AnimeSuki Forums

gameoffreak8 · 2006-01-27, 22:20

I like Shinigami and Death God but I prefer Shinigami.

budak · 2006-01-28, 00:34

i prefer shinigami...
death god sounds too overrated

Jaden · 2006-01-28, 15:36

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 · 2006-01-28, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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"

I watch subtitled so I can understand more and learn japanese :P

shikamarufoo · 2006-01-28, 19:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soluzar

"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 · 2006-04-24, 16:02

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 · 2006-04-24, 17:07

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

voldy18 · 2006-04-24, 17:16

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

sanghyun1990 · 2006-04-24, 18:28

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

Shini_GamI · 2006-04-24, 21:50

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

Ruka · 2006-04-24, 22:55

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

-Ruka

Clarste · 2006-04-25, 01:52

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 · 2006-04-25, 15:46

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 · 2006-04-25, 15:54

definitely Shinigami

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

jace319 · 2006-04-25, 19:14

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

fict_ticious · 2006-04-25, 19:20

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 · 2006-04-25, 20:23

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 · 2006-04-25, 20:36

Soul Reaper for me.

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

Shinji103 · 2006-04-25, 20:50

"Death God" sounds kinda cheesy.

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

"Shinigami" sounds cool.

Anko Plushy · 2006-04-30, 21:34

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!

View Poll Results: Shinigami or Death-god?
Shinigami...sounds better	228	82.01%
Death-god.... 4 ever	25	8.99%
Don't give a rat's butt	25	8.99%
Voters: 278. You may not vote on this poll

2006-04-24, 16:02	Link #46
Ziv Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: ALASKA!!! W00t! I'm BACK FINALLY!!!! Age: 36	Is it just me, or does "Soul Reaper" make you want to throw up? 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?

2006-04-25, 20:36	Link #58
Obi-Wan Hello there Fansubber Join Date: Jan 2006	Soul Reaper for me. Shinigami is wap and Death God is not suitable for the series. __________________

2006-04-25, 20:50	Link #59
Shinji103 Crazy Devout Fanboy Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: 1st Ra Cailum-class battleship Ra Cailum, port-side officer's bunks	"Death God" sounds kinda cheesy. "Soul Reaper" is just....uck. >.> "Shinigami" sounds cool. __________________

2006-01-27, 22:20	Link #41
gameoffreak8 Member Join Date: Dec 2005	I like Shinigami and Death God but I prefer Shinigami.

2006-01-28, 00:34	Link #42
budak Member Join Date: Dec 2004	i prefer shinigami... death god sounds too overrated

2006-01-28, 15:36	Link #43
Jaden Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006	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"

2006-04-24, 17:07	Link #47
KanaKaishou Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005	I dunno...I like death god...a more literal translation.

2006-04-24, 17:16	Link #48
voldy18 Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Germany	I prefer shinigami and I'm really glad that they kept that term in the german translation.

2006-04-24, 18:28	Link #49
sanghyun1990 상현 Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 34	I prefer Sa Shin (사신), but that is just me. Anyway Shinigami sounds better than Death-god.

2006-04-24, 21:50	Link #50
Shini_GamI YuI Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Australia, Sydney Age: 33	死神 in chinese(cantonese) pronouces as sei san Shinigami of course sounded better go Japanese =)

2006-04-24, 22:55	Link #51
Ruka Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Philippines Age: 31	Shinigami sounds way better. I dont really like the English translation. -Ruka

2006-04-25, 01:52	Link #52
Clarste Human Join Date: Aug 2004 Age: 38	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.

2006-04-25, 15:46	Link #53
Orichi Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Canada Age: 39	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.

2006-04-25, 15:54	Link #54
AllGamer Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006	definitely Shinigami those other FanSubs that uses "death god" sounds or more like Reads horrible....

2006-04-25, 19:14	Link #55
jace319 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2004	Shimigami and zanpakuto....second would be Soul SLAYER...none of that soul reaper stuff

2006-04-25, 19:20	Link #56
fict_ticious I can has drinks? Join Date: Mar 2006	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.

2006-04-25, 20:23	Link #57
HoshiHikari "Special" Person Join Date: Dec 2005	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)

2006-04-30, 21:34	Link #60
Anko Plushy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sometimes LA sometimes the Soul Society sometimes SD sometimes Konoha it all depends on my mood	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!