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Oni (myth): Difference between revisions
added note about the wordplay in the Taiwanese release of Oni
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What if Brent had received an accurate response that day as to the Japanese word for "ghost"? Well, the most common words for ghost seem to be ''youkai'', ''yurei'', ''youma'', and ''konpaku''. So in an alternate universe, it could be that we're all big "Youma" fans or avid players of "Youkai". | What if Brent had received an accurate response that day as to the Japanese word for "ghost"? Well, the most common words for ghost seem to be ''youkai'', ''yurei'', ''youma'', and ''konpaku''. So in an alternate universe, it could be that we're all big "Youma" fans or avid players of "Youkai". | ||
It's probably worth pointing out here that an "ou" is one of the ways of representing the long 'o' sound in the standard [[wp: | It's probably worth pointing out here that an "ou" is one of the ways of representing the long 'o' sound in the standard [[wp:Hepburn romanization|Hepburn romanization system]]. The sound can also be written as an 'o' with a macron: '''ō'''. Since most English speakers don't know the proper reading of "ou", they would be inclined to pronounce "youma" as "yuu-ma" when it should really be said "yoh-ma". So presumably Bungie would have ended up just writing it "Yoma" or "Yokai" to avoid confusion if Brent had used one of those words for the project's code name instead of "Oni". | ||
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Alternatively, it may have made sense to call the project "Dǎo Dàn Guǐ" 捣蛋鬼 (which is Chinese for "troublemaker", or "trouble-making ghost/spirit/demon" if taking the last symbol literally/fundamentally). Appropriately echoing Shirow's "[[Ghost in the Shell|Kōkaku Kidōtai]]", such a title would have emphasized the historical source of the "oni" kanji 鬼 (referencing a language where "ghost" actually ''was'' its primary meaning), and it would also have highlighted Oni's core concept (the [[Daodan]] Chrysalis), which breaks every balance and sends the world tumbling into uncertainty. | Alternatively, it may have made sense to call the project "Dǎo Dàn Guǐ" 捣蛋鬼 (which is Chinese for "troublemaker", or "trouble-making ghost/spirit/demon" if taking the last symbol literally/fundamentally). Appropriately echoing Shirow's "[[Ghost in the Shell|Kōkaku Kidōtai]]", such a title would have emphasized the historical source of the "oni" kanji 鬼 (referencing a language where "ghost" actually ''was'' its primary meaning), and it would also have highlighted Oni's core concept (the [[Daodan]] Chrysalis), which breaks every balance and sends the world tumbling into uncertainty. | ||
:It's very apropos to note here that the [[:Image:Windows (TW) release 1 - front.jpg|Taiwanese releases]] of Oni used "鬼妮" on the cover to spell the title as "Gweinee", approximating the sound of "Oni" while translating literally as "Ghost Girl". | |||
Apparently it was deemed that "Oni" was catchier and snappier (and spookier?) as a title. Admittedly, "Dǎo Dàn Guǐ" (or even "Yōkai") doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for a non-otaku, whereas "oni" is mainstream enough to have a [[wp:Oni|Wikipedia article in English]], so it's one of those Japanese words that sound exotic yet "work" without a translation. The deep ambiguity of the "Oni" title - not clearly meaning "ghost" or "demon", and not even clearly singular or plural - was another possible plus. | Apparently it was deemed that "Oni" was catchier and snappier (and spookier?) as a title. Admittedly, "Dǎo Dàn Guǐ" (or even "Yōkai") doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for a non-otaku, whereas "oni" is mainstream enough to have a [[wp:Oni|Wikipedia article in English]], so it's one of those Japanese words that sound exotic yet "work" without a translation. The deep ambiguity of the "Oni" title - not clearly meaning "ghost" or "demon", and not even clearly singular or plural - was another possible plus. | ||