Hello Kunori-sensei! I would like to discuss a few questions with you. I represent a team, which already doing an amateur translation of SAO franchise to Russian language for some time. In fact, it can be considered as piracy, but we have no hope, that any light-novel title receive an official localization in our country, because our publishers think that such genre is not profitable. Fans haven't enough money to buy license, so amateur translations is only one way for people, who don't know Japanese, to get acquainted with your great works. Fortunately, under Russian law amateur translations are not prohibited, if we do not sell it, if book have not official localization and if foreign right holder do not directly prohibit such activity.
In fact, one of the reasons why I am writing you is despite, as I know rights for SAO novel belongs to Dengeki Bunko publisher, rights for doujinshi is only yours and you can prohibit or authorize their use including translation. Our problem is that we have not been able to get texts of ME11 and ME12. As we live outside of Japan, it would be very difficult for us to buy them at the festival, and we missed the moment while they were available in Toranoana store. Also, even if it would available there now, that's difficult to buy them without the help of anyone in Japan. Therefore, we want to ask you for permission to translate these texts and request assistance in obtaining them.
So, if we can find common ground on this point, and we move on communication more convenient than Twitter, I would like to ask one more thing. Except of translations, we also engaged in wiki-encyclopedia of SAO universe in Russian, so we often stumble on some white holes in description of game world. There is some info that never mentioned in text, and that have not a big influence on storyline, but its absence is annoying in case of writing full and detailed encyclopedia. Es an example I can point on unknown name of the ring +20 agility (from "A Murder Case in the Area") or many gaps in the gaming skills tree. Of course, we understand that many of our questions may cannot be answered, since you could not even think through such small details a lot. However, maybe we still could sometimes ask such questions.
You can answer for our letter in any comfortable for you way, such as:
- Email samogot@gmail.com
- Skype samogot
- Twitter @samogot
- facebook.com/samogot
Or you may just leave a comment under this text.
Sincerely yours Samogot, representative RuRanobe project.