Translating names of anime characters
 

Konichi wa mina,
I already watched tones of anime and I always wondered: "What do the names of the character mean?" So I start this thread so me and others can ask the one who know what the names mean.

So can anyone tell me (if they have any meaning) what Shanks, Ryuuma, Ushio and Brook mean?

I hope you all enjoy this thread and this isn't going to be an off topic nor that people flame this thread was ridiculous. ;) :vsign:

I could be wrong but isn't Brook a variation English name, with "brook" meaning kind of a trickling stream? Likewise Shanks doesn't sound like any real name, but it kind of has a colloquial English meaning. . . No idea about Ryuuma or Ushio, but I'm sure 'Ryuu' means 'dragon' :P I could be completely wrong, lol, so I look forward to being corrected if that's the case, I'm as interested as you are as to what they mean :)

and which character do you mean?

I guess it depends on the person who is translating... if they want to 100% translate everything, they'd translate the names... but if they want to be 50/50 about it (i'm looking at you tvnihon you lazy ass muthaF****s) then I suppose they won't

Translate names into what?

田中 translates to "Tanaka"...not "In The Rice Field".

isn't that's what it mean.. if "not"? then what does it mean?

lol You're missing the point.

That's what the characters mean, yes, but are you saying that instead of calling her Princess Aiko we should call her Princess Love Child? I don't think so.

Japanese people don't look at 田中 and say, "He is in the rice field." They look at it and think, "His name is Tanaka."

so i'm assuming when the OP asks "what Shanks, Ryuuma, Ushio and Brook mean?" , it clearly means that those names are "just" names alone, without looking at it as a meaning.

Names are names. They only mean the sound of the name. I`m sure you could look up what your name meant, but that isn`t what it actually means in reality to you and everyone who hears it.
Someone with the last name of, say, Smith is not going to have people react with "His name means he forges iron!" It`s just a name.
If you want to look into the history or root of a names, that is fine. But don`t assume that anyone ever thinks of their "meaning" in daily life. A Japanese name means no more it`s "meaning" than Linda means "Lime Tree" to those listening to it.