Why is Vegito spelled like that

[BeaBumby]

Where the hell does the i come from?

[PurestEvil]

The original japanese name is ベジット (Romanized as bejiitto), which is a portmanteau of Vegeta (ベジータ/bejiita) and Kakarot (カカロット/kakarotto). You can easily spot which katakana characters in ベジット come from ベジータ and カカロット.

"Vegito" is Funimation's spelling of the English transliteration of the japanese name. There are other variants; "Vegetto" is the official romanized spelling in Japan, and "Vegerot" is the VIZ translation used in the English manga ("Vegerot" is a portmanteau of the English names of the characters: Vegeta and Kakarot).

Moreover, the "-to" syllable in "Vegito" was arranged that way to represent the "-ot" in "Kakarot" being spelled backwards. This, I assume, was because the Funimation translators wanted to preserve the pronunciation of the original name while spelling it in a manner that matches the English names of the characters. However, despite that intention, they included an "i" in "Vegito" (like the literal romanization bejiitto) instead of an "e" in its place--which would have made it spell as "Vegeto". That was a silly oversight on Funimation's part, in my opinion, so I prefer to use "Vegetto" or "Vegeto".

[VegettoEX]

No real way of knowing without asking the people in the room working on the style guide at the time, and it's doubtful anyone remembers.

It's certainly strange, since "Vegetto" was already an established spelling via Final Bout in 1997:



... and that preceded his appearance in FUNimation's dub by a long shot.

My best educated guess is that, from a marketing standpoint, FUNimation wanted to add some flourish to as many character names as they could at the time. Swapping extra letters — like adding the unnecessary "i" in both "Vegito" and "Frieza" — is an example of this.

(Suggesting it comes from part of the romanization of ベジット seems like a non-starter to me, since they already knew they spelled Vegeta's name as such, and honestly wouldn't have cared one iota about transliteration adherence.)

It's definitely one name that none of the various partners ever felt the need to be consistent with. Viz went with a localized "Vegerot" from the start (and used it as recently as Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 23 in 2017), and Bandai/Banpresto just goes with "Vegetto" on all their merchandise, including whatever latest figures come out near as I can tell.

I feel like our earliest hint that FUNimation was going with the "Vegito" spelling was some early merchandise post-Final Bout (and still pre-Texas cast work), but I'm struggling to place it at the moment. I don't think it was the Super Battle Collection figures Bandai released in 1996... something after that? Maybe early Irwin? Yeah, I think these came out in 1999...?



(Other spellings that debuted on merchandise and wound up unused included "Boujack", "Mr. Savage", "Cyborg 16", and "Bidel")

[BeaBumby]

I didn't expect this to be interesting

[linkdude20002001]

I feel like our earliest hint that FUNimation was going with the "Vegito" spelling was some early merchandise post-Final Bout (and still pre-Texas cast work), but I'm struggling to place it at the moment. I don't think it was the Super Battle Collection figures Bandai released in 1996... something after that? Maybe early Irwin? Yeah, I think these came out in 1999...?

Maybe I misunderstood you, but that's the back of an Irwin toy packaging, I think. They seemed to be cheaply made versions of Bandai's figures. Bandai went with "Vegetto" for their toys, just like they did with their games.

Irwin surely had to work with Funimation on releasing the toys in the U.S., so that would be why they went with their name spellings and TMs.

Bandai's toys were all expensive imports here. You were probably too old to be buying them, I'm guess. I was a child, so I was definitely buying them at my local comic shops. Or, trying to. They were pricey, and I was obviously jobless. Lol

[VegettoEX]

Maybe I misunderstood you, but that's the back of an Irwin toy packaging, I think. They seemed to be cheaply made versions of Bandai's figures. Bandai went with "Vegetto" for their toys, just like they did with their games.

Irwin surely had to work with Funimation on releasing the toys in the U.S., so that would be why they went with their name spellings and TMs.

Bandai's toys were all expensive imports here. You were probably too old to be buying them, I'm guess. I was a child, so I was definitely buying them at my local comic shops. Or, trying to. They were pricey, and I was obviously jobless. Lol

I don't really understand your question/correction.

Yes, the image I showed at the end of the post there was from the Irwin era of releases.

Separately and earlier than that, Bandai themselves were directly releasing the Super Battle Collection figures here in America (in partnership with FUNimation -- it says licensed by FUNimation right on the back) right when DBZ debuted in syndication (the show started in 1996, and the figures came in 1997). These weren't imported; there were actual American-released figures. I know this because I was there at the time and bought them and still have them in their packaging!

[linkdude20002001]

Sorry. Like I said, I wasn't sure what you were saying either. Haha

But wow. I don't think we had those at any of the stores by me. It was just Irwin. If you wanted anything else, you had to go to a comic shop for the Bandai imports.

Perhaps Bandai only did that for a short while? Stuff happened in my childhood between me watching DB in '95 and DBZ in '98 on Toonami. I probably didn't go to a toy store in that time. So if, say, around '98 or '99, when I got back into the show, Bandai stopped selling them, that'd explain why I never saw them.

[TheGreatness25]

I'm willing to bet that it's something as simple as they didn't want it to look too much like "Vegeta." It's unclear, really. I think "Vegetto" is the best-looking spelling (to be honest, as long as it sounds close, there can be a number of ways to spell it and be "proper," including "Vegito"). I think that the biggest problem is the context--we know that it's supposed to be a combination of "Vegeta" and "Kakarot/Kakarotto" or "Vegeta" and "Goku," according to Funimation. But neither of them have an I in their name.

Funimation was kind of backed into a corner dating back to 1994 (?) when they made the decision to use "Kakarot" instead of "Kakarotto." And in some weird way, they tried to make it make sense. "What do you call a 'Vegeta' and 'Goku?'" Not accurate, but fine. I get it. But then they use "Vegito," which completely steps on their own feet. Why try to have it make sense only to make it not make sense? It could have been "Vegeto" just fine.

Honestly, because Dragon Ball Z is an adaptation from a language that doesn't always translate one-to-one, they could have gotten away with using "Kakarotto" once or just could have just quickly delivered the naming line and moved on. Yes, it wouldn't "make sense" to an English audience, but it ended up not making sense anyway. I think they could've gotten away with it and kept "Vegetto" or "Vegeto." But, they didn't.

Here's why I don't really care (and this applies to "Frieza" as well): it's never actually officially written anywhere. It's not like Vegetto spells out his name or it's written anywhere. Even if it was, it doesn't bug me because it's still pronounced correctly. There are plenty of instances where the anime and even manga had the characters' names spelled "strangely" ("Gokuh" on Goku's space outfit, "Kulilin" on Kuririn's cap, "Bura" in Super, "Seru" and pretty much every name on Gero's computer). So, the spelling seems inconsequential. I'm much more bothered by name changes like "Hercule," "Tien" (even though they kind of tried to rectify it in Dragon Ball by adding "Shinhan"), and even "Vegerot." People believe that it's this clever way of making him, but at the end of the day, that's not his name.

[jjgp1112]

Sorry. Like I said, I wasn't sure what you were saying either. Haha

But wow. I don't think we had those at any of the stores by me. It was just Irwin. If you wanted anything else, you had to go to a comic shop for the Bandai imports.

Perhaps Bandai only did that for a short while? Stuff happened in my childhood between me watching DB in '95 and DBZ in '98 on Toonami. I probably didn't go to a toy store in that time. So if, say, around '98 or '99, when I got back into the show, Bandai stopped selling them, that'd explain why I never saw them.

Nah, the Bandai Super Battle Collection figures were still coming out in America well into the 2000s - I know because me and my friends bought a few . Those were my introduction to a lot of the Japanese spellings.

Edit: Oh wait, nah, now I'm misunderstanding lol. Yeah, the Super Battle Collection figures I had were imports from comic shops and Anime mags

[VegettoEX]

Yep yep. The cycle went:

- Comic shops / import stores / back-of-game-magazine ads had the original JP figures pre-1996 and moving forward

- Bandai (w/ FUNi) released some of the figures themselves beginning in 1997 (see: my photos above)

- I want to say the same SBC figures came out AGAIN under Irwin (w/ FUNi) later on in addition to all the other different figure molds?

[OmegaRockman]

Though this isn't adding much to the discussion, I do think it's worth noting that Funimation corrected the spelling to "Vegetto" in Kai Episode 153's title card:

[TheGreatness25]

Though this isn't adding much to the discussion, I do think it's worth noting that Funimation corrected the spelling to "Vegetto" in Kai Episode 153's title card:

Yes, and you think, "Wow! They corrected something of theirs! Until you realize that the correction is a one-off lol

[OmegaRockman]

Though this isn't adding much to the discussion, I do think it's worth noting that Funimation corrected the spelling to "Vegetto" in Kai Episode 153's title card:

Yes, and you think, "Wow! They corrected something of theirs! Until you realize that the correction is a one-off lol

In fairness, they also corrected it in the credits for Super Episode 66, so while there are places where the incorrect spelling is used like the games, at least Funimation is trying to make sure the name is correct in the current dubs of the show itself:

[TheGreatness25]

Though this isn't adding much to the discussion, I do think it's worth noting that Funimation corrected the spelling to "Vegetto" in Kai Episode 153's title card:

Yes, and you think, "Wow! They corrected something of theirs! Until you realize that the correction is a one-off lol

In fairness, they also corrected it in the credits for Super Episode 66, so while there are places where the incorrect spelling is used like the games, at least Funimation is trying to make sure the name is correct in the current dubs of the show itself:

Oh, so this seems to be permanent. I could have sworn that they used "Vegito" in a Super episode title card, but I might have been wrong.

[Aim]

Where the hell does the i come from?

Basically what everyone here said.

I made a thread asking what the better one for Vegetto would be, if we don’t stick with Kakarrotto, then it makes sense we should probably go with Vegerot, right now Kanzenshuu goes with Kakarrot and Vegetto, but I’m still a bit torn on that because it doesn’t make sense to me how you can get that, for consistency sake I think it’s better to then go with Vegerot, otherwise Kakarrot I think would be better as Kakarrotto.

All in all Vegetto is currently probably the most accurate you can get, I usually look to Kanzenshuu because they are one if not the most accurate source of translations and how to say and spell names and such.

Same thing with Freeza, it’s not Frieza, it’s Freeza, and with Coola, it’s not Cooler it’s Coola. It also keeps with the puns which is fun.

[MyVisionity]

I usually look to Kanzenshuu because they are one if not the most accurate source of translations and how to say and spell names and such.

You should look to yourself and your own knowledge and reasoning above all else. Kanzenshuu is a valuable resource, no doubt, but ultimately you need to trust your own judgement and find your own answers.

[DBZfan29]

Moreover, the "-to" syllable in "Vegito" was arranged that way to represent the "-ot" in "Kakarot" being spelled backwards. This, I assume, was because the Funimation translators wanted to preserve the pronunciation of the original name while spelling it in a manner that matches the English names of the characters.

Do you have a source for this? It doesn’t seem right, considering all they did was use the “to” from the original Japanese name. The idea that “to” is “ot” spelled backwards had anything to do with the localization seems like a stretch. That sounds a little rude, but I’m genuinely interested.

[The Iron Fjord]

Personally, Vegetto, Vegito, or even Vegerot doesn't matter to me anymore, ever since I just started calling him John Yosha.

[Aim]

I usually look to Kanzenshuu because they are one if not the most accurate source of translations and how to say and spell names and such.

You should look to yourself and your own knowledge and reasoning above all else. Kanzenshuu is a valuable resource, no doubt, but ultimately you need to trust your own judgement and find your own answers.

Well I don’t have too much knowledge in Japanese and translating. I don’t think it really matters as long as you actually find the info, Kanzenshuu is great on things being accurate while not losing meaning to English speakers, I don’t need to go on a tirade around the internet when there’s people who have decades experience with Dragon Ball and translations right here.

I asked a while ago about Kakarrot vs Kakarrotto and it’s relation to Vegetto, it’s pretty clear that Vegito as a spelling makes no sense as would Vegita.

[Kamiccolo9]

As far as Vegerot is concerned, when I hear that, my first thought is "rotting vegetables." I know I'm not alone in this, and I can imagine Funimation thinking that they didn't want the fusion of some of ther most popular characters evoking the thought of what lies hidden in the back of your fridge.