Afterall, it could be an accurate representation of reality at that time. This will literally translate a Japanese page or a piece of script into English for the reader as you desire. However, it's very literal. And while you will probably be able to garner the gist of the meaning, I find it more effortless to struggle with my limited Japanese reading ability and gather meaning that way than plough through the formal literal translation of unrelated words strung together. Mind you, it is extremely useful when I'm at a loss for the meaning of an unknown word and the kanji dictionary is out of sight.
Translation really is an art form.
And, while I'm not saying that we should settle for poor translations in our anime, I do have to admit that there are a lot of little points which have to be watched for when doing a translation. Ideally any serious translation would have at the minimum, a team of two translators working on it. One whose native language is the original language, while the other's native language would be the target language. One would understand the cultural implications of the original work and would be able to express it, while the other would then be able to polish the language, consider any English equivalents for idioms and phrases, and otherwise help proof the work. Likewise, any points where the translation is too literal, rather than idiomatic or metaphoric, the native target language speaker should pick up on these points and translate appropriately.