Convince VIZ to stop changing the characters' names!

[Tenken]

Published by VIZ, only Conan's name is unchanged. The rest are:

Shinichi is changed to Jimmy (ever so lame!) 
Ran = Rachel
Haibara Ai = Anita
Heiji Hattori = Harley
Kogoro = Richard

Why do those characters' names - known all over the world as their originals - appear as such in America ?  I can't stand disrespect to the author and readers!

Especially, VIZ even changed Gin and Vodka's codenames into "Kasper" and "Melkior" :  now it's not only a matter of sounds or respect, it has changed a bit of plot !  Mafia's codenames are supposed to be derived from alcohol brand names, and Conan can tell whether a character is "one of them" based solely on his codename.  By changing their names to the MEANINGLESS "Kasper" and "Melkior" and the likes, VIZ has posed a problem to Conan's deduction! and no excuse can be made to amend the plot UNLESS Viz is willing to switch it to the original.

The foremost annoyance is the switching of the series title from DETECTIVE CONAN to "Case Closed"!  What's wrong with "Detective Conan" ?!!  If I go to France or Japan talking about "Detective Conan" or Shinichi Kudo, people know what I'm talking about; if I go there speaking of "Case Closed" or Jimmy, I'll have to spend time explaining.  I believe that it is necessary to maintain the original characters' names. 

First, the fact that many things were mistranslated and never corrected is upsetting to readers.  Second, they are still unwilling to fix.  These are things that  deter fans from supporting Viz [ that's true, I would have bought DC if they HADN'T done such things ]     This, combined with the numerous errors in translation, word choice and layout give the impression of a complete disregard for quality on the part of Viz Media.


If you're also upset like I am at this issue, we can try to organize a campaign to voice our concerns with Viz and tell them that their DC products are lacking in quality.
http://www.viz.com/about/contact/

Those of you who claimed that the name change was done by a JAPANESE company were completely misinformed.
The name change was done by FUNimation, an American entertainment company, as a matter of fact :  http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2004-02-05/funimation-renames-conan
And you know AnimeNetworks never gives false news regarding the industry.
The reason, as they said, is: "It was renamed "Case Closed" due to legal issues concerning the name with that of the 'Conan the Barbarian' franchise."
Almost made me laugh!
FUNimation is the real company responsible for the names change: feedback@funimation.com

[GinRei]

They've already stopped changing character names.  Granted, they won't undo the changes already made, but at least future characters are saved.

[sdf1macross]

I think the damage has already been done, I wouldn't think they'd redo all the files to change back the names to the originals ^_^

[thriceplus]

If they've already stopped changing future names, I'm confused at what we're trying to achieve. Are we trying to make "Jimmy Kudo" suddenly announce that he changed his name to "Shinichi Kudo" in episode 84?

[dilbertschalter]

Bah, the quality mysteries and amusing dialogue remains, I no see no good reason other than excess weabooism to get worked up about name changes, as opposed to getting worked up about generally poor quality which is a good thing.

[Tenken]

Of course we should know that asking them to REDO the files is impossible.

Are we trying to make "Jimmy Kudo" suddenly announce that he changed his name to "Shinichi Kudo" in [further volumes] ?

Yes, that's the hope! 

How can you consider it "quality" when : (1) the cover is worse than it appears in other countries, (2) names (as said), (3) title changed, (4) plot altered, etc. ?

It is in my harsh belief that if one doesn't respect authorship,
don't even think of publishing,

With that said,
I don't know about other people, but as long as VIZ keeps its bizarre way,
I'll seek Japanese version (even though it'll take me longer to read the pages).

[Duo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it TMS that's to blame for the name changes in the manga as well as the anime?

Just curious because it seems like they're the people to blame for the way the series has been americanized.

[Tenken]

Once VIZ's name is on every volume, VIZ should be responsible for what they've published.

[Conan-kun]

If TMS is requiring the change, maybe your efforts should be directed toward them instead. 

Anyway, rumor has it that Funimation might be dubbing another DC movie(s).  This should be great news, but the dubs to me are less enjoyable than DCTP's fansubs.

[Raso]

I blame much of the name changes on Funi not Viz.

well at least they kept Kazuha right

[LymphatusDjarno]

I, like a fair few around here, came to Detective Conan in the form of Case Closed so I don't feel so disgruntled when it comes to the dubbed version. I'm kinda glad that they did stop dubbing the show because after I finished the dubbed episodes for better (I really like the show) or for worse (I've spent too much time watching Conan when I should have been studying (who am I kidding I would have found I different way to waste that time)) I started watching the fansubs. I agree that this is a much better way to watch the show but the dubs were never so bad that I was like "Ugh, these voices-overs are just awful. I won't be watching this anymore." If they had continued the dubs I would have kept watching them not knowing what I was missing.

What I don't get is why they decided to Americanize Detective Conan from a business stand point.

Obviously, they know that their main consumers are going be manga/anime fans. And if you're a manga/anime fan, you probably have some interest in (or at least no aversion to) Japanese conventions and culture. You would want something in English that reflects as closely as possible the original content. The argument probably will be made that the changes were made to attract a wider audience. (I put myself in this category, I didn't watch anime before watching Conan and it's the only anime I watch now.) If they had been more faithful to the original, I don't think I would have been anyless prone to watch and been like "What!? This about Japanese people?!?! What the hell do I care about Japanese people? Where are the Americans!" And it's not like it's hard to figure out it's from Japan. In fact, if this was the intention of the changes, the first name they should have changed was Conan Edogawa. I know Edogawa isn't a Japanese name but it certainly sounds a lot more Japanese than American. Americans aren't nearly as xenophobic as we sometimes are made/make ourselves out to be.

As far as the Detective Conan -> Case Closed name change, don't kill me but I kind of prefer Case Closed; it's alliterative (if I spelled that right: I need to get some mileage out of my useless high school English classes) and just sounds more intriguing and pithy. It takes a half second google search to find out the alternate name for the show and when was the last time you had a discussion about it with someone in Japan/French/Germany/etc.? Neither title tells you much about the actual content of the show.

The changes just seem like pointless extra effort but I don't think that they destroyed the integrity of the manga/anime. I certainly don't think they're anything worth expending excess energy worrying over.

By the way,

Anyway, rumor has it that Funimation might be dubbing another DC movie(s). 

Where did you come up with this?

P. S. I'm glad I proofread this post because I originally I typed Edowaga twice. One switch really makes it sound alot funnier. I dare you to say "Edowaga" out loud right now. If someone else is in the room and gives you a funny look just show them the back of your hand and be like "What!?" This post came out pretty long; no one's gonna read it.

[GinRei]

Once VIZ's name is on every volume, VIZ should be responsible for what they've published.

As Duo said, it's TMS that made Funimation and Viz change the names of characters.  TMS kind of has seniority over Funi and Viz, as they produce it and hold the copyright.

[kat1214young]

I know Edogawa isn't a Japanese name but it certainly sounds a lot more Japanese than American.

Edogawa is Japanese. It's actually the Japanese version of Edgar Allan Poe's name. 

[Shakura]

Bah, the quality mysteries and amusing dialogue remains, I no see no good reason other than excess weabooism to get worked up about name changes, as opposed to getting worked up about generally poor quality which is a good thing.

Quoted for truth.

It's indeed disappointing on TMS's part, but it doesn't "butcher" the series.  I may not be a big fan of the character's name changes, but I don't think the change is so drastic that you'd get all tied up in your underwear about it.  The names haven't at all turned me away from supporting the releases.

I personally think the types standing on a soapbox, crying "BOYCOTT!" are overreacting.  It's still the same series just under a different name.  I mean, what's in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (lol Shakespeare). 

But to be fair, if the changes bother one that much, you can buy the Japanese version as an alternative and use scans for reference if you can't read Japanese(I recommend Sasuga Books, which has a nice selection of Japanese DC books).  I order from them all the time whenever I'm waiting for the English releases.  They're fun to collect.

Though I wasn't sure of this, but wasn't Viz gonna use the original names at first?  I remember hearing this, but I'm not sure if it was true or not. 

[TromOuji]

Some stuff:

1.  The name was changed to Case Closed supposedly to avoid any possible litigation regarding use of the name 'Conan' from the owners of the trademark for 'Conan the Barbarian'.  I would think the use of the name would be completely defensible, but I'm not one of the executives at TMS or Viz.  Go figure.

2.  That excuse hardly covers the Americanization of names initially.  Here, however, I can see the reasoning more clearly.  Detective Conan is a big family show in Japan, and they clearly wanted to target the same demographic in North America.  Thus the fell into the same trap that people who want to do that always fall into, they dumb down things a bit too much and end up with a product that doesn't really work with their target demographic and also annoys niche anime fans.  Still, it's pretty mild.  I don't like the name changes, but I can deal with it.  At least they didn't wholesale twist the underlying features of the story.

3.  The Melkior/Kaspar thing was obvious stupidity.  Hopefully the moron who made that decision has been sacked, but somehow I doubt any corporation could bring themselves to do something so useful.

4.  There's much rumor that most of the bad decisions were made by TMS, but there's no real proof of that statement.  It's anyone's guess.

5.  The original post would have been just a bit more persuasive if it didn't screw up Kogorou's name.  I'll post a big rant about the idea of zapping the "u" off Japanese names soon.  God I hate that.

6.  Edogawa isn't the Japanese equivalent of Edgar Allen Poe.  It's a common enough name.  The novelist Hirai Tarou used Edogawa Rampo as his pseudonym because it sounded like Edgar Allen Poe.

7.  I must say I don't care for it when people use the term 'weeaboo'.  It always used as an attempt to short-circuit a discussion by insulting someone.  I'd rather never see it again on this board.