[layzee]

I was wondering about this (Disc 1 Track 29):

アンニュイな椅子部屋のワルツ

Using Robo-Ky* as a reference, アンニュイ most likely translates to ennui, an English word based on the word (Pardon my French) enui. In other words, ennui is already English in the same way words like Tsunami are, so there is no actual need to translate it.

*Robo-Ky is a character from the fighting game Guilty Gear XX and he has the word "ennui" etched onto this belt. Robo-Ky is a robotic imitation of another character, Ky Kiske, who is French.

Originally Posted by Jousto

I was always under the impression that when translating (or romanizing, actually), the Western names matter not.

I agree with this. We should translate from the source by itself although the official translations can provide a good reference. I've always felt that just because something is officially translated, it doesn't guarantee the translation is right since professional translators have other things to worry about.

Originally Posted by Secret Squirrel

For the album titles, we felt that the important forms of the title were the romanized version, the original language version (Japanese in this case), and an English language version of the album title. Album titles often contain a game title, and when they do, I think it makes sense to use the official name of that game in the English language because it provides relevant information to someone searching for info about that album.

So the English album title line (i.e. what it is officially known outside Japan) is less about translation and more about providing terms for English-speaking users to search for?

In that case, Rockman is a little lacking in that regard; I barely get any results searching for "Mega Man". There's also the Tales of Destiny 2/Tales of Destiny 2 (PS1 USA)/Tales of Eternia problem.

Originally Posted by Secret Squirrel

Romanized Title: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
English Literal Title: The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro
English Official Title: Spirited Away

Only two of those are real titles (romanized and English official.) The English literal is a valid translation of the Japanese title, but that's not what was used for release.

I'd note that the English official title is also a valid yet incomplete translation but is useful because it provides search terms for English-speaking users, as you intended.

Originally Posted by Secret Squirrel

What we're trying to do is capture the full meaning and spirit of what is being said, rather than just rely on a literal translation, and I often fail at this. "The sound can be heard" is an accurate literal translation, but "I can hear the sound" is a better one because that's the true meaning. Tenchi Sozo the game is Terranigma in English, and not The Creation of Heaven and Earth for the same reason.

Hmm, well I'd have to disagree with this point. Terranigma (i.e. Mystery of the Earth/Earth Mystery) while a clever title, is more or less made up.

Your "I can hear the sound" point sounds... sound but in the case of 天地創造, in my opinion, it's pretty straightforward as far as translation goes: Creation of Heaven and Earth is both accurate and literal, and reflects the true meaning.

So "Terranigma" and "Spirited Away" are both valid yet incomplete translations but are there, not because they are accurate, coherent and complete translations that reflect the true meaning of the original Japanese title, but mainly because that is what they are known outside Japan, and that is what search terms Westerners will use?

With that in mind, I still think there needs to be 2 English titles to accomodate for this. 1 line for the English literal translation (for informational purposes and to address Jousto's point about Akumajou Dracula/Demon Castle) and 1 line for the official English "translation" (what it is known to Western audiences).