Opinions on Toriyama-Written Names?

[Pokewhiz7]

I want to know what everybody thinks of the names Toriyama wrote, i.e. Gokuh, Red Ribon, Kulilin, Bulma, etc. A lot of people tend to ignore these and use ones that bring out the puns better, but some people think of these as the "official" romanizations and the ones to use. I'm kind of mixed on it. I use Goku, Kuririn, and Red Ribbon, and I tend to use the names that bring out puns better, but then again, I use Bulma. I think most people use Bulma, even though something like Blooma would be better.

[Gaffer Tape]

Wow. I was just working on a script for a video that briefly deals with the topic, so awesome timing for me. To sum up my own thoughts, I respect and understand the idea behind people who do accept those as the official names, but I have a hard time agreeing. I think the only names that can really, truly be accepted as "official" are the kana and (on rare occasions when they show up) kanji spellings. Everything else is a translation, an interpretation, an attempt to bring that into a foreign language with a foreign writing system. There is more than one right answer, and people will disagree. But while I usually trust a creator to know more about his/her fictional universe than anyone else (maybe Toriyama is an exception given his memory ), I don't necessarily trust that author to be able to successfully translate those elements properly into a language that is not his/her own. After all, there is a reason why sites like engrish.com exist, and it's not because the Japanese are so amazing at speaking and writing English.

[Pokewhiz7]

Wow. I was just working on a script for a video that briefly deals with the topic, so awesome timing for me.

Ha ha, that was convenient!

[dbboxkaifan]

Just like Mr. Simmons' subtitles on the Dragon Boxes' names, but for Vegeta, I would've preferred "Vejita" at least.

Buruma's the Japanese name (it's how I hear her name being pronounced in Japanese on DBZ/KAI) of Bulma. Bulma's a nice alternative name to the original.

Whiz, why Blooma over Bulma?

[Pokewhiz7]

Whiz, why Blooma over Bulma?

Because the pun is on Bloomers, so Buruma, make the first u silent, Bruma, make that r an l, Bluma, make that u two Os, Blooma. I'm sure somebody knows more than me, so correct me if I'm wrong.

[Gaffer Tape]

I compare it to Freeza, which is basically the same kind of pun: an English word (freezer) written as its closest Japanese approximation minus the elongated sound at the end. So Furiiza becomes Freeza, and Buruma becomes Blooma.

To turn that back around at you, though, I am curious: why Vejita?

[linkdude20002001]

I use Gokuh, Kulilin, Bulma, Yajirove, et cetera. Red Ribon is just a typo, I'm sure. Like the Well Come sign in the afterlife.

[UnbiasedDBZfan]

I compare it to Freeza, which is basically the same kind of pun: an English word (freezer) written as its closest Japanese approximation minus the elongated sound at the end. So Furiiza becomes Freeza, and Buruma becomes Blooma.

To turn that back around at you, though, I am curious: why Vejita?

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=articu ... 29,r:0,s:0
That is a Freezer(フリーザー

This is a Freeza!(フリーザ) Note Katakana differences bewteen Furiiza(Pokemon) and Furiza(Alien thing)
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=frieza ... 29,r:7,s:0

[Gaffer Tape]

Um... all I can say is to notice that elongated sound in the middle that you yourself presented in the katakana. So, yes, two "i"s is accurate. The only difference is the elongated sound at the end.

[ThunderPX]

Personally, I never got "Blooma", given that there aren't any elongated vowels in "Buruma" and no matter how much I watch Japanese Dragon Ball, I still hear that first U very clearly.

[dbboxkaifan]

To turn that back around at you, though, I am curious: why Vejita?

I never understood why the English use the name "Vegeta" if they can't even pronounce it correctly.

Personally, I never got "Blooma", given that there aren't any elongated vowels in "Buruma" and no matter how much I watch Japanese Dragon Ball, I still hear that first U very clearly.

Agreed.

[AgitoZ]

I never understood why the English use the name "Vegeta" if they can't even pronounce it correctly.

What? Who's the English? The UK? English dubs of the series?

And what do you mean pronounce it correctly? They say it exactly like they do in the original. Or do you mean they don't pronounce Vegeta like you would Vegetable?

[dbboxkaifan]

What? Who's the English? The UK? English dubs of the series?

And what do you mean pronounce it correctly? They say it exactly like they do in the original. Or do you mean they don't pronounce Vegeta like you would Vegetable?

English = FUNimation / Ocean (dubs)

Vegeta should be exactly pronounced like in these videos:

http://youtu.be/CtPXEZbJSJM - 1:40
http://youtu.be/P5T2n-pgA08 - 1:20
http://youtu.be/KabpCd7USC8 - 1:11

If they can't then they should've named him "Vejita" it would've been closer to the original (Bejita).

Though, maybe it's asking too much for English speakers to pronounce as it's written.

On the UK DBZ Ads I've seen the announcer said "Son Gohan" something rare.

[dbgtFO]

I never understood why the English use the name "Vegeta" if they can't even pronounce it correctly.

What? Who's the English? The UK? English dubs of the series?

I think he's talking about The Big Green Dub(AB Groupe is it?). In that dub it sounds more like Vejita than it does Vegeta fx:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGnCSGkLC-g
00:05 and 01:03 in the video.

It would have helped, if he was more specific though..

[dbboxkaifan]

I think he's talking about The Big Green Dub(AB Groupe is it?). In that dub it sounds more like Vejita than it does Vegeta fx:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGnCSGkLC-g
00:05 and 01:03 in the video.

It would have helped, if he was more specific though..

I wasn't talking about the AB Groupe English Dub, you should've read my previous comment before posting.

But thanks for this.

[dbgtFO]

I wasn't talking about the AB Groupe English Dub, you should've read my previous comment before posting.

But thanks for this.

Heh, actually I didn't see you had posted. For some reason I wasn't notified about it, when I pressed "submit."
Perhaps I pressed the "post reply" button after you had already posted yours?

[Bussani]

If they can't then they should've named him "Vejita" it would've been closer to the original (Bejita).

"Bejita" isn't the original--it's writing the name out in roman letters as it would be pronounced in Japanese. Making your English spelling match such a pronunciation serves no purpose.

Though, maybe it's asking too much for English speakers to pronounce as it's written.

Not everything is pronounced phonetically to begin with, and there are often different ways of pronouncing the same English word depending on where you're from and other factors. I can think of at least two pronunciations of the word vegetables off the top of my head.

Personally, I never got "Blooma", given that there aren't any elongated vowels in "Buruma" and no matter how much I watch Japanese Dragon Ball, I still hear that first U very clearly.

But you do understand that her name ブルマ (buruma) is exactly how you write "bloomers" (those now slightly old-fashioned gym shorts Japanese girls used to wear) in Japanese, right? Saying that Blooma or Bloomer doesn't make sense because of the Japanese pronunciation is like saying that Trunks' name shouldn't be Trunks because the Japanese clearly pronounce it "Torankusu".

[ThunderPX]

But you do understand that her name ブルマ (buruma) is exactly how you write "bloomers" (those now slightly old-fashioned gym shorts Japanese girls used to wear) in Japanese, right? Saying that Blooma or Bloomer doesn't make sense because of the Japanese pronunciation is like saying that Trunks' name shouldn't be Trunks because the Japanese clearly pronounce it "Torankusu".

By that logic, "Bloomers" is what you should use, not "Blooma." Also, I'm not sure what that Trunks thing has to do with it. My personal preference is based on the fact that "Bulma" just sounds closer to "Buruma" than "Blooma" does. (Although it should be noted that I don't pronounce it the way they do in the English dubs; I use more of a short "ooh" sound that sounds pretty close to a Japanese "u." I'm not sure why, I've been doing that ever since I started watching the (English) show. I guess my brain just chalked their pronunciation up as being the result of their accent and auto-corrected it for my Dutch accent. )

[linkdude20002001]

Vegeta should be exactly pronounced like in these videos:

http://youtu.be/CtPXEZbJSJM - 1:40
http://youtu.be/P5T2n-pgA08 - 1:20
http://youtu.be/KabpCd7USC8 - 1:11

If they can't then they should've named him "Vejita" it would've been closer to the original (Bejita).

Though, maybe it's asking too much for English speakers to pronounce as it's written.

They pronounce his name incorrectly in those videos. His name is correctly pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable, not the the first. And the English dubs DO pronounce it as spelt. If you're following English grammar rules (which rarely apply to English), his name should be pronounced VEE-GEE-TAAH. ...Or VEE-GEE-TUH is there actually is a rule that states A's at the end of a word are pronounced that way.

[Bussani]

By that logic, "Bloomers" is what you should use, not "Blooma."

Indeed. Funny, isn't it? Now you know why Goku laughs at her name when he first hears it.

Also, I'm not sure what that Trunks thing has to do with it. My personal preference is based on the fact that "Bulma" just sounds closer to "Buruma" than "Blooma" does.

"Torunks" sounds closer to "Torankusu" than "Trunks" does. It comes down to whether you want to match the Japanese pronunciation or maintain the pun--especially when the pun is based on an English, or vaguely English word.