Each year, on September 30th, we celebrate International Translation Day . On this day, we recognize that translation is more than just converting words from one language to another — it's about building bridges between cultures, communities, and even nations. Here at Crunchyroll, our localization teams play an integral role in making anime accessible to people all over the world. Our teams dedicate their work to shaping a world where dialogue thrives and transcends borders. This year, we asked our localization team to share their answers to the question: What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? And we got these answers from our team members from around the globe: Meet The Crunchyroll Localization Team A.L. USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Serendipity the Pink Dragon – An old 80s movie that I absolutely loved as a young preschooler. It wasn't until almost 20 years later that I found out it was actually an anime! Alicia Ashby USA/Japanese > English, Editor What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Magic Knight Rayearth – It led to me discovering doujinshi culture and self-published fan comics as I learned more about CLAMP. Angela Tamae Liu USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Sailor Moon , Yu Yu Hakusho , and ONE PIECE (manga) – My mother had Japanese Shonen Jump mailed to us from Japan every week when I was young. I remember reading the first chapter of ONE PIECE when it came out, thinking the art style was so different and ugly, but I grew to love it and now it’s by my side. Arantxa Ragel Spain/Chinese and Korean > Spanish, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Yu Yu Hakusho – As a teen, it taught me how friendships can shape and strengthen you. How bonds can appear when you least expect them, often as rivals or strangers, and grow into unbreakable connections — friends who challenge you, have your back, and stand by you through every battle, in every world, even in the spirit realm. RELATED: Who Translates the Anime at Crunchyroll? Arissa Japanese to Brazilian Portuguese translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Ghibli and Detective Conan – Ghibli female characters had a profound impact on my personality as they inspired me to be independent and fight for what I believe in despite the challenge. Detective Conan influenced my hobby, making me interested in investigation and detective stories. Becky Cottrill USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Sailor Moon – This might be the most cliché answer, but I caught it on TV after school one day and couldn't stop watching it. Then I found friends at school who also watched Sailor Moon along with other anime, which was followed by anime clubs, anime forums, learning Japanese… and eventually, becoming one of those nerds who make the subtitles. Bridget Kan Canada/Chinese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Gintama – It made me laugh so hard I cried, then made me cry so hard I laughed. Now, no matter what struggles I'm going through, I always find the time to crack a joke and get a good laugh. Elanor Sakamoto Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Music and The Lord of the Rings – My first name is from the Lord of the Rings (it's the name of a flower and of Sam's daughter), so it's always been there in the background for me, and music has helped to shape the ways I express myself — from dance to acting to writing and back again. Facu Salas Argentina/Japanese > Spanish, Translator, Quality Checker What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Pokémon -That was my first big step into Japanese entertainment, and the wonderful world accompanied me until the third generation of the anime. Years later, I discovered the games (I still haven't seen a Game Boy in real life) and catching Chikorita was like being a kid again. Image via Netflix RELATED: Get to Know the Team Translating Your Favorite Crunchyroll Anime Gabriella Ramirez Japanese > English, Editor What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Fallout 3 – Yes, New Vegas is superior but I couldn't quite get behind the revenge plot. I had never played a Fallout game before so I went in trying my best to help as many people as I could in 3 , and I felt bad when I couldn't even give clean water to the wastelander outside Rivet City; I still try to do my best to help others, even if it's in small actions like asking how people are doing. Gad Onyeneho Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? The Redwall series – I'm still amazed at how the novels are able to use words to paint action and comedic scenes with brilliant aplomb, and the use of differentiating dialects still influences me to this day. Gustavo Moreira Brazil / Japanese > Portuguese, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Dinosaurs (developed by Jim Henson), Choshinsei Flashman , Saint Seiya , Shurato and Samurai Warriors – Dinosaurs is definitely the source for my social views and my sense of humor. It sure impacted how I view the world and how I translate. Jana Pardo Spain/Chinese > Spanish, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Ranma 1/2 – My mom happened to see Happosai once and from that moment she banned me from anime. The result: I got obsessed with manga and anime, and here I am. Thanks, Mom! Image via Netflix John "Kouryuu" Pickett USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Outlaw Star – I’ll always recommend the show over Cowboy Bepop as one of the best sci-fi space westerns of its era. Watching it helped me make friends, bond over anime, and learn to embrace my own quirks and those of others. Karen Bildsoe USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? ONE PIECE – I wanted to become a mangaka at one point because of how inspiring the story and characters are. It also made me adventurous, and I even got to visit Venice, Italy, the very place that inspired the Water 7 arc! RELATED: Found in Translation: Dubs and Subs, a Translator's Perspective Keith Tsubasa Noro USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Future GPX Cyber Formula – a unique racing anime at the time, packed with exhilarating speed and high-tension drama that still feels ahead of its time. Lívia Machado Brazil / Japanese > Portuguese, Quality Control What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Pokémon – It motivated me to be the very best (of my grade). Image via Netlfix Meagan Smith USA/Japanese > English, Editor What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Dragon Ball Z – I caught episodes whenever I could and played all the Budokai games as a kid. Love for the series eventually turned into a lifelong love of martial arts. Michael A. USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? "Hits" by The Birthday Party – In high school, I listened to hundreds of CDs while working at a local record store. And the jabs of alliteration, howls, and odd time signatures of this spooky Australian post-punk album taught me how language is shaped by rhyme and melody — a lesson that still guides my translating today. Michelle Tymon USA/Japanese <-> English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Saint Seiya and Yu Yu Hakusho – I loved a lot of shonen manga and anime growing up, but I loved constellations, Greek mythology, the power of friendship, and I will always have a place in my heart for delinquents with hearts of gold. Naomi Suda USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Tales of the Unusual (Yo nimo Kimyo na Monogatari) – As a kid, I discovered that fear and fun can go hand in hand. And now, I love exploring all sorts of horror stories! RELATED: How Anime Gets Localized Nita Lieu USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Animaniacs – A lot of the jokes went over my head at the time, but it’s what first got me interested in learning about the voice actors who brought animation to life. Now I use my voice actor otaku skills to identify speakers in PVs with no scripts 😀 Pedro Cortijo (Kihru) Spain/Japanese > Spanish, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Gosick – I grew up watching Spanish and Catalan dubbed anime on TV, but when I discovered online platforms and came across a blonde girl with amazing detective skills, I was hooked for hours and fell in love with the Japanese language, VAs and… well, here I am! Rei Miyasaka From Japan and living in Canada Japanese <-> English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Tama – I grew up on a weird '90s Japanese band called Tama. It has made me undiagnosable. Sachiko USA/Japanese > English, Translator What's a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Chibi Maruko-chan – The anime series helped me feel connected to my family in Japan, especially since I was born and raised in the US. Now, my kids watch it too 🙂 Sarah Alys Lindholm USA/Japanese > English, Translator What's a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Alfred Hitchcock movies – Now all black and white films make me vaguely happy. As an adult, I watched all of A&E's violent horror series Bates Motel because it gave me this soothing nostalgic feeling that I couldn't describe other than to say, " Psycho was my childhood!" Which… doesn't sound quite right. Image via Tubi Tara Campbell USA/Japanese > English, Editor and Typesetter What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Danger Mouse (1981) – It introduced me to spoof and parody, and I’ve really come to appreciate the sheer creativity that’s possible in animation, which even modern CGI isn’t quite ready for. I also love that both children and adults can enjoy Danger Mouse together, but for different reasons! Tomoko Takedani Sater USA/Japanese > English, Editor and Typesetter What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Jidaigeki – My parents didn’t let me watch prime time TV shows, so I’d watch jidaigeki like Mito Komon and Ooka Echizen after school before my parents came home. That’s how I fell in love with Kyomoto Masaki, and now one of my dreams is to subtitle a jidaigeki with him in it! William Varteresian USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Walter Moers' novels – The fantasy novels and illustrations captivated me with their off-kilter settings and striking presentation. Reading up on them also helped introduce me to the challenges of translating wordplay and neologisms. Yukari Murase-Louden USA/Japanese > English, Translator What’s a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Sailor Moon – I truly believe that this show has made me into who I am today. It has taught me the limitless possibilities of what I am capable of as a woman, the Japanese language, unconditional love, and even science lol. Image via Netflix Zachary Carlysle USA/Japanese > English, Editor What's a piece of media that shaped your childhood or teen years? Gargoyles – At a time where the notion seemed to be "cartoons are for kids" the intricate stories and characters from Gargoyles showed me that wasn't necessarily the case and kept my enjoyment of animation alive at a point where I might have otherwise drifted away from it.
