Manga the problem with Shonen Jump's translation of Naruto

[Sailor Ganymede]

The problem is they mistranslate attacks! Goukakyuu means great fireball, they don't need to say Goukakyuu fireball. I hate the Byakugan being referred to as the Evil Eye... :animeangr

Sabakusousou is Desert Graveyard but they translated it as Imploding Sand Funeral!!! GEEZ!!!

And I can't think of anything else at the moment

[GTK]

Pretty much anything Shounen Jump that gets translated into English is sorta off in my opinion... but most Japanese words have multiple meanings anyway, so there's room for various interpretations.

I don't read/like Naruto, but Desert Graveyard and Sand Funeral are simular enough that I wouldn't complain too much about it... the imploding part is a bit odd though...

Sort of how they translated shinigami in Bleach to soul reaper (correct me if I'm wrong? I've only glanced through a translated copy). The meaning is pretty close, when you keep in mind that the "American" (for lack of a better word) version of a God of Death/Shinigami would probably be the Grim Reaper. (I still would've preferred Shinigami T_T) But it's prolly easier for someone who doesn't know any Japanese to relate to Soul Reaper than it is to relate to Shinigami (plus I guess it relates back to Soul Society, or something like that).

In my opinion, it also seems like Shounen Jump in the US is trying to market towards younger readers. I'm sure someone who is, oh say, ten or twelve may not be able to prounounce a lot of complicated Japanese.

I refuse to buy any US released Shounen Jump stuff anyway ~_~ Squee for the Japanese version.

Haha XD; this seems almost OT, but there you have it. At least I kept talking about translation?

[J2Assassin]

My friend and I argue this all the time, and our favorite examples are Naruto's techniques. We prefer Kagebushin no jutsu and Sexy no jutsu to the translations tha SJ has given them; Shadow Replication and Ninja Centerfold. (shudders)

We know that without such mediums as SJ or possibly fansub teams, unless you take about 2 to 4 years of Japanese, you would have no idea what they are saying. But you wish that they would keep it as close to the original format as close as possible. I mean, they keep the sounds in japanese in their original form, why can't they keep the attacks in the same original name? It would give us a better idea of the setting and theme for Naruto.

[DeathBug]

[QUOTE=J2Assassin]My friend and I argue this all the time, and our favorite examples are Naruto's techniques. We prefer Kagebushin no jutsu and Sexy no jutsu to the translations tha SJ has given them; Shadow Replication and Ninja Centerfold. (shudders)
[/QUOTE]

So...you're mad at the SJ translations for actually being...translations?

[Dagger]

[quote name='DeathBug']So...you're mad at the SJ translations for actually being...translations?[/quote]
In fairness, not all of them are actual translations. Unfortunately, it seems that some of the English attack names have virtually nothing to do with the original Japanese attack names.

I have heard that in the latest editions of the American SJ have begun using the romanized Japanese attack names, while including the corresponding English translations in parentheses. If this is true (and I'd be pleased as pie if someone could confirm it for me, heh), we can probably assume that it's because the Viz/ShoPro release of the anime will employ the un-translated Japanese attack names.

~Dagger~

[OtakuSennen]

That's why I read fan translations instead. I let my Shonen Jump subscription die because I got tired of it being one big advertisement for their series' anime counterparts.

I don't really mind if they switch names around, though. Things like Shintenshin no Jutsu being called "Valentine Technique" or whatever don't bother me much.. I'm not a purist in that sense. As long as they keep characters and story intact (as well as not add in crappy jokes, no matter how funny the editors think they are), I don't mind as much.

[r2vq]

[QUOTE=Dagger]I have heard that in the latest editions of the American SJ have begun using the romanized Japanese attack names, while including the corresponding English translations in parentheses. If this is true (and I'd be pleased as pie if someone could confirm it for me, heh), //snip//
[/QUOTE]

I bought an issue of SJ recently. (I understand why people hate it so much, but I still like the Naruto manga and am willing to support the franchise...)

I'm not sure how long they've been doing it, or if they're going to continue to do it, but yes, they used the romanized versions of the Japanese attacks with the English translations beside them.

I find this to be a great way to compromise between the children reading, and those who liked of the fansubs or scanlations. Though the constant revamping and changing of the system isn't good for consistency.

-ArV