Best english adaptation for Kintoun and Makankosappo

[Brodie]

And what is the perfect translation for Masenko and Nyoibo?

[VegettoEX]

My Chinese is non-existent, but Nyoibo (如意棒, right?) just comes from the Ruyi Jingu Bang (如意金箍棒) in Journey to the West, the "compliant, golden-hooped rod" (or as Wikipedia has it listed today, "Ideal Golden-bound Cudgel") which Sun Wukong took from the dragon king under the sea.

You'll notice that the first two kanji in "Nyoibo" are the same first two from JttW's object, but then the third/final one is the fifth/final one from the original name, dropping off two in the mix. The two that are dropped are 金 ("gold") and 箍 ("hoop")... which are, somewhat obviously, the two elements dropped from the DB object's portrayal. It's compliant (Goku can extend it), but it's not golden nor has hoops on it, but it's still a rod/staff/stick. And stuff. "Translating" the rest of it is better off done by someone with far deeper knowledge of the two languages than I.

[Herms]

Masenko means "Demon Flash".

Nyoibo basically means As-You-Will-It staff, ie a staff that does what you want it to do. Not sure what a more catchy way of phrasing that would be; "Staff of Will"?. Like with Kinto-un, because the name has been taken straight from Chinese to Japanese without much alteration, its meaning is a little opaque in Japanese. It's by no means nonsensical, but it's also probably not what the thing would have been named had it originally appeared in a Japanese story; the Japanese Wikipedia article for the JttW object feels the need to explain what nyoi means.

[mysticboy]

Nyoibo basically means As-You-Will-It staff, ie a staff that does what you want it to do. Not sure what a more catchy way of phrasing that would be; "Staff of Will"?. Like with Kinto-un, because the name has been taken straight from Chinese to Japanese without much alteration, its meaning is a little opaque in Japanese. It's by no means nonsensical, but it's also probably not what the thing would have been named had it originally appeared in a Japanese story; the Japanese Wikipedia article for the JttW object feels the need to explain what nyoi means.

So, "Power Pole" isn't too far off then?

[Herms]

So, "Power Pole" isn't too far off then?

The idea is that it's obedient. I suppose having an obedient tool can be empowering, but by that standard you could probably claim anything as "not too far off" from the original name. I don't think anyone who heard the name "Power Pole" would assume it's a pole that does whatever Goku wants it to, so in that sense it doesn't really translate the meaning of the Japanese name.

[caejones]

Recently I decided I liked "Demonic Light Drill" as a translation for makankosappo. But I guess "Demon Light Cannon" would be better. Or... Deadly Piercing Light? Yeah, I like that one.

Kienzan is really difficult to translate decently. Ki Disk? Ki Buzsaw? Ki razor?

Nyoui bo? ... Rod of Dominion!
Ahem. I'd suggest "Wish bo", but then someone would assume it grants wishes. (I'd assume we can use bo, since 1987 TMNT got away with it).
... The Go-Go staff!
... Do-it staff?
... Willy-nilly bo.
I'm starting to be ok with Power Pole.

[Saiga]

I thought Nyoi-boi directly translated to "mind stick".

[Kaboom]

My ideal translation for the Makankosappo would be "Demon Drill Cannon." I'm sure that if something like that had been used in the dub from day one, lots of people wouldn't mind it, just like with "Spirit Bomb" and other translated attack names that manage to both be at least mostly accurate and sound natural. But "Special Beam Cannon" is too ingrained into the English localization now to do anything about, really. If anything that already officially exists might be a good substitute, I guess it'd be Viz's "Light of Death."

As for Kinto'un and Nyoibo, I guess most attempts at translations of them would be so silly that we'd be better off not translating them at all. "Nimbus" and "Power Pole" do kind of sound good in comparison to literal translations.


... what about "Tumble Cloud?"

[TheBlackPaladin]

But "Special Beam Cannon" is too ingrained into the English localization now to do anything about, really.

Unless you count the fact that in the uncut English dub of Kai, Piccolo did indeed shout, "Makankosappo."

[Herms]

As for Kinto'un and Nyoibo, I guess most attempts at translations of them would be so silly that we'd be better off not translating them at all. "Nimbus" and "Power Pole" do kind of sound good in comparison to literal translations.

It's probably worth reiterating that "Kinto-un" and "Nyoibo" don't even sound all that natural in Japanese either, since as features of Journey to the West the names originated in Chinese centuries ago. They're used in DB to serve as a connection to the ancient story the series is based on, rather than to be snappy names for Goku's accessories. So a certain amount of stiffness in an English translation wouldn't be at odds with the feeling of the original.

By the way, if anyone's wondering precisely why Kinto-un means "somersault cloud", it's because in JttW it refers to Sun Wukong's method of traveling by somersaulting on top of the clouds. Visual adaptations of the story have typically simplified this into Wukong merely zipping around on a cloud, and DB falls right into this pattern.