Author's Note: I wrote this in two days for my Japanese Culture class... It was supposed to be a research paper, but I didn't need to do any research for this! Enjoy this, and remember, never trust American translators! I hope you find this interesting and informative. I'm sorry it's so long!

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Mangled Translations

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After America bombed Japan in World War II and replaced their military with American troops, the Japanese had much more time and energy to focus on other things. Aside from technology, possibly the most interesting achievement of post-war Japan has been their entertainment. Of course Japanese anime, movies, manga, and video games have been popular in Japan, but they have also gathered quite a following in America and other countries. However, whenever anything is converted from one language to another, something is lost, or at least changed, in the translation. Occasionally things are only changed because there is no English equivalent for what is being said in Japanese. More often though, there is something in the original version that the translators want to hide from their audience. This has gotten better over the years in which the “otaku” (obsessive fan) culture has grown in America, but in all translations, especially the dubbing or subtitling of anime, significant things are still being changed. This stems from the belief that Americans cannot deal with the very things that make Japanese entertainment interesting and enjoyable for so many people.

When many anime, manga, and video games come to America, the names of some characters are often changed. This can be for a number of reasons. A few names just sound ridiculous, so the translators decide to change them. Mash of “Final Fantasy VI” was renamed Sabin, which sounds a lot less like a killer gorilla. Sometimes a name is just so Japanese that the translators think it will be unacceptable, especially to American children. Therefore, Satoshi of “Pocket Monsters” became Ash of “Pokemon,” and “Cardcaptor Sakura” character Tomoyo was called Madison in “Cardcaptors.” Even the name of an anime or manga is not safe, obviously. Early translations of “Rurouni Kenshin” were called “Samurai X,” though since then it has been changed back, and “Fushigi Yuugi” is sometimes loosely translated into “Mysterious Play.” Since Americanized anime, manga, and video games are generally translated for people who have no other experience with Japanese things, this can be a good thing. It makes Japanese entertainment more accessible to a wider audience. When Americans see the translated versions though, they often become interested enough to want to see more: namely, the original version.

In other instances, the names of characters in Japanese entertainment are only altered in terms of pronunciation. Japanese vowels are always pronounced in the same way, while it can be nearly impossible to tell how to pronounce them in English. The letter A is pronounced “ah,” as in “star”. “E” is pronounced “ay,” like the A in “make.” “I” is pronounced “ee,” similar to the double E in “seen.” The letter “O” sounds like “oh,” as in “own.” The hardest letter to get used to is probably “U.” It can be almost silent at times. When it is pronounced, it has a very light, quick “oo” sound, a bit like the double O in “food.” Often though, the U is glossed over without any emphasis at all. The vowels are not the only letters pronounced a certain way, however. The letter G is always pronounced like a J, as in “gem.” The most significant consonant change is probably the letters L and R. The letter “L” does not exist in Japanese, so “R” is used to substitute for it when the sound is used. So “Mariku” from Yu-Gi-Oh is pronounced “Mah-leek."

In American cartoons, comics, and video games, the characters have a tendency to be one-dimensional. The heroes are pure good and the villains are entirely evil. However, this is not usually the case in Japan. The protagonists are rarely perfect, and antagonists are almost never completely evil. They always have reasons for what they do, and it is always possible to see the story from their point of view, though it may not be easy. Yet when these characters are shown on American television, many things are changed. The hero of “Yu-Gi-Oh” is actually an avid pornography fan. Yet in the American TV version, he is portrayed as completely innocent. And the main villain of “Final Fantasy VII” was driven insane by his bad experiences in life, which were shown clearly in the game to allow the player to understand his motives. This was actually translated very well. Role-playing video games usually target teenage to adult audiences though, so their plots are not changed as often for the sake of sheltering American players.

It has often been said that Japan is backwards compared to America. In terms of manga, or Japanese comics, this is literally true. The Japanese read from right to left, and their manga is no different. When the manga is translated into English, one of two things can be done. For a long time, manga pages and panels were all rearranged so that they could be read from left to right. Some of the speech bubbles ended up being in inconvenient places that way, however. More often in more recent times, the manga is translated in its original right-to-left state. This can be confusing for Americans, who are used to reading books the other way. Recently “Shonen Jump,” the world’s most popular manga magazine, was published in America. It is printed right to left, in its original state. There are little signs on each cover saying “Front Cover,” “Back Cover,” “Read Right to Left,” and “Open Other Side.” Also, the last page always has obvious warnings saying “You’re reading the wrong way!” and “Welcome to the LAST PAGE of Shonen Jump!” This is followed by an explanation that Japanese manga reads right to left, and to stay true to the original and avoid layout problems, the magazine will do the same. It even gives a diagram showing how to read individual pages. Although it can be confusing at first, once a reader gets used to it, this can seem like the natural way to read manga after a while without interfering with the habit of reading plain text left to right.

In anime, having to read things right to left is not a problem. However, since the voice actors in all anime are speaking Japanese, anime must be either subtitled or dubbed to be understood by American viewers. Subtitling is the choice of anime purists, because it leaves the anime in its most original form while still allowing people who do not speak Japanese to understand it. If the subtitling is done well, the viewer can see exactly what the characters are saying. It is also possible to hear the original voices and tones of the characters. Of course, often the quality of the subtitles is so bad that it takes a few minutes to figure out what is going on. Dubbing has its good points too though, because the viewer can focus on the action rather than the words at the bottom of the television screen. There are good and bad dubbing jobs, just like subtitling. For example, “Princess Mononoke” was very well-dubbed, but watching “Sorcerous Stabber Orphen” with both dubbing and subtitles at the same time makes it seem like two completely different stories are being played out. In general though, the subtitles tend to be more reliable for learning what is really going on than dubbing.

Often the voices in anime are changed so much that the characters are completely changed, even if the dialogue is similar. For example, Xellos of “The Slayers” is a demon who has a light, laughing voice that is more silly than scary. However, in the dubbed version, he has a snide, whiney, greasily evil voice. Although he is supposed to be evil, the voice completely clashes with his secretive but funny nature. It makes him seem like an entirely different person. Usually the dubbed voices sound quite a bit older than the Japanese ones. Also, for some reason the American voice actors often give the characters strange accents. “Pokemon” is littered with people who sound like they are from all over the world, with various accents and dialects. Quite a few anime series, especially the ones with an endless supply of insignificant characters who last no more than three episodes, often it sounds like each one is of a different nationality.

Another minor thing that is often hidden from the American audience when anime is shown on television is the location where the action takes place. This usually happens only with anime that is supposedly meant for a younger audience, but the reason why it happens is puzzling. What exactly is wrong with knowing that an anime takes place in Japan? Because it is definitely covered up fairly often. For example, in “Cardcaptor Sakura,” the main character has quite a few dreams involving Tokyo Tower. In the dubbed version, it was constantly referred to as “the radio tower.” This also happens in “Yu-Gi-Oh.” A new character shows up at the airport, and she is welcomed “to America.” It almost seems like patriotism is being pushed too far, making young anime viewers believe that none of their favorite shows could occur outside of America. “Pokemon” is supposed to take place in a separate universe from the world we know, but its “Japaneseness” was still covered up. The rice balls that the characters eat are often called doughnuts, though they look nothing like doughnuts. There are also plenty of jokes that have to do with Japanese culture that are changed, since the American audience might not understand them. However, all cultures have their own jokes that may not be understood by everyone, and different things are appropriate to the Japanese and Americans, so some of these changes make sense, especially since the American television versions are made for children.

When things are covered up or changed in anime, manga, or video games, it is usually done to protect the audience from objectionable material. This is sometimes done because the translators believe that Americans would not want to see socially unacceptable things, but more often it is done to shelter children from the things that go on in the entertainment form. It stems from the belief that cartoons, comics, and video games are the sole domain of children, who cannot deal with such things as profanity, nudity, various forms of sexuality, and violence. Religious themes are also often covered up. While it is done partially to protect children, these things are also hidden to comfort the parents, who do not want their children exposed to such things, and the companies showing, publishing, or selling the Japanese anime, manga, or video game, who do not want to be sued by the angry parents of violent or traumatized children.

In all types of Japanese entertainment that are translated into English for a younger American audience, the language is changed more than one might expect. “Final Fantasy II,” released for the American Super Nintendo in 1991, was toned down from its original form quite a bit. The occasional swearing was covered and changed, resulting in such questionable lines as “You spoony bard!” It is easy to change text in manga, so the earlier translations of a lot of manga were changed to protect the innocence of young readers. Anime can be full of cursing, even anime that is directed towards children. The original version of “Pokemon” had a fair amount of swearing in it, which of course was taken out, and the voice actors were given new, altered scripts for their characters. Over time, as Japanese entertainment has gained popularity in the United States, the translators realized that their audience was not just children, but teenagers and adults as well. So more recent video games have included swearing, as have the manga and anime.

Another aspect of Japanese entertainment that is often literally covered up is nudity. There are scantily clad women in quite a few anime, manga, and video games, and not just the ones aimed at teenagers and adults. When the translators believe that there is some overly indecent exposure going on, they just cover it up. Many females, human or humanoid, get shirts drawn over their torsos in anime, manga, and video games. Though in more recent video games and manga this has not been done as much, the anime that is dubbed for network television still has its women covered up more than usual. Double straps across the chest become a full shirt in the animation labs of the American translators. Bare legs are colored to look like tights. Bathing suits are widened quite often, as well. This extra clothing protects children from seeing a more detailed anatomy than their parents would like. It also seems to stem from the “little boy” mentality that “girls are icky, and we don’t want to see what’s under their clothes.” Of course the same is often true of males in network television anime, who can have their bare chests covered up just as often as the females. In both cases, the translators would like to hide exposed bodies from their audience.

In all kinds of entertainment forms from Japan, since there is indecent exposure to cover up, it follows that there must be some form of sexuality to hide as well. And there is practically any kind of sexuality that can be imagined. Love, lust, and schoolgirl crushes are very common, especially in anime and manga. When they are taken to America, and depending on the target audience, the small crushes are often kept, and even the love and the lust sometimes. This all depends on who the people involved are, though. Because while American media is extremely touchy about anything but heterosexual relationships between unrelated individuals of a similar age, the Japanese have no such qualms. Love often blossoms between two people of the same gender, of vastly different ages and stations in life, and even people in the same family. Quite a few anime and manga portray this, but “Cardcaptor Sakura” probably includes every one of these things.

A few years ago Nelvana, a company that has taken on numerous anime to edit for America in the past, produced their version, “Cardcaptors,” for the WB network. Not only were they trying to change it to be suitable for an American audience, but they were trying to target boys, so they had to change this girl-oriented anime completely. This was quite a task, because in the original version it seemed that the entire main cast was related somehow, and they were also quite frequently in love with each other. Ten year old Sakura, the main character, fell in love with her older brother’s seventeen year old best friend. The dubbed translation kept this, because it was just a simple crush. However, her older brother also had a crush on his own best friend. The words could be covered up, but sometimes they could still be seen getting a bit too close to each other for simple friendship. And Sakura’s male rival, Li, has a crush on her older brother’s best friend as well. He constantly blushed around the older boy, and tried to give him presents often. And Sakura’s best friend Tomoyo, who was also her cousin, had a nearly obsessive crush on her. She followed Sakura around with a video camera, taping her friend sealing magical forces away, but the dubbed version just made her seem interested in helping. While that was true, the Americanized version left out any romantic feelings she might have had. It was also never revealed that the two were related. The episodes explaining their mothers’ relationship were never translated. Tomoyo’s mother had also been in love with Sakura’s mother, and they were cousins as well. Tomoyo’s mother thinks that Sakura looks like her mother, so she is eager to please the girl as well. However, the American audience rarely got to see any evidence that their mothers had even known each other, and Sakura never seems to meet Tomoyo‘s mother. Another of Sakura’s friends was romantically involved with their teacher. Since she was always blushing and either avoiding his gaze or staring at him, the translators decided to make it seem like she was afraid of him instead. All scenes of them talking alone, or giving each other presents, were cut form the dubbed show. However, the subtitled version was released on DVD and VHS after a while, as was some well-translated manga, so the American audience who really wanted to know what was going on could find out without too much trouble.

Cartoons, comics, and video games are always blamed for violence in children. This is especially true of Japanese entertainment, because there tends to be a lot of uncensored violence in the anime, etc. that we see. There are plenty of entertainment forms in Japan that are fairly nonviolent, but these are deemed not interesting enough for Americans. So instead American companies buy the rights to more violent ones and tone them down for a younger, more sensitive audience. Even in the more innocent entertainment, however, violence is present at times, and is sometimes taken out. In “Pokemon,” a whole episode was not released because a man pointed a gun at the main characters, yet there seemed to be nothing wrong with the villains shooting a bazooka at a large but gentle creature. In “Yu-Gi-Oh,” quite a few guns were edited out as well, but the position of the hands holding them did not change, so people were often threatened at finger-point. “DragonballZ” is known for its violence, but also for its popularity among America boys. The whole show is based on martial arts and other sorts of fighting, and some of the longer battles can take as many as sixteen episodes to get through. There is a lot of kicking, punching, and blasting of people with pure energy. So naturally, there is a lot of blood. However, this is often covered up in the American version. Blood is removed and made to match the skin. Hard, direct punches are often covered up with bright, colorful signs to signify contact, similar to the old “Batman and Robin” signs that would pop up saying things like “Pow!”. Gaping holes in people are darkened and smoothed out. It would be impossible to take out the fighting, because there would be very little left in the show without that, but the translators at least try to make it clear that fighting is not the characters’ first choice. This makes it more acceptable, although it still can not change the fact that the entire show is basically one battle after another.

Finally, religious symbolism is often a component to Japanese entertainment. Since religion can be a controversial subject, the American editors have to hide this fairly often. This is true of both the holy and the evil sides of religion. For example, a fairly minor character in “DragonballZ” is named “Mr. Satan,” but the translators could not tell that to a largely religious American audience, so he was renamed “Hercule.” On the other hand, in “Chrono Trigger,” released for the Super Nintendo in 1995, there was a cathedral where three nuns turned into monsters and attacked the party of heroes. That could have easily been interpreted as sacrilegious, but it was left alone and there was never any notable controversy over it. In “Yu-Gi-Oh,” religious symbols are often covered up. There were a few scenes in the original version where cards or monsters were being crucified, and in these cases the crosses were changed into large silver slabs. Quite a few sinister-sounding monster names are changed: from “Death Satan: Greater Demon” to “Witty Phantom” for example. The ankh is used frequently as well, as a symbol of life. It is usually covered up though, because it might be associated with the Wiccan religion. However the story also includes a lot of ancient Egyptian mythology, speaking of “Egyptian God Cards” fairly often. This could not be avoided to keep the story logical, but it seems that while Christian symbols must be covered up, most others do not matter to the translators.

Although most American cartoons, comics, and video games are traditionally for children, their Japanese counterparts are not so set in their ways. They are meant for a wide audience. However, when American translators get a hold of Japanese material, they always change it somehow. Video games are made easier and “younger.” Manga is flipped backwards and toned down as well. Anime can be almost completely re-written to be shown on American television. It seemed for a while that none of these things could be truly accurate, unless a copy was obtained from Japan and the person could read and understand Japanese. However, times are changing. Japanese entertainment forms are growing more acceptable, and their following continues to grow in America and other parts of the world. Japanese video games are already probably the most popular in the world. Manga and anime are quickly gaining popularity with each passing day. Yet even now, the uncut versions of popular anime, and the more mature versions of certain manga and video games are being kept away from American fans, who have little choice but to settle for the American versions. Perhaps some day, these great forms of entertainment will be able to be seen closer to their original forms. However, until then, the American otaku must attempt to tolerate the evils of translators and editors of Japanese anime, manga, and video games.

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Endnote: I'll be surprised if anyone actually read that whole huge thing! I could say that much and more about just ONE series or another, but I thought that diversity would be better. ^_^ If you made it this far though, please tell me what you think! Thanks!