Imai Kira Thread

[Anonymous No.10155025]

Post pics of the beautiful and mysterious Imai Kira herself,
talk about art and collaboration pieces.

Topic starters: What is your favorite design? What was the first Imai Kira design you fell in love with? Do you like her older or newer designs better? Have you met her, and if so, deets?

[Anonymous No.10155040]

>>10155025
I thought she didn't didn't like pics of herself. This seems disrespectful

[Anonymous No.10155058]

>>10155040
That is obviously a staged photo with her head down.

[Anonymous No.10155059]

>>10155040
People in the ita thread also don't like being posted here but that hasn't stopped you has it

[Anonymous No.10155092]

>>10155040
She.. she posted this to her own instagram anon...

[Anonymous No.10155093]

She doesn’t want people to post pictures of her. Don’t betray her trust so she won’t allow pictures anymore.

[Anonymous No.10155095]

I’m OP. Most of these pictures are from her instagram or other public media. I do not consider it disrespectful. She is one of my greatest inspirations. (Sorry for poor English.)

[Anonymous No.10155096]

>>10155093
it is from her public instagram

[Anonymous No.10155097]

[Anonymous No.10155099]

>>10155097

[Anonymous No.10155102]

>>10155093
Who actually wants to be posted to cgl? No one. Btw she doesn't want people to take pictures of her, that's different from not wanting her pictures to be re-posted. She probably doesn't like it if she can't edit and check the pictures somebody else took.

[Anonymous No.10155104]

this is a newfag question but why doesn't ms. imai like showing her face? she doesn't look ugly

[Anonymous No.10155113]

>>10155104
She's a very private person

[Anonymous No.10155125]

>>10155104
Am OP. This question is not bad or stupid. It is a good question.
Like >>10155113 said, she is very private for a famous artist. Japanese people tend to be more private than western, guess it is culture differences? Many Japanese and some western lolitas do not show their faces on media for fear of ridicule and alienation from family members, workmates, classmates, etc. which is not the case with Ms. Imai, but is still relevant. Others do not want their face to distract from anything, be it their art or their coordinate.

[Anonymous No.10155126]

>>10155104
She knows how evil bitches can be

[Anonymous No.10155134]

>>10155104
I've noticed a LOT of artists, Japanese and western dislike showing their face. Japanese moreso but it's common among all artists

[Anonymous No.10155143]

>>10155104
Because she's an illustrator, not a model. I can understand her desire to be anonymous.

[Anonymous No.10155152]

From Ms. Imai’s Instagram
I think she is very cute and doll-like.
it makes me sad to think people would be mean to someone so sweet and cute.

[Anonymous No.10155154]

>>10155152

[Anonymous No.10155155]

The first Imai Kira Print I ever fell in love with was Twinkle Mermaid. And because it was my first love that got me into AP back in 2006 when I was a noob, is probably why it’s still my favorite print of hers. I would love to find the JSK in the blue monochrome colorway.

Though I do love all of her prints, I think I gravitate more to her older releases more just because the high waisted obsession that AP has had the last few years look awful on me, so I try collecting the older stuff. Because of this, the most recent release I own is Charlotte’s Bear. I would love to get Un Birthday, but it doesn’t look like it will have any good cuts, so I’ll be sad to have to pass again unless they release a skirt version.

[Anonymous No.10155198]

>>10155104
It's some ridiculous attempt Japanese people do to to hide their privacy.

[Anonymous No.10155563]

>>10155154

[Anonymous No.10156085]

>>10155198
Not everyone's an attentionwhore, some of us just like pretty clothes

[Anonymous No.10156158]

>>10155025
Great thread idea, she is so pretty and inspirational. When this thread dies, let's have a generic Lolita designers thread. It will probably stimulate more discussion and means we can post pictures of and discuss other designers too.

[Anonymous No.10156199]

Does anyone have a full list of which prints she’s designed over the years for AP? Including all the really old ones?

[Anonymous No.10156209]

Is there a good way when trying to learn more about Lolita history to confirm who designed what dress?
I can tell some of hers just because of her distinct style, but I want to do my best to learn more about Lolita history in general.
I know a lot of people know this sort of thing , but does anyone have any good suggestions on how to get started? Should I just try to find Gothic Lolita Bible scans and translate them or what?

[Anonymous No.10156215]

>>10155198
Why is it ridiculous?

[OP No.10156290]

>>10156158
Thank you! I will make one once this thread dies. Sorry for namefagging too, it will only be for this thread.
>>10156199
I am currently compiling one dating back to 2000! I will post my email after I am done so that the blog post may be privately requested. I only participate in ‘wholesome’ threads on cgl but still would rather people now know I come here, let alone made a thread.
>>10156209
GLB is probably your best bet, I would say... I vaguely remember a Japanese girl’s archived blog that had physical pictures of some unlisted Baby and AP releases, but I’ll have to do some digging.
>>10156215
because they are probably a westerner who broadcasts to the world when they go to take a shit

[Anonymous No.10156293]

>>10156209
As someone who can't speak Japanese, GLB translations would be appreciated so much. I would even happily pay on patreon if someone were doing those or translating that recent Lolita manga. Lolita History is a good archive of GLB scans btw

[Anonymous No.10156432]

>>10156290
>I am currently compiling one dating back to 2000! I will post my email after I am done so that the blog post may be privately requested.

I can’t wait! I think I have a good number of them but I’m always wondering if there are any I am missing!

[Anonymous No.10156464]

>>10156293
Same. I would 100% put money toward someone doing either of those.

[Anonymous No.10156585]

>>10156464
Me too. I don't understand why there are people translated even the most obscure shitty anime but nobody thought to translate GLB or KERA (besides a couple of articles back in lj days)

[Anonymous No.10156995]

>>10155125
Wtf you have a warped sense of how Japanese people are. Yes Ms. Imai is a private person but that does not mean its the same for all of Japan. Hell, a lot of my students are big into Kpop and youtube and chatting strangers right now. There is a cultural difference but not showing face is not cultural shit, thats a personal preference.

[Anonymous No.10157003]

>>10156995
It’s not specifically cultural but privacy concerns surrounding social media are much more prevalent in Japan than in many other countries. Younger people like your students are becoming more comfortable with it, but it’s not unusual for Japanese people in their 20s and above to not want to post their face online. It’s largely the reason why Twitter is much more popular than Facebook with Japanese users

[Anonymous No.10157015]

>>10156585
I used to translate a bunch of these articles from GLB, but it had no appreciation or whatsoever, so I stopped. Translations were never popular in my blog / tumblr era, so I felt like it was not needed.

If no one is commenting or sharing on these posts I just feel it's not wanted.

[Anonymous No.10157052]

>>10157015
Having a native English speaker proofread your translations will help you immensely.
I can’t tell you how many incredible comics I’ve read that failed to reach English readers and inevitably stopped updating as a result, simply because the translation was complete nonsense.

[Anonymous No.10157078]

>>10157015
Where did you post them? I haven't seen any GLB translations since lj days.

[Anonymous No.10157083]

>>10157015
I also did a GLB article translation and posted it here and someone reposted it to Tumblr (with my permission) but outside of the oldschool crowd it didn't really get any readership. I got some nice responses on here, and I enjoyed doing it, but it's a ton of work on articles with a decade out of date information.

Plus there's way less actual content in GLBs than people think. Maybe one article per volume is worth translating in full.

[Anonymous No.10157158]

>>10157052
It would probably increase the quality of my translation posts, but I wasn't part of an scanlator or an official translation group. I used to post it for the sole purpose of sharing info and helping those who couldn't read Japanese, so finding someone to proofread the translations for me (for free) didn't felt really fair. (I also didn't happen to know any Native English Speaker at that time).

>>10157078
I've since deleted my tumblr, but it's still possible to find bloggers who translate Lolita articles.

We could have a translation directory thread here to link the ones we know. I feel like we had one in the past, so I'll search the archives for these (also, there's one very good on lj).

[Anonymous No.10157160]

>>10157083
>outside of the oldschool crowd it didn't really get any readership
Yes! I think this is the main issue. Maybe now that the old school has made a comeback it would be more popular, but some years (3 or 4?) ago it just didn't interest most of the Lolitas.

[Anonymous No.10157166]

Translation Anon, start a patreon and I will follow you.

[Anonymous No.10157531]

>>10157015
Link to blog or Tumblr? And start a patreon or discord, anon. Maybe even shill your translations on Rufflechat, amino, and insta. I'll happily throw you some dollars, comment all over your posts, and shout them out on my SM, anything to get more Lolita content out there and being seen in the community.

[Anonymous No.10157545]

>>10157160
I dunno, I did my translation (the one reflection by Meta's old designer) a couple years ago when the old school threads on here were really active. I also did a random chapter of Kitai Fuku ga Aru as a gift to seagulls.

I do want to repost my Meta article since the tumblr repost missed a bit, plus it could probably use an edit.

[Anonymous No.10157547]

>>10157545
Oh, you're the one who did the chapter about her Dad right? Or are you the person who did the prequels? Thank you so much, no matter which you did! Please repost the Meta article, I'd love to read it

[Anonymous No.10157551]

>>10157547
I'm the one who did the chapter about her dad, glad you enjoyed! I stopped because for one it was starting quite a few chapters in and I had no access to the early ones, plus an anon claimed that they were mostly up-to-date with translating things and were just waiting for the physical copy to drop so they could get the first couple chapters. That being said, they've been pretty quiet since so I wonder if they're still doing anything.

Give me a few and I'll post the article as I posted it here without any edits.

[Anonymous No.10157577]

>>10157547
That took longer than I thought it would, the formatting was a pain. But here you all go! https://velvet-translations.blogspot.com/2019/04/metamorphose-temps-de-fille-brand-story.html

[Anonymous No.10157603]

>>10157577
Anon, everything about that was delightful. Thank you so much, I'll share it around! You are an absolute treasure. In the spirit of the thread, are there any good articles about or by Imai Kira that you know of? Are there any other things you're thinking of translating and if so is there any way to help or support you?

[Anonymous No.10157606]

>>10157603
I believe there's one in the Tulle Vol 2? I'm not quite sure. I have it somewhere, I can dig it up.

[Anonymous No.10157609]

>>10157606
wait, I found it! It was Le Panier. I have it, but I also don't have a scanner. Are photos yay or nay?

[Anonymous No.10157610]

>>10157577
Thank you!

[Anonymous No.10157613]

>>10157609
As long as the photos are readable it should be OK right? I've been reading vol 1 of Kitai Fuku Ga Aru by screenshotting speech bubbles and using the Google Translate App so you can do a lot with even shitty pics imo. But I'm not a translator so I could be completely wrong

[Anonymous No.10157614]

>>10157613
Hopefully this turns out okay

[Anonymous No.10157615]

>>10157614
Ah fuck it’s sideways

[Anonymous No.10157616]

>>10157603
I'm glad you like it! Kuniko Kato is one of my idols, and reading this was such a direct look at her relationship with the fashion and her love of experimentation so I had to share it. I actually don't know of anything to do with Imai Kira! I like her illustrations a lot but I'm mostly a goth so I don't follow her very closely.

No current translations in the works, although I was thinking about going back to my GLBs and seeing if there was anything to tickle my fancy. I do take requests though, as long as someone can provide HQ raws. My eyesight is questionable and deciphering blobs of kanji characters gives me a headache.

>>10157610
You're very welcome Anon!

[Anonymous No.10157619]

>>10157614
>>10157615
Translator anon here (double posting oops), I could work from this, although the part with light glare would get sketchy.

[Anonymous No.10157620]

>>10157615
This image worked fine in Google Translate! Obviously it loses a lot of coherence but yeah, the text is clear enough and I could get a gist of what it's sayo g. Unfortunately the glare in the middle of >>10157614 means I can't work that one though.

[Anonymous No.10157621]

>>10157619
>>10157620
Sorry, here’s the glared bit

[Anonymous No.10157622]

>>10157616
>Kuniko Kato is one of my idols
Me too! I posted in another thread about my experience buying from her directly over fb, the love and enthusiasm she still has for the style is so admirable! I wonder what her band sounded like? I remember seeing a pic of her with them ages ago... The only real requests I have are anything to do with millefleurs and Kitai Fuku Ga Aru. I'm also not a sweet lolita, haha. I'll have a think and see if I can find something in the GLBs I have. I'm also willing to buy volumes of Kitai Fuku Ga Aru and scan if needed. Though I think I found the first chapter on a website a few days ago! Not sure since I can't read it, haha

>>10157615
>>10157614
>>10157621
Thanks for posting, anon! Excited to see how this turns out

[Anonymous No.10157624]

>>10157622
No problems. I love Kira Imai's stuff so much. I try to go to her popups in Tokyo whenever I can.

[Anonymous No.10157627]

>>10157622
>found the first chapter on a website a few days ago
You gonna link that or

[Anonymous No.10157628]

>>10157622
She's so lovely, and even though Physical Drop isn't my style I love that her enthusiasm has stayed so strong all these years. Millefleurs is also amazing, but I feel like they're so indie there isn't much on them anywhere! I'm also willing to translate Kitai Fuku ga Aru if there's raws I suppose, and I own about the first 15 GLB volumes.

That being said, I think if there's demand for the Imai Kira article above I should do that first as an apology for bringing so much non-Imai Kira content to the thread.

[Anonymous No.10157635]

>>10157627
Here you go, enjoy. http://www.moae.jp/comic/kitaifukugaaru

>>10157628
I think the Imai Kira article would be great! There would definitely be interest! But yeah, maybe we should start a new thread after that, haha. Like a translation and discussion thread or something like that.

[Anonymous No.10157654]

>>10155097
lmao even though she clearly posed for and gave consent for this picture, that fan reads as so bitchy and mad about it

[Anonymous No.10157655]

>>10157654
they gave out those fans at the event didn't they?

[Anonymous No.10157661]

>>10157654
I... I think it's meant to be funny. Or maybe she covered her face with whatever she had at hand, which was the fan they gave out at the event

>>10157655
Indeed they did

[Anonymous No.10157685]

>>10157661
I think she carries around fans for events so she doesn’t have to show her face.

[Anonymous No.10157719]

>>10157577
thank you so much anon <3

[Anonymous No.10157891]

>>10157158
Would you re-post your translations? I had no idea people posted that on tumblr and I do have a lolita related tumblr account. How would people find your translations and those of other bloggers? If I try to Google, I can't find anything besides old stuff.

[Anonymous No.10157893]

>>10157531
>Rufflechat
+1, people are obviously interested, the problem is that nobody sees your translations if you just post them on cgl or a personal blog. You could also re-post them to egl, though nobody uses lj anymore, it's still easier to find translations through lj than cgl/tumblr/facebook when you Google.

[Anonymous No.10157904]

>>10157893
This. If anon wants anyone to see her translations she gotta hustle. Post on old LJ for the SEO, Amino and RC for the views, maybe partner up with jfashion archive on Insta and lolitahistory to link to her blog. It's hard to be seen but a little work can go a long way

[Anonymous No.10157914]

>>10157577
This is great! Thank you!

[Anonymous No.10158278]

>>10157719
>>10157914
Glad you enjoyed!

And just so people know, the Imai Kira article above is almost done, I'm at the last two sections. I got sidetracked googling something for research.

[Anonymous No.10158661]

For anyone who wanted the Imai Kira interview, I finished translating it!
https://velvet-translations.blogspot.com/2019/04/le-panier-mook-imai-kira-interview.html

[Anonymous No.10158667]

>>10158661
Thank you so much anon! That was wonderful to read.

[Anonymous No.10158672]

>>10157616
Anon, I have the first volume of Escargot Skin with a promotional pamphlet and separate essay about lolita fashion written by someone who worked on the magazine (can’t quite figure out who, my Japanese is horrible). I’ve never seen this additional material anywhere online, it was just sent to me along with the magazine. I can provide high quality scans if you’d be interested in translating something this rare. If this works out, I’ll get the second volume asap!

[Anonymous No.10158677]

>>10158667
Glad you enjoyed! Feel free to pass it on.

>>10158672
Ayrt/Velvet Translations here, YES YES and 1000 times YES. Would you email the scans to me at velvet.translations7 @gmail so they can be higher res than 4chan allows? I love this idea so much, thank you for suggesting it!

[Anonymous No.10158678]

>>10158677
I’m on it! Will try to scan everything tomorrow - the format is quite unusual, so it might be a little tricky. If it doesn’t work out with my home scanner, I’ll find a scanning service.

[Anonymous No.10158685]

>>10158678
Thank you so much, I appreciate the chance to work on material like this. If you have your own site I don't mind cross-posting or similar once it's finished, or we can submit it to the lolitahistory galleries. I might do that with my other translations anyway, RD has a wonderful resource site.

A scanning service would be above and beyond, and my eyes are eternally grateful.

>>10157614
>>10157615
I credited you as anon in the translation, forgive my lapse of not asking you if there was any crediting you would prefer, and allow me to rectify that now. If you would like some form of credit please let me know and I'll edit the post right away.

[Anonymous No.10158702]

>>10158685
>>10158685
Hey anon, that was me! You can just credit me with O-Chan if you'd like! Thank you so much for translating her article!!! I really appreciate it! I just adore Kira Imai's work so it was so good to see her insight.

[Anonymous No.10158712]

>>10158702
Fixed! I added your name to the opening, and I'll be adding your images in in just a moment. Thank you so much, the pictures were wonderfully easy to read. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!

[Anonymous No.10158716]

>>10158712
Sorry I couldn't scan them. My old one kicked the bucket when I tried to change the ink (it was one of printer/scanner combos).

[Anonymous No.10158722]

>>10158716
Are you Le Panier anon or Escargot Skin anon? Either way, there's nothing to worry about! Printers and scanners are all possessed by poltergeists in my book.

[Anonymous No.10158763]

>>10158722
Le Panier anon! I agree on the scanners haha!

[Anonymous No.10160354]

>>10158678
Hey Anon, translator here! Any progress scanning the material?

[Anonymous No.10160380]

>>10160354
Yep, almost done! So sorry for the delay, turns out scanning an almost 100 page magazine isn’t quite as easy as I imagined. Give me a little more time and I’ll send everything over to you.

[Anonymous No.10160464]

>>10160380
No worries, take your time! that's a ton of work and I appreciate it.

[Anonymous No.10162315]

>>10158661
Thank you so much! This was such a fun and pleasant read.

[Anonymous No.10163369]

>>10160464
Finally sent you the email! Check the spam folder if you can’t see it in your inbox.

[Anonymous No.10163384]

>>10158677
I have a friend who translates stuff, she may be able to help you if you need it? I can give her your email if you want!

[Anonymous No.10163491]

>>10163369
Replied!

>>10163384
Hey! I appreciate the offer, feel free to pass along my email to them, or theirs to me. I've never worked with anyone else translating though, so it could be interesting.