might feel a bit off. Is Hiura’s cuteness going to waste because the materials are too luxurious? The revised edition translates it as “[putting] something so perfect [in a sack like this]”, which shows how Hiura is actually the “luxe material” in question, not the clothes.
ep0.④
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| なんか こっちの姿のほうが 本当の自分かなって 気がしはじめて… | Nanka kotchi no sugata no hō ga hontō no jibun kana tte ki ga shi hajimete… | I’m starting to feel like this is who I am. | I’m starting to wonder if this look’s maybe more who I am. |
| 別に御堂の せいとかじゃ ないってば | Betsu ni Midō no sei toka ja nai tte ba | It’s got nothing to do with you. | It’s not your fault. |
In the first line, the Japanese line has some equivocation with the words なんか nanka and かな kana, which the revised edition gets across using “wonder” and “maybe”. Additionally, the word 姿 sugata “appearance” is kept in the revised edition by using “this look” rather than merely “this”.
In the second line, the first edition interprets it as Hiura saying that his wearing of the sailor suit uniform has nothing to do with Mido. The second edition is more direct and says that it isn’t Mido’s fault. While the first edition’s line has better flow and more characterization, special 1 and later chapters show that Hiura’s decision to wear feminine clothing does have something to do with Mido.
ep0.⑤
- Ever since I came out as a girl… / my childhood friend’s been super weird. (1st ed.)
- Ever since I started the whole girly thing … / my childhood friend’s been super weird. (2nd ed.)
This line has been rewritten to no longer mention “coming out“. Personally, I think the line in the revised edition is kind of awkward, but at least it doesn’t give a misleading impression like the original line did. Also, it looks like a space got left behind before the ellipsis during the editing process.
- And just like that, I decided to become a girl. (1st ed.)
- And just like that, I decided to become a “girl.” (2nd ed.)
Quotes have been added around “girl”. I think while this is the easiest way to indicate that 『女の子』 is not necessarily meant literally, scare quotes do come with some negative connotations in English.
Extra
The revised edition correctly conveys that Mido was named using the author’s intuition, rather than the name meaning “intuition”.
ep1.①
- TEACHER: Before we begin…
Starting today, this is how Hiura will be presenting.
Make sure she feels welcome.
HIURA: Nice to meet everyone… again. (1st ed.) - TEACHER: Before we begin…
Hiura will be coming to school like this from now on.
So be nice, everyone.
HIURA: Hey, everyone… (2nd ed.)
The revised edition is a more straightforward translation of the original Japanese, which doesn’t carry as many of the implications as the first edition.
ep1.③
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 昨日の ラジオでさー | Kinō no rajio de sā | So, on yesterday’s podcast– | Okay, on the radio last night– |
| お前 また 遅くまで 起きてたのかよ | Omae, mata osoku made okiteta no ka yo | That’s why you woke up late again? | Wait. You were up late again? |
| もー うるさいな オカンかよ | Mō, urusai na, okan ka yo | Shut up! You’re not my mom. | Shut up! You’re not my mom. |
Let’s take a deeper look at two things in this scene:
- How did “yesterday’s podcast” become “the radio last night”?
- How did “you woke up late” become “you were up late”?
First things first, ラジオ rajio is the katakana-ized form of the word “radio”. If you look it up in a dictionary, you’ll find that it does actually mean “radio”. However, in Japan, anime- or game-related radio programs have largely moved from being broadcast over AM or FM to being broadcast over satellite or the internet, while still retaining the “radio” name. Some of these programs are even pre-recorded and available on demand, which sounds much more like a “podcast” than a “radio” program to Western ears. (They also get released on CD.)
However, on Hiura’s character profile (p. 30), it mentions that Hiura specifically likes 深夜ラジオ shin’ya rajio “late-night radio”. In the first edition, this was also translated as “podcasts”. Since Hiura likes late-night radio specifically, it would be more natural to say that it aired “last night” rather than “yesterday”, especially if it was past midnight.
Now let’s look at the second question. The adverb 遅く osoku can mean “late”, and the verb 起きる okiru can mean “to wake up” or “to stay awake”. So far, either of these might make sense here. But the key word here is まで made, which roughly means “until”. While 遅く起きる osoku okiru does mean “to sleep in”, 遅くまで起きる osoku made okiru means “to stay up late”. Additionally, 起きて(い)た okite(i)ta is in the past progressive tense (roughly “was staying [up late]”), rather than 起きた okita for the simple past tense (roughly “woke [up late]”).
- But…
My clique changed in junior high.
He distanced himself from everybody in school.
Even if everyone was the same as always back home. (1st ed.) - But…
I started hanging out with different people in junior high.
And he started keeping his distance from me at school.
He was the same as always at home, though. (2nd ed.)
The revised version flows more naturally and has the correct implied indirect object of “me” instead of “everybody” and the subject of “he” rather than “everyone”.
ep3.①
- I still feel weird mixed in with a bunch of girls.
Keep trying your best.
You just can’t beat us guys, Hiura! (1st ed.) - I just feel kinda awkward joining the girls.
Okay. Yeah, I get that…
Go to girls’ side. It’s too hard for the other guys to play with you. (2nd ed.)
The aside is rewritten to be dialogue from a teacher or someone similar telling Hiura to go to the girls’ side of the gym, rather than a taunt from the other guys. The aside really needs a “the” though.
- You can s-see right through your shirt!
If you’re gonna be a girl, try acting like one! (1st ed.) - I can s-see right through to your skin!
If you’re gonna dress like a girl, you gotta pay attention to this stuff! (2nd ed.)
The revised edition has Mido say that Hiura is “dressing like a girl” rather than “being a girl”.
ep5.③
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| まだかな～ 日浦のやつ… | Mada kana~ Hiura no yatsu… | What’s taking her so long…? | Where is Hiura already? |
| …でもなんで わざわざ 現地集合…？ | …Demo nande wazawaza genchi shūgō…? | Why’d she want to meet here? | Why’d he want to meet here? |
| いつもみたいに 一緒に出てくりゃ よかったのに | Itsumo mitai ni issho ni dete kurya yokatta no ni. | I thought we’d walk over together. | We could’ve headed out together the way we always do. |
Since they were heading into the city, they may not have walked directly to the station where they were planning to meet up, so the revised edition only states that they normally head out together.
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 話が 通じない… なんなの こいつら 勧誘?? | Hanashi ga tsūjinai… Nanna no koitsura kan’yū?? | They’re so dense. Are they really hitting on me?! | They’re not listening. Are these guys scammers?! |
| チャラい… | Charai… | Sexist pigs… | So flashy… |
| すんません これ 俺の連れなんで | Sunmasen. Kore, ore no tsure nande. | Excuse me. She’s… with me. | Excuse me. This one… is taken. |
| 危うく変な商材とか 売りつけられる ところだったよ… | Ayauku henna shōzai toka uritsukerareru tokoro datta yo… | They almost roped me into buying some weird product. | They were trying to push some pyramid scheme on me or something. |
| いや 普通にただの ナンパと思うけど… | Iya, futsū ni tada no nanpa to omou kedo… | Uh… They were flirting with you. | Uh. I think they were actually flirting with you. |
In the revised edition, Hiura does not realize that the guys are hitting on him, like in the original. By having him mistakenly identify them as “scammers”, this sets up the “pyramid scheme” comment that Hiura says to Mido.
| Japanese | Romanization | English (1st ed.) | English (2nd ed.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| えー だって 男だよ 僕 | Ē, datte, otoko da yo, boku. | Huh? But I’m a boy. | Huh? But I’m a boy. |
| …ていうか | …Te iu ka, | Speaking of which… | Hunh… |
| 今日はがっつり 女装ってわけじゃ ないのに | Kyō wa gattsuri josō tte wake ja nai no ni | Her outfit isn’t that over-the-top girly. | He’s not dressed super girly or anything today. |
| なんか いつもより かわいくないか…？ | Nanka itsumo yori kawaikunai ka…? | But she still looks weirdly cuter than usual. | But he looks weirdly cuter than usual? |
As mentioned previously, Mido uses masculine pronouns for Hiura in the revised edition. This is particularly noticeable here, where in the first edition, Mido uses feminine pronouns for Hiura immediately after Hiura states that he’s a boy.
ep5.⑦
- Maybe going out all femme won’t be bad after all! (1st ed.)
- Going out dressed like a girl might be better than I thought. (2nd ed.)
This uses the more literal “dressed like a girl” rather than the term “femme“.
special 1
- Does he like me?!
No way!!
He really likes me?!
What?! (1st ed.) - If I push, do I actually have a chance?
For real?!
This is seriously his type?!
What?! (2nd ed.)
The revised edition is closer to the original Japanese and conveys how Hiura realized that Mido likes how he currently looks and that if he were to push it further, Mido might fall in love with him.
- But I’ve never seen Mido so flustered in front of me.
And he didn’t seem creeped out. (1st ed.) - But I’ve never seen Mido so flustered in front of a “girl.”
And he didn’t seem creeped out. (2nd ed.)
The revised edition translates 女の子？ onnanoko? as “girl”.
special 2
- MIDO: You might not know this…
But–aside from me–
adolescent boys are pigs!!
HIURA: I’m pretty familiar with the concept–
MIDO: Except me, of course!! (1st ed.) - MIDO: You have no idea!
I’m one of the good ones…
But teenaged boys are pigs!!
HIURA: Uh, I know. I’m a boy, too–
MIDO: I’m one of the good ones, though!! (1st ed.)
In the revised edition, Hiura reiterates that he is a boy here, like in the original.
Afterword
- I’ve been slipping my debut story of a boy turned girl into weekly published comics for a while, but never dreamed I’d get to publish an actual collection.
I’m so grateful to my editor, and to all my readers. Your combined support made this happen!
I hope I can keep the series going until Hiura’s dream becomes a reality. (1st ed.) - I’ve been secretly plugging away at drawing boys (♀) ever since I made my debut with a oneshot, but I never dreamed that this work would ever be serialized.
And it’s all thanks to the editor who reached out to me, and above all else, you readers who’ve been cheering me on!
I hope I get to keep going with the series until Hiura’s love is realized. (2nd ed.)
In the revised edition, 男の娘 otokonoko is translated here as “boy (♀)”, like in one of the earlier extras. The revised edition correctly refers to Banjo’s debut oneshot and this series’ serialization.
Conclusion
The entire volume has undergone numerous revisions, whether to make dialogue flow better or to better fit the text in the bubbles and boxes. All of the rough edges present in the first edition have been smoothed out, and the revised edition is much more faithful and accurate to the original work. What I’ve covered here is not at all comprehensive, and I think comparing these two editions further would definitely make a good case study for anyone studying translation. All of my concerns with the first edition have been resolved, and I can wholeheartedly recommend picking up the revised edition. I’m hopeful that future volumes will receive the same quality of treatment as well.
As a matter of course, companies want their products to be successful. To do that, you should avoid offending as many people as you can, since every potential customer you offend is a lost sale. It makes no business sense not to use respectful and inclusive language. If you think a certain segment of your target audience is particularly important, then consulting with them and making sure to use the appropriate vocabulary would be good things to do. If you don’t handle a delicate subject carefully enough, it’s liable to blow up in your face.
Based on what’s come out since my initial review, it seems that the staff who worked on this made an honest mistake and believed that they were dealing with a transgender or trans-coded character. There’s enough ambiguity in the original to support a trans-coded reading. Even though it wasn’t deliberate, that lens then colored the whole translation process. For example, translation choices that used LGBT+ terminology might have come to mind first, or were consciously picked over other alternatives. But apart from this initial misunderstanding and some rough edges, the overall quality of the translation is still decent.
I’m happy to see media with trans characters, but as someone who’s read the original Japanese chapters, readers looking for a trans narrative in this particular work will end up being disappointed. While there’s definitely enough ambiguity to find some trans themes and subtext in the original text, especially in the first volume, there’s not enough there to justify it being the primary interpretation. I think the use of phrasing such as “came out as a girl” in Hiura’s narration makes it so that a plain reading of the English first edition would conclude that Hiura is implied to be trans. Had it gone unaddressed, the English version would have written itself into a corner. Later developments that contradicted this new premise would have forced them to either walk back the original translation or deviate even further from the original story.
Ultimately though, that misjudgment ended up overshadowing everything else, and snowballed into the situation that it is now. Ideally, it would have been resolved civilly, with measured debate focused on how to best convey the work itself. But because it’s marred by this issue in particular, even people who haven’t read the series and wouldn’t normally have been interested in it took notice. Of course, everyone has their own motivations, shaped by their opinions and subconscious biases which affect how they view and respond to a situation. But if I had thought there was a more effective course of action to have the issues addressed than posting about it, I would honestly rather have done that instead.
Even if the genesis was one person’s mistake, the buck stops with the publisher, who is ultimately the one who takes responsibility for their product. If the translators found something unclear and needed something clarified, they should have been able to contact the original author. If there had been more people with knowledge of Japanese and the original work in the loop, then the misunderstanding might have been caught before it went to print. It’s unfortunate that this wasn’t the case, but I hope that the changes Seven Seas has put in place prevent something like this from happening again, both for this series and for their other series.
