Amin Abbas

DUBAI: ‘Entwined’, a webtoon comic series created by Arab manga creator Pluvias, has been released in Japanese. The series is a character-driven fantasy drama about five young kids with elemental powers and the complexities of having those powers imposed on their personal lives and childhoods.

“I originally published ‘Entwined’ in English and Arabic, but since I live in Japan, I wanted to participate in local artist conventions,” Pluvias told Arab News Japan. “However, as these events primarily attract a Japanese audience, presenting my work only in English didn’t feel like the right approach. Therefore, that was my main motivation for translating ‘Entwined’ into Japanese.”

Pluvias shared that the translation process was challenging due to her limited Japanese but she is grateful she went through it.

“This process was quite challenging for me. Initially, I started translating the chapters myself, but since my proficiency in Japanese wasn’t strong enough for a polished result, I sought help from friends and translators. With the combined efforts of multiple people, we were able to create the Japanese version of ‘Entwined’ Volume One. Having the Japanese edition ready allowed me to finally join local conventions. I began this journey with COMITIA, a renowned event for artists showcasing original works, held four times a year in Tokyo, with additional events taking place in other cities throughout the year. It has since become a routine for me to take part in every COMITIA event held in Tokyo,” the artist said. 

“During one of these conventions, I had the incredible opportunity to meet Shine Partners, a publisher that expressed their interest in officially releasing ‘Entwined’ in Japanese digital bookstores. Over the following months, we collaborated to revamp the book, including adding a prologue and designing a new cover specifically for the Japanese edition. Shine Partners also handled the language adaptation, ensuring it met industry-level standards for manga-style writing, including natural-sounding dialogue and onomatopoeia (sound effects). Their considerate localization efforts helped make the Japanese version feel seamless and accessible to its audience,” she added.

Pluvias mentioned that the response and feedback for the Japanese version of ‘Entwined’ have been amazing. “The response has far exceeded my expectations. Through my participation in COMITIA, ‘Entwined’ has garnered considerable attention and praise. Many readers have been impressed by the high quality of the work, particularly highlighting the full-color art style and the dedication required to produce such a substantial book. The fact that it’s also available in multiple languages despite being created by an independent artist continues to leave them impressed,” Pluvias said.

“Japanese readers, in particular, often express admiration for how I, as an Arab creator, have captured an anime-like aesthetic. I frequently hear comments like, ‘This really feels like a Japanese anime’.  Such encouraging feedback has been incredibly rewarding and has helped me feel more connected to this community,” she added.

Pluvias grew up in the Middle East and shared that she came up with the idea of her webtoon in 2005 when she was consuming various anime series on Spacetoon. In 2020, Pluvias moved to Japan and discovered the South Korean platform ‘Webtoon‘, which offers digital comics that are meant to be read on smart phones.