Anonymous Coward · 7mo
What is your stance on localizations that change a specific mythological creature to another one? I.e. the Kirin/Qilin from eastern cultures being localized as a unicorn. Or the Oni into orge or demon? Or even Yokai into general ghosts/spirits.
I suppose dragons vs. longs and other names also apply to this but I've seen it be accepted that they're all a similar concept (usually divided into western vs. eastern dragon).
Like anything localization related, depends on context, genre and target audience.
For instance, If "oni" or "yokai" refers to general supernatural malice I'd say it's fair to translate them as demon or spirits, as that'd be the english equvalient of the term. Same with titles, like I assume Reans "ogre form" was intiially called oni form, in which case it'd be a fine translation. If it's specifically referring to the japanese folklore creature rather than a more nebulous concept, then it should be kept as is. See for example the netflix stop motion animation Oni: a thunder gods tale, where the characters being japanese based oni is integral to the plot and narrative.
That said I personally think translating Qirin as unicorn is always bad. Those two aren't corralable. Even translating oni as ogre is fine in certain contexts.
