Full List of Name Puns?

[Herms]

Herms, why is it “Buu” and not “Boo”

Well, actually can be either. Buu of course gets his name from the song from Disney's Cinderella "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". In Japanese, the songs title is spelled ビビディ・バビディ・ブー (those dots indicate the space between each word). Buu's name in Japanese is spelled ブウ, while for the song it’s spelled ブー; however, these basically amount to the same thing (ブ is ‘bu’, ウ is ‘u’, while ー lengthens the originally ‘bu’ sound; I think both spelling would be pronounced the same). Anyway, you could argue that since the name comes from the song it should be spelt ‘Boo’ in English, but you could also argue that since his name isn’t spelled exactly like it is in the song, it should be ‘Buu’. In Japan his name is always romanized as ‘Boo’ (‘Majin-Boo’ actually, since they rarely leave the ‘Majin” part off). For the record, Bibidi and Babidi have thier names spelled in Japanese exactly like they are in the song's title.

what’s the deal with the names in the subs like Yamucha, Reacoome, Batta, Jheese, Nail, and Cargot.

‘Yamucha’ is a direct Romanization of how the character’s name is written in katakana, as well as the Japanese name of Yum Cha, his name pun. Reacoome, Batta, and Jheese are all just different ways of Romanizing those names; due to the differences in English and Japanese there’s a lot of different ways most of the characters’ names can be written in English.

Cargot is a way of writing the character’s name that tries to keep the pun intact, since his name comes from escargot. In Japanese his name is written カルゴ (karugo), while escargot is written エスカルゴ, (esukarugo; since it’s written phonetically, it doesn’t include the silent ‘t’) Toriyama just took of the ‘esu’ part.

Did Daimao’s subs go the same route as Viz with the names and try to keep them closer to the puns?

I think he’s said that he generally tries to keep them close to the pun.

[Kikoha Hater]

Ok then that's good know, thank you being so informative Herms.

[Kikoha Hater]

Ok then that's good to know, thank you for being so informative Herms.

[Kendamu]

I remember once reading a long argument between some who said that Dabura meant "Doubler" and the others saying that it had no meaning.

Of course, it's from "abracadabra." I just wonder who "Abraca" was supposed to be.

[SaiyaMel]

I've been wondering about the "ajisa" trees - if it comes from any word related to mollusks, since it's to do with Namek?

[caejones]

I remember once reading a long argument between some who said that Dabura meant "Doubler" and the others saying that it had no meaning.

Of course, it's from "abracadabra." I just wonder who "Abraca" was supposed to be.

... The demon queen? . (I could see the final syllable changing were that the case... just... because... it looks more like a Japanese female's name? ).

"Ajisa" ... seems to refer to a type of plant (ajisai = hydrangea?)? Maybe?

[VegettoEX]

I remember once reading a long argument between some who said that Dabura meant "Doubler" and the others saying that it had no meaning.

Of course, it's from "abracadabra." I just wonder who "Abraca" was supposed to be.

"Doubler" was certainly a spelling used in a couple fansub groups many eons back, though that lends it as much credibility as "Taurus".

[FindKenshi]

Hm.. but someone on this very board told me that the spelling of his name as "Doubler", was used in Ultimate Battle 22, which is probably where all those fan-subbers got it from in the first place. Not that I'm arguing that "Doubler" is correct, of course. But someone with an offical license to produce Dragonball merchandise screwed it up long before Anime Labs did. (Apparently) I don't own UB22, nor have I ever played it, so I'm not one to validate that claim. Nor do I even know if that game came out before most of the popular fansubs began to spread.

[VegettoEX]

Hm.. but someone on this very board told me that the spelling of his name as "Doubler", was used in Ultimate Battle 22, which is probably where all those fan-subbers got it from in the first place.

Incorrect. On the character select screen (with the exception of "TRUNKS"), everyone's name is spelled out in Japanese, so he's just plain o' ダーブラ. When you get in-game-fighting and the names are written in English at the top by the life-bars, his name is written out as "DARBURA".

Game came out 07/28/1995, so he had been around in the series on TV for a bit, already, probably around episode 215-ish, which was February 1994. Doesn't mean the fansubs were done right away, but they weren't too long after.

(Oh, and it's written out as "Dabura" in the American release of the game, but that's irrelevant.)

[Herms]

I've been wondering about the "ajisa" trees - if it comes from any word related to mollusks, since it's to do with Namek?

"Ajisa" ... seems to refer to a type of plant (ajisai = hydrangea?)? Maybe?

caejones is right about ajisai being the Japanese word for Hydrangea, as well as being the English word for a certain type of Hydrangea found in Japan. However, I haven't been able to find anything confirming if this is where the ajissa plants on Namek get their name from, or what else the pun could be.

[Herms]

Here are some puns for characterized from the main series not covered by Forever's pun guide, as well as a little additional information on some character's names:

Pui-Pui gets his name from Chichin-puipui, a Japanese good luck charm that mothers, nurses, and the like use when children hurt themselves. I suppose it’s similar to saying “Let me kiss it to make it stop hurting.” It’s also used as a magic chant in ninja shows and Arabian Nights-themed shows aimed at children. It has also been used as the name for several children's shows. Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger made a commercial in Japan where he sang this chant to the tune of Leningrad (don’t ask me…).

Yakon gets his name from tekumaku-mayakon, a magical chant that originates from the late 1960s anime Himitsu no Akko-chan (most of the following is from the show’s Japanese Wikipedia entry ). In the show, Akko-chan uses this phrase to transform through the power of a magic compact mirror given to her by a mirror spirit. All she has to do is say “Tekumaku-mayakon, become a _____”, and fill in what it is she wants to become. “Tekumaku-mayakon” is actually an abbreviation of “Technical Magic My Compact”. In order to turn back to normal, she must say “Rami-pasu rami-pasu ru ru ru” (rami-pasu being ‘Super Mirror’ in reverse).

Yamu is named for the yam. Gohan's classmates Sharpner and Eresa are named after pencil sharpeners and erasers.

The SaibaiMan get their name from the Japanese word saibai, meaning ‘cultivation’. This is why Viz calls them ‘the Cultivators’ (not that I think that’s an accurate thing to call them, but there was some method to Viz’s madness).

In addition to the reason Toriyama gave for choosing his name (that it sounded Japanese), Yajirobe is also the name of a Japanese spinning toy (the toy's name is yajirobee; Yajirobe's name is actually written in Japanese with a lengthening stroke on the end, which means his name should technically be written with a second 'e' as well, but nobody ever does)

Uub’s name may, in addition to be a reversal of ‘Buu’, be a pun on the Japanese word ubu, meaning ‘inexperienced’ or ‘wet behind the ears’ (remember that Uub’s name is directly romanized as uubu; the ‘u’ on the end is usually left off to keep his name a reveral of ‘Buu’ in English).

Toriyama said that Upa was named for his assistant’s dog and that Bora’s name had no meaning, but it’s possible their names came from a series of tropical drinks called Noa-Noa, Bora-Bora, and Upa-Upa.

In addition to Toriyama’s explanation, Toninjinka’s name may come from the ninjinka, which is apparently an imaginary fruit that granted eternal youth and which appeared in Journey to the West.

I finally managed to find the full explanation of Coola's name pun: though his name is indeed taken from 'cooler', the movie's producer Kouzou Morishita (?) was worried about his name being too similiar to the source, so he decided to have the name spelt クウラ/kuura (as opposed to クーラー/kuuraa, how the word cooler is normally spelled in Japanese) after remembering the phrase meshi demo kuura ("Let's eat", basically), an expression said before meals in his native Shizuoka dialect.

[FindKenshi]

Darn it, I shoulda knew it wasn't true. TheGreatness25 said it in this thread

http://db.schuby.org/daizex/viewtopic.p ... sc&start=0

lol Funny thing is on the original Japanese game, Ultimate Battle 22...or 27 as I call it (:P), Dabura's name was spelled "Doubler" too. So that's what I thought his name was.

I really don't know why I believed him.

[SaiyaMel]

I'm now wondering about "potarra".

[Herms]

I'm now wondering about "potarra".

I've got no idea on that one, and I haven't managed to find anything. My guess is that it's just a completely made-up name, like Polunga.

To sorta kinda make up for that, here are the GT name puns:

Don Kia comes from akindo, meaning ‘merchant’

Redgic comes from ‘credit’.

Zunama comes from nazuma, the Japanese word for catfish.

Lood comes from ‘doll’.

Doltakki comes from combining ‘doll’ and okakki, a Japanese word that itself is a combination of otaku and the ‘y’ that comes out the end of English adjectives, so it basically means ‘otaku-y’ or ‘like an otaku’.

Doctor Muu gets his name from mutants. And, you know, that he’s a doctor.

Rild gets his name from ‘drill’.

Baby gets his name from Balthazar “Baby” Bytleton-Ford, hero of the Spanish-American war. Or maybe just from the word ‘baby’. One of those two.

Super #17 gets his name from…OK, so it’s even more obvious than Baby. But apparently “Hell-Fighter #17” is only the name of the #17 that Dr. Gero and Muu make in hell (the one that looks just like the original #17), and not to the fused, Super-Duper #17. So I learned something there. And so did you! (unless you already knew that…)

Sugoroku Space a pun on the Japanese game sugoroku (thanks to Adamant for pointing this out). The name of the father space-tanooki is Suugorou, and his son is named Suukorou. Both of these are probably puns on saikoro, Japanese for ‘dice’.

Palace is a pun on…palace.

Ronge is a pun on ron-ge, a Japanese term meaning ‘long hair’ (ron is the English word ‘long’, while ge means ‘hair’).

Maguure is a pun on magure, meaning ‘fluke’. This is in reference to the fact that he manages to beat Goku at the Tenkaichi Budoukai by sheer, unbelievable luck.

Bissh is, I’m guessing, a pun on ‘fish’.

Gall, Bissh’s seagull companion, is a pun on…seagull.

The planet Imegga is an anagram of gametsui, ‘stingy’.

Planet Bihe is a pun on hebi, ‘snake’.

Planet Pital comes from ‘hospital’.

This Daizenshuu EX tidbit covers the evil dragons' names pretty good.

[SaiyaMel]

Bebi should have been named after a fruit seeing as he's a Tsufuru.

[TheGreatness25]

Baby may be a Tuffle (eh I'm used to it), but Dr. Myuu named him.

[Adamant]

I’m wondering if Sugoroku Space is supposed to be a pun on the Japanese words for 4, 5, and 6 (shi, go, roku). That would fit the dice theme.

No, it's a pun on... well, Sugoroku, a Japanese board game that plays somewhat like Backgammon.

[Herms]

I’m wondering if Sugoroku Space is supposed to be a pun on the Japanese words for 4, 5, and 6 (shi, go, roku). That would fit the dice theme.

No, it's a pun on... well, Sugoroku, a Japanese board game that plays somewhat like Backgammon.

Ah, thank you. I'll go put that into the original post.

(I need to also go back and fix those Tullece henchmen whose name puns I got wrong...)