Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 39 + Retrospective

It began with a Jojo reference, and it'll end with one.

It's been a long road... getting from there to here

It's been a long time... but my time is finally near

Hey hey people, Cory in the House. It's with a heavy heart that I bring to you today the 39th and final chapter of Retired Heroes. That's right, this is the last one. It doesn't seem like we'll be getting any more of this manhua in the foreseeable future as the publisher has gone out of business or something, so this is where we're stopping as well. But enough for that, let's get the actual chapter links out of the way before I start waxing poetic.

Chapter 39: https://www.mediafire.com/file/b38e4zdfq0dysdi/Chapter_39.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/b38e4zdfq0dysdi/Chapter_39.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/b38e4zdfq0dysdi/Chapter_39.zip/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/b38e4zdfq0dysdi/Chapter_39.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/b38e4zdfq0dysdi/Chapter_39.zip/file

All Chapters: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Buy us a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/goatncatscans 

<=== Spoilers ahead!! ===>

So now that you've read the chapter you're probably thinking some things. I know, LinJie left some loose plot ends lying around in anticipation of a second sequel. I'm disappointed too. What happened to Tanya? Did Shok really turn evil? Was Shay conceived on screen? Alas, the world may never know. For everyone's sake I do hope this continues at some point.

But man, what a ride it's been! This project lasted a hell of a lot longer than I ever expected, a journey spanning more than a year and a half. When I first started on this back in October 2018 I was a broke college student who just played video games all day. Now I have a degree, a job, and pretty soon a place to call my own. As you can see, scanlating really builds character and enriches one's life. It will transform you into a manly Adonis. Seriously though, it also inspired me to start learning Chinese again. Maybe one day I'll be able to read the raws unaided.

We made some friends along the way too. The catfolk of Nekyou Scanlation provided a lot of resources and really helped to legitimize Goat&Cat's operations, in particular Blue, Wordref, and WanderingMacrophage. It was also through Nekyou that I discovered the gaming community known as Cosy Inn, which is host to its own gallery of intriguing characters.

I've also developed a greater appreciation for scanlators in general. When I'm reading stuff on MangaDex I now actually read the credits pages of a lot of chapters instead of just skipping them, and learned about the man behind the manga (scanlation) so to speak. Some of them are really interesting people. Some of them are almost as funny and witty as me. Almost.

So what does the future hold for Goat & Cat Scans? Well, we don't have any other works to translate. I'm open to any suggestions you may have, but they have to be in Chinese, and I'd have to wrangle the Cat into being on board with it. He tells me he'd rather do light novels instead of manhua. But barring any suggestions, this blog will now be returning to its regularly scheduled programming of shitposts and my personal diary entries.

One last shoutout to YOU, the readers who have stuck with us for all this time. It was pretty amazing knowing someone out there was actually reading(and possibly even enjoying) what we were doing. If we ever do anything else, I hope you'll follow us on that too.

Until then, so long, and thanks for all the fish!

-- Coriasis, the GOAT of Goat&CatScans

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 38

Man, we're so close to the end. Chapter 39 is the last one we have raws for as it seems the author LinJie has gone on hiatus. Just one more to go.

yep, this is the sound you get when squeezing someone's face

This post's font at the moment is Times New Roman as for some reason Blogspot won't let me change it to my font of choice, Trebuchet MS. Just in case you were wondering why things look different compared to my previous posts.

Oh yeah, I should post the results of that user opinion strawpoll I posted a while back:

It's a lot more positive than I expected, and I'm pleased to see there are 6 whole people that actually read my blog posts and cared enough to respond. Whoever you are, you guys are awesome.

Chapter 38: https://www.mediafire.com/file/adxorusson2oujn/Chapter_38v2.zip/file

Retired Heroes Translation Project: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Buy us a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/goatncatscans 

Translation comments down here in case you want to read the chapter first.

Page 5 proved to be problematic because of the phrase "王的风范" which the Cat initially translated as simply "Majesty". Based on the context I thought it should be "The Way of Kings" or "King's Way", which I really wanted it to be, because I'm a huge fan of the author Brandon Sanderson.

I eventually settled on "King's Demeanor" as that's what Mage said it was and when I searched up the phrase this image turned up:

Also on page 13 I wanted to replace "former hero" with "retired hero" to get that sick title drop, but if that's what the author wanted to do I'm sure the actual title characters would be there, but they aren't. Sadface :(

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 37

Hey hey hey, it's the next chapter much sooner than we expected! My life has been pretty busy recently but the Cat has deigned to pick up the slack in my stead.

So on page 3, our boy Eric is expressing his awe at how Jenova actually has combat experience and is capable of fighting rather than being an academic or "armchair" wizard. There were a number of different ways we could express this but I chose to say "battlemage" because it sounds cool. 

Chapter 37: https://www.mediafire.com/file/xex8eieofvs8w06/Chapter_37_v3.zip/file

All the chapters: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Buy us a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/goatncatscans  https://www.mediafire.com/file/vtl9ed3py5letby/Chapter_37.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/vtl9ed3py5letby/Chapter_37.zip/file

EDIT: omfg I forgot to include 3 whole pages of action because they didn't have dialogue or sound effects, fix'd

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 36

Coronavacation is almost over... and we got two whole chapters done, at the same rate as it would have been if we weren't stuck at home. But hey, consistency is a virtue, no?

Mangadex has been running pretty slow lately so I don't know if you'll be able to read it on there.

Eric channels his inner Disney Prince(ss)

Chapter 36: http://www.mediafire.com/file/kerjsmmogdv1ubx/Chapter_36.zip/file

ALL PICK: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Ko-Fi Online

Hey hey people, Cory in the House with a chapterless announcement: 
It has been suggested to me by numerous people (just two but who's counting) that I create some channel for people to donate to the group. While the mere act of scanlating comics already enriches one's mind, body and soul, I wouldn't say no to any material compensation that should come our way.

Thus I have created an official Ko-Fi page for Goat&Cat Scans. BEHOLD, THE LINK: https://ko-fi.com/goatncatscans

Donations may be used for:

• Acquiring raws (should we ever need to, we're still good up to 39 for Retired Heroes)
• Web hosting fees (should I ever decide to get a real website for this instead of using my shitty old blogspot)
• Karate lessons to rescue our families who were kidnapped by ninjas (just kidding)

Me IRL when someone actually donates:

Ironically, the rights to this image cost more than we will probably ever receive.

Jokes aside, I don't have high expectations, especially during these tough times we're in.

Whether you decide to donate or not, you can also support us by answering this strawpoll here: https://www.strawpoll.me/19897069 

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 35

Today I decided to be petty and give a shout out to some people I know in the credits page.  My friends don't even read Retired Heroes, I just asked them for some random words to put on there in lieu of my own troll quotes as I was out of ideas. Nobody looks at the credits anyway, right?

Look at me! think about who's truly worthy

Chappie 35: https://www.mediafire.com/file/b5p1lqr1iw7nnt0/Chapter_35.zip/file

The Big Store: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 34

You'd think with this whole pandemic thing going on we'd be faster...nope, video games.

Awaken my Matt-sters!

He may be only a supporting character, but I immediately feel in love with Matt. He's big, brawny, and doesn't care who he hits!
I was thinking of doing some joke about this being the 34th chapter and a certain rule but this comic is a bit too wholesome for that so this is all you're gonna get.

Chapter 34: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jtsfpk323f671jc/Chapter_34.zip/file

Chapter Archive: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 33

Same energy.

Bit of a rush to get this out before February ends. It's one of those 'bait' chapters where the first few pages are in color so you start hoping the whole thing is, but it's not. Apparently the printed volume is though.

Page 1 being in color gave me a little trouble, as the Cat had to put some white shadowing behind some of the text so it's easier to see. When it comes to digital image editing I'm what you call an F2P player, so I use GIMP, which can edit Photoshop format .psd files but oftentimes things get messed up in the conversion, and in this case the shadowing got removed. I can't go through this shuffle every time just to correct a minor spelling error so I'm probably gonna switch over to Adobe's stupid program at some point before the next chapter. Anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 33: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ldz0py82acvekzj/Chapter_33.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/ldz0py82acvekzj/Chapter_33.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/ldz0py82acvekzj/Chapter_33.zip/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/ldz0py82acvekzj/Chapter_33.zip/file 
Everything but the kitchen sink: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 32

New year, new chapter. A couple months ago I recall hearing a friend say "Hindsight is 2020... and so is next year!" A real knee slapper, I know...

January has historically been a slow month for this blog, even today. It's been either nothing or a single post. Don't hold your breath, because this trend will likely continue.

You ever notice how when you're bored with nothing to do, nobody wants to talk to you, but when you're busy doing something you suddenly get bombarded with messages? This has been my experience with New Year's eve. From 2012 to 2016 I spent New Years at home, (effectively) alone, posting some sad celebratory threads on my forum to which nobody responded. In 2017 I started going to parties and actually having fun, coming home the day after to see a veritable smorgasbord of missed conversations. Funny how that works. I'm sure there's some witty saying that covers this exact situation but you're probably just here for the chapter so I'll end it there.

Get Chapter 32 here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/file https://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/fileafadsf https://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/filehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/fz4i3dxkvoz6oyt/Chapter_32_mk2.zip/file

The whole nine yards: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 31

It's that time of year again. The time we all show off to our horse gods.

In case you were wondering about the massive delay, here's the long and short of it:

It's late September, and Mage volunteers to translate the next chapter as he wants to put a "sword meme" in at the end. The Cat and I are pleased that we can leave everything up to him and take it easy, because that always goes well.

Flash forward to the middle of October. The script has been 'almost done' for a while, but our shining star has been busy with work and then got sick a day or two later. I don't worry about it too much assuming it'll pick up at some point when he recovers.

Radio silence ensues as both of my translators are out of commission due to various obligations and the holiday season. This goes on until a couple days ago when I finally decide it's time to call in the Cat who finishes the script and pastes it in.  

Then I find out that pages 1 and 10 have this weird pixelated area at the bottom, and my initial suspicion is that the images got corrupted when someone downloaded them. I ping Wordy who mistakenly believes that the Cat is the one who's been acquiring raws this whole time despite us specifically having a discussion where we established that the boss-man on the Nekyou side is the one providing raws. That happened a while ago so I couldn't really expect her to remember, but I'm frustrated regardless. Finally I check out the raw site and find out the corruption is absolute: the original Chinese raws are pixelated. The Cat whips up some emergency Photoshop to make those parts slightly easier on the eyes, and that's what you'll see in this release.

I'm not blaming Mage for this, as I could have made this call much earlier and let you guys know what was going on. I also feel somewhat ashamed it took the negging of another scanlator to galvanize me into action.

Nevertheless, it's pretty amazing that G&C has made it this far, we passed the 1 year anniversary of our first chapter 2 months ago. We have about 5 chapters to go and I personally don't plan on stopping til we reach the finish line. Alright, enough of that, here's the goods.

Chapter 31: http://www.mediafire.com/file/q4iigamye9hll4t/Chapter_31.zip/file

The whole shebang: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 30

Hey hey people, it's the big 3-0.

I quit.  ...I know she prolly couldn't do it but I ain't gonna fuck around and see if she could.

Things are continuing at a snail's pace...The Nekyou side is critically understaffed and the catman is off doing who knows what. As for me, I had to spend my evening fixing a huge flooded mess that started with a leaky bathroom faucet and escalated into having to detach the entire sink from the wall and reattach it. Multiple times.

But enough of my crappy life story, let's move on to the good news! I've included a special bonus fanart of everyone's favorite Saliy at the end of this chapter, courtesy of fledgling artist known only as "dragonlawd"! I'd meant to do so in the previous chapter but forgot about it. Here's the full version of it if you're interested:

original the content, donut steel! (4srs this time)

Chapter 30: http://www.mediafire.com/file/d4o8uascuozyiu4/Chapter_30.zip/file

Some idiot in the projects: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project
 

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 29

Guess who's back?

Back again, a lot sooner than expected! This seems more like a holiday themed omake than an actual chapter, but it's pretty long so we're counting it as such.
 
In case it wasn't obvious, St. Oliver's Descent corresponds to Valentine's Day, and Asteelia's Ascent corresponds to White Day. In America, we only celebrate Valentine's Day. Japan started the tradition of the chocolate exchange and White Day, which is when the men give return gifts. Apparently it's started to catch on in other Asian nations, including this comic's country of origin.

In other news, Nekyou's Mage has arrived in the land of the free, making this project now entirely based in the US of A! Everyone knows home grown products taste the best, especially when they were ripped off from someone else.

Chapter 29: http://www.mediafire.com/file/lerjnhaj5e1e59c/Chapter_29.zip/file
 
The Ancient Repository: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Resumptio

After doing some of my own research I found the next few chapters of the comic aren't actually behind a paywall, so that was a lie. Apologies for making you guys worry. There are still a couple issues in the way of acquisition though:

1. We have to use a proxy/VPN to access the raw site. The host doesn't seem to like visitors from the United States, probably because they hate freedom. The fools.
2. If you try to right click on the comic page it blocks you with a modal* popup instead of giving you the context menu for "Save Image As". This is per the usual for Chinese copyright protection.

original the content, donut steel!

3. The series itself may be on hiatus as it hasn't updated since January. Perhaps those chapters are behind a paywall. I haven't confirmed anything yet, will get back to you when I do.
 

Besides number 3, these are more minor inconveniences that I have the means to circumvent** so we'll probably be good up to Chapter 36. 

In the meantime I'd like to thank you, the reader, for actually reading my blog. You're all truly wonderful, have a good one.

*yeah, I didn't know those popup things were called 'modals' until now thanks to my new job.

**I'd teach you, but I'd have to charge.

Goat&CatScans: Megapause

Hey hey people, Cory in the House. No chapter sadly, just an announcement for transparency's sake. We've hit a bit of a roadblock, and for once it isn't due to being "busy".

a photograph of me expressing my frustration at the futility of capitalism

Around December of 2018 we discovered that Retired Heroes had moved to a different site, one where you have to pay per view. My first thought was "Dang, why didn't I think of that? I could be even richer* right now". The second was that we only managed to save high quality raws up until Chapter 24. Frankly I'm not sure how we managed to snag raws for four whole chapters after that, but it seems our luck has finally run out. Last time I checked the going rate is around $0.50 in US dollars per chapter.

Wait wait wait, I can already feel you taking your wallets out. We're not collecting taxes donations... yet. Apparently Nekyou has an 'acquisitions' team that can take care of things like this. We're currently waiting for them to ghost us.

*because as you know, unofficial scanlating already pays the big bucks. But where does all that money come from, you may ask? Who knows? It's one of life's great mysteries.

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 28

It could be just the thing to spice up their relationship.

Get your flags and fireworks in order, because it's FREEDOM DAY!! Unless you aren't in the US, in which case, well, I guess you aren't free.

These past few days have been really busy for me, so I'm too pooped to say much more. Enjoy folks.

Chapter 28: http://www.mediafire.com/file/70c4737oheq9l72/Chapter_28.zip/file
 
All our chapters: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 27

Long time no see, fellow kids. It's been a busy... eight weeks? Shiieeeeet.

My boyz in the translation department have finally gotten off their asses from more "important" things like "proposal defense"(whatever that means) and "moving to another country"(>not even japan) to deliver the goods. And are these goods....good? Well as I like to say: the proof of this is left as an exercise for the reader. 

As for me, I've sold my soul and become a corporate wage-slave. I would have written this from my cellcubicle but it seems blogspot is banned.

But fear not, dear sycophants, for I have no intention of dropping this series. We'll catch up with the current release yet, "Whatever it takes" --everybody, ketchup endgame

The Next Episode, ft. Snoop Dogg aka Black Wheel:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/8608l3bh63r80k6/Chapter_27.zip/file
Drop it like it's hot:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Personally I've really enjoyed this chapter and the previous one as they've done a lot to flesh out this wonderful world that our favorite Retired Heroes live in. Magic item creation, the power of chaos control, and of course, the pokeymans.

Bonus BTS* segment: That "social status" ribbon? I rotated it 90 degrees, it's actually vertical in the original.

*behind the scenes, not the kpop group. don't hurt me bts army :(

Goat&Cat Scans: Retired Heroes Chapter 26

I was wrong before, now we've come full circle.

Sally sends mixed messages in her first attempt at BDSM play.

Ya boy bolwic has come, sliding into the good graces of the fickle manga reading community by.... posting only half of this chapter on Mangadex? While the typesetting doesn't look nearly as bad as ours did when we first started, the grammar is atrocious. Worst of all, that guy probably doesn't even have a blog.

Anyway I'm rambling, here's the next episode, all 30 pages of it:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/85xqyt4ru6vya19/Chapter_26.zip/file

The Hol Horse:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

 

Goat&Cat Scans: Retired Heroes Chapter 25

Welp, it's finally happened. We've finally slipped back to the old once a month release schedule that frustrated me so much that I got into this in the first place.

I know Saliy, I'm none too happy about it either.

What can I say?* Everyone has real life stuff taking up their time now, except me, and all I do is proofread and make the memes. And in a few months, maybe I'll have real life stuff happening too. Fear not though, for I have the DETERMINATION to continue. We'll catch up with the current chapter yet.

Chapter 25: http://www.mediafire.com/file/0gq67i4qx6036fl/Chapter_25.zip/file

The full package - playmaker, spine breaker: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

  *except "You're welcome!"

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 24

Happy 2019 from Goat&Cat Scans and the rest of the ProZ network!

Sorry for the long wait, we're starting to experience schedule slip. 19 days still better than a whole month, but not by much. Anyway there's more feathered folks in this one.

I'm really looking forward to seeing more of our new protagonist Joey Jork and all the bizarre adventures he gets up to. Aren't you?

Chapter 24: http://www.mediafire.com/file/iglzqqak4jib7me/Chapter_24.zip/file

Turtles all the way down: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project

Goat&CatScans: Retired Heroes Chapter 23

Man, this series sure is escalating quickly. I can't believe they're going to space already:

Electronic Arts spokesman reveals their company's plans for the future (2018, uncolorized)

Darn, I'm over an hour late to my (self-imposed) deadline. Ah well, at least I released the 23rd on the 23rd (of December). Happy Holidays!
Chapter 23: http://www.mediafire.com/file/fkhwo10qqs2cgop/Chapter_23.zip/file

woops, spoiler alert.

Everything but the kitchen sink: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4o5obdo2l3198/Retired_Heroes_Translation_Project