Seven Seas Entertainment is no longer an independent publisher.
Shortly after the publisher’s Citrus Con panel where the representative stated that the company was independent and denounced the use of AI in their works, news broke out on Japanese news outlets that Media Do had acquired Seven Seas Entertainment for approximately $80 million USD.
In a Nikkei article translated by Danmei News, Media Do’s plan is to increase Seven Seas’ output to around 2,000 titles, including e-versions. Most concerning is that Media Do has announced it will use “its own artificial intelligence (AI) to assist translators in translating manga into English, shortening the translation time from the current five to six months per volume to about two months.“
Media Do, Japan’s largest eBook distribution company, released investor documents, later broken down by MangaAlerts in an X, formerly known as Twitter, thread. Overall, Seven Seas’ revenue has increased every year, with print books, including text-based books and comics, accounting for more than 80% of its current revenue.
In the documents, Media Do noted that they wanted to use AI to overcome the physical distribution network, which they believed was a barrier into breaking through to the global market. Specifically, Media Do wanted to use their MediaDo Translation System (MDTS), which is “an AI-assisted translation system designed to support translators, will significantly reduce the time required for translation.”
This led to many voicing their worries that this could mean Seven Seas is replacing their human translators with AI, sparking a huge backlash with numerous consumers cancelling preorders or announcing they would boycott Seven Seas titles for the foreseeable future. Although Media Do appears to be focusing more on Japanese titles, there is no guarantee that this would not extend to Seven Seas’ other properties, which include Chinese and Korean titles.
For danmei and baihe fans, this news proved especially devastating as Seven Seas was one of the first publishers to hire fan translators to provide official translations and has a proven track record of providing some of the best translations in the industry. With Seven Seas also recently launching its baihe imprint, the news was a striking blow. The prospect of losing the human touch to machines was distressing to say the least. And with the anime/manga industry gradually turning towards using machine translations in place of human translators, many were wondering if Seven Seas would be the next to fall victim.
Amidst the backlash, Media Do uploaded a notice via Seven Seas on March 3, stating that they had “profound trust in the high quality translation and localization work that Seven Seas has delivered for over 22 years.” The distributor said they were “committed to further strengthening all processes for overseas publishing, and we take full responsibility for continuing to deliver high quality works to all readers.”
The rest of the notice read:
Following recent reports, we have received inquiries expressing concern that AI might be used to translate Seven Seas manga and other works. The Company clarifies that there are absolutely no plans to do so. Furthermore, the “MDTS” system developed by the Company is an AI assisted tool designed to help Japanese translators manage their translated text when working on Japanese literature. It is not intended for implementation in Seven Seas translation operations. All specific operational details will remain compliant with the existing translation standards of Seven Seas.
The Company is deeply grateful for the work of all Seven Seas staff and expresses the utmost respect for the translations they perform with such dedication. It remains steadfast that the primary creators of Seven Seas publications are people, including its translators and editors. This acquisition does not include operational or staffing changes, and Seven Seas will continue under its existing leadership and team.
Through the feedback we have received, we deeply understand the love and dedication fans have for Seven Seas. It is truly regrettable that our previous announcement caused misunderstandings among those who cherish Seven Seas publications. As stated above, the Company will act appropriately for the fans and will not use AI in the translation operations of Seven Seas, so please rest assured.
While the announcement seems firm on Media Do and Seven Seas’ stance on being anti-AI, the acquisition news has left a bitter taste in people’s mouths. And although the notice was explicit about not using AI in the publisher’s translation operations, it was left vague on whether it would be used in other parts of the publishing process. Many remained skeptical that the notice was merely to put a temporary Bandaid over a bullet wound.
The full notice can be read here.
Source: DanmeiNews, Sources 1 and 2, Seven Seas
