Talk:Nakama

Nakama and the Fans
Listen. The word Nakama is not a special word in-and-of itself. If it were, you would see it left untranslated in other series' besides One Piece. One Piece is the only series in which the word is given special treatment, and the only source to give it special treatment is the fans. No official source has EVER said that "Nakama means a bond greater than family", not FUNimation, not Viz, not Toei, and most certainly, not Oda. there has never been an SBS where Oda has said "When Luffy says 'Nakama' he means a bond deeper than family". That's purely a Fan preference. The Literal meaning of the term is "Part of a Group". In a Pirate Manga, that's your Crew. So
 * A: The Dictionary Definition does not mention a "Bond greater than Family"
 * B: None of the official English translations have used this
 * C: Nobody on the Japanese side of production has EVER said That Nakama, as a word has any kind of deep meaning, either in the Story or in an interview, and that includes Oda.

Therefore, there is no citable source to this, The only possible source is Kaizoku Fansubs, and not only are they a FAN sub group, therefore making anything they say in notes count as Fan speculation which according to it's article is not encouraged here, but if you read their actual note on the subject, they present it in the EXACT Same way I'm trying to frame this article. They start by saying "this is the Dictionary Definition of Nakama" and then go on to say "we at K-F feel the word means..." etc. They're saying it's their opinion as fans, not a dictionary definition.

The way the article was originally written owned up to it being left untranslated as a "Fan-Term", so I'm just bringing the article back to where it originally was, while being sensitive to both viewpoints. Right now it says that the fans feel the word has a deeper meaning to the series as a whole, but the word by itself does not. I didn't have it say "This Word doesn't mean anything special at all and should always be translated" or anything like that. Right now the article is middle-ground and presents facts. That's how it should be, unbiased.DemonRin 21:40, 23 August 2009 (UTC)