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November 15, 2004
Viz Needs Women
Viz is doing another shojo title survey. They're taking suggestions now.
Viz, wellll.... I'm not too fond of the way that they Americanize names. Not by making Hikaru Harry, for example, but by making everybody address each other by their given names when I know that in the original they were using family names. It's weird to see Hikaru calling Tsutsumi Kimihiro or Mitani Yuki. Or for that matter, calling Akira Akira. It's not just a Japanese thing, it's a matter of... protocol. The only manga where I know they've not done that is Kenshin (for which ANY change would surely get Viz torn apart), and InuYasha and Ranma, where nobody has any formality whatsover, it seems. (when you're queen of manga like Rumiko Takahashi, I suppose you get to make up your own protocol 
)
But when it comes to pure shoujo, well...switching from family name to personal name is usually a Big Frickin' Deal. And I'm not sure that Viz is up to the task of understanding - or respecting - that nuance.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at November 15, 2004 07:50 PM | Posted to Manga Manga
