I know this decision was made awhile ago now, but I can't help but be irritated by it, even still. This is an English website, so I wonder, why is it felt so necessary to always use Romaji versions of the manga's names?

Let me give you an example.

1. キスよりも早く

2. Kisu yori mo Hayaku

3. Faster than a Kiss

Which of the 3 is correct? The answer, both 1 and 3. Which is actually used, number 2. If this was a Japanese site, then 1 would absolutely be correct. If there was no translation of the name, then 2 would be acceptable, even on an English website. But if there is a translation of the name, if the people scanalating it are releasing it under that name, then why, why, why is it felt that it must be titled using the completely incorrect 2? There is no manga called Kisu yori mo Hayaku, there is a manga called キスよりも早く , translated that manga is called Faster than a Kiss. Please stop using the incorrect titles.

キスよりも早く in romaji is Kisu Yori mo Hayaku. Faster than a Kiss is an English translation of the title. It's not incorrect. All those are correct and you can see them in the "Associated Names" on its manga page.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=695&hl=n ames

Last edited by niiica at 11:31 am, Jan 22 2011

Just because it's in romanji, doesn't mean it's not correct.
All three versions are correct and are included in the Associated Names as niica said.

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♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Yep,
and if use manga search (the top right corner), all three titles link to the same page.
So feel free to use you might think fit.. the english translation, romaji, or kanji.

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This is one of the biggest gripes I have about this site. That some admins feel so desperately about this subject, that they actually have to go back through, find the romaji and put it at the top of the page is just so pathetic and wrong... However today as I was reading my manga, I came accross one where the admins actually screwed up a name in their pathetic and desperate attempt to remake all names into romaji.

I speak of Pheremomania Syndrome.
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1181

If you note the title that some pathetic person placed at the top of the page.
Joshi Mousou Shoukougun

Then you look at the picture of the manga itself. You will see spelled out, in katakana, Pheremomania Syndrome. (Or to be precise Feromomania Shindoro-ma) Then in bolder letters beneath that, it has Joshi Mousou Shoukougun. Thus an accurate title, going along with the sad insistence on using straight romaji would be, Pheremomania Syndrome - Joshi Mousou Shoukougun. Translated this is, Pheremomania Syndrome - Symptoms of a girls delusion. Which is actually one of the titles below.

Or of course you could use Pheremomania Syndrome.

I get so irritated by this renaming crap. It makes it more difficult to find the mangas I want. I could understand it if it had ever, even once been released under Joshi Mousou Shoukougun, however not one time has it ever been used. I'm one of the scanalators of this manga, and find this renaming offensive. Please, at the very least, fix this page, even if you keep renaming everything else.

I like having the Romaji version of names (except titles in katakana). If I'm searching for a title, I can't use the kanji version since I usually don't know which kanji to use and I don't even have the Japanese pack. Sometimes, I just remember the titles easier in Romaji and not the English translation of the titles. Bottom line, having all the possible names is very beneficial for me, because I can find the page no matter which version I search for. Unlike TokyoToshokan, their search function is limited in that you have to put in every single variation of the title if you're looking for something.

I would have to agree with Molenir that the series' main name should be Pheromomania Syndrome (I think it makes sense to have all loanwords given as they are in the original language, rather than the often mangled Japanese equivalent, so no romaji there imo) but I don't see that there's anything wrong with "renaming" manga as long as that is actually the main title, whether in English translation or in romaji. No matter what you personally call it, if you search that name or put it in [m][/m] tags it will link to the same page regardless of the main title - I don't see how this should impede finding the manga you want. That's the whole point of the alternate name system.

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Why would you need to search using kanji? For that matter, why would you want to? This is an English language site. If you're searching for raws, this is not the place.

I've said this elsewhere too, but I have no real problem using the romaji version of names, if thats what the scanalators release them as. But desperately trying to find the romaji version of something like Pheremomania Syndrome, when no scanalator has ever released it under that title...

It should not be the name on the top of the page, unless a scanalotor releases it that way. I don't mind giving precedence to romaji if even 1 does it, if thats the consensus, but if its released as Pheremomania Syndrome, or pick another manga, then thats the name it should be listed under. Simply because thats the name we leechers see and recognize. Doing otherwise is a disservice to the community and an insult to the people who work so hard to scanalate the manga.

Keep the search so people can find stuff using the alternate titles, but make the main title, the one most commonly used by those who are doing the releases.

One day you find a site with a manga that has the name in Kanji. You don't know Japanese and therefore can't translate it to English or convert it to Romaji. Since you're lazy and don't want to use google you copy and paste the Kanji into here.

I don't understand why you would be having trouble finding a title. It will appear through the search function (the easiest way to find a manga), and it appears in the releases page with whatever the group who releases it calls it.

Sure, the name at the top of pheromomania syndrome might need to be changed, but if it's just because it's wrong you should probably just be pm-ing the admins about it. But you're saying that it's actually causing you some sort of problem. How is the name at the top of the page inconveniencing you, exactly, when it's never really noticeable outside of the series page?

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This signature was recovered from Hades to serve in my rotting armies.

I personally see no problem having the main title in kanji rather than what it is suppose to be called. The kanji is the manga's actual title (as you see it), but it is known/called by a different title (in this case, Pheremomania Syndrome). They are technically the same manga. Both titles will lead to the same manga when searched.

First of all -- The admins are not the only ones who add manga to the database. This is a website for the users and pretty much by the users. The users add most of the manga and so do not blame every mistake you find on the admins of this site and call them "pathetic" and "desperate." That's just being immature.
If you search Joshi-whatever and Phero-whatever, it comes to the SAME PAGE. And on the releases page, it links to the SAME PAGE. And if you actually use the lists feature, it still shows as something that's on your reading list. I don't see how there's any real problem with the romanji or the English translation titles when they both link to the same page if you search it. If the group releases it under a different name, then so be it. If you search it by whatever name the scanlator names it, it WILL come up if you search it with a link to the page. And the name at the top may be different from what you search...does it matter? It's all the same manga. Are you having some attack over it? No, you're not.

If you feel so strongly about it, I'm sorry, but it will most likely not change. At least not in the near future.

Last edited by StarlightDreams at 5:35 pm, Mar 3 2011

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♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

To tell the truth, I find it a lot harder to remember the romanji versions of the names than the English ones, so when I am going through my lists, I often don't remember which manga a certain name belongs to unless I follow the link.

I don't know if this would be possible, since I'm not well-versed in computer programming, but I would very much appreciate if there was an option where the user got to choose which version of each manga's name showed in their lists. Using the example above, I would personally prefer to have "Kisu yori mo Hayaku" (the name as it shows up now in my Reading list) to be listed as "Faster than a Kiss."

It would make scanning through my lists when looking for manga to recommend to someone or checking if my favourite mangas have been updated much easier. And someone who prefered the romanji name could still choose to have it listed like that in their Reading list. Going to the page of that manga would probably still have it listed as it is now, but for the purpose of lists it would be more convenient.

Thoughts?

sometimes the asian version sounds better than the english for those that can't read kanji

That's how it shows up in my list:



I think it's because I added it with the bulk add series feature, by the name "Faster than a Kiss", so that's the one it uses when I look at my lists. But obviously doesn't work that way if you just click "add to reading list" on series page.

But I agree, I think it might be useful to be able to change which name shows up for you, although not all manga have translated names and often, if they do, they can quite often be really lame (I tend to wince when I see what awful English titles Western publishers have come up with to release manga by - Tokyopop is the biggest offender I think) - not that publishers are always at fault, as there are a lot of manga with names that sound absolutely ridiculous in English no matter what. Which name I find more natural is usually a matter of what the scanlators/publishers are using. I tend to prefer romaji just because I understand some Japanese, but when it comes to something like The Sleepy Residents of Birdcage Manor (aka Torikagoshou no Kyou mo Nemutai Juunintachi - bit of a mouthful) for me English is the way 100%, and that's the name the scanlators are using too.

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世界のどこかに 必ず
キミの居場所が ある筈