Is it "Boo" or "Buu"?

[UpFromTheSkies]

It's ブウ.

[Dalesy]

As others have said, it's purely preference. I prefer Boo because I think it looks a little nicer. Also, I prefer Oob to Uub.

[Chibi Mystic Gohan]

I used to use "Boo" because I would blindly follow everything Steve Simmons did in the subtitles, but now that I've actually researched it myself, I use "Buu." I think I remember reading this in Herms' name pun guide, but I think the "Boo" in "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" spelled as "ブー," while the character's name is written as "ブウ." Since Toriyama apparently spells it differently from its source, I try to do the same thing by using "Buu" instead of "Boo." And the pun is still easy to get no matter which way you spell it.

Of course, I'm waiting on someone fluent in Japanese to tell me I'm completely mistaken, but there you go. ^_^;

Well, there isn't really a difference between ブー and ブウ, they're simply different ways of writing bū. He didn't change the pronunciation at all, unlike the majority of his name puns. It's possible Toriyama wasn't aware which way Disney wrote the word in Japanese.

[MagicBox]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. Even with that in mind, I think I still prefer the "Buu" spelling, even if it's only to stay consistent with my own naming system. After all, I spell the names of the wizards differently ("Bibidi" instead of "Bibbidi;" "Bobidi" instead of "Bobbidi") in an attempt to stay consistent with what Toriyama did, so I might as well change "Boo," too.

[Son Edo]

I use Boo because it's closer to the original.

[VegettoEX]

I use Boo because it's closer to the original.

But that's just the point being made. What about the spelling with "oo" is inherently "closer to the original" than the spelling with "uu"...? You're comparing a transliteration into another language that has virtually no basis in the other.

[Codarik]

I said it before and I'll say it again. "BOO" reminds me of a ghost or someone popping out of nowhere to scare me and yelling "BOO!" in the process. "BUU" reminds me of a pink demon. So I prefer Buu when it comes to reading his name.

[Son Edo]

I use Boo because it's closer to the original.

But that's just the point being made. What about the spelling with "oo" is inherently "closer to the original" than the spelling with "uu"...? You're comparing a transliteration into another language that has virtually no basis in the other.

I don't like using funimations dub.

[VegettoEX]

Neither do I, but I use "Buu"... but that has nothing to do with it being or not being from FUNimation's dub. I mean, FUNimation's dub uses "Goku" and "Vegeta", too, which we all pretty much use as a collective whole, right?

[hleV]

If one was to be consistent, they'd go with Bibbidi, Bobbidi & Boo. But maintaining consistency for all DB character names is definitely difficult, unless you completely drop the pun and just go with what it's like in Japanese (so in this case Bibidi, Babidi & Buu). People rarely spell the actual meaning of attack names, they usually just use whatever it is in Japanese (makankosappo, kikoho, etc.), so that can apply to character names as well, I guess. In the end it's still a personal choice, as neither (or anything in-between, even) is wrong.

I go with Bibidi, Babidi & Boo. Bibidi & Babidi because it's both easier to spell and I'm too used to these spellings. Boo because it's just as easy to spell as Buu, but also conveys the pun perfectly. So I'm not wrong, just inconsistent. Just like Kanzenshuu staff, I guess.

[some_weirdGuy]

I prefer Buu, because it's not already a 'word' like 'Boo' is in english, (which would generally be associated with a ghost). The name puns tend to work better IMO when they're 'corruptions' or otherwise 'un/defamiliarized' versions of the real word(if it's english) rather than outright being the real word. (like burta/burter instead of butter, or kakarot instead of just carrot, or even king Kold instead of king Cold, all making them non-english 'words'. The exception being Cell, since 'Seru' or 'Sell' or something doesn't really work)

lol, infact 'boo' should be the name of the ghosts buu made using the technique he stole from gotenks ...
!!! > and the gotenks' ones should be called 'ghostenks'!!

Quick, everyone, make this a thing!

[JulieYBM]

Oh, damn it. I never realized the name was tweaked from ブー to ブウ. Now I might have to change my use. >_<

[Ryuman]

Oh, damn it. I never realized the name was tweaked from ブー to ブウ. Now I might have to change my use. >_<

Yeah, I was thinking of going with Boo at one point, bit I searched and found out this fact. Whether Toriyama meant for the difference or not doesn't really matter in my opinion. It is what it is.

[DBZ Mick]

I remember seeing Bou on some toys like the whole Kulilin kind of thing.

[NintendoBlaze53]

It's similar to the whole Blooma, Bulma thing. While one is the direct pun the other is the Romanization. I thing either way is just fine it's personal preferance.

[dprez]

I used to use "Buu", but then I read the viz manga ( I know not the best source for proper wording of names... ) and saw how they used "Boo".

I like Boo better, but Buu is just as good, and the more I think about it, Buu actually does look better. It really was the viz manga that got me using "Boo". I can't recall, but I thought the subs on the Dragon Boxes wrote "Boo" and that got me even more into using it here. I could be misremembering though...

[Bussani]

I use Boo because it's closer to the original.

But it isn't. The original is ブウ (bū). How is "Boo" closer to that than "Buu?"

Well, there isn't really a difference between ブー and ブウ, they're simply different ways of writing bū. He didn't change the pronunciation at all, unlike the majority of his name puns. It's possible Toriyama wasn't aware which way Disney wrote the word in Japanese.

To be fair, can't all that be said about the difference between Boo and Buu as well? They're pronounced the same way, so it's just a different way of writing it. Whether Toriyama was aware of the difference or not, maybe writing it as Buu to make it different from the Disney song does make sense in its own way.

[Daimakku]

The latin spanish version calls Frieza, "Freezer" (with er at the end). I've also seen others call him Freeza. FUNimation calls him Frieza.
Same applies to Majin Buu. He could be either Buu or Boo.

Dragonball seem to have really weird names for characters, so I guess you could call them in all kinds of variations and still be correct.

Edit: I thought I was going nuts trying to type Frieza with an i but ending up with Freeza. Then I realized it's probably a wordfilter. Trolled me really good, mods.

[Daimakku]

Neither do I, but I use "Buu"... but that has nothing to do with it being or not being from FUNimation's dub. I mean, FUNimation's dub uses "Goku" and "Vegeta", too, which we all pretty much use as a collective whole, right?

I don't know, Vejita kinda sounds better to me.

Just kidding.

[VegettoEX]

The latin spanish version calls Freeza, "Freezer" (with er at the end). I've also seen others call him Freeza. FUNimation calls him Frieza.
Same applies to Majin Buu. He could be either Buu or Boo.

Not entirely the same.

The character's name is written in katakana as フリーザ (furiiza). The item you store food in is written as フリーザー (furiizaa). Since it's not literally the exact same spelling in Japanese as the item it's a pun on (and we know that "freezer" is the pun for it straight from Toriyama himself), it makes sense to adapt the name spelling. And since the very ending of the name is all that's different, the very end of the character's name spelling makes the most sense to adapt.

Thus, "Freeza" (instead of the literal "Freezer" it's based off of, and especially instead of changing something in the middle of his name with I dunno maybe the letter "i" insert me shaking my fist here).

Incidentally, and I feel compelled to say this every time it comes up because it's interesting and related, the original Japanese name of Articuno in Pokemon is フリーザー.