Rachel Thorn

Manga translator and anthropologist

Rachel Thorn
Born	Matt Thorn (1965-05-12) May 12, 1965 (age 58)
Occupation(s)	Cultural anthropologist, associate professor, translator
Known for	Manga translation

Rachel Thorn^[1] (formerly Matt Thorn; born May 12, 1965) is a cultural anthropologist and a faculty member at the Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Global Culture (in the Japanese Culture Course) in Japan.^[2]^[3]^[4]

She^[5] is best known in North America for her work dealing with shōjo manga (Japanese comics for girls). She has appeared at multiple anime conventions, including Otakon 2004.^[6] She chose to translate shōjo manga into English after reading The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio in the mid-1980s.^[7]

In March 2010, it was announced that Thorn would edit a line of manga co-published by Shogakukan and Fantagraphics.^[8]

Bibliography

The following credits are for translation unless otherwise noted. Most of the translation credits are as "Matt Thorn":

2001 Nights, by Yukinobu Hoshino
A, A', by Moto Hagio
AD Police, by Tony Takezaki
Banana Fish, by Akimi Yoshida (vols. 1–4, translated with Yuji Oniki)^[9]
Battle Angel Alita, by Yukito Kishiro
Dance Till Tomorrow, by Naoki Yamamoto
A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, by Moto Hagio (translator and editor)^[10]
Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan, edited by William W. Kelly (anthology, one chapter by Thorn)
Four Shōjo Stories, an anthology of shōjo manga by Keiko Nishi, Moto Hagio, and Shio Satō^[11]
The Heart of Thomas, by Moto Hagio (translator and editor)^[12]
The Legend of Kamui, by Sanpei Shirato
Love Song, an anthology of short stories by Keiko Nishi^[11]
Maison Ikkoku, by Rumiko Takahashi
Mermaid Saga, by Rumiko Takahashi^[13]
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, by Hayao Miyazaki^[9]
Otherworld Barbara, by Moto Hagio^[14]
The Poe Clan, by Moto Hagio^[15]
Project A-ko
Red Blinds the Foolish, by Est Em^[16]
Sanctuary, by Sho Fumimura and Ryoichi Ikegami^[9]
Silent Möbius, by Kia Asamiya
Striker: The Armored Warrior, by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa
Seduce Me After the Show, by Est Em (supervising translator)^[16]
Fujimoto, Yukari (2012). "Takahashi Macoto: The Origin of Shōjo Manga Style". Mechademia. 7 (1): 24–55. doi:10.5749/minnesota/9780816680498.003.0002. ISBN 9780816680498.
Wandering Son, by Takako Shimura^[17]

References

^ Thorn, Rachel [@rachel_thorn_en] (September 1, 2017). "So I've decided to take the name my mother planned to give me had I been assigned female at birth: Rachel" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Faculty Members | Kyoto Seika University". www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
^ Alverson, Brigid (February 17, 2009). "Matt Thorn Returns to Translation". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009.
^ Macdonald, Christopher (July 9, 2005). "Matt Thorn to Teach Manga in Japan". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
^ Thorn has publicly stated that her pronouns are female. Thorn, Rachel [@matt_a_thorn] (March 9, 2015). "Being misgendered a lot today. I suppose I need to come out a little more loudly. My preferred pronouns are she/her/hers, thank you" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2020 – via Twitter.
^ Phillips, George (August 24, 2004). "Otakon 2004 - Opening Ceremonies". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
^ Cha, Kai Ming (April 5, 2010). "Matt Thorn Talks About Publishing Manga". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
^ Deppey, Dirk (March 8, 2010). "Journalista reputation-destroying extra: Four years' work". ¡Journalista! (blog). The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Macdonald, Christopher (July 8, 2004). "New Otakon Guests". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ Loo, Egan (March 8, 2010). "Fantagraphics Adds Moto Hagio's A Drunken Dream (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Garrity, Shaenon K. (April 11, 2013). "Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga Special Guest Edition: Love Song and Four Shojo Stories". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 4, 2012). "Fantagraphics Posts Preview of Moto Hagio's Heart of Thomas Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ Moore, Caitlin (December 7, 2020). "Review: Mermaid Saga Collector's Edition Vol. 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
^ Ressler, Karen (October 27, 2015). "Moto Hagio's Otherworld Barbara Manga Listed From Fantagraphics". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 20, 2018). "Fantagraphics Adds Moto Hagio's The Poe Clan Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Cha, Kai-Ming (March 15, 2010). "Fantagraphics Steps into Manga Publishing". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
^ Thorn, Rachel (March 9, 2010). "Moto Hagio collection, Takako Shimura's Wandering Son". Matt-Thorn.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.