On August 29, 2026, an article questioning "Why are Chinese translated versions of Japanese manga predominantly in Traditional Chinese characters?" was published on China's portal site, Sohu.

The article stated, "Despite Simplified Chinese characters being commonly used in China, many Chinese translated versions of Japanese manga circulated online are in Traditional Chinese characters. Recently, when a user on China's SNS, Xiaohongshu (RED), posted this question, experienced individuals in manga translation, image editing, and typesetting successively joined the discussion."

It then explained, "The most realistic reason is font resources. In the early days of Chinese translation, font resources for Traditional Chinese characters were much more abundant, making it easier to find fonts that could reproduce an atmosphere close to the original Japanese manga. Manga translation is not just about erasing Japanese and inputting Chinese. In professional typesetting, one must consider fonts, character sizes, outlines, speech bubble shapes, and even harmony with the overall art style of the work."

It also stated, "According to experienced translators, special fonts used in Japanese manga sometimes do not have corresponding glyphs in Simplified Chinese characters. Even if most characters are available, if just one character is missing, it will result in a missing character like '□'. In this regard, it seems easier to find alternatives in Traditional Chinese character fonts."

Furthermore, it mentioned, "What's important is that Traditional Chinese characters have many strokes and occupy a larger area within speech bubbles. While seemingly strange at first glance, this is a very practical problem for those doing image editing. In Japanese manga, there are many irregularly shaped speech bubbles, and after erasing the Japanese text, even the background must be restored. Because Traditional Chinese characters have complex forms and a wider visual area, it is easier to cover the original text area."

The article stated, "A frequently overlooked factor is the vertical writing unique to Japanese manga. While Japanese manga are fundamentally set in vertical alignment, many Simplified Chinese fonts have been designed primarily for horizontal writing. Therefore, when Simplified Chinese fonts are used for vertical writing, some punctuation marks and glyphs may not appear well. In contrast, Traditional Chinese character fonts have relatively richer resources that support vertical writing."

It also introduced, "There is another important reason. Many of the manga circulated in the early days were originally official versions published in Hong Kong and Taiwan, or spread based on data related to them. At that time, China's online manga translation culture was not as developed as it is today, and Hong Kong and Taiwan had a head start in both manga resources and translation experience. Through such accumulation, fonts and production methods themselves were inherited as a kind of 'tradition'."

Furthermore, it explained, "In the comment section, another practical reason was also cited: translations in Traditional Chinese characters were not necessarily intended only for readers in mainland China. Many translators wanted to deliver their works to the wider Chinese-speaking world. Since readers in mainland China could generally read Traditional Chinese characters, there was an advantage at the time that Traditional Chinese characters could cater to a broader range of regions."

The article emphasized, "Looking back this way, it's often assumed that manga translated into Traditional Chinese characters were done by translators in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but in reality, it's possible that many Traditional Chinese translated works were created by Chinese internet users. In other words, this is a result born from the overlapping of historical circumstances, font resources, typesetting customs, and the culture of the translation community."

It then concluded, "Simplified Chinese fonts have dramatically improved, and official manga distribution services have also become widespread. It is not uncommon for official Chinese translated versions to offer both Simplified and Traditional Chinese character editions simultaneously. Nevertheless, the font resources, production habits, and data distribution channels established in the past continue to exert a significant influence on current online manga culture. Ultimately, what translators are truly concerned about is not 'whether to use Simplified or Traditional Chinese characters,' but rather how to faithfully reproduce the original artwork, fonts, and reading experience." (Translation/Editing by Iwata)