Comic Translate: AI-Powered Open-Source Comic Translation Tool

🧩 What is Comic Translate?

Comic Translate is an open-source desktop application created by developer ogkalu2, designed to help users automatically translate comic content from around the world. Whether it’s Japanese Manga, Korean Manhwa, European Comics (BDs/Fumetti), or other types, Comic Translate offers high-quality translation support. The tool supports multiple file formats, including images, PDFs, EPUBs, CBR, CBZ, and more, and can translate between languages such as English, Korean, Japanese, French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian.

🔧 Key Features

1. Multi-Format Support

Supports processing a variety of comic file formats including images, PDFs, EPUBs, CBR, CBZ, catering to different user needs.

2. Multi-Language Translation

Provides translations between a wide range of languages, including English, Korean, Japanese, French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and many others, breaking down language barriers for global comic enjoyment.

3. Automated Translation Process

The entire process, from text detection to translation and rendering, is automated, requiring minimal user intervention for easy comic translation.

4. Image Processing and Text Recognition

Utilizes image processing libraries like OpenCV and PIL to recognize and extract text from comic images, ensuring high-quality translations.

5. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Technology

Leverages tools like EasyOCR, manga-ocr, Pororo, PaddleOCR, and more to recognize text within images, supporting various languages for OCR.

6. Integrated Translation Engines

Integrates powerful translation engines such as GPT-4o, DeepL, and Google Translate to provide accurate machine translations.

7. Text Rendering

Uses the PIL library to render translated text back into the corresponding spots on the images, preserving the original layout and style of the comic.

⚙️ Technical Principles and Architecture

The core technologies of Comic Translate include:

Dialogue Bubble Detection and Text Segmentation: Uses the YOLOv8m model, trained on 8000 and 3000 comic images, to detect dialogue bubbles and text areas in comics.
OCR Technology: Various OCR tools are used depending on the language, such as EasyOCR (English), manga-ocr (Japanese), Pororo (Korean), PaddleOCR (Chinese), etc.
Image Restoration: Uses fine-tuned manga/anime lama detection points to remove detected text and restore the original appearance of the image.
Translation Engines: Combines GPT-4o, GPT-4, GPT-3.5, DeepL, and Google Translate to provide accurate translations based on the context of the pages.
Text Rendering: Uses PIL to render text with proper line breaks into the dialogue and text detection boxes while maintaining the original layout and style of the images.

🔗 Project Address and Installation Instructions

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/ogkalu2/comic-translate

🎯 Use Cases and Target Audience

Comic Enthusiasts: Those who want to read comics in different languages and enjoy global comic works.
Language Learners: Learners who wish to improve their language skills through comic reading, with Comic Translate helping with understanding both original and translated content.
Translation Professionals: Professionals such as comic translators or localization teams who need to quickly translate comic content.
Comic Collectors: Collectors who wish to translate their comic collections into their preferred languages.
Educators: Teachers who use comics as teaching materials may need to translate them into languages students understand.
Comic Creators: Comic artists or writers who may want to translate their works into other languages to reach a broader audience.
Tech Enthusiasts: Tech lovers who are interested in using the latest AI technologies for translation.
Multi-Language Users: Users who need to switch between multiple languages to read comics.