Things that grind your gears

[ABED]

Goku being so pro-Fusion and pro-Portara all throughout the Buu arc to then suddenly out of nowhere be like "Nah Fusion isn't for me" when given another opportunity at Portara, what in the actual hell, did he not just see Buu blow the Earth up? Hello Goku. AND then when fighting Pure Kid Buu he has the cheek to be like "oh should have beaten you as Super Buu when we were Vegetto if we had known" YOU JUST REJECTED THE CHANCE TO BE VEGETTO AGAIN!!!!! Eurgh... I swear as much as I love the Buu arc the writing can be so awful at times, the arc could have ended at any point if characters were just logical. And the characterisation of Goku in general not just the example I gave of Goku is the worst I have seen for him.

Super Buu was an existential threat that no one could defeat unless they fused. I'm thinking he believed Kid Buu wasn't nearly as strong and there were other options if they were defeated. Remember, they aren't superheroes out to save the world.

[Snakeway Skywalker]

What grinds my gears:

When an anime starts a new opening before even finishing the last arc (looking at you Fairy Tail).

[Cure Dragon 255]

Do you want it to be like One Piece and have an opening for months but feel like years instead?

[Snakeway Skywalker]

Do you want it to be like One Piece and have an opening for months but feel like years instead?

Yeah, I like that approach. If you have a good opening, just keep it going for awhile. But the downside of that is not having many OPs, which is still fine. All the Dragon Ball series have only had like 2 openings, and I've been cool with that.

[xpNc]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

[Nejishiki]

Or perhaps some of aren't married to FUNimation's version and we're well versed in our IC/Simmons experience (both of which have officially legitimized "Kuririn")? I'd go as far to claim that some of our lot have no desire to switch over when our original script is sufficient for posterity. Food for thought!

[Jinzoningen MULE]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

It's nothing as fancy as that. I use Kuririn because Krillin is the name of a character in a show I care nothing about. In the manga, and even in the official subtitles, his name is spelled Kuririn. Krillin is just incorrect unless you're specifically referring to his counterpart in the English dub of the show.

However, if you're talking about something like "Begita" over "Vegeta", I'd agree with you. 1: Because it's obviously just an attempt to show off what an edge-lord you are. 2: Because Vegeta is more faithful to the original name pun, making it the superior option by default.

[DBZ Macky]

Nomenclature preference shouldn't really be a thing that "grinds your gears". I prefer "Freeza" over "Frieza", but I'm more used to "Krillin" than "Kuririn". It doesn't really matter as long as the other person is able to understand what you're saying. If I'm talking to someone who's more familiar with the FUNImation dub, then I'd use "Mercenary Tao" instead of "Tao Pai Pai", though you won't hear me say "General Tao" or the other garbage that FUNI made up.

[Deathbringer]

Going off the back of what's been said above, the thing that grinds my gears is when people say the Funimation dub names are the "official English" names of the characters, as if Funimation's subtitles and the Viz manga aren't official English products themselves.

[TheGreatness25]

Going off the back of what's been said above, the thing that grinds my gears is when people say the Funimation dub names are the "official English" names of the characters, as if Funimation's subtitles and the Viz manga aren't official English products themselves.

Yes, but I think that when people say things like that, this isn't what they mean. They just mean that the official translated dub uses those names, so those are what the characters are called in the official translated dub. When you're talking the English version of the anime, the names are what Funimation assigned to them and that's not going anywhere because even to this day, they still use "Frieza," "Spirit Bomb," etc.

[Snakeway Skywalker]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but at least for the attack names, it's just more fun and cooler to say the japanese names.

Also, for the people who were introduced to the series through the Dragon Ball sub, Kurinin is how you see and hear his name, so it's only natural for them to use it. Same for when people say "Shenlong" instead of "Shenron".
But at the same time, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "Muten-Roshi sama" on this forum.

[Dbzfan94]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but at least for the attack names, it's just more fun and cooler to say the japanese names.

Also, for the people who were introduced to the series through the Dragon Ball sub, Kurinin is how you see and hear his name, so it's only natural for them to use it. Same for when people say "Shenlong" instead of "Shenron".
But at the same time, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "Muten-Roshi sama" on this forum.

Even worse is when people legitimately said Toranksu or Supa Saiyajin Dai San Dankai or whatever (which is literally SS Grade 3)

[xpNc]

Also, for the people who were introduced to the series through the Dragon Ball sub, Kurinin is how you see and hear his name, so it's only natural for them to use it. Same for when people say "Shenlong" instead of "Shenron".

This may be true, but I don't think very many people would offer the same understanding to someone who calls Piccolo "Big Green".

[Snakeway Skywalker]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but at least for the attack names, it's just more fun and cooler to say the japanese names.

Also, for the people who were introduced to the series through the Dragon Ball sub, Kurinin is how you see and hear his name, so it's only natural for them to use it. Same for when people say "Shenlong" instead of "Shenron".
But at the same time, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "Muten-Roshi sama" on this forum.

Even worse is when people legitimately said Toranksu or Supa Saiyajin Dai San Dankai or whatever (which is literally SS Grade 3)

Well, that's just ridiculous. But I like saying "Genki Dama, Kienzan, Taiyoken" opposed to the English versions.

It's just that when I see someone type "kage bunshin no jutsu" I'm just like "Seriously, dude? Just say 'Shadow clone jutsu'."

[DBZ Macky]

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is just Kage Bunshin no jutsu though. The attack names are translated differently in different mediums, so it's more easy to be on the same page by using the actual Japanese name.

I would be legitimately surprised if there's anyone who actually writes Master Roshi Sama or Supreme Kai Sama on these forums.

[Bansho64]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Your analogy doesn't work because Kuririn's name is exactly that in the Viz translation of the manga and there are numerous English translations besides the ones used the Funimation dub of the anime.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

That's a pretty big reach.

[Alruneia]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

Klilyn, you mean? Boy, don't we love the bald monk fighter Klilyn!
Most names in Dragon Ball have been translated in several different ways across the dozens of anime subs/dubs and manga translations, so it really comes down to preference more than anything. All I personally ask of people is to try to stay consistent with what translation they're using. It rubs me the wrong way if someone writes Frieza with the i (which is a Funimation thing) and then turns around and writes Boo with o's (which is not a Funimation thing), for example.

[Cure Dragon 255]

What bugs me is when people use unnecessary Japanese versions of characters' names when we have had official English versions for (in some cases) decades. Going out of your way to say Kuririn (or, god forbid, Kulilin) instead of Krillin doesn't make any sense to me at all.

To me, it feels unnecessarily pedantic or an attempt to show off how knowledgeable you are about the series and/or Japanese.

I love and use Krillin freely, but you shouldnt malign people who prefer to use Kuririn, After all its the name Toriyama intended. I always go by intent or sake of ease when.

Also, if you are militant about this other people might feel militant at you back. Not me though.

[TheGreatness25]

For me, I think that people can spell the names however they'd like. Because in reality, Kuririn isn't spelled "Kuririn" or "Krillin" or "Kurilin," it's spelled as "クリリン," which is just an assortment of sounds as far as English is concerned (ku-ri-ri-n using katakana). And Vegeta isn't spelled "Vegeta," or "Bejita" or "Vejita," it's spelled as "ベジータ" (be-jii-ta in katakana). The Genki Dama does not translate into "Spirit Bomb," but rather "Genki Ball." The word "genki" itself does not have a direct translation, but the kanji would closely translate to "having spirit" or "having energy." The "Makankosappo" literally translates into "Magical Light Gun."

So what am I getting at? There are three different ways to interpret these types of things.

1. Translating From the Japanese Verion
I think that if someone uses "Bejita," they're not wrong at all. Why? Because had the English dub/subs never existed, that person can derive the name "Bejita" from the actual name from the Japanese version. Names like "Buruma" would be perfectly fine because if that person had never seen or read an English version of Dragon Ball, that's what her name is in Japanese. Translating an attack name like the "Magical Light Gun" is fine because, once again, had the person never seen the dub/read the subtitles, that's a logical derivative. Then again, some people believe that when there is a name that can be translated, the name should stand, thus it would make sense to use "Genki Dama" instead of "Genki Ball," "Spirit Ball," or "Energy Ball."

2. Going By "Officially" Translated Material
There's something to be said for the fact that Steve Simmons worked pretty hard (I'm sure) to subtitle the Japanese version of Dragon Ball into one that the English-speaking market could understand. Thus... use it! That's what I do. I think it's perfectly fine to go by Steve Simmons's translations, which would see phrases such as "Genki Dama" and spellings like "Kuririn." Since Funimation is the official English market distributor, their guy having provided the subtitles for the Japanese version makes those the "official" spellings for the English market. I mean, that's how it is. I do disagree with some things. For one thing, we have a "Vegetto" and yet, "Ka-ka-ro-to," "Ki-bi-to," and "Gu-ru-do" became "Kakarrot," "Kibit," and "Ghurd." I really don't like that they lost their "o" but "Vegetto" didn't. But that's just me.

3. Going By the Official English Dub
Yes, Funimation. This means "Krillin," "Spirit Bomb," "Special Beam Cannon," and... "Frieza!" Since Funimation is the official English market distributor (not counting AB Groupe, who used the same spellings and phrases anyway), this and the Ocean dub are the official English releases of the series. Thus... perfectly valid. Plus, let's not forget that Viz is the official distributor of the English version of the manga and it's perfectly fine to use their spellings (including "Kuririn").


I am going to sound like a broken record, but I will reiterate that I believe that every single fan has the right to choose which naming scheme they choose to follow. While I think that there can be excessive carrying over from the Japanese version, it's the fans' prerogative to do so. If one shuns all things Funimation, then why would they abide by their naming scheme instead of the "Buruma," "Bejita," "Bejitto," so on and so forth? Would someone who is Japanese and only saw the series in Japanese with no subtitles, be wrong if he or she used "Bejita" because they're deriving it from their native language? No. So, I think that there should be more open-mindedness for names. I was guilty of this too, but as I grew older, I opened up a lot on this.

Can it come off a lot of times as, "Look at me, I know the Japanese version!" Yes. But for every one of those, I would like to believe there are many more who do it to be as faithful to the material as possible without trying to adapt it. It's all good.

[Deathbringer]

Going off the back of what's been said above, the thing that grinds my gears is when people say the Funimation dub names are the "official English" names of the characters, as if Funimation's subtitles and the Viz manga aren't official English products themselves.

Yes, but I think that when people say things like that, this isn't what they mean. They just mean that the official translated dub uses those names, so those are what the characters are called in the official translated dub. When you're talking the English version of the anime, the names are what Funimation assigned to them and that's not going anywhere because even to this day, they still use "Frieza," "Spirit Bomb," etc.

I know what you're saying but the thing that just bugs me is posts like what xpNc initially said of people "going out of their way" to use the Japanese terms. Of course this is just an issue that most of the English-speaking fanbase is not aware of the fact that there is more than one set of "official" names, but also that people shouldn't try and equate "official" with "correct/accurate translation" when it comes to this specifically.

I am going to sound like a broken record, but I will reiterate that I believe that every single fan has the right to choose which naming scheme they choose to follow. While I think that there can be excessive carrying over from the Japanese version, it's the fans' prerogative to do so. If one shuns all things Funimation, then why would they abide by their naming scheme instead of the "Buruma," "Bejita," "Bejitto," so on and so forth? Would someone who is Japanese and only saw the series in Japanese with no subtitles, be wrong if he or she used "Bejita" because they're deriving it from their native language? No. So, I think that there should be more open-mindedness for names. I was guilty of this too, but as I grew older, I opened up a lot on this.

Can it come off a lot of times as, "Look at me, I know the Japanese version!" Yes. But for every one of those, I would like to believe there are many more who do it to be as faithful to the material as possible without trying to adapt it. It's all good.

I see people use the "Bejita" example when talking about the Japanese names, but never have I ever seen a single English speaking fan of this franchise unironically use "Bejita", so I don't know if that really works as an example, because either way his name is most definitely a pun on the English word vegetable, so if you're an English speaking fan then you have the gift of speaking the same language that the name pun uses, therefore why would you not use it? That would be "going out of your way" as xpNc said earlier.

Like if I saw someone use the name "Torankusu" instead of Trunks I would say to them "nope, that's actually not correct because it's the exact same as the English word trunks", stuff like that doesn't really have grey areas it's a pretty black and white issue, it's an English word, so if you speak English then use the English word. Now "Buruma" is a bit more interesting because there actually is a portion of the fanbase who believes we've all overlooked how her name should probably be spelt "Blooma".

A sidenote to using the Funi dub names from me is that people should in their minds just make sure to acknowledge that some of them are not good translations, like King Kai and Special Beam Cannon, I'm not saying that people should be stopped from using these names it's just that the fact that these are inaccurate should be more common knowledge in the fanbase, even as just trivial knowledge in the back of people's minds. I know when I watched the series in dub the first time I just assumed in my mind that all the names I was hearing were correct translations of the Japanese, then later on I discovered that that was not in fact the case for quite a few of the names and so I switched accordingly.

- sorry, I already wrote this whole edit out before i saw your new post -