My primary recommendation for translating raw manga. Supports Japanese, Korean, and Chinese source languages with 8+ target languages. The built-in editor lets you refine translations directly on the manga page, and the per-series glossary keeps character names consistent across chapters. Files auto-delete after 24 hours for privacy. No signup required to start.
Whether you use AI tools or translate manually, the manga translation pipeline follows these steps:
1. Acquire raws. Find untranslated manga pages in the highest quality available. Higher resolution means better OCR accuracy and cleaner final output.
2. Clean the pages. Remove Japanese text from speech bubbles and sound effects. AI tools can automate this, but manual cleaning still produces the best results for complex layouts.
3. Translate. This is where AI manga translators shine. Upload your raws to a tool like MangaGloss - AI Manga Translator and get a first-draft translation in minutes instead of hours.
4. Edit and proofread. AI translations are good but not perfect. Review for nuance, slang, and character voice. A human editor catches things machines miss.
Speech bubbles contain dialogue and are the primary translation target. Japanese manga reads right-to-left, so bubble order matters.
Sound effects (SFX) are drawn into the artwork and are harder to translate. Some scanlators leave them untranslated, others add small English text nearby.
Narration boxes contain inner thoughts or scene descriptions. They often use different speech levels than dialogue.
Handwritten text outside bubbles is common in manga and can be tricky for OCR. AI translators are getting better at detecting these.