"Kewla" or "Coola"

[Jord]

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.

I also read Birus a lot, implying his name was a pun on 'virus'.

[nineko]

That's not just a mere implication, the team who designed Beerus actually intended to name him after the word "virus", but then Toriyama got it wrong and made everything related to alcoholic beverages instead.

[Zebra]

"Kewla" would be an accurate romanization of キューラ (Kyūra), but the character's name in katakana is クウラ (Kūra), so "Coola" is accurate here. You can also go with "Coora", "Koora", and "Koola".

[Zebra]

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".

By itself, "Ginew" is an accurate romanizaiton of ギニュー (Ginyū). ュー (yū) can be romanized as "ew", so ニュー (nyū) can be romanized as "new". See how Mew from Pokemon is written as ミュウ (Myū) in katakana.

The "Ginew" spelling originates from Bandai, and they wanted to use spellings that they felt looked natural in English, which is why they used stuff like "Gokou".

[GhostEmperorX]

By itself, "Ginew" is an accurate romanizaiton of ギニュー (Ginyū). ュー (yū) can be romanized as "ew", so ニュー (nyū) can be romanized as "new". See how Mew from Pokemon is written as ミュウ (Myū) in katakana.

The "Ginew" spelling originates from Bandai, and they wanted to use spellings that they felt looked natural in English, which is why they used stuff like "Gokou".

This is true, and to say nothing of "new" itself as a loanword (although reading again you already said that, oops...). Also, upon confirming that the kana was accurate to print, I saw that the only way Ginew wouldn't work is if the kana was ギンユウ (Gin'yū) instead (for some reason that's always what I heard the name as, didn't know it wasn't the "double n" sound rather than "ni" with a mini "yu" and a vowel extender).

[Desassina]

Would fans take Geran over Jiren as the character's name? It's pretty accurate in meaning and pronunciation.

[VegettoEX]

Would fans take Geran over Jiren as the character's name? It's pretty accurate in meaning and pronunciation.

I know TDC here pushes/advocates for that. I get it -- I really do. Problem for me, though, is that "spelling" doesn't inherently/immediately/logically/simply infer the "correct" pronunciation of the name (instead quickly suggesting a "hard"-"G" sound, like in "grill" or "girl"), which I personally argue is among the top priorities when trying to localize a DB character name.

[Desassina]

I guess that the best solution would be to pronounce the name alongside its written form(s) and make that a convention in each (specific language) forum(s).

If I'm Portuguese with English as a second language, and looked at Jiren without knowing that it's a Japanese name (or its romanization), then I would immediatly read it like siren in case I didn't listen to it in official form.

[Zebra]

Would fans take Geran over Jiren as the character's name? It's pretty accurate in meaning and pronunciation.

I know TDC here pushes/advocates for that. I get it -- I really do. Problem for me, though, is that "spelling" doesn't inherently/immediately/logically/simply infer the "correct" pronunciation of the name (instead quickly suggesting a "hard"-"G" sound, like in "grill" or "girl"), which I personally argue is among the top priorities when trying to localize a DB character name.

You could make that same argument about a lot of English words and names, though. One might think "gyroscope" is pronounced "guy-ro-scope", but it's actually pronounced "jai-ro-scope". A lot of people assume "Burgess" is pronounced "bur-guess", but it's actually "bur-jiss" (at least in America. The British pronunciation is buh-jiss, but it's still pronounced with a "j" sound rather than a "g"). Some people would also assume that "Jiren" is pronounced "jai-ren", rhyming with "siren" as Desassina noted, too. It ultimately falls on the speaker to know how to properly pronounce it.

[GhostEmperorX]

But being that Jiren is a direct romanization of the kana used to write the name, it also goes for just about every similar case.
At that point it's easier to simply remember what language it is you're dealing with when approaching the subject.

[Vegard Aune]

Would fans take Geran over Jiren as the character's name? It's pretty accurate in meaning and pronunciation.

To me it feels weird, but then I really am not one to talk being that I steadfastly insist that ケフラ literally only makes even the tiniest bit of sense spelled as "Kafla", which is even less likely to parse the way it is pronounced than "Geran" would be.

[Zebra]

But being that Jiren is a direct romanization of the kana used to write the name, it also goes for just about every similar case.
At that point it's easier to simply remember what language it is you're dealing with when approaching the subject.

But the name itself is supposed to be a pun on the English word "range". Using "Jiren" is no different from using "Furiiza" for "Freeza", "Torankusu" for "Trunks", "Seru" for "Cell", etc; most of us agree those direct romanizations are tacky as they obscure the puns. So, why would "Jiren" be any different?

The only reason "Geran" might feel weird is because "Jiren" is so commonplace, which is ultimately arbitrary. People can keep using "Jiren" if they want, but my point is that ease of pronunciation isn't actually a valid reason. It's better for one to admit they're simply catering to their own personal tastes than it is for them to pretend there's a logically sound justification for using "Jiren".

[GhostEmperorX]

But the name itself is supposed to be a pun on the English word "range". Using "Jiren" is no different from using "Furiiza" for "Freeza", "Torankusu" for "Trunks", "Seru" for "Cell", etc; most of us agree those direct romanizations are tacky as they obscure the puns. So, why would "Jiren" be any different?

The only reason "Geran" might feel weird is because "Jiren" is so commonplace, which is ultimately arbitrary. People can keep using "Jiren" if they want, but my point is that ease of pronunciation isn't actually a valid reason. It's better for one to admit they're simply catering to their own personal tastes than it is for them to pretend there's a logically sound justification for using "Jiren".

Thanks for the origin clarification, I suppose.
1. The pronunciation of "レン" alone changes from being similar to "Range" when "ジ" is placed before it (ジレン) rather than after it (レンジ). That's already enough of a difference. Not to mention that "ge" at the end of the English word is silent on the "e" as opposed to how it is in JP. Note how your other examples didn't have to be significantly re-arranged, the loanwords were basically used as is.
2. The problem is that the pun simply doesn't translate over in the way that those other loanword examples did. You can't pronounce "ran" as "ren".
(BTW, this would lead to a similar problem with the way that "Gero" is pronounced, if you were to read it the same way as "Geran".)

[Zebra]

1. The pronunciation of "レン" alone changes from being similar to "Range" when "ジ" is placed before it (ジレン) rather than after it (レンジ).

レン (ren) never actually sounded like "range" in the first place. The first syllable in "range" is elongated, sounding like "ray" or "rey". There is no elongation whatsoever in レンジ (renji).

"Range" is properly katakanized as レーンジ (rēnji) or レインジ (reinji), but it's arbitrary how English words get approximated with Japanese syllables. If you can romanize レンジ (renji) as "range", there's no reason you can't romanize ジレン (Jiren) as "Geran".

Note how the English word "baby" is properly katakanized as ベイビー (beibī) or ベービー (bēbī), but it's usually katakanized as ベビー (bebī), which doesn't elongate the ベ (be). The Dragon Ball GT character ベビー (bebī) is universally romanized as "Baby", even though "Beby" (with an "e" instead of an "a") or "Bebee" would technically be more correct.

Not to mention that "ge" at the end of the English word is silent on the "e" as opposed to how it is in JP.

It's not. The "ge" in "range" is pronounced pretty much exactly how ジ (ji) is in Japanese.

You can't pronounce "ran" as "ren".

"Veteran" disagrees.

(BTW, this would lead to a similar problem with the way that "Gero" is pronounced, if you were to read it the same way as "Geran".)

You're not supposed to read "Geran" like "Gero", and it falls on the speaker to know how to properly pronounce both names. "Ge" can be pronounced with a "g" sound (get, geese, gear, geek, gecko, etc) or a "j" sound (geez, gel, gemstone, geography, germ, etc) depending on the word or name.

[GhostEmperorX]

レン (ren) never actually sounded like "range" in the first place. The first syllable in "range" is elongated, sounding like "ray" or "rey". There is no elongation whatsoever in レンジ (renji).

"Range" is properly katakanized as レーンジ (rēnji) or レインジ (reinji), but it's arbitrary how English words get approximated with Japanese syllables. If you can romanize レンジ (renji) as "range", there's no reason you can't romanize ジレン (Jiren) as "Geran".

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/レンジ already tells a different story. You also have "Ranger" which is in a bunch of different Sentai series titles using レンジャー (and romanizing it as "Ranger" at times) with no elongation.

[Zebra]

レン (ren) never actually sounded like "range" in the first place. The first syllable in "range" is elongated, sounding like "ray" or "rey". There is no elongation whatsoever in レンジ (renji).

"Range" is properly katakanized as レーンジ (rēnji) or レインジ (reinji), but it's arbitrary how English words get approximated with Japanese syllables. If you can romanize レンジ (renji) as "range", there's no reason you can't romanize ジレン (Jiren) as "Geran".

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/レンジ already tells a different story. You also have "Ranger" which is in a bunch of different Sentai series titles using レンジャー (and romanizing it as "Ranger" at times) with no elongation.

Even on that Wikipedia page you linked to, they note that レインジ (reinji) is another way of katakanizing "range". Blinding citing Wikipedia proves nothing, anyway. Anyone who understands how English words get converted to Japanese syllables can see that レンジ (renji) doesn't line up with "range".

That's not to say you can't approximate "range" to レンジ (renji), but it's still technically incorrect as it doesn't account for the elongated first syllable. Just because something is commonplace doesn't make it correct. レンジ (renji) only works as an approximation of "range" if you're pronouncing it like the "range" in "orange". But "range" by itself is never pronounced like that.

My "baby" example already demonstrated how approximating English words with Japanese syllables can be arbitrary, which you would have seen if you bothered to read the whole post. When Japanese speakers approximate words from other languages, they often remove the elongated syllables because they find it simpler than keeping them (they do the same thing with their own native words, too).

Without all of the elongated syllables, you essentially create a slang term that isn't actually correct. Since loanwords like レンジ (renji) and ベビー (bebī) are so commonplace despite technically being incorrect, there's no reason ジレン(Jiren) can't be romanized as "Geran".

[GhostEmperorX]

Even on that Wikipedia page you linked to, they note that レインジ (reinji) is another way of katakanizing "range". Blinding citing Wikipedia proves nothing, anyway. Anyone who understands how English words get converted to Japanese syllables can see that レンジ (renji) doesn't line up with "range".

Well there's different ways to render specific loanwords in kana (and how not all of them even come from English in the first place which is neither here nor there though). Also, it's not a "Wikipedia" thing as I've seen that specific rendition used across many different areas (same goes for words like "Change"), it was just to show that there's no point in trying to shoot it down, especially as this particular conversation is concerned.

(It didn't quite contain the vowel lengthening dash you used the first time though, and it would seem that the dash isn't all that in use even compared to レインジ.)

That's not to say you can't approximate "range" to レンジ (renji), but it's still incorrect as it doesn't account for the elongated first syllable. Just because something is commonplace doesn't make it correct. レンジ (renji) only works as an approximation of "range" if you're pronouncing it like the "range" in "orange". But "range" by itself is never pronounced like that.

Again, this specific context isn't operating off of these hard rules. The name in question isn't even an anagram of the original/proper spelling.

It's like how "bloomers" can be approximated as ブルマ (buruma); that's also technically incorrect because it doesn't account for the elongated syllables. The proper approximation of "bloomers" is ブルーマー (burūmā); ブルマ (buruma) would accurately be romanized as "Blumma" or "Bl'ma", which are gibberish.

This however I agree on, and is in fact a point I've made before, which is why the issues begin with the chosen convention and it's more than a loop to try to get it to work in English (sort of like fitting a square peg into a round hole).

Main issue though was:

People can keep using "Jiren" if they want, but my point is that ease of pronunciation isn't actually a valid reason. It's better for one to admit they're simply catering to their own personal tastes than it is for them to pretend there's a logically sound justification for using "Jiren".

Was it necessary for you to put it this way? It feels rather pedantic, as it's not really a matter of "personal taste" on my end (since I'm not that invested in it, just showing what my own experience with seeing the word is since you mentioned it being a pun in the first place).
I see the point you made about obscuring the pun though.

It's not. The "ge" in "range" is pronounced pretty much exactly how ジ (ji) is in Japanese.

You may also want to consider that pronunciations of English words vary across different areas, so I'm not sure what yours is but ジ slightly emphasizes the vowel at the end of it (rather than having it be silent like something with "u" at the end of it can be) and "Range" doesn't emphasize the "e" at the end of the word.
I'm also not sure where you got "ran" at the end of "Veteran" being the same pronunciation as "-ren" is typically heard (as in something like "Rend" or "Rent").
As for the other words with "ge" you mentioned, it sounds like "Geran" would be closer to "Germ" than it is to "Geography".

[Zebra]

]Also, it's not a "Wikipedia" thing as I've seen that specific rendition used across many different areas (same goes for words like "Change"), it was just to show that there's no point in trying to shoot it down, especially as this particular conversation is concerned.

No one is shooting it down. My point is that since レンジ (renji) is such a common approximation of the English word "range" despite technically being incorrect, there's no reason ジレン (Jiren) can't be romanized as "Geran".

You're operating under the assumption that since it's so common, it's not actually incorrect, but it is. I don't know if in some other language or alternate form of English "range" is pronounced without any elongated syllables, but I do know that in both American and British English, it's elongated.

(It didn't quite contain the vowel lengthening dash you used the first time though, and it would seem that the dash isn't all that in use even compared to レインジ.)

They're essentially the same thing and both of them are more correct than レンジ (renji) as approximations of the English word "range".

The name in question isn't even an anagram of the original/proper spelling.

Do you romanize the GT villain ベビー (Bebī) as "Beby", "Bebee", or "Baby"?

You may also want to consider that pronunciations of English words vary across different areas

That's true. Sorry if I came across as condescending. Feel free to pronounce "range" and "veteran" however you want. And feel free to romanize ジレン (Jiren) however you want as well; my point is just that there's no objective reason to discount "Geran".

[BernardoCairo]

"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.

I think it's weird to say "Beerus" in Portuguese. It just doesn't sound right. However, "Bills" sounds off in English. Beerus is more fitting.
I think I heard someone saying that "Bills" is a valid transliteration of the Japanese name, but I'm not sure about that.

[Vegard Aune]

"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.

I think it's weird to say "Beerus" in Portuguese. It just doesn't sound right. However, "Bills" sounds off in English. Beerus is more fitting.
I think I heard someone saying that "Bills" is a valid transliteration of the Japanese name, but I'm not sure about that.

It's "valid" in the sense that ビルス can indeed theoretically be rendered that way... But since we know the etymology of the name, from that angle it's flagrantly wrong.