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I agree with Jess here. If you can create a small portfolio of work to present, that will help you in applying for positions. Qualification wise, you would need at least N2 of the JLPT but again, if your ability speaks for itself, then it may not be required. I've read your translations and they generally represent the source language well. You must have a good understanding of Japanese grammar and Kanji so why not give the test a go? I will say though, and this is by no means a dig at you, but you might want to spend some time on improving your Japanese listening skills. I watched some anime you put up on your YouTube channel and there was some glaring mistakes in the translations, even some ad-lib going on at times. Again, I'm not having a dig, just trying to encourage you as you seem to enjoy translation and want to take it seriously. Another tip would be translate something other than Manga/Anime. give your portfolio more depth. The scanlation community is rife with people that take a few classes in Japanese and then translate something (usually pretty badly) before throwing it up on Batoto/Manga Fox etc. Try and distance yourself from those guys and stand out! Good luck Ciaran!

Who is an old Highlander fan? This franchise has been around for almost 30 years. Immortals who go around and decapitate one another for more power, knowledge, and skill. There was the first one in the 80's, and than there were several movies in the 90's and early 2000's and than there was the series that went from 93-98. Great stuff. I think Richie Ryan, Duncan and Connor Mcleod were some of my favorite characters. ....and lets not forget. There can be only one!

when anyone asks me what my favourite movie is, I generally default to Alien. It's not because it genuinely is my favourite movie, or the best movie I have ever seen, but it is generally very difficult to make such a monumental decision. "the best". I choose Alien because the way it is shot is very beautiful to me. It is art as far as I am concerned. not the pretentious crap you get from art students, but something beautiful crafted with dedication and attention to balance and aesthetic qualities. It is like a beautiful haunting piece of music, in visual form. The script and the technicalities etc don't really concern me too much. as a result of this view, I really don't have a high opinion of Aliens. Aliens took it in a completely different direction and turned it into an action horror-thriller. For these reasons, I give more credit to Alien 3 and a little bit of credit to Alien 4. But of course, as Prometheus was made by Ridley Scott himself, I feel it is completely on point. The beautiful imagery and pacing and themes are all back just how I remembered. I am less concerned with plot holes or scripts or technicalities, more concerned with how it looks and feels. This move... calling the next one 'Alien'. In some senses I feel this is a problem. It feels to me that Scott is compromising. He is compromising his ideals in order to please studio execs or the fans of a franchise. This suggests he may be pandering and that potentially hurts the thing I loved about the other two films.

Prometheus was a great disappointment to me. Alien is as good as it is because it is simple and it doesn't try to explain too much. It implies a lot, but the central part always remains a state of utter panic because you're locked in a room with something that wants to kill you. By comparison, Prometheus was burdened, top-heavy, pretentious and clumsy.

I think if you can demonstrate a good body of work or a good ability, then you can apply for a job in localisation. qualifications are nice, but ability is more important.

I must also applaud your courage in coming here after the comments you made about this group. Like Durendal and Jess said, welcome to the board. I noticed that you mention doing the Guyver kinda as a "stopgap" whilst waiting for stuff to arrive from Japan. This is rather telling as it suggests that you may order Tankobons from Japan and thus support the creators of the Manga before you give their work away. I'm somewhat heartened to think you do actually buy and don't just sit there and wait for somebody to put the RAWs up. Pat on the back to you sir. Since you seem to have a fair amount of time on your hands, have you ever thought about doing legit, paid work for your translations? I've often wondered why so many people do so much work for free. This is not a loaded question in anyway, nor am I having a jab at you, just genuinely interested.