English to Japanese Names

[SonGokuJr1991]

I've noticed since a month ago that people are using the Japanese names of characters and more. Yes I've been knew the Japanese names. But I grew up with the Dragon Ball series dubbed by Funimation. And I noticed people using the English names first but now they use the Japanese names. Like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. And they use the original name from the Japanese version. Oh and also SS (Super Saiyan) to SSJ (Super Saiyajin). I think it's pretty funny that people changed from using the English names to the Japanese ones. Not that it's a bad thing but I'm just saying that's what I noticed. I'm sticking with the names from the English dubbed. I'm more comfortable with it. But i do like to watch the Dragon Ball series in Japanese with subtitles more.

[Bussani]

Some people saw the Japanese version first, or watch it subtitled more than dubbed. Also, names like Hyperbolic Time Chamber aren't in the English manga, either. I guess I'm more used to the Viz manga names than the FUNimation names.

As for SSJ, I guess I just use that out of habit. It's what everyone used to use online back in the old days. Also because "SS Goku" sounds like a boat.

[Herms]

Yeah, can we please kill the assumption that the "English names" are somehow the Funi dub's frequently idiotic and shitty naming scheme rather than Viz's on the whole perfectly fine naming scheme? DB's a manga that happens to have an anime adaptation, folks. If we have to treat a certain set of names as the "English ones", maybe that ought to be the one used in the official English manga translation?

[Rory]

I've noticed since a month ago that people are using the Japanese names of characters and more. Yes I've been knew the Japanese names. But I grew up with the Dragon Ball series dubbed by Funimation. And I noticed people using the English names first but now they use the Japanese names.

As of when? When did this event happen? For as long as I've been on Daizenshuu EX, most people here go by the original names. There are the exceptions, but there's been no sudden "change".

Like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. And they use the original name from the Japanese version.

Because frankly, "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" is flat out incorrect. It's not the name of that place, and is just a name coined by FUNimation for.. whatever reason.

Oh and also SS (Super Saiyan) to SSJ (Super Saiyajin). I think it's pretty funny that people changed from using the English names to the Japanese ones.

Ever thought people might've originally found the original version before the dub? Also, "SSJ" has been around on the net for a LONG time, I've found more dub fans saying "SSJ" than those saying "SS".

I'm sticking with the names from the English dubbed.

Cool story bro.

[VegettoEX]

I've noticed since a month ago that people are using the Japanese names of characters and more.

You don't clarify WHERE this supposed shift is taking place -- is it here on this forum, or elsewhere in the larger DragonBall fandom? Like the other folks that have responded, I'm inferring from your post that you mean here in this particular community.

Which is silly, but we'll get to that.

For starters, the series is Japanese. It just is. It comes from Japan. So yeah, I guess we call the characters by their "Japanese names", but we'd be calling them by their "French names" if it came from France, right?

What you got at a little deeper, however, is questioning why folks don't call the characters by the names that were assigned to them in the English dub produced by FUNimation for the North American market (OK, and by extension Australia later down the line).

(1) A full 50% of this website's audience does not come from North America. They just don't. The folks from the majority of Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America neither know nor care what they consider some dinky American company called the characters.

(2) That being said, as we explicitly state in the forum rules and as a part of our general mission, the original Japanese version is the sole version of the series that can be and is universally enjoyed by fans from all around the world. It's the version that we cover, it's the love of that version that we spread, and it's the version primarily referred to in any and all discussions above and beyond any other adaptation.

(3) Even for fans in North America, lots of them (especially here within this community) got involved with the franchise at many different points. Some of them were here long before FUNimation was even a company in the first place. Many more joined shortly after the series began its English production. Many more joined even further along the way in its production. It was very possible that folks called the characters, locations, items, etc. what they were called in Japanese (or translated appropriately from Japanese into English)... because FUNimation hadn't gotten there yet. What was I going to call the Room of Spirit and Time back in 1996? Well, the "Room of Spirit and Time" -- that's what I knew it as from watching the series in Japanese. There was no English version of it that existed yet, regardless of the fact that I wouldn't have wanted to watch it, anyway. To this day, I still have no idea what the Hell the names are for most characters in FUNimation's dub of DragonBall GT -- why would I ever call any of them that when I never watched it?

(4) As other folks like Herms got into, there's no single "English version" even in North America. FUNimation dubbed the anime, but they are also responsible for the English subtitle translation of the Japanese version, which (for many years) wildly differed from their spoken-English production. There was also the English translation of the manga from Viz, and as was stated, the whole franchise started as a manga in the first place, anyway, and plenty of people read the manga but don't watch the anime (and vice versa). Sometimes all three overlap, and just as often, they don't. Who's "right"...? Well, option #4 -- the original Japanese version, of course!

At the end of the day, you can do whatever you want. Before joining this particular community, however, you did agree to that same set of forum rules -- with that and even the most cursory glace at the website, it should have been pretty apparent that we are geared toward the original Japanese version of the franchise, regardless of the fact that our primary spoken (written?) language is English. We have some fun quirks about ourselves that set us apart from any other English-language community out there, and wouldn't you know...? We're the biggest. Huh. Funny how that works ^_~.

(Of course, if you're talking about outside this community... then... I have no idea...?)

[Gaffer Tape]

I don't suppose there's too much more to say here. Everyone else has done a great job covering it. But I do want to chime in just in case to emphasize that this supposed "shift" you mention has nothing to do with inherently preferring anything Japanese to anything English (because that's the point where the idiots shouting "WEEABOO!" come out of the wood works). I'm sure, over the course of Dragon Ball's presence in North America, many, many people have shifted from FUNimation's nomenclature to the original nomenclature. I was one of them. I don't know if there was any discernable time period for this "shift" to take place in. But it has nothing to do with Japanese vs. English. It's simply when we realized that FUNimation's names and translations were simply incorrect, and, not wanting to be incorrect ourselves, we changed over accordingly.

[kaialone]

As long As I´ve been on this forum (wich I have to admit isnt thaaat long) most poeple have been using the japanese names.But everybody just uses the names they want to.Some people for example prefer to call Kuririn Krillin some prefer to call him just Kuririn.I for example usually spell Tao Pai Pai as "Tao Bai Bai" since its a more accurate spelling as its a chinese name,and I´ve been taught cinese by a very stern teacher who was crazy for correct spelling.

The only exeptions were we are robbed of our freedom to call characters whatever we want to call them are Mr.Satan,Freeza and Tenshinhan.We are unable to call Mr.Satan "Hercule" because of a filter,we are unable to spell Freeza with "ie" because of Vegetto EXs inner demons,and we cant call Tenshinhan by his dub name either.

But Aside from that we can call the characters and places everything we like.

[VegettoEX]

While I do have "inner demons" (heh, that's a fun way to put it ) on some of the names, they're *all* in the interest of common dialogue and understanding, and mostly for characters with names (Selypa, for example) that have been so grossly mangled or flat-out changed that it would otherwise be impossible for the rest of the audience to even know who's being discussed.

We'd do "Petite Satan", too, but I haven't figured out a way to have the forum software parse that in an intelligent way . Getting into other territory, though, with all that.

[SonGokuJr1991]

I've noticed since a month ago that people are using the Japanese names of characters and more. Yes I've been knew the Japanese names. But I grew up with the Dragon Ball series dubbed by Funimation. And I noticed people using the English names first but now they use the Japanese names.

As of when? When did this event happen? For as long as I've been on Daizenshuu EX, most people here go by the original names. There are the exceptions, but there's been no sudden "change".

Like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. And they use the original name from the Japanese version.

Because frankly, "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" is flat out incorrect. It's not the name of that place, and is just a name coined by FUNimation for.. whatever reason.

Oh and also SS (Super Saiyan) to SSJ (Super Saiyajin). I think it's pretty funny that people changed from using the English names to the Japanese ones.

Ever thought people might've originally found the original version before the dub? Also, "SSJ" has been around on the net for a LONG time, I've found more dub fans saying "SSJ" than those saying "SS".

I'm sticking with the names from the English dubbed.

Cool story bro.

Read what I wrote! I never said that it was an event! It's something that I noticed. There's always a first time right? Right. And I'm new to the website. And no "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" is not incorrect. Wow. It's only the Funimation dubbed versions name. And of course it has a reason. smh. And again you are wrong. If you can read I was only talking about people who 'first' used the English dubbed names but now use the Japanese names. Did I make it clear to you? I hope so. I know there's people who either read the manga or watched the anime in Japanese. But like i said before, I was only talking about the people who FIRST used the Funimation names then starts using the Japanese ones. If you think I was only talking about this website you're wrong. I'm talking about people in the 'real world'. Not the cyber world.

"I've found more dub fans saying "SSJ" than those saying "SS".

That doesn't matter. Again you should've thought before you posted because all the stuff you mentioned had nothing to do from what I wrote. You have to read carefully next time ok?

"Cool story bro"

Yeah I like yours too! Maybe we can chill one of these days and share ideas about a better one

[VegettoEX]

You can ignore Rory's moderately-antagonistic remarks and focus on Herms' and my own, instead.

And no "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" is not incorrect. Wow. It's only the Funimation dubbed versions name. And of course it has a reason. smh.

I don't know what "smh" is...

Yes, it's wrong. The Japanese phrasing of the room's name is 精神と時の部屋 ("seishin to toki no heya") -- "seishin" is "spirit", "to" means "and", "toki" is "time", "no" indicates possession, and "heya" is "room". It's a pretty literal and appropriate translation over to "Room of Spirit and Time". "Hyberbolic Time Chamber" may be a moderately accurate description of the room (albeit ignoring the "spirit" portion altogether), but it's not the proper-noun name of the room itself.

It's a name exclusive to FUNimation's English dub of the series (did the alternate English dub in the UK/Canada adapt the name the same way based on FUNimation's script?), and therefore has pretty much zero relevance and familiarity to the vast majority of this website's visitor base and audience. It's not an accurate translation of the name. It's not its name, the same way my actual name is "Mike" and not "Guy Who Runs Daizenshuu EX".

Like I hinted at in my response, it was completely unclear whether you were talking about usage of terminology within this community (we all assumed it was, so there's obviously something you could have phrased better) or outside in the general public. Don't be upset about answers geared one way when you didn't make it clear in the first place.

[Adamant]

I for example usually spell Tao Pai Pai as "Tao Bai Bai" since its a more accurate spelling as its a chinese name,and I´ve been taught cinese by a very stern teacher who was crazy for correct spelling.

"Tao Pai Pai" is correct Wade-Giles.

But yeah, I generally use the Pinyin spelling for such things, too.

[Pokewhiz7]

Well, I watch the series subtitled in Japanese, so those are the names I'm familiar with. Mostly for the very reason of using correct terms. I don't mind the voices, or Krillin's in da house, or cat loves food, and I really do like the music, it's just that I watch it because, in a way, FUNimation's version really does feel off. It feels amateurish and disrespectful to Toriyama's vision. It's like recoloring the sky in Mona Lisa red. Sure, it looks almost the same, but it's not what Da Vinci intended.