Sailor Scout Rants

[Eyes_of_Pearl]

Now that we are on the subject of names: anime vs japanese names? which ones work and which ones didn't?

[SilverRose82]

With the inner scounts. I like the american anime names Mina, Serena, Raye, Amy and Lita. That's it, I don't like using their Japanese names I never have, they're who I came to understand they were, not knowing that it was Japanese Animation until I went to my first Comic Con and bought some Sailor Moon stuff with Japanese writing on it.

With the Outers, it differs. I like Haruka, Michelle, Setsuna and Hotaru. Michiru always bothered me because I would misspell it all the time. Amara sounded to girlish for the tomboy. Trista was an insult to Sailor Pluto, Susan would have worked better than Trista, and Alex for Amara at least then the name can go either way for Haruka.

I mostly use American anime names for all but Hotaru, Setsuna and Haruka.

[ChibiCola]

I preffer the Japanese name for *all* of them, and I can't really explain why. It's probably because one of my anime/manga freaked friends forced Sailor Moon upon me at first, and she is all into the Japanese stuff.

[Eyes_of_Pearl]

Personally, I like the English names for the inners because I watch the dubbed versions first. I think that the characters are given names that really fit them. I read somewhere that Serena was supposed to be named "Victoria" or something but I'm glad that they went with Seena instead.

For the outers, Amara is probably the worst naming. Alex would have been better so I guess the Japanese names for the Outers worked better. Michelle is the only one that fits because it sounds like Michiru.

[Lanna786]

I dunno... I admit, I first discovered SM as a dub (not even realizing it was a dub at first ack! ^_^"). I don't think I even realized they had different names in Japanese until i came across fanfiction. ^_^" Oi lol.

But now I love the japanese names. They are beautiful names and they really fit the characters, in meaning and sound. English names are OK, but certain ones make me cringe each time they are used--Amara, Trista, and Serena. Amara and Trista cause they absolutely don't fit the characters. 'Serena' because... well, not sure exactly. But I like the name Usagi so much better. Maybe it's cause 'Serena' is just like Serenity... which I suppose is good for the dub. I mean, Serena's a pretty name, but... I really think Usagi is more appropriate.

[Eyes_of_Pearl]

Oh yeah, I agree that Trista definitely didn't fit Pluto, although Trista comes from 'triste' meaning sad in French sorta fits her personality. Setsuna is much better translation. As for the name Usagi, I think 'usa' shortened sounds better because I can't speak Japanese and it sounds funny when try to say it.

[nahrae_ahn]

i LOVE the names of the japanese charcters because they have so much meaning behind them and when you see them, they fit them so much better than the english names. (i watched dub first but i always felt more comfortable calling serena, Usagi).

HOWEVER, because i watched dub first, i like Lita better than Makoto. Makoto fits her better as a name, but i just kept confusing her for Minako because when reading fanfiction, Kino Makoto just registered as Aino Minako. heh, but that's just because im stupid.

for me, the WORST name is Serena. i think it's because of the way the dubbed darien's voice pronounced it. like serrrrrreeeeeeeena. it was so blech! (btw, was mamoru's dubbed voice the DORKIEST or what?). also, it has to do with the voice that i associate with "serena". the dubbed person sounds like a valleygirl/cheerleader. i LOVE the person who played Usagi in the japanese version because i feel that she really portrayed usagi's character well. the american version made usagi sound like a dumb oaf. the japanese version had her sounding like a naive but charismatic and determined person.

i have to admit that i hate "michelle" more than amara and trista. "michelle" just sounds so short of what michiru is. michiru is an elegeant artist. i think the name "michelle" was much too plain for her. i think they just picked it because it started with an "m" and it makes me mad.

i have to disagree with you guys because i actually think that amara and trista were the best names (besides their real ones) for haruka and setsuna. to me, amara sounds strong and independent. and trista seems like something a very mysterious person would be named. (nothing like that stupid bachelorette or whatever. what was her name?). but that's my own opinion so whatever. (actually, you shouldn't take my opinion too seriously because i happen to think that brad pitt's looks are overrated. just goes to show how "good" my opinion is. [img]wink.gif[/img] )

[Eyes_of_Pearl]

I get Lita's Japanese name confused because I can never spell it correctly and mix it up with Andrew's Japanese name ...

I think that all the Japanese last name were kept for the dubbed version except for Amy's which was changed to Anderson. At least, the dubbed retain that much.

As for the voices, I like the one who did Serena for the first two dubbed seasons and the 3 movies but once it was changed for the S and SS series, it almost ruined SM for me. The first one, though the voice was shrill and whiny, when she was serious really portrayed the 'leader' in Serena. I haven't seen the Japanese series but from the Japanese songs that I have heard, the voices are really beautiful. The one who did Darien's voice in the dubbed was ok when he was serious ... likewise in the Japanese song, it sounded really masculine.

[nahrae_ahn]

gak! you liked the first season dub?!? that was the one i hated most! she sounded like a valley girl! ("I'm the princess? This is TOTALLY cool!" *barf*!). *sigh* we're all entitled to our own opinions though and i have really bad ones so i really shouldn't scrutinize yours...

i think they changed usagi's last name to moon in the dub, didn't they? Serena Moon? (blech!)

[Eyes_of_Pearl]

lol ... ironically though, it was only today that I said the first two seasons dubbed were probably the worst out of all of them (stricly my opinion). I mean in terms of the voices, Serena when she was serious which was rare and not crying, whining, fighting with Rei, or daydreaming ... In terms of plot, the later series were definitely better than the first two because it didn't deviate too much from the manga.

I didn't know that they changed Serena's last name because I don't ever recall it change... I hope not, because Serena Moon??? enough said.

<font color="#ffffcc" size="1">[ February 05, 2004 08:43 PM: Message edited by: Eyes_of_Pearl ]</font>