How do Japanese animation authors name characters in animation works? In fact, different authors have different basis and sources for naming. The author’s personal preferences vary greatly depending on the creative background of animation. The contact is explained in detail below.
The origin of the names of Dragon Ball characters
When it comes to "Dragon Ball", it is almost impossible to mention Akira Toriyama. This Japanese animation master likes Chinese classical literature very much, so he can be seen in Dragon Ball. We can see a strong Chinese style in the early plots, and Akira Toriyama has also done some research on "Journey to the West". Therefore, the male protagonist's name Goku does partly come from Journey to the West, but if you look at the English names of different characters, Dragon Ball has a large Some characters are objects that appear in daily life.
For example, Goku’s English name Kakarot comes from the English word carrot (radish), and Saiyan (saiya) is the Japanese word for wild vegetable (yasai) written upside down. So some people joke that all the names of the Saiyans in Dragon Ball are derived from daily vegetables. Except for Goku who is a radish, Vegeta is a direct English vegetable. As for Kobayashi, he is also called Krin, which is kuririn in English, where kuri means chestnut in Japanese. As for the name of Bulma's family, they are all derived from the English names of clothing in daily life. For example, Bulma is just a kind of sweatpants that Japanese girls often wear. As for the origin of Satan's name, it is derived from the Satan in the legend of Western culture.
All Saiyan names in Dragon Ball are related to vegetables. For example, Sun Wukong’s name Kakarot comes from the English word carrot.
Krin's name is also related to food. His English name is kuririn, where kuri means chestnut in Japanese.
As for the Bulma family, they are all related to the clothing in daily life. For example, the name Bulma comes from a type of sports shorts that Japanese girls often wear.
The meaning of some characters’ names in One Piece
The Luffy we are familiar with is translated according to the English name given by Oda. Luffy’s English name is Monkey D. Luffy. The monkey means monkey, and Luffy's representative animal in One Piece is actually a monkey. As for luffy, it comes from the English luff, which means sailing against the wind. So Luffy's Chinese name is actually just the English translation of the character's English pronunciation, and of course there are some special meanings in it. As for Sauron's name, it is similar to this. Sauron's English name is Roronoa Zoro. The first half comes from the famous pirate in the Caribbean in the 17th century, and the second half comes from the knight Zorro in literary works. Moreover, Zoro is also a master of swordsmanship, and Zoro also inherited this setting.
The names of Luffy and Zoro are both derived from the English translation of their English names. Of course, Oda added some settings of sailing adventure and pirates to each name.
Part of Sauron's name comes from the knight Zorro in the literary work. It is worth mentioning that Zorro in the literary work is also a master of swordsmanship.
The origin of Pokémon character names
In fact, the origin of Pokémon character names also comes from daily life, and has a certain connection with the creator. For example, Xiaozhi's Japanese name (satoshi) has the meaning of reason or wisdom in Japanese. There is also a theory that Xiaozhi's name comes from Tajiri Satoshi, the corporate planner of the Pokémon cartoon series, and "witness" comes from the Japanese Chinese character.
Ash's name comes from the Japanese words reason and wisdom, and also takes the name of Pokémon mastermind Satoshi Tajiri.
As for Xiaoxia, its name comes from a plant, that is, Xia grass. There is also a saying that Xiaoxia's name comes from fog, because Xiaoxia's English name Misty means fog.
The origin of Xiaogang’s name is also very simple. Xiaogang’s Japanese name (Takeshi) means mountain peaks and bamboo. These things are relatively hard objects. Takeshi means hard and thick. .
Finally, to summarize, in fact, most of the names Japanese animation authors use to name their characters are related to their own interests, hobbies, and life experiences, and there is no unified standard. For example, the names of characters in Dragon Ball are basically derived from food and clothing in daily life. As for the names of many anime characters in the question, they are Chinese translations added after entering the Chinese market. There are still differences from the original Japanese names in the original work. Analysis Please forgive me for any inaccuracies. If you have other ideas, please leave a message for discussion.