TO Books’ CORONA EX Manga Subscription Uses Google AI Translations

TO Books announced its CORONA EX service will offer English manga translations both done by publishing partners and AI via Google Translate. This is a paid subscription service that will cost $4.50 to use. [Thanks, MangaAlerts!]

To find out how the translation is done, someone would need to look at the series’ pages. For example, the product listing for The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash specifically has the Seven Seas Entertainment logo and a message that reads, “All stories in this work is translated by our foreign partner publishers.” Meanwhile, The Swordwoman With Curse is handled by Google Translate and AI. The product page for that one has a “translated by Google” image and a note that states, “All stories in this work is translated by Google Translate.”

TO Books noted that the CORONA EX manga that uses Google Translate and AI for translations will experience two types of issues. The official facts page noted there will be errors. It also said that any bonus materials won’t be translated. People will only get the base manga chapters when that is the translation method. In the case of official translations from companies like J-Novel Club, Seven Seas, or Tokyopop, the afterwards and extra content also won’t appear outside of the normal volumes. 

Here is a list all of the manga on the CORONA EX site as of 2pm ET on April 1, 2024. The source of the translation is listed for each one. 

• Ascendance of a Bookworm～I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian! Parts 1-3 – J-Novel Club
• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Youthful Journey – J-Novel Club
• The Swordwoman With Curse – Google Translate and AI
• The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash – Seven Seas Entertainment  

This has happened with manga releases. For example, Bushiroad announced at the end of 2023 that it would use Mantra Engine for AI translations of The Ancient Magus’ Bride.