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Title translations, or lack thereof (rant).

The title says nothing about "emo".

Main Entry:
1mel·an·choly Listen to the pronunciation of 1melancholy
Pronunciation:
\ˈme-lən-ˌkä-lē\

1 a: an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression b: black bile c: melancholia2 a: depression of spirits : dejection b: a pensive mood

Name order is confusing whether or not it's flipped, because as long as one knows that Japanese naming convention is the opposite of what most Western cultures use, the question of which order the names take is present.

I'm involved with an anime discussion group, and when it came time for us to once again pick the next series we'd be covering, I was turned off by the idea of doing Dennou Coil, mostly because I thought the title "sounded weird." (That title doesn't really have a translation to begin with, so the point is moot in retrospect.) I didn't know any more or less about it than I did some of our other options, such as Planetes or Last Exile, but I was instantly attracted to them more because I found their titles intriguing. Now as it turns out, I wound up enjoying the hell out of Dennou Coil, but it doesn't change the fact that my initial reaction to it was rather cool due to that title.

Quote:

With rare exceptions, newcomers are less likely to try a series on a lark whose title isn't in English than one that is.

I don't see why. If neither title has any meaning to them, then why choose the English title over the Japanese?

You really find that title to be descriptive of the series? You'd actually pick up the DVD expecting what the title promises, a moody series about an emo little girl named Haruhi and her emo angst, and at the end of the first DVD yuo'd have felt that your choice was made wisely? The significant amount of comedy and ridiculousness present in the series wouldn't seem "out of left field" when compared to the title to you?

Quote:

Name order is confusing whether or not it's flipped, because as long as one knows that Japanese naming convention is the opposite of what most Western cultures use, the question of which order the names take is present.

But so long as it's consistant, it's not a problem. It only gets confusing when you have Japanese names presented in Western order.

What is your point here, beyond that you're not a good source of advice about anime?

Honestly, are you just trying to ignore the obvious here? The English title does have at least some meaning to a Japanese-illiterate person because it's in a language they can understand, whereas the untranslated title doesn't.

Can you deny that the series, for all its humor and other merits, was essentially about exactly that?

Do you realize you just contradicted yourself in consecutive sentences? If the names are consistently presented in Western order, why would that be more confusing than presenting them consistently in Japanese order?

But since it obviously escaped you, my point was that a title consisting of gobbledygook is going to do absolutely nothing for most people in terms of getting them interested in a show, whereas a title they understand that intrigues them will be more likely to make them want to check it out.

Gobbledygook titles have just as much ability to inspire interest as anything else. Certainly didn't hurt Inu Yasha, Yu Yu Hakushou, or Fushigi Yuugi.

"Yuuutsu" and "Melancholy" are equally informative words to use to describe the series, even if you don't know what "Yuuutsu" means.


How can 2 terms be equally informative when you don't even understand one of the terms. That defies all logic since for them to have equal meaning you have to be able to comprehend them equally.

Japanese people don't give Japanese names in western order.

This is another one where I prefer "Toshokan Senso". Also Sakura Taisen over Sakura Wars, for that matter. And Tenchi Muyo over No Need for Tenchi.

What about [Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya] says "wacky comedy"?

It only gets confusing when you have Japanese names presented in Western order.

"Yuuutsu" and "Melancholy" are equally informative words to use to describe the series, even if you don't know what "Yuuutsu" means.

If the Japanese can avoid calling Edward Elrich "Elrich Edward" then we can offer them the same courtesy.

Samurai Troopers/ Ronin Warriors. This seems completely arbitrary. Is the word samurai any more obscure than the word Ronin? Was there a legal reason for this change?

I have to admit that because of this discussion I'm actually interested enough in Saikano to check this series out. I had no idea what it involved and it didn't sound very interesting, but now that I've seen (for lack of a better term) translated titles for the show it's piqued my interest.
As such I'd have to say that while translated titles aren't the end all be all it certainly makes life easier for me a non japanese speaking person.

Because they aren't consistantly presented in western order. Japanese people don't give Japanese names in western order. If they did then the name of the series would be "Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutsu". So the order of the named characters should remain consistant, as in, the same as their country of orgin. If the Japanese can avoid calling Edward Elrich "Elrich Edward" then we can offer them the same courtesy.