One Piece Wiki:Japanese vs. English Names

The most common arguments regarding One Piece and anime as a general is whether the Japanese or English name should be used. The common disputes are over character or group names. Here is a explaination as to why these such name conflicts happen.

How do names change between languages?
Basically, different languages don't always share the same pronunciations. To make things easier, some dubbing companies outside Japan change names to make it easier for the people watching the show to pronounce them. The Japanese language is very different to the English language and many other languages around the world. A common example is reguarding the letter 'l', so the 'Lu' in Luffy's name comes out as 'Ru'.

Other times, it is simply how the name transfers into the countries written langange. Usopp when translated into one written language comes out as 'Liar Bo', therefore that translation uses that name.

In the case of 'Zoro Vs Zolo' its to avoid copyright problems with the other well known fictional swordsman 'Zorro'.

Lastly, there is the case where the dubbers simply choose to change the name to one that sounds more familiar to the audience. One fairlyu common example in anime is names such as 'Takao' being changed to 'Tyson'.

Why choose Japanese names over English dub names?
For several reasons:
 * It is the orginal language, therefore all other dubs are based around it since its the orginal verison.
 * Most characters names were known by the English speaking fans even before Viz and 4Kids came into the scene.
 * Translations, such as fan-subbers, use the Japanese names and words. Since most fans on the internet will have seen these subs or use their naming system, it makes it easier for everyone to tell who is who.
 * They are usually the more populaur name for one reason or another.

If the 4Kids dub is offical, why not use their name?
There are a TON of problems created by the 4Kids dub. Most One Piece fans respond to the 4Kids dub by dismissing every change they make to the series, names are included in their dismissal. Many names are changed to something too dramatically different to their Japanese counterparts.

What if I disagree with using the Japanese names?
Sadly there is little you can do to change this. The greater community prefers the use of the Japanese names as a rule. Its the names they use and the fans of the series know. If you want to debate over a name, you can on the character or organisations discussion pages, but please don't leak the debates onto other pages. Meaning debates such as 'Zoro Vs Zolo' should only be on the page for that character.

But mostly, to avoid arguments, please use the Japanese names.