YamPuff wrote:

Tamago wrote:

What I wanna see now from the Ouran High School Host Club series is the English dub on DVD so I can compare it with the Japanese voiceover and see if they did a good job or not.

It's been licenced???


I remember discussing a potential dub on another forum. We were saying how great it would be for Tamaki to have a French accent and the others to have British accents. Yumminess.

The manga has been, but the series hasn't yet. It's only a matter of time, considering how popular it seems to be.

Just finished watching th second ep of the MariMite OVA That show is so awesome.

YamPuff wrote:

The way Tamago phrased it made it sound like the anime had already been licenced. I already know about the manga though.

Sorry my bad, I heard it was licenced so I would be expecting DVDs of Ouran with English dub and subs real soon.

Tamago wrote:

YamPuff wrote:

The way Tamago phrased it made it sound like the anime had already been licenced. I already know about the manga though.

Sorry my bad, I heard it was licenced so I would be expecting DVDs of Ouran with English dub and subs real soon.

Shaame on you. Think of the troubles you might have caused.


I'd love for the anime to get licenced; I hope for a good dub.

Anyone ever notice how Ouran has some things in it that may have been inspired by SKU? The blinking beeping arrow? The visual effects? (Even though in Ouran they actually make imediate sense XD)

Tamago wrote:

Ragnarok wrote:

I'd settle for a good sub/non-horrible menus. (And no name changing/translating!!)

Unless its destined to appear on CN primetime slot, they are more likely to leave the names alone these days but I do agree with you on hoping for a better menu.

Even then I'd be suprised by name changes, honestly - if it were destined for the CW or whatever the hell Fox's morning cartoon thing is called I would expect name changes, though, but I can't see something like Ouran ending up there.

I finally saw the first episode of Getsumen to Heiki Miina - its totally brainless, but I liked it. The fanservice was a bit on the excessive side, though. Marina Inoue is doing a fabulous job as per usual, so its all good

Umm, you do know "Ahiru" isn't a name either, right? The only reason it sounds like one to you is because it's foreign, meaning that "Ahiru" is actually giving you an experience that's notably different than the intent.

Currently I'm in the middle of Black Lagoon.  It's not the best thing I've ever seen, but it's pretty damn good, considering I'm a fan of The Godfather and other such mob stories.  My only gripe is that sometimes the story arcs are dragged out almost to Dragon Ball Z length.

Last edited by Drukqs (02-19-2007 05:40:23 PM)

Duck is every bit as much a name as Ahiru is. Himemiya is a name, where "Princess-Shrine" is not. It's not a valid comparison. When the Japanese heard "Ahiru", they knew it a) wasn't a name, and b) was a duck.

You can not like it, sure, but it's hardly a poor translation choice to give you the same experience that the Japanese had and which was the original authorial intent.

Tamago wrote:

YamPuff wrote:

Anyone ever notice how Ouran has some things in it that may have been inspired by SKU? The blinking beeping arrow? The visual effects? (Even though in Ouran they actually make imediate sense XD)

You mean things like the roses, a prince like character who is a big hit with all the girls (Touga/Tamaki) or a 'shadow prince' with the last name of Ohtori who is actually running the show (Kyoya/Akio) for instance?  NAAAAH! I never noticed

I know, its all very obscure and hard to notice except for those of us with a discerning eye...

Ragnarok wrote:

Why can't "Princess-Shrine" be a name? There aren't rules stating that something can't be a name. Why is Duck as a name more valid?

Actually, many places have laws on what children can be named (I think Japan might be one of them). The point is, one is a real name that would be recognised as such, one is not and would be recognised as such. You lose that when you keep the name "Ahiru" for an English audience.

When I saw "Ahiru" with an explanation that it meant duck and with the character being a duck, I knew all I needed to. It's not exactly treated as a secret, as the whole first episode goes into establishing the fact. Yet when Ahiru/Duck is referred to by name, it is a name and not a description of what she is. Her friends in ballet class are not calling her a duck, they are calling her by her name.

Though they're also calling her "Duck", just like they do in the translation.

Which I suppose, leads to the question that if she had been originally called "Duck" in order to give that feeling of "Foreign word so it doesn't matter that it's not a name" (hardly unusual in other shows), would it then be proper to call her "Ahiru" in translation?

The only thing I did not know is that Ahiru is not used as a name in Japan. (Though can you state for a fact it isn't? Just out of curiousity, mind, because I do like the sound of it.)

Yep. Were it an actual real name, I'd agree with you.

Likewise translating Neko-Sensei to Mr. Cat is accurate(ish) but it isn't gaining anything. I'd prefer he remain referred to as Neko-Sensei, although that keeps in a name, which can be translated, and a title as well. A footnote saying "Neko-Sensei translates directly to Cat-Teacher" would be preferable to me. It supplies the same information without damaging aesthetics.

I don't really find any aesthetics to be damaged here. Why is "Neko-sensei" particularly more aesthetically pleasing than "Mr. Cat"? That smacks of saying "English is ugly, Japanese is beautiful", a sentiment I've seen before but disagree with.

The thing is, in my irrational rant up there I freely admitted that Duck worked as her name, but it feels wrong to me. I didn't call it a poor translation choice, though if ADV Films were trying to sell the DVDs to me alone; it would be.

You said it "didn't make sense to translate it", I interpreted that as you thinking it's a bad translation decision despite your earlier statement. But that's cool if you didn't.

Blade wrote:

Actually, many places have laws on what children can be named (I think Japan might be one of them). The point is, one is a real name that would be recognised as such, one is not and would be recognised as such. You lose that when you keep the name "Ahiru" for an English audience.

How do you (or I) lose? What is being lost and what are the rules? Not that the anime takes place in Japan, either. If not for Utena, I would not recognize Himemiya as a name, why would I? As I have said, put a footnote in saying "Ahiru means duck in Japanese" and everything's fine. Real names get made all the time, they all come from somewhere. Blade wasn't always a name, but it is now.

Blade wrote:

Though they're also calling her "Duck", just like they do in the translation.

Which I suppose, leads to the question that if she had been originally called "Duck" in order to give that feeling of "Foreign word so it doesn't matter that it's not a name" (hardly unusual in other shows), would it then be proper to call her "Ahiru" in translation?

No, no, not at all! If she'd been called "Duck" then fine. Because it's being used as a proper name. I say proper names shouldn't be translated. That is what bothers me about the whole thing. That "Ahiru" sounds much better than "DucK" further exasperates things. If instead of "Ahiru" she had been named "Ente" or "Canard" would you still feel a translation was required?

"Princess Tutu" is (I believe) always said in English.

Blade wrote:

Yep. Were it an actual real name, I'd agree with you.

In the series it is a real name. It is applied to a character as a name, not a description. The fact that the name has a double meaning doesn't change that it's used as a name in the continuity of the series.

Blade wrote:

I don't really find any aesthetics to be damaged here. Why is "Neko-sensei" particularly more aesthetically pleasing than "Mr. Cat"? That smacks of saying "English is ugly, Japanese is beautiful", a sentiment I've seen before but disagree with.

It's a preference, just like preferring "Ahiru" to "Duck." One sounds better to me than the other. Although, as he is not the main character in the series, it doesn't bother me nearly so much. Not that I think Japanese is necessarily a more beautiful language than English, nor is that relevant. I'm saying that "Mr. Cat" is not an inherently superior name/title to "Neko-sensei" and, as it is a given name, it does not make sense to translate it.

Blade wrote:

You said it "didn't make sense to translate it", I interpreted that as you thinking it's a bad translation decision despite your earlier statement. But that's cool if you didn't.

I maintain it doesn't make sense to translate a name. When "ahiru" is used as a noun, translate it. When "Ahiru" is used as a name, do not. That doesn't mean translating it is bad in this case, because this series uses a name which also serves as a description. Thus it comes down to "Should this name be translated?" and the decision was that it should. I disagree, but it's just my opinion.

Hey, is the series Air actually any good?