My other latest project, a single chapter of Volume 12 of Super Mario-kun. I’ve posted before a series of 4koma strips from another volume, and now I’ve graduated to a proper story. This is a brief one-shot based on Donkey Kong Country, but not really retelling the game. Rather, it’s the story of Mario and Yoshi crashing their plane into Donkey Kong’s territory on New Year’s Eve. They then have to find the missing banana hoard (again), which is in the possession of a Rockkroc. It’s silly (to be expected of this manga) but a bit of fun, and a rare friendly interaction between the Kongs and Mario.
I started working on this when I realised the Zelda comic was going much quicker than my last. I was waiting for Caramelman to finish the translation but still had the comics itch, so I picked this up and translated it myself. I used Google translate mostly, and this site for the meanings of the various sound effects used. My sister-in-law, a Japanese linguistics student, helped a lot to refine the script after I’d done the first draft, also introducing me to Jim Breen’s online dictionary site. She then signed up to Twitter so I’d have something to put on the credits page. :)
I’m releasing this chapter alongside my previous 4koma translations, which come from Vol 14 of Super Mario-kun. If in future I scanlate any more SMk, I’ll update the archive and web gallery, to keep all of it in one place.
.cbz version (use Simple Comic on Mac, or CDisplay on Windows)
If you’re after more Super Mario-kun translations (not by me), there’s not a whole lot but I’ve found a few:
Chapters 1-7 of Volume 1 (Super Mario World) are hosted here, by various translators. A better version of some of these chapters is contained in this archive. A single short comic from Volume 19 (Yoshi’s Story) has been translated here, and a 4koma from Volume 35 here (Christmas-themed). Apparently another translator has done Chapter 9 and 12 of Volume 1 (12 in colour), links here and here, but the host is currently down so I can’t verify. Keep an eye on that one. Finally, a chapter from Volume 38 (Super Mario Galaxy) has been translated here.
Oh, and if you’re wondering where I got the raws from, well a while ago I stumbled upon a filesharing site folder full of very nicely scanned volumes, with no hint of who scanned or uploaded them. If you’re interested in the original Japanese or want to translate some yourself, have a look here.
If you know of any more around the Internet, let me know. And also, spread this DKC one around and enjoy!