"Kewla" or "Coola"

[TechExpert2021]

Which spelling of the translation of "クウラ" ("kuura") do you prefer? "Kewla" or "Coola"?

[MasenkoHA]

Coola or Cooler.

Who the fuck even uses Kewla? Straight up the first time I’ve ever seen that romanization.

Damn I hope Goecoo beats Kewla with the help of his friends PickleLow and CurryLynn.

[VegettoEX]

Coola or Cooler.

Who the fuck even uses Kewla? Straight up the first time I’ve ever seen that romanization.

Damn I hope Goecoo beats Kewla with the help of his friends PickleLow and CurryLynn.

I mean, "Ginew" was in fairly common usage, and that seems equally bizarre to me. As a thought experiment, I don't see the problem with asking about "Kewla".

That said, no, it's absolutely never been in common usage, and I don't know why it would be suggested right in line with other, actually-used spellings without further clarification there.

For whatever it's worth, I saw "Kuura" as a straight romanization fairly often in the pre-FUNimation-adaptation days (it's how the name is spelled in my movie 6 fansub, for example). I know it's occasionally been used in other things (one of the mobile games?), and it's an arguable "best choice" romanization if you want to go directly in line with the meshi demo kuura name origin.

[Kunzait_83]

I mean, "Ginew" was in fairly common usage, and that seems equally bizarre to me. As a thought experiment, I don't see the problem with asking about "Kewla".

I think difference here is that as bizarre as it was, "Ginew" was a spelling that actually WAS used (and rather oddly frequently) back in the olden days, whereas "Kewla" on the other hand was not and, to my knowledge, never has been.

So while they're both equally weird spellings, one has actual historical precedent while the other was seemingly pulled from thin air with this post.

[TheGreatness25]

Damn I hope Goecoo beats Kewla with the help of his friends PickleLow and CurryLynn.

That is damn funny...

[Kendamu]

I mostly just say "Cooler."

I'd never heard of Kewler.

[Jord]

There are still people that straight up call Bulma "Blooma", despite the fact that Bulma's name is actually spelled out on her outfit in the very first episodes of Dragon Ball.
Not to mention, she has been refered to as Bulma in all of the official merchandise and media in both English as well as Japanese.

I guess that showing a more Japanese-ish spelling such as Kewla or a name like Blooma perhaps is a way to come across as more unique or as a "smarter" fan due to knowledge of the original Japanese spelling or the puns.

As for Cooler, I find it strange how Funimation chose to differ from their translation they used for Frieza. You would think that they would be more consistent and call him Coola then.

[Kunzait_83]

I guess that showing a more Japanese-ish spelling such as Kewla or a name like Blooma perhaps is a way to come across as more unique or as a "smarter" fan due to knowledge of the original Japanese spelling or the puns.

I've never used nor advocated the use of Blooma as a spelling myself. I've always had no problem with just using Bulma since day one to now. And "Kewla" I agree is just stupid, and as far as I'm aware of at least (and someone who might know better please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here), was spontaneously invented by this thread here.

But that being said, this whole "you're just trying to seem smarter than everyone else" line - that people have been throwing around as an argument/accusation in this fandom since time immemorial - is so beyond tired and played the fuck out. I'm not in any way denying that there are any people at all who act like that and have a genuinely "elitist" attitude: my issue is more when accusations of "elitism" is the immediate go-to assumption for anything and everything that people don't immediately understand, as it is here.

Fans created Blooma awhile back not to be "smarter" or "more unique". Its because of the unique linguistic nature of Toriyama, a Japanese man who created his signature series in the Japanese language for a Japanese audience, being fond of pun-based names that are rooted in English words that don't always jibe one to one with Japanese phonetics.

From a linguistic perspective, it creates an interesting dynamic where untangling the pun and how to best Romanize/translate it for an English (or at least non-Japanese) audience creates some genuine room for debate and also personal creative interpretation.

Its also not in anyway uncommon for lots of people to be naturally attracted to linguistics as a genuine hobby/passion/interest. And Dragon Ball, by its very nature of being a Japanese work that plays a lot with English words in weird ways that could only happen in a Japanese format, has always (and as the resident "pre-dub" historian around these parts, I do mean *always*) attracted a LOT of fans who also have a deep and sincere interest in studying languages and etymology, and has turned a whole ton of non-Japanese speakers over the decades onto learning Japanese and other Asian languages in general.

And getting more people to want to learn more languages is nothing but a net-positive in Dragon Ball's favor as a franchise.

Simply put, fans came up with Blooma as an alternative Romanization of her name because they genuinely, sincerely thought it better and more accurately conveyed the pun that Toriyama was going for with that name: and as noted, the nature of Dragon Ball's English pun-based names in a Japanese work creates unique linguistic conditions that allow for genuine debate and creative/artistic license (note that that does NOT retroactively excuse a lot of FUNimation's weird-ass, non-sequitor name choices, as most of their more egregious naming conventions are contentious due to their being either completely made up from wholecloth on their end, or otherwise mangled without ANY regards to the source word/pun).

And no, Bulma being how its spelled on her hat doesn't necessarily always "canonize" these names as the "correct" spelling, as Kuririn's name was Romanized on his hat as "Kulilin" in the Namek/Freeza arc, and Goku has often been Romanized even in-series as "Gokou". And those spellings are hardly seen as the more "accurate" ones.

As noted: with some of Dragon Ball's names, there's actual room for interpretation and debate. Bulma/Blooma is hardly an exception to this. And many, many fans of the Japanese version also double as language nerds who are genuinely passionate about being able to play around with words in fun/unique ways, which Dragon Ball absolutely invites at every turn.

Nowhere in any of this was there the thought "Now I get to have a unique thing to lord over others to show how smart and different I am!" Names/spellings like Blooma, Kurilin, and Tullece and so on come from a genuine and sincere passion that DB fans (particularly fans of the Japanese version) have of having fun with words and language in a very Toriyama-esque way. And I say all this as someone who doesn't even use, never has used, and likely never will use, the "Blooma" spelling.

Defaulting all the time to "people are just trying to seem smarter or more unique, or trying to be elitist" or whatever is not only an exhausted, over-used, and tired argument in itself (particularly in *this* fanbase especially), but it also frankly reeks of deep insecurity and anti-intellectualism in general, and often makes the people constantly throwing around that accusation look like people who deep-down are overly-defensive, resentful, and self-conscious of the fact that they frankly just aren't that bright themselves and just don't like it that they themselves don't seem to fully grasp what other people are talking about.

And it also on top of that has a "boy who cried wolf" effect when someone in the fandom comes along that is ACTUALLY, genuinely, and for-real acting in a legitimately snooty and "elitist" manner, looking down on other fans and whatnot as being beneath them (which of course once again, absolutely *does* happen, no one should deny that).

Seriously guys (and I'm saying this not only to Jord, but also broadly to people in this community over the years that this applies to, i.e. people who constantly trot out the "elitism" and "you're just trying to be smarter/more unique than everyone" line), not everything that you don't immediately understand the nature of means that people are just trying to be hoity-toity hipsters so that they can look down on you and others.

Constantly defaulting to that assumption anytime there's a topic you come across that you don't know the deeper details of has the overall net-effect of just making you come across like a total and absolute asshole who is hyper-compensating for low-self esteem in their own intelligence.

Not everyone walks through life thinking that they're secretly better than everyone else. Not everything you don't understand is some kind of passive aggressive, hipster-esque swipe at you/others. And going through life constantly fixated on, worrying about, and getting defensive over who's "looking down on you" or trying to get one over on you frankly just sounds like a fucking miserable and exhausting way to live in general.

As for Cooler, I find it strange how Funimation chose to differ from their translation they used for Frieza. You would think that they would be more consistent and call him Coola then.

Yes FUNimation, known far and wide for their strict adherence to consistency with regards to Dragon Ball.

As an old IRL friend of mine (and former Kanz community member) always used to say: "The only thing that has ever been consistent about FUNimation's Dragon Ball is that its consistently inconsistent."

[JulieYBM]

I go with Coola because it matches the modified pun more.

[Adamant]

Not to mention, she has been refered to as Bulma in all of the official merchandise and media in both English as well as Japanese.

I'm not big fan of the "Blooma" spelling though. First off, it seems based on the misconception that the garment she's named after is called ブルマー rather than ブルマ, when the actual fact is that both spellings are commonly used, and considering all the other members of her family have their names spelled the exact same way as what they're named after, this way likely Toriyama's intent here too. And secondly, what English speakers refer to when they say "bloomers" and what Japanese speakers refer to when they say ブルマ are two entirely different things, which is why you often seen the Japanese gym shorts referred to as "buruma" in English to avoid having them get confused with bloomers.

[MasenkoHA]

And no, Bulma being how its spelled on her hat doesn't necessarily always "canonize" these names as the "correct" spelling, as Kuririn's name was Romanized on his hat as "Kulilin" in the Namek/Freeza arc, and Goku has often been Romanized even in-series as "Gokou". And those spellings are hardly seen as the more "accurate" ones.

Tbf Bulma’s name appeared with that spelling in damn near every outfit she wore aside from her nightgown in the Shen Long arc until her Playboy Bunny outfit and then again in her outfit she wore at the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. Kulilin was just that one time and he didn’t wear the hat for very long.

I dunno Bulma may not be correct but I think it’s at least legitimate. Both Simmons and Viz went with it and neither were beholden to Funimation’s choice.

I distinctly remember Buruma being the go to for late 90s/early 2000s fansites and I’m surprised it’s fallen out of use in favor of Blooma, which yeah I never liked. That sounds like she’s supposed to be a flower pun or something.

[Kunzait_83]

I go with Coola because it matches the modified pun more.

Same. Also, as noted, it matches up nicely with Freeza.

Tbf Bulma’s name appeared with that spelling in damn near every outfit she wore aside from her nightgown in the Shen Long arc until her Playboy Bunny outfit and then again in her outfit she wore at the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. Kulilin was just that one time and he didn’t wear the hat for very long.

I dunno Bulma may not be correct but I think it’s at least legitimate. Both Simmons and Viz went with it and neither were beholden to Funimation’s choice.

Yeah, its been my spelling too right along since the early 90s. And obviously its been one of the most widespread standard spellings of her name - even in the earliest English DB circles - since long, long before FUNimation ever entered the picture.

I distinctly remember Buruma being the go to for late 90s/early 2000s fansites and I’m surprised it’s fallen out of use in favor of Blooma, which yeah I never liked. That sounds like she’s supposed to be a flower pun or something.

Buruma was easily neck and neck with Bulma for the most standard spelling amongst fans since well long before the late 90s/early 2000s. Which makes sense, since Buruma is the most literal way of Romanizing it.

[Hellspawn28]

I go with Coola because saying Cooler makes it a bit off at times. Like saying "Cooler looks cooler in his final form".

[JulieYBM]

God, those old days were wild. I remember the use of Buruma and Vejita and Bejita and so many other romanizations lol. It's funny how this stuff gets lost to time.

[Jord]

I distinctly remember Buruma being the go to for late 90s/early 2000s fansites and I’m surprised it’s fallen out of use in favor of Blooma, which yeah I never liked. That sounds like she’s supposed to be a flower pun or something.

It would have actually be a cool idea to have a line of names based on flowers and I'm surprised it never happened. Heck, you they could have used it for the female line of Saiyans.

[nineko]

I remember the use of Buruma and Vejita and Bejita and so many other romanizations lol.

I remember Bills, we should try to rank the weirdest romanizations and see what happens, I think Taurus (Tullece) and Sal (Cell) would be at the top of the list, though Fliza is a strong contender.

[Grimlock]

"Bills" is still used in the Brazilian dub. They also say "God Super Saiyan" instead of "Super Saiyan God", for some reason. But I digress.

[JulieYBM]

I remember the use of Buruma and Vejita and Bejita and so many other romanizations lol.

I remember Bills, we should try to rank the weirdest romanizations and see what happens, I think Taurus (Tullece) and Sal (Cell) would be at the top of the list, though Fliza is a strong contender.

God, yeah, some of those old romanizations are awful lol

[Hellspawn28]

God, those old days were wild. I remember the use of Buruma and Vejita and Bejita and so many other romanizations lol. It's funny how this stuff gets lost to time.

I remember that on old DB fourms like Planet Namek and the Gamefaqs message boards.

[Saiya6Cit]

I prefer all amrericanized names: Bulma, Freezer, Cooler...

That is the why we kept them in mexican adaptation thanks to Brenda Nava. Maybe it is only a personal preference as I learned English as a second language and not Japanese... but I think English is way more popular and since the goal (due to marketing reasons mostly) is to reach the broader audience, English should be kept.