I'm a Chinese translator in training.
But the problem is that there are just too many text symbols to learn how to write and understand.

Simplified Chinese characters are used in China and Singapore.
Traditional are used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I know that many characters are exactly the same in both systems. But....
I'm trying to learn Chinese as fast as possible for the purpose of translating Chinese Manhua. I just don't know which one I should start with to decrease by burden for the future.

I do not care about SPEAKING the language because I realized that Chinese characters are not based on phonetics (sounds), so learning how to write does not help you learn how to speak.

Please, I don't care if you are not even a Chinese person, I need your opinion.

I'm not Chinese. I'm Korean,

But, I do know of one video that may help you decide.

According to the video, even Chinese scholars suggest learners to start with traditional.
Because most (if not all) Traditional Chinese Readers can also understand Simplified Chinese easier.

Learning Simplified first would just hurt you in the long run.

Also, read this discussion board.

I say go learn Traditional to prevent any unnecessary backlash in the future.

Do you want to translate manhua or manga translated in Chinese?



Afaik - unlike Japanese kanji - Chinese characters do have a fixed pronunciation (in Standard Mandarin).

________________

I learned how to read and write Chinese using simplified. But that doesn't mean I can't read traditional. Whether which way is easier (S>T or T>S) depends on the person (there are usually set changes, although there are some really odd and somewhat annoying ones), you CAN read both even when learning one.

Most Chinese webtoons would be in Simplified. Some manhua are in simplified, but majority in traditional. But Chinese SCANS would be in traditional thanks to Taiwanese people (most of these grammar would use Taiwanese, which is strongly influenced by legacy of Japanese, hence different ways of saying things, but they are still understandable in Chinese; similar to English's multiple ways of saying things, including archaic, professional, legal, etc., forms).

If you are talking about novels, they are likely to be written in traditional, but the internet is vast and there will always be simplified and traditional versions online.

So, it doesn't matter, but it matters for the sake of how well YOU CAN LEARN how to read. My reading is leagues ahead of writing, which in turn is leagues ahead of speaking, because I learned how to read anything I can in Chinese barring Chinese classics (plowing through warring states era documents is a pain...). For example, when I text on Wechat, some of my friends text in traditional, and I reply back in simplified or traditional depending on how lazy I am on changing keyboards. They can obviously read both because one has to.

tldr;

NOTE: PERCENTAGES ARE NOT REAL; estimated based on personal experiences (I may be browsing a different part of the internet)
Chinese SCANS - traditional
Chinese webtoons - 55% simplified, 45% traditional
Chinese manhua - 70% traditional, 30% simplified
Chinese novels - (technically) 80% traditional, 20% simplified; IN REALITY => all versions available in traditional and simplified

Forums are the same; usually depend on where the company is based, and people can easily switch input languages to "mask" where they are from, so either/or for forum boards is also true.

Um, I'm kind of all over the place, but it's hard to give a direct reply. Hope this background helps.

Agree with the above reply by attaesc.

I learnt the language using simplified Chinese as well, but rarely do I come across a word I don't recognise in traditional. Sometimes I might need to take a while longer to figure it out, but it's not too difficult.

I think in your case, it might be better if you can decide where the manhua you want to translate is mainly from and perhaps decide which version to use for learning.

I'm not sure what your proficiency level is at now, but honestly, there are some stuff (Japanese as well) that can be hard to translate to English at times mainly due to ambiguous meanings or some nuances that are lost along the way. Still, all the best, it's always nice to hear someone picking up this horror (and beauty) of a language that I've been living with my whole life.