VegettoEX wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 11:56 amI mean, see "Goku" as the most prevalent and obvious one. You don't
have to adapt it as "Gokuu" or "Gokou" or "Gokuh".
Technically, you
should spell it as "Gokuu" or "Gokuh" ("Gokuu" would make the pronunciation clearest for English speakers, though). The "ku" is elongated, so you should reflect that in the spelling if you want to be correct. The only reason "Goku" is the most used spelling is because that's what Funimation went with. "Gokou" was more common in the fandom than "Goku" was before Funimation dubbed the series; in Japan, "Gokou" was used practically all the time on official products from about 1987 to 2018. Prevalence doesn't equal correctness, though, as demonstrated by how "Gokou" was really just a forced attempt at anglicization on Bandai's part; no official Japanese romanization system converts "Kuu" into "Kou". In Japanese, "Kou" is pronounced like "Koe" or "Koh", not "Kuu".
Arguably, spelling it as "Goku" confuses the pronunciation, because it doesn't make clear the "ku" is elongated. In the Funimation dub, they tend to put emphasis on the "Go" syllable rather than the "Ku". I'm pretty sure they never put emphasis on the "Ku".
There are some others, like "Bojack" (pretty much no-one spells it "Boujack").
Only because Funimation went with "Bojack". Since it's a pun on the Japanese phrase "boujakubujin", though, "Boujakku" would arguably be the most correct.
What do you do with ベジータ when it has an elongated syllable that's not present in the food word spelling?
You spell it as "Vegeeta" or whatever else would make clear the middle syllable is elongated. "Vegeta" has always been an incorrect spelling; his name isn't merely "Vegetable" with the "ble" chopped. You don't
have to go with "Vegeeta" or the like if you don't want to, but if you want to be correct, then you would.
The "u" we set in "Beerus" doesn't necessarily have to imply that you're pronouncing it as "Beer-oos", either. You can slur/roll right over it... just as most people do, putting an emphasis on the "BEER" part, saying "BEER-us" aloud.
But that's incorrect, because the ビ (Bi) isn't supposed to be elongated. You pronounce it like "virus", but with a short "bi" instead of "vai" at the front.
It's not an exact science with a single "correct" answer; it's an art filled with compromises and best attempts in a world filled with inconsistencies (both within the text itself, and from its official license holders).
Any good translator would aim to be consistent, though. I'm not trying to impose any spellings on anyone, but if one were to be objective and throw away their personal biases, then yes, consistency matters plenty in translation. And regardless of how one prefers to
spell the names, they should always properly pronounce them at the very least.
