Ubunchu! The Ubuntu Manga is now in English

Download all Chapters of Ubunchu here: http://www.ubuntu.net/.

A few weeks ago I mention a few artworks which I had found on my travels of the internet.

One of those things was Ubunchu, a Japanese Manga comic of 3 school students in a system-admin club who are getting into Ubuntu.

ubunchu-header

Thanks to the author Hiroshi Seo, two ubuntu-jp LoCo members (Fumihito Yoshida and Hajime Mizuno) and myself. We got the rights to translate the comic into English, got the script translated and re-edited each image page, replacing the Japanese with English.

Update: Chapter 02 is here.
Update: Chapter 03 is here.

* Editing Note: I was helped by inkscape and I bound this pdf by using the same book making script I’ve posted to before. I used the original psd files, converted them into xcfs, followed by editing it for Left to Right and patching up the Japanese action word spaces.

Update: Thanks to Craig Huffstetler and C-quel for helping out with lots of editing points. Grammar and Spellings corrected and Rev 08 uploaded.

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No Responses to “Ubunchu! The Ubuntu Manga is now in English”

  1. zelrik says:

    Hello, that’s a good first chapter, please do not flip the pages ! Manga addicts know how to read them and would be pissed if you flip it

    All mangas : “reads right to left”

    The translation needs improvements but I guess that’s gonna be fixed later, and moreover if the manga gets popular.

  2. G says:

    where is this link: [url] i don’t find it… i need for translate… thanks and good word.. bye

  3. WS says:

    Wow this is so great !!!! !!!!!
    Congrats!!
    lets toast soon;)

  4. doctormo says:

    It’s moved to the launchpad project mentioned above.

  5. C-quel says:

    Thank you for linking to the Right-to-Left Edition, Doc! ^^

    Don’t worry, we’ll clear up the licensing thing soon. Sounds easy to fix. -v-

  6. LOL, I never thought I’d see the day Ubuntu would become a manga… :)

    I’m just wondering… What’s the next episode to be about?

  7. Brian says:

    That was hilarious! Great job :)

    Great translation also, it all made perfect sense :D

  8. michael says:

    Great work of art!
    This is really effective for people to get to know Ubuntu etc.

  9. zaviera says:

    good job..keep it on

  10. Ace says:

    nice!! just finished reading it :mrgreen:

    i’m wondering if anyone going to make it a manga series :p

  11. Black_Claw says:

    Hey, this is nicely done. I’ll translate it to Indonesian. :D
    Thanks mate. :D

  12. doctormo says:

    I’m re-uploading the sources for this version so you can edit the svgs and use the script to make a pdf. It’s quite easy if you use the inkscape workflow.

    http://divajutta.com/doctormo/ubunchu/script.txt
    http://divajutta.com/doctormo/ubunchu/ubunchu-episode-01.tar.bz2

  13. This is fantastic

  14. NightChao says:

    haha seems like a fun manga, lol computer software gets funny

  15. Great! I want to translate to pt_BR, but what are the fonts used, for example, in “Isn’t it Ubuntu not Ubunchu?” or “Stop talking at the same time!” at the second page?

    Thanks.

  16. guorbatschow says:

    a bit amateurish if you ask me… nobody releases mangas as pdf… and the fonts used… omg @_@

    but nice i guess.

  17. nice…. me and my friend love it

  18. I finished a first draft of the translation to pt_BR. Some terms are weird, and I used another font for the parts that you drawed the text, but overall I think it’s good.

    You can get the .svgs in http://vitorbaptista.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ubunchu-episodio-01-pt_br.tar.bz2 or the PDF in http://vitorbaptista.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ubunchu-episodio-01-pt_br.pdf

    The full post is http://vitorbaptista.com/2009/04/16/ubunchu-o-manga-do-ubuntu-em-portugues/

    Thanks.

  19. random says:

    “”episode 01″?
    waiting for 02…

  20. C-quel says:

    @Vitor Baptista:
    Hi! Thank you for your work in translating this into Portugese! ^v^
    Sorry to say I’m in a limited internet access area at this time, but when I return home I’ll add your URL to my own Ubunchu link list. ^___^

    Dont’ forget to let the original author know too, as he’s also compiling a list of all Ubunchu translations….

    http://seotch.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/ubunchu01/

    Now just three things for you….

    ==========

    1) To answer your question above, the sound effects are actually hand-drawn and don’t use any kind of font (to imitate the Japanese version). But you’re free to use a font if you like, which I noticed you did. ^^

    2) Also see you didn’t have the Ubuntu-title font, since the main title looks distorted. You can download the Ubuntu-title font here:

    http://www.dafont.com/ubuntu-title.font

    The source file in my RtL edition has a Font Guide which lists the fonts used in the English translation and places to download them. However, except for the Ubuntu-title font, it might be worth your time using exciting new fonts that look better in Portugese. ^__^

    3) Oh, and since you’re using Doc’s translation files, don’t forget to credit him, Yoshida-san and izuno-san in the title page. ^__~

    =======

    Thanks again! Look forward to the finished product! ^^

  21. Epccot says:

    This is brilliant! Love it. Thanks for all your hard work.

    Any possibility of making a non-pdf version. Maybe CBZ or just a bunch of jpegs?

    Manga + ubuntu, wow I wasn’t expecting that :)

  22. doctormo says:

    Epccot: It would be easy for you to download the source and change the make-book.sh so it also generated a CBZ file. It’s just a zip file with pngs inside right?

  23. JonathanMM says:

    A french version of this manga is also aviable : http://depot.zedroot.org/ubUnchU/ubunchu-fr.pdf It’s of me and Zedtux.
    The source is here : http://depot.zedroot.org/ubUnchU/Source_FR_episode_1.tar.gz
    Sorry for my English, but I’m french :)

  24. C-quel says:

    @JonathanMM:

    Merci beaucoup pour traduire UBUNCHU en Français! ^^

    @Doc:

    *rings town crier bell* Italian Version sighted (at Seotch-san’s website)! ^____^
    http://siddolosopenlab.altervista.org/blog/?p=102

  25. Stephanie says:

    Oh dear. I use Ubuntu, and oh dear…

  26. aku says:

    keep up the good work, im a beginner so i hope this manga will give some hint or tutorial, from 1 st chapter,i learn to use wine

  27. DT says:

    Great! Thanks for the scanlation! :D
    I have to say just a thing:
    “Ubunchu” is the japanese for “Ubuntu” (うぶんちゅ), so that isn’t a error.

    Sorry for my bad english, I’m italian

  28. [...]Wired have discovered Ubunchu, a manga series featuring the Linux Distribution Ubuntu. The manga was originally authored by Hiroshi Seo and has been translated in English and a few other languages too.[...]

  29. ethnopunk says:

    wonderful, ubuntu culture is taking off and africa is winning.

  30. NGUYỄN-Mạnh Hùng says:

    Hi, the Vietnamese translation is now available! My translation is based on the SVG sources by DoctorMO and C-Quel :)

    Please use these information if possible:
    —–
    Language: Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

    Website: OnEsChi – http://oneschi.blogspot.com/2009/04/oneschiubunchu2009.html

    RtL: JPGs – http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=df7c0b3917bd3b5b7069484bded33bcdc519087892e4de55

    Translators: NGUYỄN Mạnh Hùng (http://vi.mozdev.org) from OnEsChi and Ubuntu-VN (www.ubuntu-vn.org)
    —–
    Thanks in advance! :)

    Btw, I got to save as jpgs because my pngs (exported from Inkscape) were twice the size of yours. Is there any way to compress the pngs with Inkscape and GIMP?

  31. doctormo says:

    Thanks NGUYỄN-Mạnh Hùng, I will add it directly.

    My pngs are based on the smaller images, did you use the new make-book.sh? it uses imagemagic to create a set of smaller images from which it creates a PDF. Although I didn’t create pngs… so perhaps they’d be bigger.

  32. Bavi_H says:

    Thanks for the LtR version.

    In the LtR PDF page 10, panel 3, Risa says “I thought I had got rid of it already.” In the RtL version she says “I really thought I had broken it.” which makes more sense in context. You might want to update the LtR version.

    Another thing: On the page with the little ticker-tapes that introduce the characters’ names, it seems odd that Risa’s was removed from the left-to-right version. Was that a mistake or a design choice?

  33. doctormo says:

    Edited, added a Risa tag and updated the line on page 10… I wasn’t quite sure what you meant since the LtR version originally had the ticker-tapes.

  34. thraaks says:

    I just felt in love with the slackware girl <3

  35. C-quel says:

    @Bavi:
    Yo! ^^
    Thank you for reading both the LtR and RtL versions! It’s nice to know that there are many people as into Ubunchu as I am! ^v^

    Just a small clarification, though….

    Doc’s LtR version was first and my RtL version is only re-adapted from it, so your questions really should be phrased in the context of why the RtL version is different. Hence, it’s on me to explain myself (hehehe). :P

    Feel free to review the Changelog in my Sauce file for explanations of why certain things may have been done differently:

    http://pigux.com/storage/ubunchu-rtl-source.tar.gz

    Bottom line, the majority of the discrepancies are due to either personal preference (e.g., the use of smaller text for Risa’s dialogue), or for the sake of highlighting propositions (e.g., adding the lowly “Risa” tag as a comical contrast to the bigger and more bombastic titles for Akane and Masato). ^^

    @Doc:
    Serbian version uncovered by Seotch-san!

    http://stamat.info/blog/?p=59

    Just one problem with it, but otherwise pretty exciting to have yet one more. :)

    @thraaks:
    I guess that would make you Akane’s first true fan. What a historic moment. ;)

    *takes snapshot*

  36. For the obscure words like ‘WINE’ and ‘GNOME’ (maybe in small font) have a small explaination as to what it is.

    Like WINE… (and I dont mean the beverage) etc…

  37. This is so great! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I do an education podcast and I want to do some episodes about Ubuntu and my experience with it to model for other teachers. This is the perfect transition from my comic episodes to my Ubuntu episodes!

  38. alolita says:

    Fantastic idea for spreading the buzz! After Chrome, now its Ubuntu :-)

    It is super to see Ubunchu come from Japan with a CC license. The comic format is great for introducing Ubuntu in schools – to kids from elementary school to middle school. I’d love to see this in different languages of India. Thanks to the team that created this work from Aerial Line and all the people who translated this work into other languages! Look forward to more episodes in the future.

  39. Hello,

    Really good work, I liked it :)
    I am interested in translate it into Arabic…
    What do you think?

  40. MChabez says:

    Hi, I have translated “Ubunchu!” into Hungarian.
    Download as zipped PNG-s at (RtL):

    http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/c04c7d32c8_7.22MB

  41. C-quel says:

    @Matt: Actually, some of the other translated versions do provide footnotes for some of the obscure terminology. Not a bad idea,… but I also wonder if the absence of footnotes wouldn’t just foster more discussion? :D

    @David + Alolita: It’s interesting that you both bring up Ubunchu in school settings — I’m sure Seotch-san would be thrilled by the prospect. Not only would you expose the comic (and subsequent episodes) to a greater audience, but also open the door to other freely-distributable creative content featuring these characters, such as colouring books, edutainment games, and so forth.

    And if you know anyone who is or is willing to translate into any of the major Indian languages, by all means please spread the word. :)

    @Khalid: No need to ask, buddy. Translate away — we’re always receptive to new languages versions! :)

    Arabic might actually be the first language thus far that would suit the RtL style naturally.

    @MChabez: Thank you! :D

  42. NGUYỄN-Mạnh Hùng says:

    Hi DoctorMo,

    It seems that you made some typos. The Ubuntu-VN link is pointing to a 404 page.
    However, we have updated some info. So please update it here if possible. Sorry, this will be the last time I’ll ask you to do this ;)

    —–
    - Remove Ubuntu-VN from the Translators column.
    - Add http://forum.ubuntu-vn.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3412 to the Websites column
    —–

    That’s all!
    Thanks in advance! :)

  43. doctormo says:

    No problem. Blink of an eye it shall be fixed.

  44. NGUYỄN-Mạnh Hùng says:

    Oops, sorry, I thought you noticed it. But the text for the link should be “Ubuntu-VN” instead of just “Forum Post” ;)

    And, uhm, may we keep the link to the “OnEsChi” website, I mean, as an official mirror?

    Thank you very much.

  45. karthik says:

    hai very interesting manga.

    in this manga, all the manga characters are you created or only edit the japanese text?.

  46. [...] Anime Convention with Ubunchu Since we had such a good success with Ubunchu, we’ve decided to send people going to the Anime Boston convention with some copies of the [...]

  47. allentiak says:

    Great Job!

  48. FromVN says:

    wow, great, even a Vietnamese version. thanks doctormo for creating this manga!

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