Shinigami or Death-god?

[Goldsplinter]

Which sounds better?

Personally, Like Death-God better, thats why Like Lunar a lot. They translate the words to what they are instead of the Japanese Names... like When The cat woman foguth Sung-Foi? And The girl said she got combined the two powers...

One Version Said Some japanese words... the other sub said Demon-Magic and I think Strength or something... which for me is more preferable and easier to remember.

Also...don't remember like any1's names on bleach lol

[Dark`]

Well, if you compare Death God to Sinigami...of course Death God. I mean, who wants to be named Sin-anything?

Please make sure of your spelling before making a thread next time. It's Shinigami, with a 'h'. And not to be complete off-topic, I personally prefer Shinigami over Death God, though in the end it doesn't really matter to me (Viz uses Death God in their Bleach manga releases, I don't really mind).

Edit: Btw, what's with the third option? Rat's butt? I don't think anyone really would've minded if you used the word 'ass'... ('arse' maybe? :heh: )

[FlyMoto]

Shinigami... your spelling here killed me. I do like lunar as a fansub, but then you don't know the awesome japanese work for this stuff, like zanpakuto.

Btw, your spelling almost made me cry when you said: Sung-Foi. Its Soi Fon or Soi Fong, depending on the translation.

[sceeZer]

i kinda prefer shinigami to me it sounds better. and lately started watching dattebayo subs since on forums ppl use the japaniese words and i dont know what the hell they are talking about:D i to also prefer the lunar subs though but they been annoying me lately by all the "slang" in the subs. especially on gin lol. "you're one o' the stongest i tha hizzouse" lol. always o' instead of "of"

[Goldsplinter]

i kinda prefer shinigami to me it sounds better. and lately started watching dattebayo subs since on forums ppl use the japaniese words and i dont know what the hell they are talking about:D i to also prefer the lunar subs though but they been annoying me lately by all the "slang" in the subs. especially on gin lol. "you're one o' the stongest i tha hizzouse" lol. always o' instead of "of"

So true... was like "Is that how japanese people talk ghetto?"

Excuse me for the Bad spelling...

[Bedlam]

the most literal translation would be Death God, but if we really wanted to make a western equivalent, they should have been called Grim Reapers (or just Reapers for short) since that's what those kind of beings are commonly called in western literary context.

but Shinigami suits it best.

[sceeZer]

hmm is there anyone that speaks japaniese here? does gin really talk that gettho? "come wit' me" want ya to meet someone" "s'right" there isnt anyone else thats subbed that gettho in the show from what i can remember

[Dark`]

the most literal translation would be Death God, but if we really wanted to make a western equivalent, they should have been called Grim Reapers (or just Reapers for short) since that's what those kind of beings are commonly called in western literary context.

but Shinigami suits it best.
Oh right...reapers. Argh, made a mistake in my earlier post. Viz doesn't use Death God in their releases, they use "Soul Reaper". But again, I don't really mind in the end, since they basically mean the same (or close enough). I do prefer Shinigami (could also be interpreted as Angel/God of Death as used with Duo in Gundam Wing), but considering I like lunar's releases the best, that kinda tells you how much I care about whether it's 'Shinigami', 'Death God' or even 'Soul Reaper'. ;) Oddly enough, they (Viz) keep 'zanpakutou' untouched, though the spelling is a bit different. :twitch:

[The Crappinometer]

shinigami all the way

[rukia82]

Shinigami is better :D

[Wolcik]

I started with manga and shinigami that was, Death God or Soul Raper just made me laught and confused... I prefer to use orginal words if possible instead of some translation that might be not well known to everybody, and it's easier to look up for a orginal japanese word from this two I think :D (if Kubo wanted to use english or spanish word for that than he just would)
and I never heard Gin talking strange, is it his actent or what? He usually talk small so I can understand him without reading :D

[unwill]

My personal opinion is to translate as much as possible. Thats the reason for fansubbers. I can probably learn several "japanese"-word for a anime, but if they keep too much of the orginal words, whats the point of english-sub?

I dont mean they should call Ichigo for onefive or james or anything, but names that can be translated should. The only thing that shouldnt be translated is character-name. Other name such as places, groups,etc should be translated if possible. I mean Soul Reaper and Death Gods doesnt sound that bad, and it fits their job quite good.

[Kaka]

shinigami

since it's japanese death god

[Goldsplinter]

Oh right...reapers. Argh, made a mistake in my earlier post. Viz doesn't use Death God in their releases, they use "Soul Reaper". But again, I don't really mind in the end, since they basically mean the same (or close enough). I do prefer Shinigami (could also be interpreted as Angel/God of Death as used with Duo in Gundam Wing), but considering I like lunar's releases the best, that kinda tells you how much I care about whether it's 'Shinigami', 'Death God' or even 'Soul Reaper'. ;) Oddly enough, they (Viz) keep 'zanpakutou' untouched, though the spelling is a bit different. :twitch:

What's Viz?

[Dark`]

What's Viz?
You don't know Viz? The english manga company that releases Shonen Jump as well as many other different mangas like Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach, Shaman King, etc. They do seem to delve into anime a bit too, not as much as manga though. I'll assume that you know them, but you thought I meant an online manga distributor (I'm trying to avoid using the 's' word that starts with 'scan' and ends with 'lation'...waitaminute, crap! :uhoh: )

[sceeZer]

and I never heard Gin talking strange, is it his actent or what? He usually talk small so I can understand him without reading :D

no idea if he has an accent just seems in the lunar subs he is subbed with more slang then the others. thats why i asked if anyone knew if he actually talks with more slang then the avrage person in bleach or just him beeing subbed this way. the more serious chars like hitsugaya and aizen is not subbed like this

[gvozden]

I have posted few times regarding it, but everyone is stuck with Grim Reaper (only Grim Reaper I like is from Sandman and Discworld novels ).

Psychopomp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. These creatures are called psychopomps, from the Greek word ψυχοπομπóς (psychopompos), literally meaning the 'guide of souls'.

I agree that it doesn't sound cool enough, so i prefer shinigami just not to use death god.

[TBox]

Psychopomp? Makes 'em sound pompous. Seriously, though, the problem with Psychopomp is then we'd get threads asking, "What's a psychopomp?" instead of "What's a shinigami?"

And the problem with Reaper is there was really only ever supposed to be one, and his job was to make sure that no one escaped death. Dunno that he cared too much about what happened to them after that. (Yes, very much like Pratchett depicts. But then, Pratchett's admitted he nicks ideas from history when he thinks no one's looking.)

I've never read Sandman. I'm such a poor geek.

And there are less popular forms of romanization that would accept sinigami as a romanization for 死神, although I don't think Goldsplinter can honestly claim that's why he spelled it that way. :P

Um... I had a point before going through those diversions, but I've forgotten it now. It's too darn late.

[gvozden]

Oh here is image of Sandman Death

http://www.vamp.org/Gothic/Images/images/s-death3.jpg

Well we all know how people like classical education :)

Psycho -spirit,
pomp- conducter

[lordjuggernaut]

did some one say soul raper?..... its reaper dammit!! now we have necrophiliacs who do it in nother dimension..

[Sirch]

As far as names go I prefer the Japanese versions rather than the english. Death god and soul slayer just dont seem to roll off the tongue as easily.

The first 25 episodes of Bleach I watched were sub'd with "Soul Slayer" as the name of the Shinigami and their Zanpaktou's so after it was switched to their japanese names it was a bit confusing. :confused:

[JOJOS'STAR]

This is exactly like when AnimeOne changed ero-sennin to Pervert-Hermit in Naruto.

I think keeping the Japanese words is more intresting for intense viewers like us. Meh, in a way I dont realy care anymore about what they write, I understand enough to make my own understanding of the names. So I'm not realy disturbed by the "improved translations".

[Novarain]

死神 in chinese actually means death god or god of death... sorry i don't speak japanese but i speak chinese so yeah... voted death god...

[chidzuyo]

I prefer the original Japanese words the characters use in the dialouge. Cause it retains most of its flavour.

[Desti-Fate]

I don't like using death-god, because "God" in Christian countries really has different connotations, and I think these shinigami are the equivalent of Santa's elves- not really omnipotent godlike entities. Although death-god is still the literal translation.
For this reason, I prefer the un-literal translation "soul reaper", since I think this is a more western interpretation of what shinigami are. Shinigami are much closer to mini-Grim Reapers than Gods.

Overall, though- I use Shinigami the most. I prefer to use Japanese terms whenever possible. Partly because they sound better, and partly because I'm learning Japanese. Not that a few romaji words are going to help me much. ;)

[Wolcik]

Grim Reaper is only one "person" as western people rather give power to one "person" (e.g. God) instead of east style where is energy flow and spiritual things like whole nature with trees and bushes...
so Shinigami isn't something like God (Aizen want to be something like that),
and not a Soul Reaper (that's mean to reap souls when only hollow's are bad and aren't called that way :P that's why I don't like that translation, and maybe that's becaue I'm not a native enlish speaker)
there's more of them so Reapers aren't nice for me

and as for me translating it to myself it is like this:
Shinigami > Soul Reaper/Death God > Zniwiarz Dusz/Bog Smierci (just wanted to write something in polish, but without polish letters type)
Shinigami > Shinigami :D (if I knew both Kanji and all than it'd be faster too)

[TBox]

I think these shinigami are the equivalent of Santa's elves

I'm nicking that.

[青和紙]

Shinigami just sounds so much better - in Japanese, it makes perfect sense, with Shinto/Buddhism as well. When you hear "Death God", you're used to God as being in a Western-religious sense - so it doesn't seem to work out as well.

死神 is much cooler, as well (kanji for "Shinigami")

[hreaper]

I'm used to listening in Japanese so, for me, Shinigami sounds natural. And there are a lot of other references to shinigamis in Japan. There's shinigamis in Full Moon wo Sagashite and Death Note too. :p

Death God's the literal translation.
Shin = death
kami = god

Soul Reaper, sounds real cool though. :)

So true... was like "Is that how japanese people talk ghetto?"

Excuse me for the Bad spelling...
Gin is speaking in Kansai slang, I think. Yoruichi also speaks in a slang, Osaka, if I'm not mistaken.
Anyone's free to correct me.

[the five oh first]

Shinigami sounds so much better, don't you agree? :D

Japanese sounds mostly better then english

[Clarste]

I strongly dislike Soul Reaper since it really doesn't mean anything, like shinigami does. It might give you the impression that these are made-up entities for the story, when in fact they are common mythological beings. Soul Reaper kind of makes you think of Grim Reaper, but that's a rather weak connection, and even Grim Reaper doesn't mean that much. It's just a euphamism for death using a farming analogy, it's never really meant as a actual person or anything. It has no role in mythology.

Death God is a literal translation from breaking down the word (shi - death, k(g)ami - god) but this is also a pretty bad translation since since the Japanese word kami means something completely different from the English word God, or even the polytheistic conception of multiple gods (Like Greek or Norse mythology). There's just no word in English with the same connotations.

But, in the end, I voted for "I don't care" because I know what they're saying anyway. (I don't know enough Japanese to understand completely without subtitles, but I can hear them say shinigami, and if I'm reading it I know what they're talking about no matter how they translate it)

[Soluzar]

The word Shinigami is a "real" word in Japanese with a whole lot of myths and legends associated with it, much like the English phrase "Grim Reaper". For that reason, I tend to like the word "Shinigami", but since that's what I hear anyway, it doesn't matter what the subs say.

[GundamZZ]

From my understanding, shinigami was used to address Death(soul reaper) when translating western literatures. The image is a skeleton in the black cloak. You can say it's an incorrect translation. Since Death is only the angel in Western sense, the spirit with power to cause death are not gods in Christian school of thought. The origin of Death's sickle was said held by Gabriel, and God of Old Testament sent angels on a lot of slaughter missions. Bleach surely changed all the concept. I feel death god can address culture of the story more vivdly.

[hreaper]

I strongly dislike Soul Reaper since it really doesn't mean anything, like shinigami does. It might give you the impression that these are made-up entities for the story, when in fact they are common mythological beings. Soul Reaper kind of makes you think of Grim Reaper, but that's a rather weak connection, and even Grim Reaper doesn't mean that much. It's just a euphamism for death using a farming analogy, it's never really meant as a actual person or anything. It has no role in mythology.

Death is a literal translation from breaking down the word (shi - death, k(g)ami - god) but this is also a pretty bad translation since since the Japanese word kami means something completely different from the English word God, or even the polytheistic conception of multiple gods (Like Greek or Norse mythology). There's just no word in English with the same connotations.

But, in the end, I voted for "I don't care" because I know what they're saying anyway. (I don't know enough Japanese to understand completely without subtitles, but I can hear them say shinigami, and if I'm reading it I know what they're talking about no matter how they translate it)

Ditto.
Liked your explanation. :)

[shikamarufoo]

For that reason, I tend to like the word "Shinigami", but since that's what I hear anyway, it doesn't matter what the subs say.
Agree I hear "Shinigami" and that's all that matters^
also with the breaking it down thing, in Japanese why does something that starts with a ka like kami and kao, be changed to ga like the k(g)ami in shinigami and the k(g)ao in a famous haiku, (forgot how it goes though) and still mean the same thing. Is that a Japanese rule or something? Sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying and you're making a face like:eyespin: .

[Wakoeme]

Personaly, I'd vote from grim reaper, but thats just me.

[Soluzar]

Agree I hear "Shinigami" and that's all that matters^
also with the breaking it down thing, in Japanese why does something that starts with a ka like kami and kao, be changed to ga like the k(g)ami in shinigami and the k(g)ao in a famous haiku, (forgot how it goes though) and still mean the same thing. Is that a Japanese rule or something? Sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying and you're making a face like:eyespin: .

"ka" and "ga" are the same syllable in hiragana, and when it is pronounced as "ga" you just write the character with a dakuten. The hiragana for ka　is カ and the hiragana for ga is ガ. The dakuten is the thing that looks like a quote mark above the character. It changes the pronunciation of that sylable. I think it's one of the ways that kanji pronunciation changes when used in a compound, but since I'm not that good yet, I can't be sure.

Shinigami is written as 死神. I know that when read in isolation, these kanji give "shi" and "kami" respectively, meaning "death" and "god". A lot of times kanji do change their pronunciation when used in a compound, but I don't know the rules well enough to say anything more than that.

[Arti]

It doesn't matter to me. I know what they're referring to when they say shinigami or death god.

What really irks me is pro-shinigami people whose argument is to preserve the Japanese. Well, there's a reason why fansubs exist. If you actually understand the differences between shinigami and the literal translation, death god, maybe you're better off watching it in japanese and not caring.

[eLcHaKeTeRo]

I like to have them give me their japanese pronounciations just because its better for me personaly.

[Komataguri]

I prefer Shinigami.


Just rolls off the tongue better than Death God or Soul Reaper.


It also sounds cooler.

[gameoffreak8]

I like Shinigami and Death God but I prefer Shinigami.

[budak]

i prefer shinigami...
death god sounds too overrated

[Jaden]

I liked "Soul Reaper"...
it's not an accurate translation, but it serves it's purpose, it sounds cool, and it's like the western (and so english using) culture's equivalent for "death god".
well, it's up to the subber's style, whether they want to sound more japanese or not. personally i think using japanese words, direct translations that are borderline english, things like "death god" that we can't relate to should be avoided, we watch subtitled stuff because we want to see english english damnit english!
So I'll just vote "Don't give a rat's butt"

[Wolcik]

I liked "Soul Reaper"...
it's not an accurate translation, but it serves it's purpose, it sounds cool, and it's like the western (and so english using) culture's equivalent for "death god".
well, it's up to the subber's style, whether they want to sound more japanese or not. personally i think using japanese words, direct translations that are borderline english, things like "death god" that we can't relate to should be avoided, we watch subtitled stuff because we want to see english english damnit english!
So I'll just vote "Don't give a rat's butt"
I watch subtitled so I can understand more and learn japanese :P

[shikamarufoo]

"ka" and "ga" are the same syllable in hiragana, and when it is pronounced as "ga" you just write the character with a dakuten. The hiragana for ka　is カ and the hiragana for ga is ガ. The dakuten is the thing that looks like a quote mark above the character. It changes the pronunciation of that sylable. I think it's one of the ways that kanji pronunciation changes when used in a compound, but since I'm not that good yet, I can't be sure.

Shinigami is written as 死神. I know that when read in isolation, these kanji give "shi" and "kami" respectively, meaning "death" and "god". A lot of times kanji do change their pronunciation when used in a compound, but I don't know the rules well enough to say anything more than that.
Thanks for the info. I am currently learning Japanese and do know not that much either.

[Ziv]

So I was on the wikipedia page for bleach, and there's a debate on whether they should use "soul reaper" or shinigami. Obviously since there's no english Bleach anime, the consensus was for shinigami since it's vastly more recognized, even though it went against wikipedia policies. Although I was shocked that they would even give that consideration, I was even more shocked to find that the english manga infact calls them "soul reapers." Is it just me, or does this sound unbeleivably stupid? Shinigami in bleach do have similarities with the grim reaper, but calling them soul reapers implies connotations that shinigami do not deserve. For example, shinigami are not immortal personifications of death or any other concept/element, and they do not exclusively "reap" souls. In fact, they don't "reap" souls at all! The vast majority of what shinigami do that bleach focuses on is fighting hollows and other nasties; not soul burial. Does anyone else agree with me?

[KanaKaishou]

I dunno...I like death god...a more literal translation.

[voldy18]

I prefer shinigami and I'm really glad that they kept that term in the german translation.

[sanghyun1990]

I prefer Sa Shin (사신), but that is just me. Anyway Shinigami sounds better than Death-god.

[Shini_GamI]

死神 in chinese(cantonese) pronouces as sei san
Shinigami of course sounded better
go Japanese =)

[Ruka]

Shinigami sounds way better.
I dont really like the English translation.

-Ruka

[Clarste]

This thread made me realize that I had a glaring typo sitting there for 3 months. Oh well.

Contributing slightly, the hard 'g' sound is the voiced version of a 'k' sound. Voicing is whether or not your voice box vibrates to produce the sound. So while your tongue/lips make pretty much the same motion with 'g' and 'k,' one is voiced and the other is not. Most consonants have voiced and unvoiced versions, notable examples being z/s, d/t, b/p, v/f, etc. There's also voiced and unvoiced versions of 'th,' but that's not represented in our alphabet. Vowels are always voiced. That's just how it works...

People familiar with the Japanese writing system will note that the voiced consonants uniformly have that little two dot thing over them. There is a weird little thing with the h/b/p section though. Anyway, since all vowels must voiced, slurring words together will naturally turn an unvoiced consonant into a voiced consonant. So shinikami becomes shinigami when you say it fast. It's probably more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it. Japanese formalized this phenomenon at some point, so many compound words get voiced.

[Orichi]

Shinigami all the way...I mean Death God...how quaint.
The english version just sounds so bland.
Lunar anime is a great subbing group...I don't really care about this too much.
As long as a group doesn't dub anything and makes good quality videos I don't really care.
Translation always seems to lose some of the meaning and flavour.

[AllGamer]

definitely Shinigami

those other FanSubs that uses "death god" sounds or more like Reads horrible....

[jace319]

Shimigami and zanpakuto....second would be Soul SLAYER...none of that soul reaper stuff

[fict_ticious]

Does it matter?
The meaning of it is preserved either way. There's no superiority/inferiority when expressed in different languages, as the meaning itself if preserved.
Shinigami sounds exotic, so that would be an obvious choice. 'Death God' is the english equivalent. The equivalent in my language escapes me at the moment, but its really all the same.

[HoshiHikari]

I prefer shinigami since this IS a japanese anime it would more suitable than death-god. Plus death-god reminds me of some gigantic zeus type thing...(O_O)

[Obi-Wan]

Soul Reaper for me.

Shinigami is wap and Death God is not suitable for the series.

[Shinji103]

"Death God" sounds kinda cheesy. :uhoh:

"Soul Reaper" is just....uck. >.>

"Shinigami" sounds cool. :)

[Anko Plushy]

Shinigami is the correct termonology calling them "death gods" or "Guardians of death" is making a LITERAL translation of the word, WHICH IS IDIOTIC! It's like calling .... Ichigo strawberry instead of his name, which is Ichigo! Shinigami also sounds cooler, also I find the SHonen Jump translation retarded... 'soul reaper' you've got to be kidding me!

[The Small One]

Shinigami is the correct termonology calling them "death gods" or "Guardians of death" is making a LITERAL translation of the word, WHICH IS IDIOTIC! It's like calling .... Ichigo strawberry instead of his name, which is Ichigo! Shinigami also sounds cooler, also I find the SHonen Jump translation retarded... 'soul reaper' you've got to be kidding me!

But "Shinigami" isn't a name, but some sort of job description. ;) And things like these usually have to be translated. If you start to let this thing untranslated, you also have to skip the translation for other words, and sooner or later you don't have any translation at all...
:)

[ichigopwns929]

i like shinigami because its more japanese which is cool

[WONDERMIKE]

[x] shinigami

i dont like all these "harsh" translations.. reiatsu is reiatsu, everyone knows what it is"." The same thing with kidou, zanpaktou, bankai, shikai,.. it would kill the nice japanese flair if you translate all those terms. Same goes for -san/kun/chan/senpai/sensei/sama/.. or would you like to read it as "Mister Kuchiki"? You would also have to revert all names,..

i really like that japanese stuff, thats why i dont watch the english dub(bleach and every other anime), call me a freak but i have a feeling that the majority of fansub-viewer would agree.. everyone else should watch the english dub

[Royal_Devil]

also I find the SHonen Jump translation retarded... 'soul reaper' you've got to be kidding me!

So they should say no to Kubo?

[UnderscoreX]

The Shinigami/Death God thing never really bothered me BUT I really hate when people translate Zanpaktou as Soul Cutters as that just massively decreases the awesome.

Edit: Just noticed this topic is over a year old..

[Zu Ra]

Yeah Soul Cutters is funny .... Souls can be cut ..... I hate the words Soul Reapers and NOT Rapers ( Somone once said ) Soul Rapers :heh:...

Shinigami for me ^o^

[KholdStare]

Soul Reaper, Death God, both of those terms don't have any significant meaning in many of non-Japanese audiences, so just like how we don't translate -chan/-kun-/san, I'll prefer that somethings are left untranslated, so Shinigami is fine.

[Zu Ra]

I canged my mind Soul Rapers for me :heh:

[KholdStare]

Okay me too. Soul Raper it is.

[Cherudim Arche]

As long as isn't soul cutter, any name you mention would be alright, even soul raper.

[Amirali]

[x] shinigami
i dont like all these "harsh" translations.. reiatsu is reiatsu, everyone knows what it is"." The same thing with kidou, zanpaktou, bankai, shikai,.. it would kill the nice japanese flair if you translate all those terms. Same goes for -san/kun/chan/senpai/sensei/sama/.. or would you like to read it as "Mister Kuchiki"? You would also have to revert all names,..
i really like that japanese stuff, thats why i dont watch the english dub(bleach and every other anime), call me a freak but i have a feeling that the majority of fansub-viewer would agree.. everyone else should watch the english dub

Even in English dubs, it would sound lame if people started calling Senobonzakura as "1 million cherry blossoms", or Zangetsu as....whatever it means. I'm not really a stickler for having "orignal" Japanese words. But its just that if you have concepts,attacks and techniques that are very specific to bleach (e.g, the "shinigami" , the "zanpakutou" ) then they should sound unique when translated , not generic terms that can mean almost anything. For example, the word "death-god" doesn't have the same detailed connotations as the word "shinigami" has accrued over the 147 bleach episodes. Similarly, "soul-cutter" doesn't indicate something specific to bleach.

If someone could come up with cool sounding English names for these same things (shinigami, zanpakutou) without making it too general and vague, then I'd be fine with it. A good example that comes to mind, is how they translated Inuyasha's moves and abilities into cool sounding terms : "the WindScar", "the Backlash Scar", "Iron reaver, Soul stealer". In most cases, rather than going for strict translations, the dubbers emphasized on keeping the cool factor in inuyasha. If one transliterates Bleach terms plainly to something stupid like "soul cutter" or death-god...that would suck.

[Ryuujin]

also I find the SHonen Jump translation retarded... 'soul reaper' you've got to be kidding me!
iirc, the term "Soul Reaper" actually originated in Japan...

[Kyuusai]

Wow, necromancy was worked on this thread.
My two cents:

"Death god" is wholly inappropriate. The translation of "kami" as "god" is very rarely correct, since the word "god" tends to have different connotations in English. The word "shinigami", itself, though it's had slightly more varied use, was originated and continues to be used primarily to describe the figure known in English as "the Grim Reaper". "Soul reaper", therefor, is a far better term. However, since in Bleach "shinigami" is used to describe not just to describe their profession, but also to describe them as a class of people, "soul reaper" sounds awkward. For that reason, I prefer "shinigami".

Generally speaking, I still prefer to see terms untranslated in Bleach, for two reasons. The first being that even in Japanese their meaning is not immediately apparent when spoken. Phonetically, the actual meaning isn't properly communicated in the word, and the meaning must be read from the kanji used. Some one might be able to guess upon hearing the words "kidou" or "zanpakutou" what their meaning is (especially after seeing it in the show), but more often these Bleach-specific terms would need to be translated on some level, even in Japan.
The second reason goes back to the connotations a translation can have. Sure, "soul cutter" is an almost perfect translation of "zanpakutou" (if there were one term to translate into English, that would be it), but what bout "kidou"? Translating that as "demon arts" is awful. "Ki" in "kidou" is more commonly read "oni". Well, much as "kami" can be translated as "god" but often shouldn't be, "oni" can be translated as demon but generally means something quite different to the western idea of demons (which is more often "ma", "tenma", or "akuma").

[Arthas1011]

shinigami sounds good but death god sounds more tough

[Ziv]

iirc, the term "Soul Reaper" actually originated in Japan...

Wasn't the entire concept of the Shinigami invented in response to the western concept of the Grim Reaper?

[Spectacular_Insanity]

I prefer Shinigami translated as "Soul Reaper" (english dubbed version translation) instead of "Death God" in the literal Japanese translation. If it's not Shinigami (my first choice), it should at least be Soul Reaper. At least "Soul Reaper" sounds less stupid, imho.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Wasn't the entire concept of the Shinigami invented in response to the western concept of the Grim Reaper?

I believe so. Since when you break up the word Shinigami into a literal translation...

..."shini" = "death" and "gami" = "god" (actually god alone is kami, but the pronuciation changes when it is in the middle of a word. "Shinikami" would be awkward.)

Since "Soul Reaper" is not really a translation, but an idea that the Grim Reaper is a god of death, yadda yadda yadda. Close enough, I say.

[Geass]

I prefer Shinigami, as well as keeping the other important terms untranslated.

[KORAbanchou]

I like Shinigami, cause it's easier to say ^^
Or "Dødsgud" :heh:

[Seraphis]

Omg teh necromanceh

I prefer Shinigami, anything in another language sounds cooler as it's like a new word (For me, as I don't speak Japanese obviously).

[Agallion]

i prefer to read shimigami, but in conversation i would say death god.

[Arthas1011]

Omg teh necromanceh

I prefer Shinigami, anything in another language sounds cooler as it's like a new word (For me, as I don't speak Japanese obviously).

I can swear and count upto eight in japanese plus a few other word like hello and goodbye

[ginseng]

"Shinigami" sounds like the best idea. "Death God" gives the wrong vibe, anyway. If you want to translate it, "Soul Reaper" is pretty good, but that's a bit of a mouthful.

[King Lycan]

Shinigami sounds why more better

[Martin]

I like Shinigami, cause it's easier to say ^^

Couldn't agree more.

[GeostigmataShi]

sigh...i prefer reaper if i can

[kk2extreme]

i prefer soul "raper" for some obvious reason :p

jokes aside, shinigami is more preferable

[DjTrizz]

There is only one Death God, his name is Duo Maxwell :p

[BleachOD]

I like either.... Shinigami is uber cool ( *A* God of Death) . Deathgod sounds uber cool.

Soul Reaper sounds really lame...

[Endrance]

i actually like shinigami or even soul reaper compared to death god

[Satsuki Yuuhi Ramius]

Shinigami is more better

[Mitsuomi1971]

Shinigami...Soul Reaper in the english version is better simply because it is not as offensive in this PC world as something with God in the name...in America the PC crowd is controlling content...not as bad as it used to be...but if you all can recall those butchered DBZ DVDs that got released all those years ago.

[T3rmina]

to be fair when you watch the series the word shinigami comes up so much in dialogue, that even if the subs said deathgod/soulreaper i wouldnt notice, as im used to hearing it.

for that same reason, i dont believe somethings should be translated,
as we always hear= Bankai, getsuga tenshou, shinigami, zanpaktuo, etc.

[Royal_Devil]

Shinigami...Soul Reaper in the english version is better simply because it is not as offensive in this PC world as something with God in the name...in America the PC crowd is controlling content...not as bad as it used to be...but if you all can recall those butchered DBZ DVDs that got released all those years ago.

You realize Kubo invented the term "Soul Reaper" right? And that "Death God" was used in the official American translations of Zombie Powder and Death Note? I've full confidence they would have used it in Bleach had Kubo not invented his own English version.

[Mitsuomi1971]

Nope, had no clue whatsoever...interesting tidbit :D

I def. like shinigami the best.

[Hari Michiru]

Shinigami seems more..natural to me.

[Royal_Devil]

I wonder if Kubo will come up with what to call them in other languages like he did for English.

Screw the other choices. I'll go with dios de muerte

[DjTrizz]

Shinigami...Soul Reaper in the english version is better simply because it is not as offensive in this PC world as something with God in the name...in America the PC crowd is controlling content...not as bad as it used to be...but if you all can recall those butchered DBZ DVDs that got released all those years ago.

I can't think of a specific point in time when things started getting better again in America, I can only point out the example of when they showed Gundam Wing uncut on Late Night Toonami, I don't remember what Duo's edited phrase was, but in the uncut version, he'd say "the God of Death is back from Hell"

Things seem slightly like they were in the 80's, when they were allowed to say "dead, die, death, etc" then when DBZ hit state-side in the late 90's, it was like they were afraid for the dialogue to say someone died. Nope...they didn't die they went "to the next dimension" oh the lolz...

[Royal_Devil]

Well, I first noticed a lax in edits when Adult Swim first started. Yusuke was the first anime character I heard that said a**. After that, I saw much more uncut stuff.

[tbl]

I prefer Deathigami. See it combines the words to make it more awesome :D. It really is the only logical choice.

[Kuroda]

Shinigami. thats what they say in the anime several times, i'm used to it by now.

[HayashiTakara]

Death God doesn't sound... I don't know... right? Since they're not "gods". Soul Reapers are a better term IMO.

[Hari Michiru]

Death God doesn't sound... I don't know... right? Since they're not "gods". Soul Reapers are a better term IMO.

Soul Reapers doesn't flow as well as shinigami though.

[shii_chan]

shinigami^^
shinigami @ bleach=soul reaper =/ death god

[Utsukushii Hono'o]

I can't chose I like both. Shinigami or Death God both sounds uber-cool. I think when I am talking about them I use Death God, because the people I am talking to has no idea what a Shinigami is. So I didn't vote at all I can't decide.

[MidnightViper88]

Death God sounds stupid; Sounds too much like the name of a Swedish death metal band...The same could be said about Soul Reaper, but much less so...

I alternate between "Shinigami" and "Soul Reaper", depending on what I feel like saying, though I most likely use the "Soul Reaper" term often

[Utsukushii Hono'o]

I think Soul Reaper sounds stupid. I understand why. Soul balancer + Grim Reaper =Soul Reaper. Soul Reaper just sounds lame, imo. Death God sounds uber cool. Since Shinigami is literally a God of Death. When I hear Death God...I think of one bad mofo *for some reason he's wearing all leather, shirt, pants, trench.....He also has a big ass gun and sword* Anyway I think
Death God screams "BAD ASS!" Shinigami just sounds cool and I am used to it.

[tensashinigami]

I rather have it, shinigami or death god. Both sounds good.
死神.

[Mattelajn]

I like the sound of Shinigami alot more than Death-God, so I'll go with that ;)

[Captain Yoruichi]

I use Shinigami most often.