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Shelf Life - The Year in Review

Mr. Oshawott wrote:

"Thanks, bestie." I wonder what drove them to use that as their translation?

Since the accurate translation should have been extremely obvious as it does use Syoaran's name, I think NISA made the terrible decision to go for something "accessible to kids" so that kids won't be confused by Japan's naming convention and how Japanese address each other.

Asrialys wrote:

Mr. Oshawott wrote: "Thanks, bestie." I wonder what drove them to use that as their translation? Since the accurate translation should have been extremely obvious as it does use Syoaran's name, I think NISA made the terrible decision to go for something "accessible to kids" so that kids won't be confused by Japan's naming convention and how Japanese address each other.

That's incredibly stupid.

Awesome list I agree with lots of the choices. but, I still can not understand the Love Live popularity one bit.

I was mostly okay with the dub (even "Sa-koo-ra, but then, the original English dub pronounced it that way too) until the arrival of Yue, whose name they pronounce "Yoo". Not only is it incorrect, but then you have to watch them fumble around the way they talk so it doesn't sound like they're saying the pronoun "you".

I really can't fathom what strange decision or misunderstanding lead to NISA's dropping of the ball on Shaoran's name, but I doubt that it was "making it more accessible to kids". Otherwise, why would they insist on going with his Chinese name, Xiaolang, which is difficult for an English speaking adult to comprehend much less pronounce correctly, the whole half of the series where his name is the super simple, unintimidating "Li"?

Yeah, when we were looking at some of the older materials, there were some spelling inconsistencies even within the official licensor's own stuff. I decided it would be more respectful to the characters themselves to use the commonly accepted Chinese spellings rather than the twice-removed "Chinese-to-Japanese -> Japanese-to-Romaji" renderings.

This might bug some purists, but I think it's a better choice for the character and the product.

NJ_ wrote:

Re: Cardcaptor Sakura from NISA questionable subtitles (see here).

"Thanks, bestie."

The HELL?!

rizuchan wrote:

I really can't fathom what strange decision or misunderstanding lead to NISA's dropping of the ball on Shaoran's name, but I doubt that it was "making it more accessible to kids". Otherwise, why would they insist on going with his Chinese name, Xiaolang, which is difficult for an English speaking adult to comprehend much less pronounce correctly, the whole half of the series where his name is the super simple, unintimidating "Li"?

One of their reps actually explained why in their own forum.

Source!

Houk wrote:

Yeah, when we were looking at some of the older materials, there were some spelling inconsistencies even within the official licensor's own stuff. I decided it would be more respectful to the characters themselves to use the commonly accepted Chinese spellings rather than the twice-removed "Chinese-to-Japanese -> Japanese-to-Romaji" renderings. This might bug some purists, but I think it's a better choice for the character and the product.

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

NJ_ wrote: Re: Cardcaptor Sakura from NISA questionable subtitles (see here). "Thanks, bestie." The HELL?!

Where did "Thanks, bestie" come from? There is no mention of it on that Sailor Moon Forum page that NJ_ linked.

I am just curious about the context in which it was used.
Mostly I am wondering if it is the scene where Meiling notices that Sakura changed from, "Li-kun" to "Syaoran." The significance of that would be nearly impossible to convey to anybody who is not familiar with Japanese naming conventions.

Oh no, don't misunderstand, I LOVE that NIS used "Xiaolang" since it more clearly emphasizes that he's Chinese, and I was always bothered by the "Shaoran" and "Mei Ling" inconsistency in a lot of the CCS materials. But in this weird quest to be consistent they subtitle every instance of someone saying his name, even when they call him "Li", as "Xiaolang", which creates a big issue in the turning point of Sakura calling him by his first name.

My point was just that this obviously wasn't a case of "trying to be child friendly". "trying to be consistent" does explain it, though.

Technically, while the project was announced first in Dengeki G's Magazine, the target audience has always been high school students, male and female, and they have seemingly kept fanservice and such out of the show so that it may appeal equally to both. Dengeki's Girl-targeted magazine has been just as enthusiastic about the project as the male-targeted magazine. Not surprisingly, as an idol series, many high school girls love the show and carry around bags and such designed with them in mind. It's almost a high school girl's Aikatsu, just without the actual mind-blowing popularity of Aikatsu and a more acknowledged male audience.