The most epic battle of words of all time
Hi guys, it's the DB Analyst here. Applying real world logic (I think) in the Dragonball world. So...if we are all on the same page, you would have gotten the pun in the title. If not, then I'm pretty sure you may not regard me in high esteem. Well, good luck with that – I live for fun! So call me what you want. Chances are you may need more saiyan for your printer instead while you are calling me all kinds of names. (“Sigh-an” sounds like cyan, get it? I love puns, what can I say!) You think I'm being a bit dramatic? The pronunciation debate among Dragonball fans have claimed people to be uncultured and stupid on one hand or know-it-all, wanna-ruin-people's-fun purist on the other.
I'm just here to point out some reasons why people like me just gonna be rebels and keep on saying certain words wrong - on purpose. I'm on the side of the English dub guys. Just hear me out, OK. I'm assuming if you present the word saiyan spelt out on a piece of paper to a typical Westerner, you would get the pronunciation “say-un”. I don't know about you but it just seems natural. Moreover, if you grew up with either pronunciation, hearing the other would immediately be a culture shock. Isn't the whole point about having a dub is to make the show comfortable and familiar in the viewer's language? If your name was David, don't be concerned that a Spanish speaker would pronounce it “Da-veed”. Tuh-mey-toh, tuh-mah-toh. Pick your preference.
So, to all those purists who look down on anything else other than all-Japanese all the time, I ask if you would apply this logic to anything else. Would you now only refer to Spain as España? And no one can ever have usernames or nicknames because you can only use your real name at all times. So music artists can't have stage names and authors won't be using pen names. No code names between police officers, no slang and dialect between locals and definitely no jargon between experts. And how dare I type this – I should have put ink to paper because that's the original means of the written word.
Maybe, I'm taking this thing too seriously but it wasn't me that started it, I'm just saying. For me, the English dub is much appreciated because I can repeat with ease what is being said and you know how we love to copy-cat these attacks. Trust me, they sound so much cooler and way more fun in English. Can you imagine shouting “Makankasappo!” Ouch – I think I bit my tongue. I'd much rather say “Special Beam Cannon!”
Let's see where your loyalties lie. Choose which one you would rather say in our fun quiz below.
Are you a Pure Dragonball Fan?
For every Japanese word you choose, you get 1 point. (Hint: the Japanese word is always first.)
1. Makankasappo vs Special Beam Cannon
2. Kikohou vs Tri-Beam
3. Kinto-un vs. Flying Nimbus
4. Room of Spirit and Time vs Hyperbolic Time Chamber (Honestly, I like both! But you must choose one :D)
5. Kuririn vs Krillin
6. Yamucha vs Yamcha
7. Satan vs Hercules (maybe I'm a bit conservative but I'm glad I don't have to repeat the former)
8. Shenlong vs Shenron (sorry Mr. Dragon but I've made up my mind on what I'm calling you – you don't breathe fire, right? Gulp!)
9. Freeza vs Frieza (I'm stubborn as can be and will always spell this dude's name with an “i” so who has a problem with it that isn't Frieza himself - so be it)
10. Buruma vs Bulma
11. Boo vs Buu
12. Kakarotto vs Kakarot
13. Kienzan vs Destructo Disc
14. Broly vs Broly (My idea – in the name of purity, shouldn't it be Braw-ly. No one says bro-coli. :D)
I'm sure there's more examples to add to this list, so just let me know what I missed. But for now, tally up and lets find out just how pure (of heart?) you are!
0 = Earthling (You're down to earth with your English words and that's awesome!)
1-5 = Saiyan (Your love of the English doesn't hold you back from having full appreciation of the Japanese original)
6-9 = Super Saiyan (Blond hair and blue eyes are a good look for you, you non-conformist rebel! How dare you pick and choose all willy-nilly)
10 – 14 = Saiyan-Genie (I can't help it but somehow I think this when I hear Saiyan-jin. Told you, when it comes to Dragonball, its all about fun for me. If you read it like “Say-un genie” at first, I'm taking back all your points. :D)
Thanks for playing along. Let me know your results.