Movie titles: the bad, the bad, and the also pretty bad

[Saiga]

Excellent post, Herms. It was quite an entertaining read, and funny as well. I have to agree that Movie 11's Japanese title makes the least sense of all of them.

In most situations I much prefer the Funimation title's over the Japanese ones, mostly for the reasons you mentioned. Accurate, simpler, cool... even cases like reducing "The World's Strongest Guy" to "The World's Strongest" are a big improvement to me.

Apparently FUNimation didn't think it was that great. Were the dub script writers in a room, looking at the original title, and then thinking to themselves, "Well, it was pretty average, we don't want to lie to anybody...let's just go with a regular mystical adventure, not really a great one."

That's perfect!

[Bullza]

Better? The Japanese titles are far more descriptive about the films themselves and thus far allow for the viewer to know what it'll be about.

Yes better don't even think any different, I don't need a description of the film in a title of the movie, it's not a synopsis.

[Gaffer Tape]

Awesome read. And don't fret. You're not the only one who finds it difficult to keep track of the English sequel-based titles of the Coola movies. It's always confused me too. I always have to stop myself and think, "Okay, while he could have revenge at any time, I guess he can't really return if he hasn't been here before, so return has to be referring to the second one." But then again, if you think about it from an in-universe perspective, Coola isn't really returning at all. He's never been to New Namek before.

The first DB movie originally wasn’t given any special title at all. It was just “Dragon Ball”, and they only slapped “The Legend of Shenlong” on it for the home release. This pattern seems somewhat typical of Toei anime movies, and the same thing happens with the first DBZ movie.

This is something I've been trying to figure out for a while, so I just have to ask: are you sure? Unlike the first DBZ movie, the title The Legend of Shenlong actually appears in the film itself on home video. Obviously it's not impossible for them to have gone back in and changed the film, but since they didn't for DBZ movie 1, it seems oddly inconsistent. Also, if they did, the way they did it also seems odd and unnecessarily complicated. There's that exclusive, solid red background that has the Dragon Ball logo right before it goes into the standard opening animation, which places the movie's title where the Dragon Ball logo usually is. Presumably the theatrical cut would have just been a straight port animation-wise of the opening? Seems extraordinarily complicated when they could have just slapped the new title on a solid background. Finally, that exclusive, red background is where the Eiren logo is located, so if it was added exclusively for the home release, where was the Eiren logo when it was shown theatrically? So that's why this assertion has always confused me.

[Puto]

Better? The Japanese titles are far more descriptive about the films themselves and thus far allow for the viewer to know what it'll be about.

Allow the viewer to know what it'll be about? Those titles are about as generic as they can get! You could swap half of them around and they'd still work!

[Dbzfan94]

On the similar topic of the episode titles, why did Toei make them so long? Same as the movies. Even Kai has long titles

For the English episodes of DB/DBZ, a lot of the episodes are atleast roughly translated, and are 4 maybe 5 words at longest. I'm more curious then anything. And yeah both English and Japanese titles give it away.

I remember once when I was a kid I was watching Goku vs Freeza and the episode ends with " the fight concludes on the net episode!" Then the NEP "Freeza is Defeated" I mean you knew it was gonna happen sooner or later, but still

[TheBlackPaladin]

I think both the Japanese and the English titles--of the movies and of the episodes--are guilty of spoiling the plots. The English titles just use fewer words. However, I was unaware that this was semi-intentional until I read the opening post (one of the many reasons I like it). Apparently, the episodes were spoiler-esque with their titles so that they could get audiences who already read the manga to tune in and watch their favorite corresponding manga scenes in animated format.

[ABED]

A little off topic, but the episode titles bother me because they give away the plot. This goes for both the US and Japan.

It's true, but we've got to remember that in Japan, the show was being made with the assumption that most of the audience was already following the manga in Jump and so knew what was going to happen anyway. The kids had all read the chapter where Goku turns Super Saiyan (for instance), so the point of the anime episode title is to let them know in advance which episode would contain the animated version of Goku becoming a Super Saiyan. It's a bit like older fans watching Kai to see how it adapts Z.

Compare this to the movie titles, which never tell you a damn thing about what's going to happen in the movie (usually). Because the movies were new stories that audiences wouldn't know in advance.

The movie titles are long, and don't tell you about the plot. I don't mind that they don't tell you the story and are vague, but I just wish they weren't long and goofy.

I see what you're saying about the episode titles but that's interesting that they wrote them in mind for people who had already read the manga instead of assuming not all of the viewers had read it or would ever read it.

[B]

The only Japanese title I can remember off the top of my head is Movie 9, and just the first part; "Ginga Giri Giri!!" G is a fun letter.

[ABED]

The only Japanese title I can remember off the top of my head is Movie 9, and just the first part; "Ginga Giri Giri!!" G is a fun letter.

Google, Guggenheim, googolplex - you're right!

[Gyt Kaliba]

Interesting idea for a thread, and a fun read - major kudos Herms!

Honestly, outside of the four Dragon Ball movie titles, which as you note (barring movie 1) are more or less the same as the English titles, and probably DBZ movies 1, 12, 13, and now Battle of Gods...I can't remember any of the Japanese movie titles to save my life. I might be able to give a ballpark guess of something like 'Oh yeah, movie 6, that's something about a bajillion super-power warriors or something', but beyond that they're all so long and unwieldy that I cannot remember them, ever, at all. And yet, for how corny and unrevealing they are, I love them. They're just so...iconic, I guess, of the time that DBZ was first coming out.

At the same time though, the fact that I can never remember them, is pretty much why I'm always using either the movie's English title from FUNimation, or a movie #, so that I know what I'm talking about, and hopefully others will as well. So on other forums or in talking with someone in real life, I'm liable to just use the dub title, but on the forum here I try to remember to just say 'DBZ movie 9' or something.

I never realized there was that much confusion on which Cooler movie was which though, with the dub titles. Guess that's just a small benefit of having been a diehard dub fan for years, I can remember them easily.

Oh yeah, and here's a funny little question to throw into the mix now too - suppose we hadn't gotten such a simple title with 'Battle of Gods' for the newest movie: what do you think they would have called it if they'd kept with the tradition of long names that don't really tell you a thing? Personally I'm leaning towards 'Ultimate Battle with the God of Destruction!! Where Is The Super Saiyan God?!' myself, but that's probably still too revealing.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Personally I'm leaning towards 'Ultimate Battle with the God of Destruction!! Where Is The Super Saiyan God?!' myself, but that's probably still too revealing.

Oh, no worries, Toei clearly never worried about being too revealing with their titles.

[Cetra]

In German the 13th movie is called "Drachenfaust" which means "Ryuken"/"Dragon Fist" with Goku even finishing Hildegarn shouting "This is your end! Ryuken!". I don't know. Probably Capcom would have said something against that in America because of Street Fighter. Now Goku knows both signature moves, the Hadou-Ken/Kame Hame-Ha (though Goku was first with that, I guess) and the Shoryuken/Ryuken. But I think Wrath of the Dragon is also cool.

[Hellspawn28]

Sometimes the Japanese titles can be a mouth full to say. I think the Funi titles can be easier to say for a casual person. Calling DBZ Movie 4 "Super Saiyan Goku" in the US would never work. The movie came out in the US a decade later after it came out in Japan and DBZ was at the Buu saga at this point back in 2001.

[Gyt Kaliba]

Personally I'm leaning towards 'Ultimate Battle with the God of Destruction!! Where Is The Super Saiyan God?!' myself, but that's probably still too revealing.

Oh, no worries, Toei clearly never worried about too revealing with their titles.

True, not with the episode titles at least.

Oh yeah, and I forgot something I was going to point out before. Herms mentions how movie 9's dub title is likely a reference to a play. I've long had the same thought, or theory, on 'Wrath of the Dragon' for movie 13. Could that not be a bit of a callback to two of Bruce Lee's most popular films, 'Way of the Dragon' (sometimes called 'Return of the Dragon') and 'Enter the Dragon'? There's not any real reason for them to make a reference to those titles with movie 13 mind you, but it's always struck me as a possibility.

[dbzfan7]

I'd probably lean on the funimation titles. I'm just more used to them, and they're kept short and simple.

[The Time Traveller]

"Ginga Giri Giri!!"

There was some fansite called that I think, except I was so young I thought it was called "Ginger Girl Girl", which makes no sense, unless it was run by a ginger girl, girl.

[Gaffer Tape]

There is still some website (http://3gkai.com/) called that, and there is some webmaster (Castor Troy) who is a poster here.

[dbboxkaifan]

Yes better don't even think any different, I don't need a description of the film in a title of the movie, it's not a synopsis.

At the end of the day it's all a matter of opinions which one is better, you prefer the English dubtitles and I prefer the original Japanese ones, so that's that.

I've had enough of fanboys hating on me for criticising a newly released game and wishing me that Amazon would ban me.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

I laughed at this much harder than I should have. That's all I can think to say.

To prove my buffoonery:

“The World’s Strongest”

The only DBZ movie whose Funi dub title is the same as the Japanese title. OK, so they left out “guy”, but it’s implied. In a martial arts series, when you hear “world’s strongest”, you know they’re not talking about the world’s strongest suspension bridge.

Anything wrong me siging this?

[KingKaiGuy]

“Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight”

This is wrong on too many levels. For all the flak that the Funi dub gets, at least their movie titles are pretty good. The Japanese titles are way too much of a handful for me to reference it by that name.