Target exclusive "Magmatron" re-named.
TigerM...@webtv.net
Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
IF I had to pick a new name for Magmatron ,I would pick "DINOKING"
because Takara in 1988 had a transformer geshalt called dinoking & he
was a pretender combiner. Being that takara created the dinoking name
,hasbro might be able to get the copy rights to the name.
MY choice for the name of "Magmatron" is DINOKING ,if we the fans could
name the new target exclusive geshalt what would some of you name it??
NeoPrime
and misspel yur words EVERYWHRE.
NeoPrime
<TigerM...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:52-395A...@storefull-287.iap.bryant.webtv.net...
corne...@my-deja.com
name, oh, every month or so, but we'll still know it for what it is.
A piece of junk.
Cornelius23 and his sledgehammer of subtlety, signing off.
In article <52-395A...@storefull-287.iap.bryant.webtv.net>,
TigerM...@webtv.net wrote:
> As everyone knows their will be A "NEW"
> Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
> the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
>
> IF I had to pick a new name for Magmatron ,I would pick "DINOKING"
> because Takara in 1988 had a transformer geshalt called dinoking & he
> was a pretender combiner. Being that takara created the dinoking name
> ,hasbro might be able to get the copy rights to the name.
>
> MY choice for the name of "Magmatron" is DINOKING ,if we the fans could
> name the new target exclusive geshalt what would some of you name it??
>
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
corne...@my-deja.com
TigerM...@webtv.net
individual robot modes for the 3 seperate beast,alot of people mainly
display their geshalts in combiner form any way. Magmatron could also be
a beast mutant
that when he arrived on cybertron ,the vechilicons threw green acid on
the 3 beast,the 3 beast got stuck in beast forms to long & their last
resort was to combine all their stuff & get at least 1 huge robot mode.
I really think that Magmatron could possible be re-released as a beast
mutant toy.
Game Overnine
and give its sub-components even weaker names (although they couldn't do much
worse than "Landsaurus", etc.)
VîçéGŽěpX
>NeoPrime wrote:
>>
>>Quiet "TigerMegatron" your POSTs annoy me VERY much the way YOU
capitalized
>>and misspel yur words EVERYWHRE.
>
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH! That's funny! :)
--
VîçéGŽěpX - Good thing I didn't have a mouth full of shredded wheat at the
time I read that or I'd have a heck of a mess to clean up.
Hatch
> name the new target exclusive geshalt what would some of you name it??
>
I'd prefer a toy such as this to have an acronymous name. Such as B.U.T.T.
(of course meaning "Butt Ugly Transformer Team"). Perhaps T.A.C.T. better
suits him? ("The Abominous Combiner Team").
If you really want to have some fun, how about "T.U.C.E.M.A.W.A.Y." ( "The
Ugliest Combiner Ever Made Any-Where Any Year :).
Why Hasbro would choose this toy is beyond me. I have the Japanese B.U.T.T.
sitting right here (an unfortunate honer) and can safely say i won't even
consider buying the american incarnation. Actually i'm glad it's a Target
exclusive. Target is by far the worst store to track down an exclusive
figure from. When you *do* actually find it, they end up jacking the price
beyond reason ($20 bones for a puny skiff?!?!).
Ugh! The last new toys i bought were the two Beast Mutants, Razor Claw and
Poison Bite. Yee gods, these are ugly toys. They just don't look good in any
mode. Most of this year seems to promise the same disappointments. The
repaints are a bit too overwhelming to get excited about. I don't mind two
or three repaints but geez, this is extreme.
At least there is Ultra Jetstorm to think about. And you know, dispite my
compulsive desire to defame Cheetors "new" character, i'm a sucker for
overly large bots :)
Hatch
Doc Holliday
They should rename it Earl.
>As everyone knows their will be A "NEW"
>Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
>the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
>
>IF I had to pick a new name for Magmatron ,I would pick "DINOKING"
>because Takara in 1988 had a transformer geshalt called dinoking & he
>was a pretender combiner. Being that takara created the dinoking name
>,hasbro might be able to get the copy rights to the name.
>
Joona I Palaste
: "Dinoking" just sounds corny to me. They'll probably just call it "Magmatron"
: and give its sub-components even weaker names (although they couldn't do much
: worse than "Landsaurus", etc.)
If Hasbro does import Magmatron to the US, I definitely want it to be
renamed. Its components should get individual names too. I don't know
of a nice gestalt name, but the components should have a "theme" to
them, like G1 had with Guzzle, Fizzle and Sizzle.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"Shh! The maestro is decomposing!"
- Gary Larson
Lars Eriksson
>Game Overnine <game...@aol.com> scribbled the following:
>: "Dinoking" just sounds corny to me. They'll probably just call it
"Magmatron"
>: and give its sub-components even weaker names (although they couldn't do
much
>: worse than "Landsaurus", etc.)
>
>If Hasbro does import Magmatron to the US, I definitely want it to be
>renamed. Its components should get individual names too. I don't know
>of a nice gestalt name, but the components should have a "theme" to
>them, like G1 had with Guzzle, Fizzle and Sizzle.
I don't see why Hasbro should bother naming the components. Battletrap's
and Flywheels' components didn't have names, and this is the same thing,
just with robot mode-less animals instead of robot mode-less vehicles.
--
Lars Eriksson, grounds...@chello.se
Personal home page: http://home.swipnet.se/groundsplitter/
Groundsplitter on IRC
TF-code: G++ FR+ FW- M+ #554 D+++ ADA N++ W++ B+++ OP BC98++ CN+++
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NTFA home page: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/
TF:Universe Archives: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/universe/english/
mrsexy...@my-deja.com
it's not the coolest Transformers name ever, but it's ok.
Dinoking is the best suggestion I've seen this far, but people with a
vivid imagination could probably come up with something even better.
Another old G1 name is DINOSAURER (Trypticon's Japanese name).
Considering all the crazy Japanese names the BW Neo line has, Magmatron
sounds very good. For all I know Takara could have named him something
much worse, like Dino-sword 'r somethin'... maybe not... :-/
Joona I Palaste
: Joona I Palaste wrote:
:>Game Overnine <game...@aol.com> scribbled the following:
:>: "Dinoking" just sounds corny to me. They'll probably just call it
: "Magmatron"
:>: and give its sub-components even weaker names (although they couldn't do
: much
:>: worse than "Landsaurus", etc.)
:>
:>If Hasbro does import Magmatron to the US, I definitely want it to be
:>renamed. Its components should get individual names too. I don't know
:>of a nice gestalt name, but the components should have a "theme" to
:>them, like G1 had with Guzzle, Fizzle and Sizzle.
: I don't see why Hasbro should bother naming the components. Battletrap's
: and Flywheels' components didn't have names, and this is the same thing,
: just with robot mode-less animals instead of robot mode-less vehicles.
Ah, I forgot Magmatron's components don't transform. Anything that
transforms should have its own name - but things that don't transform
don't need names. (But they can have names if they like, like Roller.)
Anyway, Magmatron itself should be renamed in the US market.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"In my opinion one of the greatest mathematical breakthroughs would be to
find an easy way of factoring large prime numbers."
- Bill Gates
Joona I Palaste
: If it was up to me, I would have kept the name Magmatron. Ok, maybe
: it's not the coolest Transformers name ever, but it's ok.
: Dinoking is the best suggestion I've seen this far, but people with a
: vivid imagination could probably come up with something even better.
: Another old G1 name is DINOSAURER (Trypticon's Japanese name).
No, Dinosaurer is a horrible name. How do you dinosaur things?
: Considering all the crazy Japanese names the BW Neo line has, Magmatron
: sounds very good. For all I know Takara could have named him something
: much worse, like Dino-sword 'r somethin'... maybe not... :-/
Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"It's not survival of the fattest, it's survival of the fittest."
- Ludvig von Drake
John Runski
Doc Holliday <d...@SPAMBLOCmail.tcac.net> wrote in message
news:395c31bf...@news.tcac.net...
>
> They should rename it Earl.
>
> >As everyone knows their will be A "NEW"
> >Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
> >the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
How about Bob?
--
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The Doc.
Doc Holliday wrote:
> They should rename it Earl.
All I can imagine is that bug-eyed guy from Red Meat.
The Doc.
John Runski wrote:
> Doc Holliday <d...@SPAMBLOCmail.tcac.net> wrote in message
> news:395c31bf...@news.tcac.net...
> >
> > They should rename it Earl.
> >
> > >As everyone knows their will be A "NEW"
> > >Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
> > >the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
>
> How about Bob?
"You may call me MURRAY!!!! The Demonic skull!!!"
BW Sidecutter
If we're gonna go the Demonic Skull route, let's choose Radiskull instead ;)
(Waits to see how many people have any clue at all what he's speaking of...)
JRX - Best TF of the first half of 2000
Better than Alladvantage and the rest. Get paid just for being logged online.
http://www.DesktopDollars.com/default.asp?id=Sidecutter
BW Sidecutter
Http://connect.to/DSNPort91881
Zepherimus
drunken brother :) ) and the combined individual Dinoking.
Zepherimus
I already cooked up that story TigerMegs so gladly swiped months ago.
Jerk.
BW Sidecutter
>drunken brother :) )
Urrr...Slurr drunk as not as you think he is...Slurr not feel so good...Slurr
want to know where recharge station is...and breath fresheners after that...
Zobovor
>No, Dinosaurer is a horrible name. How do you dinosaur things?
Well, how do you waspinate things? How do you scorpulate things? :)
Sean Holshu
>>
>>
>>John Runski wrote:
>>
>>> Doc Holliday <d...@SPAMBLOCmail.tcac.net> wrote in message
>>> news:395c31bf...@news.tcac.net...
>>> >
>>> > They should rename it Earl.
>>> >
>>> > >As everyone knows their will be A "NEW"
>>> > >Target exclusive & it will be from the beastwars neo Japanse line. it is
>>> > >the 3 dinosaurs that combine into 1 big robot called "Magmatron",
>>>
>>> How about Bob?
>>
>>"You may call me MURRAY!!!! The Demonic skull!!!"
>
>If we're gonna go the Demonic Skull route, let's choose Radiskull instead ;)
"HELL" yeah! :)
>(Waits to see how many people have any clue at all what he's speaking of...)
Now it's time to KICK IT! I absolutely love Radiskull and Devil Doll. Didn't
really care much for episode #3, although Candy Angel was a cute addition.
I think the songs are outstanding, we used to play them a lot at my old work
place :)
Sean, who has something BAD in BOWL!
__
To reply, remove the .nospam from the address
Sean Holshu
"The ones who don't do anything are always the ones who try to put you down"
--Henry Rollins
Sean Holshu
Orgysaurus Sex? :)
Douglas W. Dlin
>
[Quoting Joona Palaste]
>>
>> mrsexy...@my-deja.com scribbled the following:
>>: Another old G1 name is DINOSAURER (Trypticon's Japanese name).
>>
>>
> Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer," since they use the
> long "a" at the end.
>
My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the standard
word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor, Cyclonus) The
normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure you know, is "-zaurusu".
>>: Considering all the crazy Japanese names the BW Neo line has,
>>: Magmatron sounds very good. For all I know Takara could have named
>>: him something much worse, like Dino-sword 'r somethin'... maybe
>>: not... :-/
>>
> I don't think Magmatron's at all bad, considering the prehistoric
> geologic type implications, and that it goes with the "tron" sounding
> theme... I think it was a kinda cool idea, actually. "Gigatron,"
> however... blech.
>
Well, one order of magnitude beyond Megatron, and all that. :-) And it
beats the heck out of "Big Convoy" anyday, in my book.
>> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
>> lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
>> even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
>> cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
>> enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
>> and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
>>
> Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you
> know what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever
> gotten anything even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or
> "Mr. Happy Robot"?
I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
> Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
> you've made up either....
His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like Yukikaze.
> I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you, since it _is_
> from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty weird to
> an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...)
Abordage! :-)
> The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is the
> Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
> trains...
...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
TF I can think of prior to JRX. And even then, the choice of initials
involved a much more broadly known term.
> Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
> there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
> Sharpedge, etc...
Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive. Lertlerter (or however you
want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Hydra Darkwings
>mrsexy...@my-deja.com scribbled the following:
>: If it was up to me, I would have kept the name Magmatron. Ok, maybe
>: it's not the coolest Transformers name ever, but it's ok.
>
>: Dinoking is the best suggestion I've seen this far, but people with a
>: vivid imagination could probably come up with something even better.
>
>No, Dinosaurer is a horrible name. How do you dinosaur things?
>
Actually, that's probably just one way to do the kana for "Dinosaur"...
Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer," since they use the long "a"
at the end.
>: Considering all the crazy Japanese names the BW Neo line has, Magmatron
>: sounds very good. For all I know Takara could have named him something
>: much worse, like Dino-sword 'r somethin'... maybe not... :-/
>
I don't think Magmatron's at all bad, considering the prehistoric geologic type
implications, and that it goes with the "tron" sounding theme... I think it was
a kinda cool idea, actually. "Gigatron," however... blech.
>Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
>lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
>even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
>cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
>enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
>and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
>
Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you know
what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever gotten anything
even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or "Mr. Happy Robot"?
Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name you've
made up either.... I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you,
since it _is_ from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty
weird to an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...) but each country
has to cater to their own... The only TF I can think of that has names that are
just numbers is the Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the
shinkansen trains... Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones
are crazy; there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
Sharpedge, etc...
-Hydra Darkwings: Eccentric Wandering Collector of Transformer Rarities!
Currently training for BotCon '00 trivia contest!
Check out manga translations at: members.xoom.com/hantaakiraa/neo
M Sipher
news:396017FF...@texas.net...
> On Jul. 2, 2000, Hydra Darkwings wrote:
>
> > Actually, that's probably just one way to do the kana for "Dinosaur"...
> > Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer," since they use the
> > long "a" at the end.
> >
> My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the standard
> word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor, Cyclonus) The
> normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure you know, is
"-zaurusu".
Sakugarne, anyone?
> >> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy.
... you've obviously not got anything close to a list of Japanese names to
reference. Deosn't even have to be a wholly-comprehensive list...
> >> Some of them are along the
> >> lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
> >> even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
> >> cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
> >> enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
> >> and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
> >>
> > Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you
> > know what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever
> > gotten anything even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or
> > "Mr. Happy Robot"?
>
> I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
Beats the hell out of me. There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those are two
out of how many hundred Japanese TFs?
> > Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
> > you've made up either....
>
> His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
> a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like
Yukikaze.
Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too (Goryu,
Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing should
ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
> > I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you, since it _is_
> > from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty weird to
> > an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...)
>
> Abordage! :-)
Aerolame. Tatou. Vif-Argent.
> > The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is the
> > Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
> > trains...
>
> ...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
> before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
> TF I can think of prior to JRX.
BB.
> And even then, the choice of initials
> involved a much more broadly known term.
Though its connection to cicadas is questionable... unless they're playing
up the noise aspect. (Doesn't DJ carry "sonic swords", or am I
misremembering my techs again?)
> > Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
> > there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
> > Sharpedge, etc...
>
> Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive.
Drancron sounds cool.
> Lertlerter (or however you
> want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
... oh, you mean Rarto-Rarta? Injector's Japanese name?
Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic Bomber,
Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of which are pretty
cool.
Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same thing
as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?) in the
English-Language market.
M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
--
King Weasel Productions - home of the productions of King Weasel!
Transformers, RockMan, original art, the solutions to all life's problems
and other crap!
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Home of the giant MegaMan/RockMan Toy & Merchandise Archive!
Thylacine 2000
> >Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
> >lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
> >even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
> >cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
> >enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
> >and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
> >
> Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you know
> what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever gotten anything
> even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or "Mr. Happy Robot"?
I think he may be referring to the fan-produced translations of the Japanese names
of several foreign figures, such as the Trainbots. If memory serves, one was
described as "The Engine that Could", another as something involving "Rain"....
However, I too must disagree with such an assessment. With but a tiny handful of
exceptions, every single TF name in every continuity has meant *something*. Good
or bad, they either have some English meaning (Minerva, Shockwave, Rapido, Tankor,
Gelshark....) or some Japanese meaning (Rairyu et al from Dinoforce, Souzen or
whoever else in the Trainbots...). Even the sub-lame J-5 and counterparts have
names that correspond to some aspect of their design, function, or personality.
Only a very few names have no readily-discernible meaning in any language. Like,
say, "Deszaras." ;) But he's not alone.... there's also "Zetoca." And
"Rabbicrater."
(Is it a Jewish holy man? A bunny? A hole in the ground? Or SOME UNSPEAKABLE
FUSION OF ALL THREE???)
> I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty
> weird to an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...) but each country
> has to cater to their own...
Other foreign names are often quite impressive. "Kraken." Just imagine, a battle
between, say, Sunstreaker and KRAKEN. Sight unseen, with no further knowledge of
the characters, you know who *sounds* as if he's going to win.
But there are more than enough duds to compensate, though.... I think it was the
Euro G2 Dreadwing that got renamed as something like "Sneaky Assault Jet", or
thereabouts. And calling Hero Megs "Archforce" just brings to mind those
commercials with Ronald McDonald in the pool hall....
(*shudder*)
TTT, frankly wouldn't be surprised if they reuse "Tripredicus" in this instance....
Thylacine 2000
> > Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
> > there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
> > Sharpedge, etc...
>
> Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive.
Yeeeeeeeeeah.... I guess. "Drancron" is obviously meant to imply "dragon" in some
aspect, and "ElphaOrpha" has a recognizable "elephant" pseudoprefix spliced onto
something that is probably supposed to have been "orca".
I guess if I'm going to say those names aren't nonsense, though, then perhaps I
should take "Deszaras" off the list too. He starts with a bit of a recognizable
term... he's "Death (something)". /:)
In that regard, I guess "Diatlas" isn't so much nonsensical, as irrelevant. I know
of nothing that links the character or the toy to the historical figure of Atlas,
yet that's the only thing which I can think of that lends the name anything
resembling a meaning. What of those who spell it with an "-atlus", I wonder?
I'm not totally undiscriminating when it comes to giving leeway, though....
"Laster" could have been intended to be "Blaster" but didn't turn out that way, and
I find the notion that the character / toy is supposed to be "one who lasts" as
ridiculous even by my own standards. Yet sadly, the word itself does have a
meaning, albeit a stilted and ungrammatical one, so it stays off the Weirdo List
for now. ;)
> Lertlerter (or however you
> want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
Wasn't he a Dr. Seuss character who thought he was better than everybody else? /:)
The quickly-expanding list of TFs With 100% Meaningless Names:
Zetoca, Rabbicrator, Heinrad, Raatoraata, Lertlertler, Vuldigus.... who else?
TTT, should probably include the meaningless Nebulans too... "Krunk"?
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@texas.net> wrote in message
> news:396017FF...@texas.net...
>
>> On Jul. 2, 2000, Hydra Darkwings wrote:
>>
>>> Actually, that's probably just one way to do the kana for
>>> "Dinosaur"... Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer,"
since
>>> they use the long "a" at the end.
>>>
>> My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the
>> standard word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor,
>> Cyclonus) The normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure
>> you know, is "-zaurusu".
>
> Sakugarne, anyone?
Har har. You know darned well that one's gonna have most folks here
scratching their heads, you...wily person, you.
>>>> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along
>>>> the lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them
>>>> aren't even names, they're numbers.
>>>
>>> What Japanese Transformer has ever gotten anything even remotely
>>> along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or "Mr. Happy Robot"?
>>
>> I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
>
> Beats the hell out of me. There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those
> are two out of how many hundred Japanese TFs?
There's also an "Alan", "Leif/Leaf" and "San Deego/Diego", but your
point is still valid. I just like remembering goofy names. :-)
>>> The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is
>>> the Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
>>> trains...
>>
>> ...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
>> before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
>> TF I can think of prior to JRX.
>
> BB.
D'oh! "Rojaa" that, ya got me. :-)
>> And even then, the choice of initials involved a much more broadly
>> known term.
>
> Though its connection to cicadas is questionable... unless they're
> playing up the noise aspect. (Doesn't DJ carry "sonic swords", or am I
> misremembering my techs again?)
>
That's exactly it. Cicada-based characters in Japanese kids shows are
more often than not ones with sonic powers. If you recall the
international B-Fighters (can't recall what their subgroup was called
here) that were brought in as part of the Beetleborgs line, the
cicada-based one had flip-up shoulder/chest armor that revealed large
speakers. :-)
>>> Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
>>> there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
>>> Sharpedge, etc...
>>
>> Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive.
>
> Drancron sounds cool.
>
It's okay. Not one of my faves.
>> Lertlerter (or however you want to spell his name), on the other
>> hand... :-S
>
> ... oh, you mean Rarto-Rarta? Injector's Japanese name?
>
Yep. I rest my case. :-)
> Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
> Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic
> Bomber, Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of
> which are pretty cool.
>
Though Lobclaw and Artfire, while understandable, are still a little
odd. (Another reason I go with the "Autofire" idea.) And what the heck
earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
> Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same
> thing as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right
> word?) in the English-Language market.
>
Onomatopoeia, and yes, that's correct. Holi was a kana-shift for
"POLIce car." The difference in "ho" and "po" in kana is a little
circle (like a degree symbol) in the upper right corner--that's it.
> M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
First someone would have to tell us what they were. As it is, I can
only make fun of Lemminkäinen...mmmmm... :-)
Doug
BW Sidecutter
>Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing should
>ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
Just learned from a book I read recently that Ryu means "Dragon"
too...so...hmm, let's see...the only translation in this particular dictionary
yhat makes any sense for Kakuryu would be "Nuclear Dragon"...and Go Ryu I can
only get to translate as Fifth Dragon...but at any rate, Dragon names seem
perfectly good to me even in translation.
Douglas W. Dlin
>
[reassessing odd Japanese TF names]
> In that regard, I guess "Diatlas" isn't so much nonsensical, as
> irrelevant. I know of nothing that links the character or the toy to
It's all about how big he is. "Dai" is Japanese for "big" (when used as
part of a compound word; alone, the character's pronounced differently),
while "Atlas" was just a very big being in mythology.
> What of those who spell it with an "-atlus", I wonder?
They're mislead by ambiguous romanization schemes. I think, too, that
this spelling may have been "official" somewhere. There's certainly a
Japanese video game company named Atlus, and again, I think it's a
misspelling on the part of whoever designed the logo.
> I'm not totally undiscriminating when it comes to giving leeway,
> though.... "Laster" could have been intended to be "Blaster" but didn't
> turn out that way, and I find the notion that the character / toy is
> supposed to be "one who lasts" as ridiculous even by my own standards.
If'n you say so. I found it easier to accept than "Blacker" myself. :-)
> Yet sadly, the word itself does have a meaning, albeit a stilted and
> ungrammatical one, so it stays off the Weirdo List for now. ;)
>
Your generosity is noted...and ignored! ;-)
>> Lertlerter (or however you want to spell his name), on the other
>> hand... :-S
>
> Wasn't he a Dr. Seuss character who thought he was better than
> everybody else? /:)
>
Great, now I've got this image of beast-mode Injectors stacked sky-high,
with one at the top in robot mode, proclaiming sovereignty over all he surveys...
> The quickly-expanding list of TFs With 100% Meaningless Names:
>
> Zetoca, Rabbicrator, Heinrad, Raatoraata, Lertlertler, Vuldigus.... who
> else?
>
Bollett, one of Zetoca's companions. Char, the Japanese name for Kup.
Sure, the word makes sense, but what the heck's it got to do with the
character?! (At least we know that "Kup" comes from "picKUP truck"...)
Rabbicrater is a combination of lunar-associated elements. "Crater" is
obvious. The "rabbi-" comes from the Asian myth of a rabbit or race of
rabbits living on the moon. Where we see a Man in the Moon, they see a
Rabbit--specifically, one with a hammer to pound out mochi (pounded rice paste).
Heinrad has never been determined, but is thought to combine portions of
the names of SF authors Robert Heinlein and Norman Spinrad, owing to his
SF-like time-distortion abilities.
Raatoraata and Lertlerter are the same critter.
Vuldigus is just sort of a cool name created by minor alterations to the
kana for "Bruticus". It could also have associations with vulcanism or
the god Vulcan, if you like, implying strength and earthshaking power.
Some oddities like Goldback for Goldbug and Amhorn for Ramhorn, can be
attributed to ill-advised (if well-intended) variations on names so
Japanese kids could handle them better.
> TTT, should probably include the meaningless Nebulans too... "Krunk"?
Methinks Nebulan parents must've often exercised an option to name their
offspring after their favorite sound effect. Gort, Krunk, Grax, Quig (quig?)...
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
last Friday]
On Jun. 3, BW Sidecutter wrote:
>
[quoting M Sipher]
>> Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too
>> (Goryu, Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole
>> "ryu" thing should ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
>
> Just learned from a book I read recently that Ryu means "Dragon"
> too...
Thus leading to kyohryu--"terror dragon"--i.e., "dinosaur".
> so...hmm, let's see...the only translation in this particular
> dictionary yhat makes any sense for Kakuryu would be "Nuclear
> Dragon"...and Go Ryu I can only get to translate as Fifth Dragon...but
> at any rate, Dragon names seem perfectly good to me even in
> translation.
You're overlooking that the "go" in "Goryu" is actually "goh", an
extended-vowel syllable. Here's the relevant bit from my post to the
"Question for all you G1 and G2 experts" thread:
Kakuryu--Horned Dragon
Goryu--Mighty Dragon
Gairyu--Armored Dragon
Rairyu--Thunder Dragon
Yokuryu--Winged Dragon
Doryu--Dumb Dragon
I'm least firm on Doryu; there just wasn't any one "do" kanji that
seemed to fit him. "Angry Dragon" or even "Earth Dragon" might work
just as well, for instance.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Jordan S Derber
Blech, that sounds like how Sccoby Doo or some cartoon character
pronounces "Pop Tart" or something... I'm just going to leave it as
"Raatoraata" until a plausible explanation for the name comes up...
"Raatoraata" sounds cool enough to me...
>Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same thing
>as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?) in the
>English-Language market.
It's definitely not "Pibo," I'm looking at my Zone "secret handbook" now,
it's Pipo (or Peepo, which is what I prefer, just to be a little wacky).
That's a circle next to the "bo" kana, not the thing that looks like a
quotation mark (damn, I gotta get all these Japanese terminology memorized
one of these days). And the onomatopoeia thing is a possibility, although
there's so many weird names that the Japanese come up with to make use of
the katakana syllabary, sometimes I just think they'll name a character or
toy anything, as long as it sounds cool to their ears... They certainly
can't be basing all of these strange names (not so much for TFs, but for
other characters and toys in anime and sentai shows) on actual English
(and other) words... But lemme do a lottle research on "Pipo"... hmm,
closest match I can come up with in my Japanese onomatopeoia dictionary is
"piin," a variant of "pin," which is "the sound or action of something
suddenly bounding, breaking or snapping"; and "poon," which is a single
resounding sound such as a clap, beat on a drum, or an explosion... Ya
got me...
Jordan Derber, Uber-Otaku
aka H-K
aka Buster Darkwings
Co-organizer of the Japanese TF episode fansubbing project
Visit the Darkwings' Shrine to Devil Z, the ultimate Japanese Transformers
page: http://members.xoom.com/hantaakiraa/pt/
BW Sidecutter
>the names of SF authors Robert Heinlein and Norman Spinrad, owing to his
>SF-like time-distortion abilities.
Oh, hell, look what you done...Sci-Fi fan that I am, not I actually *want* a
Heinrad, whereas I could take or leave it until now! \;b
Charles Calhoun
Thylacine 2000 <gre...@NOSPAMfas.harvard.edu> wrote in message
news:396020EB...@NOSPAMfas.harvard.edu...
> In that regard, I guess "Diatlas" isn't so much nonsensical, as
irrelevant. I know
> of nothing that links the character or the toy to the historical figure of
Atlas,
> yet that's the only thing which I can think of that lends the name
anything
wonder?
Is there any chance, any at all, that his name was meant to be "Daedalus"?
He does fly, after all... certainly makes more sense than Atlas.
> I'm not totally undiscriminating when it comes to giving leeway,
though....
> "Laster" could have been intended to be "Blaster" but didn't turn out that
way, and
> I find the notion that the character / toy is supposed to be "one who
lasts" as
> ridiculous even by my own standards. Yet sadly, the word itself does have
a
> meaning, albeit a stilted and ungrammatical one, so it stays off the
Weirdo List
> for now. ;)
I assume it was intended as "Raster" which, though not used much these days,
is a legitimate English word for a type of monitor display. It also applies
to the
snow effect you get when your TV's busted.
Joona I Palaste
: On Jul. 2, 2000, Hydra Darkwings wrote:
:>
: [Quoting Joona Palaste]
:>> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
:>> lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
:>> cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
:>> enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
:>> and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
:>>
:> Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you
:> "Mr. Happy Robot"?
: I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
Those were parodies of extreme cases, like "Joe" and "Stampy".
:> Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
:> you've made up either....
: His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
: a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like Yukikaze.
It was an attempt to vaguely connotate a Japanese name, but those were
not random syllables. "Kana kusi takanasi" is Finnish for "a hen peed
behind you".
:> I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you, since it _is_
:> from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty weird to
:> an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...)
: Abordage! :-)
Well, I can understand French and English, but not Japanese, so French
TF names don't sound as weird as the Japanese ones do. Still, I prefer
the English names to the French ones. Those funny French have a law that
everything in France has to be in French... =)
:> The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is the
:> Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
:> trains...
: ...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
: before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
: TF I can think of prior to JRX. And even then, the choice of initials
: involved a much more broadly known term.
:> Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
:> there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
:> Sharpedge, etc...
: Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive. Lertlerter (or however you
: want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
Well, two of the names mentioned above are plain English. The others
(like Drancron and ElphaOrpha and Lertlerter) are just the kind of names
I view as crazy.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"It was, er, quite bookish."
- Horace Boothroyd
Joona I Palaste
:> M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
: First someone would have to tell us what they were. As it is, I can
: only make fun of Lemminkäinen...mmmmm... :-)
There are no "Finnish TF names" (not canonical ones, anyway). It was
once suggested in the Finnish TF comic that the names would be
translated into Finnish - while the idea was turned down, there evolved
a competition to translate TF names into Finnish. The top three
results were:
* Nosecone = Maamönkijä ("maa", ground, and "mönkijä", one that roves
on a surface)
* Repugnus = Reputtaja (from "reputtaa", generally "to fail someone")
* Ultra Magnus = Äärimanu ("ääri", edge, extreme, "manu", pet form of
the name "Magnus")
I'm surprised by Doug Dlin's knowledge of the Finnish national epic
Kalevala. What TF would Lemminkäinen be? Since he's one of the good
guys, I'd suggest Prowl or Jazz. Väinämöinen would be Optimus Prime,
since he's so old and wise. Seppo Ilmarinen could be Wheeljack. As
for Louhi I can't find any suitable TF representation - Megatron would
otherwise be fine, but the genders don't match. Pohjan akka harvahammas
is definitely female.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"Shh! The maestro is decomposing!"
- Gary Larson
Lars Eriksson
>On Jun. 3, 2000, M "Maximus" Sipher wrote:
>> thing as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right
>> word?) in the English-Language market.
>>
>"POLIce car." The difference in "ho" and "po" in kana is a little
>circle (like a degree symbol) in the upper right corner--that's it.
Speaking about circles in the upper right corner - recently I've tried
to learn to decipher katakana, and when I looked at one of my Japanese
catalogs from Zone, I discovered that Pibo's name was actually spelt
pi(dash)*po*(dash). Both the katakanas has those little circles.
So why are we calling him Pibo? Is this just an error in this catalog,
and is his name written differently anywhere else?
--
Lars Eriksson, grounds...@chello.se
Personal home page: http://home.swipnet.se/groundsplitter/
Groundsplitter on IRC
TF-code: G++ FR+ FW- M+ #554 D+++ ADA N++ W++ B+++ OP BC98++ CN+++
Founder of the Nordic TransFans Association (NTFA)
NTFA home page: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/
TF:Universe Archives: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/universe/english/
Jordan S Derber
Lars Eriksson <grounds...@chello.se> wrote:
>Speaking about circles in the upper right corner - recently I've tried
>to learn to decipher katakana, and when I looked at one of my Japanese
>catalogs from Zone, I discovered that Pibo's name was actually spelt
>pi(dash)*po*(dash). Both the katakanas has those little circles.
>So why are we calling him Pibo? Is this just an error in this catalog,
>and is his name written differently anywhere else?
AFAIK, his name is Pipo (although I prefer Peepo), and always has been,
everybody just calls him Pibo for some reason... Might've been another
misprint in one of Doug's sourcebooks :)
Douglas W. Dlin
>> Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same thing
>> as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?)
in the
>> English-Language market.
>
> it's Pipo (or Peepo, which is what I prefer, just to be a little wacky).
True. I checked after making my response and rediscovered that, but
neglected to mention it.
> That's a circle next to the "bo" kana, not the thing that looks like a
> quotation mark (damn, I gotta get all these Japanese terminology memorized
> one of these days).
Handakuon and dakuon, respectively, though you're better off with
"circle/degree mark" and "quotation mark" for describing them here. :-)
> And the onomatopoeia thing is a possibility, although there's so many weird names that
> the Japanese come up with to make use of the katakana syllabary, sometimes I just think
> they'll name a character or toy anything, as long as it sounds cool to their ears...
Hotlaw! :-)
> They certainly can't be basing all of these strange names (not so much for TFs, but for
> other characters and toys in anime and sentai shows) on actual English (and other)
> words... But lemme do a lottle research on "Pipo"...
Onomatopoeia for an ambulance siren. Not listed in dictionaries,
perhaps, but present in enough manga for me to recall.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
And cc'd to email w/o telling me, slaggit! :-S
>> Heinrad has never been determined, but is thought to combine portions
of the names of
>> SF authors Robert Heinlein and Norman Spinrad, owing to his SF-like
time-distortion
>> abilities.
>
> Oh, hell, look what you done...Sci-Fi fan that I am, not I actually *want* a Heinrad,
> whereas I could take or leave it until now! \;b
Muhahaha! :-)
Look at it this way--it's also an alarm clock, so you can at least get
some functional use out of it.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@texas.net> scribbled the following:
>:>
>: [Quoting Joona Palaste]
>:>> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
>:>> lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
>:>> even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
>:>> cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
>:>> enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
>:>> and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
>:>>
>:> Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you
>:> know what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever
>:> gotten anything even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or
>:> "Mr. Happy Robot"?
>
>: I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
>
> Those were parodies of extreme cases, like "Joe" and "Stampy".
Ah. Yeah, those are oddities, I'll grant, but not exactly "Mr.
Happy/Sad Robot." Stampy is doubtless based on Disney's Thumper,
drawing on the same tendency of rabbits to thump/stamp their feet.
"Joe" is...well, a very plain name, but perhaps a type of train we don't
know about. It's certainly a legit name in both English and Japanese.
Of course, then there's "Alan"...
>:> Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
>:> you've made up either....
>
>: His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
>: a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like Yukikaze.
>
> It was an attempt to vaguely connotate a Japanese name, but those were not random
> syllables. "Kana kusi takanasi" is Finnish for "a hen peed behind you".
>
o_O Joona, I worry about you sometimes. Okay, that's the default name
of any given Finnish-release TF (real or made up) from now on. :-)
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> In article <9lZ75.104$4X.1...@nntp1.chello.se>,
> Lars Eriksson <grounds...@chello.se> wrote:
>> Speaking about circles in the upper right corner - recently I've
tried to learn to
>> decipher katakana, and when I looked at one of my Japanese catalogs
from Zone, I
>> discovered that Pibo's name was actually spelt pi(dash)*po*(dash).
Both the katakanas
>> has those little circles. So why are we calling him Pibo? Is this
just an error in
>> this catalog, and is his name written differently anywhere else?
>
> AFAIK, his name is Pipo (although I prefer Peepo), and always has been, everybody just
> calls him Pibo for some reason... Might've been another misprint in one of Doug's
> sourcebooks :)
Nah, just a persistent error I forgot to correct. :-)
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@texas.net> scribbled the following:
>:> M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
>
>: First someone would have to tell us what they were. As it is, I can
>: only make fun of Lemminkäinen...mmmmm... :-)
>
> There are no "Finnish TF names" (not canonical ones, anyway).
Okay, but it's fun to speculate.
> I'm surprised by Doug Dlin's knowledge of the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
Thank/blame MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000. THE DAY THE EARTH FROZE and
JACK FROST are two of the extremely outlandish and entertaining dubbed
Finnish films they included in their repertoire. I did have to look it
up online to double-check the spelling, though. :-)
> What TF would Lemminkäinen be?
Going by his quest/growth epic, I'd say Hot Rod/Rodimus.
> Väinämöinen would be Optimus Prime, since he's so old and wise.
That or Alpha Trion, but owing to his relationship to Lemminkäinen, OP
would probably be better.
> Seppo Ilmarinen could be Wheeljack.
But could he make a cybersampo? :-D (I'm guessing that would produce an
infinite supply of cybertonium and energon...)
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
BW Sidecutter
>
>And cc'd to email w/o telling me, slaggit! :-S
Nothing personal. :)
It's not something I consciously think about, I just check the "send via
E-mail" box when I want it to go that way as well as to the newsgroup (or
uncheck "Post to newsgroup" when I only want it to go through e-mail). :)
Thylacine 2000
> [re: Diatlas/Diatlus/Dai Atlas] "Dai" is Japanese for "big" (when used as
> part of a compound word; alone, the character's pronounced differently),
> while "Atlas" was just a very big being in mythology.
Learn something new everyday, I guess. Thanks!
And ya know, it's sort of ironic.... For a brief while there, I actually sort of
wanted to track down the big D. and his Zone counterparts. Sure, they looked
abstract and weird, but they had interesting color schemes one and all, and Dai-Atlas
himself has a transform scheme that I can't *quite* decipher just by looking at the
pictures.
But in just a matter of weeks, Ultstorm will be out. Sorta makes a circa-1990
spacejet toy look really obsolete, I think. ;)
> > What of those who spell it with an "-atlus", I wonder?
>
> They're mislead by ambiguous romanization schemes. I think, too, that
> this spelling may have been "official" somewhere. There's certainly a
> Japanese video game company named Atlus, and again, I think it's a
> misspelling on the part of whoever designed the logo.
Could certainly be that, or a miscommunication on the part of whoever told the
copy-writer what to inscribe.... the same sort of thing that led to Liocaesar's
purported ability to "transform from jet to car to robot and back!", and similar
grammatical pole-vaults on Dinoking's flap.
> > I'm not totally undiscriminating when it comes to giving leeway,
> > though.... "Laster" could have been intended to be "Blaster" but didn't
> > turn out that way, and I find the notion that the character / toy is
> > supposed to be "one who lasts" as ridiculous even by my own standards.
>
> If'n you say so. I found it easier to accept than "Blacker" myself. :-)
But he is Blacker! Just put him between Ultra Magnus' cab and Windrazor99, and it
all makes sense!
> > Yet sadly, the word itself does have a meaning, albeit a stilted and
> > ungrammatical one, so it stays off the Weirdo List for now. ;)
> >
> Your generosity is noted...and ignored! ;-)
....you DARE get the last word with me?!?
> >> Lertlerter (or however you want to spell his name), on the other
> >> hand... :-S
> >
> > Wasn't he a Dr. Seuss character who thought he was better than
> > everybody else? /:)
> >
> Great, now I've got this image of beast-mode Injectors stacked sky-high,
> with one at the top in robot mode, proclaiming sovereignty over all he surveys...
Heh. Well, it suits what we saw in the American tech-spec. I know little about
Lerltl... er.... Raeiou..... ah... Alphabetron's characterization in the Neo
continuity, though I did recently view many of the episodes leading up to that show's
season finale, including those starring the Blentrons. All I can say for sure is
that they sounded neat with that incredibly deep basso-profundo Soundwave-ish
metallic voice distortion thing going on.
Far too many recent Destrons have had what sounded to me to be totally unremarkable
voices.... Metals Megatron, especially, sounded like a normal man employing a
conversational tone. At least Alfalfa and Draculan sounded evil.
I'll say this for Galvatron2's voice actor--even through a language barrier, he
managed to convey that he was sneering with just about every word he spoke.
> Bollett, one of Zetoca's companions.
--it makes your mouth turn green! BOLLETT--it tastes like gasoline! Bollett--will
make you..... wait, no.
> Char, the Japanese name for Kup.
> Sure, the word makes sense, but what the heck's it got to do with the
> character?! (At least we know that "Kup" comes from "picKUP truck"...)
Doesn't the prefix "cha-" have something to do with being shiny? Or is it some sort
of rodent-y word?
(I also saw Metals "Aftermath", with the Rattrap scene, which is why I ask.)
> Rabbicrater is a combination of lunar-associated elements. "Crater" is
> obvious. The "rabbi-" comes from the Asian myth of a rabbit or race of
> rabbits living on the moon. Where we see a Man in the Moon, they see a
> Rabbit--specifically, one with a hammer to pound out mochi (pounded rice paste).
....now THAT is fascinating, sir. When I was a very young child, one of my absolute
favorite storybooks was called "The Monster That Grew Small", about a boy in India
who has to fight a dragon that appears as inconceivably gigantic when far away ("each
foot the size of the Emperor's barge", or something like that), but turns out to be
only the size of a cat when approached up close. In order to get the courage to get
so near the beast, the boy is assisted and provided with tools by this ghostly,
Cheshire Cat-like rabbit who lives on the moon, and which is then shown as watching
over the boy throughout the rest of the book.
It really stuck with me for a while (as you can probably surmise!), and it's
interesting to see that one of the neat visual elements had some basis in real-world
mythology. Neat!
> Heinrad has never been determined, but is thought to combine portions of
> the names of SF authors Robert Heinlein and Norman Spinrad, owing to his
> SF-like time-distortion abilities.
Or maybe it's supposed to be something about "nads".
What?
> > TTT, should probably include the meaningless Nebulans too... "Krunk"?
>
> Methinks Nebulan parents must've often exercised an option to name their
> offspring after their favorite sound effect. Gort, Krunk, Grax, Quig (quig?)...
"Holey rusted metal, Batman!"
<*GRAX!*>
"Don't be afraid to use your claws, boys! Huaaaaa-huahuahuahuahuaaaa!"
<*KRUNK!*>
Douglas W. Dlin
>
>> On Jul. 3, 2000, BW Sidecutter wrote:
>>
>> And cc'd to email w/o telling me, slaggit! :-S
>
> Nothing personal. :)
>
> It's not something I consciously think about, I just check the "send via
> E-mail" box when I want it to go that way as well as to the newsgroup (or
It's not the act itself that's a problem. It's just generally
considered courteous to mention the cc somewhere w/i the body of the
post. That way, whichever version the recipient sees first, he can
decide by which route(s) to reply.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>
>
> For a brief while there, I actually sort of wanted to track down the big D. and
> his Zone counterparts. Sure, they looked abstract and weird, but they had
> interesting color schemes one and all, and Dai-Atlas himself has a transform
> scheme that I can't *quite* decipher just by looking at the pictures.
A friend of mine had him and I was around for the initial unpacking,
etc. It is a pretty involved transformation. I just wasn't impressed
enough with it to order one of my own. I didn't have much money at the
time, either, but when I could afford to order, I didn't included it on
my want list; too much other stuff to want first. :-)
> But in just a matter of weeks, Ultstorm will be out. Sorta makes a circa-1990
> spacejet toy look really obsolete, I think. ;)
>
Yes, well, there's always nostalgia. :-)
>>> What of those who spell it with an "-atlus", I wonder?
>>
>> They're mislead by ambiguous romanization schemes. I think, too,
that this
>> spelling may have been "official" somewhere. There's certainly a
Japanese video
>> game company named Atlus, and again, I think it's a misspelling on
the part of
>> whoever designed the logo.
>
> Could certainly be that, or a miscommunication on the part of whoever told the
> copy-writer what to inscribe.... the same sort of thing that led to Liocaesar's
> purported ability to "transform from jet to car to robot and back!", and similar
> grammatical pole-vaults on Dinoking's flap.
>
Transforms from bigbird to robot and back! :-)
>>> "Laster" could have been intended to be "Blaster" but didn't turn
out that way,
>>> and I find the notion that the character/toy is supposed to be "one
who lasts"
>>> as ridiculous even by my own standards.
>>
>> If'n you say so. I found it easier to accept than "Blacker" myself. :-)
>
> But he is Blacker! Just put him between Ultra Magnus' cab and Windrazor99, and
> it all makes sense!
Er...quite.
>>> Yet sadly, the word itself does have a meaning, albeit a stilted and
>>> ungrammatical one, so it stays off the Weirdo List for now. ;)
>>>
>> Your generosity is noted...and ignored! ;-)
>
> ....you DARE get the last word with me?!?
>
Be glad I didn't use the "H" word.
> I know little about Lerltl... er.... Raeiou..... ah... Alphabetron's
> characterization in the Neo continuity
Hee..."Alphabetron"...
>> Bollett, one of Zetoca's companions.
>
> --it makes your mouth turn green! BOLLETT--it tastes like gasoline! Bollett--
> will make you..... wait, no.
>
Don't make me sic Sipher on you.
>> Char, the Japanese name for Kup. Sure, the word makes sense, but
what the
>> heck's it got to do with the character?! (At least we know that
"Kup" comes
>> from "picKUP truck"...)
>
> Doesn't the prefix "cha-" have something to do with being shiny? Or is it some
> sort of rodent-y word?
>
You're thinking of "pika" and "chu", respectively. "Pika" can be
onomatopoeia for something sparkling brightly or sparking with
electricity. "Chu" is "squeak".
> (I also saw Metals "Aftermath", with the Rattrap scene, which is why I ask.)
>
Which is how I know which words you're thinking of. :-)
>> Rabbicrater is a combination of lunar-associated elements. "Crater" is
>> obvious. The "rabbi-" comes from the Asian myth of a rabbit or race of
>> rabbits living on the moon. Where we see a Man in the Moon, they see a
>> Rabbit--specifically, one with a hammer to pound out mochi (pounded
rice paste).
>
> ....now THAT is fascinating, sir. When I was a very young child, one of my
> absolute favorite storybooks was called "The Monster That Grew Small"
[snip]
Neat story! Wish I'd seen that one as a kid.
>> Heinrad has never been determined, but is thought to combine portions of
>> the names of SF authors Robert Heinlein and Norman Spinrad, owing to his
>> SF-like time-distortion abilities.
>
> Or maybe it's supposed to be something about "nads".
...
> What?
...
>>> TTT, should probably include the meaningless Nebulans too... "Krunk"?
>>
>> Methinks Nebulan parents must've often exercised an option to name their
>> offspring after their favorite sound effect. Gort, Krunk, Grax, Quig (quig?)...
>
> "Holey rusted metal, Batman!"
>
> <*GRAX!*>
>
> "Don't be afraid to use your claws, boys! Huaaaaa-huahuahuahuahuaaaa!"
>
> <*KRUNK!*>
I won't ask where you plan to use "Spasma"...
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
M Sipher
> On Jun. 3, 2000, M "Maximus" Sipher wrote:
>
> >> My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the
> >> standard word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor,
> >> Cyclonus) The normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure
> >> you know, is "-zaurusu".
> >
> > Sakugarne, anyone?
>
> Har har. You know darned well that one's gonna have most folks here
> scratching their heads, you...wily person, you.
Oh, I'm sure one or two will know of what I speak, and anyone who knows me
to any degree of familiarity could take a wild guess...
> >> I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
> >
> > Beats the hell out of me. There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those
> > are two out of how many hundred Japanese TFs?
>
> There's also an "Alan", "Leif/Leaf" and "San Deego/Diego", but your
> point is still valid. I just like remembering goofy names. :-)
I dunno, for some reason I LIKE "San Diego". ("Santigo"?) It gives me a good
basis for the character's personality, I envision the character as
laid-back, fun-loving...
What about San Deigo's teammate "Desire"?
> >>> The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is
> >>> the Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
> >>> trains...
> >>
> >> ...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
> >> before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
> >> TF I can think of prior to JRX.
> >
> > BB.
>
> D'oh! "Rojaa" that, ya got me. :-)
ROJAA!!!
I find the similarities between BB and Bon Bone from RockMan DASH to be
interesting. BIG characters who only say one word ("Rojaa!" and "Babu!"
respectively)... is this some kind of stock character in Japan, or just an
interesting coincidence?
> > Though its connection to cicadas is questionable... unless they're
> > playing up the noise aspect. (Doesn't DJ carry "sonic swords", or am I
> > misremembering my techs again?)
> >
> That's exactly it.
Oh good.
> Cicada-based characters in Japanese kids shows are
> more often than not ones with sonic powers. If you recall the
> international B-Fighters (can't recall what their subgroup was called
> here) that were brought in as part of the Beetleborgs line, the
> cicada-based one had flip-up shoulder/chest armor that revealed large
> speakers. :-)
(Raises eyebrow) This wouldn't happen to be a female character, would it?
I've got this Macross 7 (I think it's 7) model kit of a VERY feminine
Valkyrie whose - for lack of a better word - boobs open up to reveal large
speakers...
(Neat kit, by the way. Doesn't transform, but comes with a jet-mode model...
I have a larger-scale model that transforms from the same series, but
unfortunately they never made "her" as a large-scale fig... be great to
include with TFs...)
> > Drancron sounds cool.
> >
> It's okay. Not one of my faves.
Maybe I'm just getting used to funky Japanglish names.
> >> Lertlerter (or however you want to spell his name), on the other
> >> hand... :-S
> >
> > ... oh, you mean Rarto-Rarta? Injector's Japanese name?
> >
> Yep. I rest my case. :-)
RaartoRaarta, whatever...
> > Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
> > Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic
> > Bomber, Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of
> > which are pretty cool.
> >
> Though Lobclaw and Artfire, while understandable, are still a little
> odd. (Another reason I go with the "Autofire" idea.)
You know, I don't think I ever saw a translation of Artfire's spec... I
should have snagged him at BC'96 along with Stepper... who I got MIB for
$50... (oh, remember those days? I walked away from that convention with the
bulk of my Japanese TFs...)
> And what the heck
> earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
Can't remember if I saw his translated tech or not. I'm somewhat convinced
it's a dim reference to Jazz, whose mold Stepper uses... music and dance!
> > M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
>
> First someone would have to tell us what they were. As it is, I can
> only make fun of Lemminkäinen...mmmmm... :-)
NASTINKA!!!!!
M "I Swear, Those Finnish Movies Were Some Of The Most Acid-Trippy Things
I've Ever Seen..." Sipher
BW Sidecutter
>considered courteous to mention the cc somewhere w/i the body of the
>post. That way, whichever version the recipient sees first, he can
>decide by which route(s) to reply.
I know, it's just not somethign I'm used to thinking about in th process of
replying :)
M Sipher
> Douglas W. Dlin wrote:
>
> > > TTT, should probably include the meaningless Nebulans too... "Krunk"?
> >
> > Methinks Nebulan parents must've often exercised an option to name their
> > offspring after their favorite sound effect. Gort, Krunk, Grax, Quig
(quig?)...
>
> "Holey rusted metal, Batman!"
>
> <*GRAX!*>
>
> "Don't be afraid to use your claws, boys! Huaaaaa-huahuahuahuahuaaaa!"
>
> <*KRUNK!*>
Actually, Conan O'Brien has tried to get "Krunk" recognized as a swear word
that they can say on TV...
M "I Miss Andy Richter Already... I'm Just Glad I Got His Final Regular Show
On Tape, Especially Since TMBG Were The Musical Guests..." Sipher
Jordan S Derber
Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Handakuon and dakuon, respectively, though you're better off with
>"circle/degree mark" and "quotation mark" for describing them here. :-)
Ah, that's right, thanx...
>Hotlaw! :-)
I always thought that should be Hot-Low... kinda makes sense, but not
really... it's like a burner is on hot, but it's low, or something...
>Onomatopoeia for an ambulance siren. Not listed in dictionaries,
>perhaps, but present in enough manga for me to recall.
Ah, OK, I had a feeling it was something like that, but wasn't sure...
Sean Holshu
>Bollett, one of Zetoca's companions. Char, the Japanese name for Kup.
>Sure, the word makes sense, but what the heck's it got to do with the
>character?! (At least we know that "Kup" comes from "picKUP truck"...)
Looooong ago, back in the early days of ATT, I thought Kendrick mentioned that
Kup's Japanese name was "Cha" which could possibly be translated as "windbag" :)
That might work, but only if you'd read the WWFF version of Kup...
__
To reply, remove the .nospam from the address
Sean Holshu
"The ones who don't do anything are always the ones who try to put you down"
--Henry Rollins
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@texas.net> wrote in message
> news:39602875...@texas.net...
>
>> On Jun. 3, 2000, M "Maximus" Sipher wrote:
>>
>>> There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those are two out of how many
hundred
>>> Japanese TFs?
>>
>> There's also an "Alan", "Leif/Leaf" and "San Deego/Diego", but your
>> point is still valid. I just like remembering goofy names. :-)
>
> I dunno, for some reason I LIKE "San Diego". ("Santigo"?) It gives me a good
> basis for the character's personality, I envision the character as
> laid-back, fun-loving...
>
> What about San Deigo's teammate "Desire"?
>
Ah, yes. Named after the streetcar, perhaps.
> I find the similarities between BB and Bon Bone from RockMan DASH to be
> interesting. BIG characters who only say one word ("Rojaa!" and "Babu!"
> respectively)... is this some kind of stock character in Japan, or just an
> interesting coincidence?
>
Not sure. I can't think of too many others off-hand, but that just may
be the limits of my personal experience. Perhaps they're stock the way
hulking lunkheads (VISIONARIES' Cindarr, TF's Dinobots, Bruticus and
Menasor, TENNESEE TUXEDO's Chumley the Walrus, UNDERDOG's Cad, etc.) are here.
[Re: DJ named for sonic aspects of cicadas]
>
>> Cicada-based characters in Japanese kids shows are more often than
not ones with
>> sonic powers. If you recall the international B-Fighters (can't
recall what
>> their subgroup was called here) that were brought in as part of the
Beetleborgs
>> line, the cicada-based one had flip-up shoulder/chest armor that
revealed large
>> speakers. :-)
>
> (Raises eyebrow) This wouldn't happen to be a female character, would it?
Not unless they changed it for BEETLEBORGS. Only female among the
international B-Fighters was the one based on a butterfly.
> I've got this Macross 7 (I think it's 7) model kit of a VERY feminine Valkyrie
> whose - for lack of a better word - boobs open up to reveal large speakers...
>
I don't know if that one belonged to a female character or not.
Song-based attacks are a staple against the bad guys in MACROSS 7
anyway, so the heroes who are also part of a rock band use speakers and
instruments to bolster their attacks. It gets pretty silly, actually.
Thing is, all the Valkyries piloted by those band members (I don't
recall how many; 2-3, tops, I think) had some sorta weapon like that.
Like as not, the one you describe belonged to teen girl Mylene Genus
(Max & Miria's 7th kid), though I'm sure someone here will correct me on that.
Anyway, the cicada B-fighter's panels weren't quite that lewd, as they
extended all the way from the clavicle to nearly the entire pectoral
area, IIRC, and when closed formed a more male/genderless chest surface.
> (Neat kit, by the way. Doesn't transform, but comes with a jet-mode model...
> I have a larger-scale model that transforms from the same series, but
> unfortunately they never made "her" as a large-scale fig... be great to
> include with TFs...)
>
>>> Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
>>> Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic
>>> Bomber, Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of
>>> which are pretty cool.
>>>
>> Though Lobclaw and Artfire, while understandable, are still a little
>> odd. (Another reason I go with the "Autofire" idea.)
>
> You know, I don't think I ever saw a translation of Artfire's spec...
Me either. I don't think I've ever seen his spec, period. Or
Stepper's. Or did I do that one and just forget...? :-S
>> And what the heck earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
>
> Can't remember if I saw his translated tech or not. I'm somewhat convinced
> it's a dim reference to Jazz, whose mold Stepper uses... music and dance!
>
Mmmaybe. Does that mean he can mariachi with the Jointrons?
>>> M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
>>
>> First someone would have to tell us what they were. As it is, I can
>> only make fun of Lemminkäinen...mmmmm... :-)
>
> NASTINKA!!!!!
>
Sampo...!
> M "I Swear, Those Finnish Movies Were Some Of The Most Acid-Trippy Things
> I've Ever Seen..." Sipher
What DO mushrooms hallucinate about, anyway...?
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> On Mon, 03 Jul 2000 01:10:29 -0500, "Douglas W. Dlin" <ap...@texas.net> wrote:
>
[Re: Inexplicable Japanese TF names]
what the
>> heck's it got to do with the character?! (At least we know that
"Kup" comes
>> from "picKUP truck"...)
>
> Looooong ago, back in the early days of ATT, I thought Kendrick mentioned that
> Kup's Japanese name was "Cha" which could possibly be translated as "windbag" :)
If so, it's not a colloquialism I'm familiar with...
> That might work, but only if you'd read the WWFF version of Kup...
WWFF, heck--start with his blathering on in the movie. :-)
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Darwinian Road Kill
: "Yeah... she got Scorponoked up while she was on vacation..."
"Is this true, Scorppyknock?"
"Durrr... I'm Second in command!"
Ryan :>
(listen in S!, and I swear, David Kaye will say "Scorppyknock".
--
(Founder of the new #tfu, and #aptenos)
"People who like penguins are nice people" -- Eric Bennett
(Fact: If my sig get over 10 lines, you can hit me)
My half-baked site: www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/8720
TF code: G++ AD/A OP/Q P212 ICQ:43171844
Hydra Darkwings
>> Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer," since they use the
>> long "a" at the end.
>>
>My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the standard
>word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor, Cyclonus) The
>normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure you know, is
>"-zaurusu".
>
that it probably doesn't have any significance beyond the general sound, and I
thought it might possibly be a stylizing thing done for names normally ending
in "zauru," Like Terrorsaur would... I think it has been done even outside
those two examples, butI don't recall....
>>>: Considering all the crazy Japanese names the BW Neo line has,
>>>: Magmatron sounds very good. For all I know Takara could have named
>>>: him something much worse, like Dino-sword 'r somethin'... maybe
>>>: not... :-/
>>>
>> I don't think Magmatron's at all bad, considering the prehistoric
>> geologic type implications, and that it goes with the "tron" sounding
>> theme... I think it was a kinda cool idea, actually. "Gigatron,"
>> however... blech.
>>
>Well, one order of magnitude beyond Megatron, and all that. :-) And it
>beats the heck out of "Big Convoy" anyday, in my book.
>
It depends on your perspective. Big Convoy's goofy, but still kinda pleasing to
me, looking at it from an absurdist, "boy, isn't it a little zany" mentality.
Gigatron's just a bit derivative for my taste. i wouldhave preferred they come
up with something more drastically new. Magmatron was witty; it was almost like
a pun, but Gigatron falls flat for me, anyway.
>>> Almost all of the Japanese names are crazy. Some of them are along the
>>> lines of "Mr. Happy Robot", "Mr. Sad Robot" and some of them aren't
>>> even names, they're numbers. The design of a Japanese toy might look
>>> cool, but if its name is something like Kanakusi Takanasi, then that's
>>> enough to stop me from buying it. This is just my personal preference
>>> and I'm neither advocating or dis-advocating it.
>>>
>> Okay, I have to call you on this one, because I don't frankly think you
>> know what you're talking about. What Japanese Transformer has ever
>> gotten anything even remotely along the lines of "Mr. Sad Robot" or
>> "Mr. Happy Robot"?
>
>I'm wondering where he got those associations myself...
>
>> Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
>> you've made up either....
>
>His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
>a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like Yukikaze.
>
Yeah, I guess..... not that we've had a lot of those, especiallt not in Neo,
which he singles out. Only ones that spring to mind are the Trainbots and
Dinoforce. Even Dinoforce follows a set system, with the -ryu pattern.
>> I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you, since it _is_
>> from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty weird to
>> an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...)
>
>Abordage! :-)
>
>> The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is the
>> Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
>> trains...
>
>...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
>before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
>TF I can think of prior to JRX. And even then, the choice of initials
>involved a much more broadly known term.
>
I'll give you a hint as to the other: Roger!!
>> Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
>> there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
>> Sharpedge, etc...
>
>Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive. Lertlerter (or however you
>want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
>
Yeah, that really was the odd one out. I can safely say I have no idea...
-Hydra Darkwings: Eccentric Wandering Collector of Transformer Rarities!
Currently training for BotCon '00 trivia contest!
Check out manga translations at: members.xoom.com/hantaakiraa/neo
Hydra Darkwings
>Beats the hell out of me. There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those are two
>out of how many hundred Japanese TFs?
>
really lame names, too, not to mention a few nigh racist epithet names. Wow,
let's name a Transformer Greaser! That's awful politically correct.
>> > Furthermore, I don't know what TF sounds very much like the second name
>> > you've made up either....
>>
>> His examples were random syllables strung together to vaguely connotate
>> a Japanese name, I think. Probably inspired by Trainbot names like
>Yukikaze.
>
>Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too (Goryu,
>Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing should
>ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
>
Then there was Jinrai....
>> > I'm surprised you'd let just the name of a toy faze you, since it _is_
>> > from a foreign culture. I'm sure French TF names sounds pretty weird to
>> > an American (or a Finnish person, in your case...)
>>
>> Abordage! :-)
>
>Aerolame. Tatou. Vif-Argent.
>
Heh, these do seem funny to me. Aerolame is self-explanatory, and Vif-Argent
_really_ sounds like a detergent, for some reason.
>> > The only TF I can think of that has names that are just numbers is the
>> > Team Shinkansen, and that's a cultural thing with the shinkansen
>> > trains...
>>
>> ...not to mention the only example of its kind so far. Closest we had
>> before, I believe, was the Jointron DJ, the only other "initials-only"
>> TF I can think of prior to JRX.
>
>BB.
>
Roger! Max-B, I guess...
>> And even then, the choice of initials
>> involved a much more broadly known term.
>
>Though its connection to cicadas is questionable... unless they're playing
>up the noise aspect. (Doesn't DJ carry "sonic swords", or am I
>misremembering my techs again?)
>
>> > Anyway, I don't think "almost all" of the Japanese ones are crazy;
>> > there are some cool ones too, even from Neo: Killerpunch, Blentrons,
>> > Sharpedge, etc...
>>
>> Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive.
>
>Drancron sounds cool.
>
>> Lertlerter (or however you
>> want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
>
>... oh, you mean Rarto-Rarta? Injector's Japanese name?
>
>Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
>Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic Bomber,
>Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of which are pretty
>cool.
>
>Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same thing
>as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?) in the
>English-Language market.
>
I was just going from Neo names... there are definitely some _killer_ JTF names
out there. "Black Zarak" just sounds so arcane and evil (as it was no doubt
intended to), and "Overlord" is a veryt powerful sounding name.
>
>M "Maybe We Could Make Fun Of Finnish TF Names..." Sipher
>--
Eheheh, I don't doubt it...
Hydra Darkwings
>earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
Ohoho, need I post my little scenario suggesting the origin of Artfire and
Stepper's names, or is it still fresh in your mind from last time? Surely you
didn't forget the "Cybertronian Lord of the Dance" so easily? <G>
Hydra Darkwings
>and
>> his Zone counterparts. Sure, they looked abstract and weird, but they had
>> interesting color schemes one and all, and Dai-Atlas himself has a
>transform
>> scheme that I can't *quite* decipher just by looking at the pictures.
>
>A friend of mine had him and I was around for the initial unpacking,
>etc. It is a pretty involved transformation. I just wasn't impressed
>enough with it to order one of my own. I didn't have much money at the
>time, either, but when I could afford to order, I didn't included it on
>my want list; too much other stuff to want first. :-)
>
>> But in just a matter of weeks, Ultstorm will be out. Sorta makes a
>circa-1990
>> spacejet toy look really obsolete, I think. ;)
>>
>Yes, well, there's always nostalgia. :-)
>
pressed myself to apply all the decals yet. He does have a pretty complex
transformation, and something awesome I've discovered is that he can tow
Grandus just like Star Convoy can, if I recall correctly. Looks neat in robot
mode, too, with those massive wings.
Thylacine 2000
> >
> >Beats the hell out of me. There IS a "Joe" and a "Rodney", but those are two
> >out of how many hundred Japanese TFs?
> >
> There was also an "Alan," but we're talking Micromasters, here... we got some
> really lame names, too, not to mention a few nigh racist epithet names. Wow,
> let's name a Transformer Greaser! That's awful politically correct.
Not so much as "Dego", which was also a real TF name. :-S
Douglas W. Dlin
[quoting me]
>> Though Lobclaw and Artfire, while understandable, are still a little
>> odd. (Another reason I go with the "Autofire" idea.) And what the heck
>> earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
>
> Ohoho, need I post my little scenario suggesting the origin of Artfire and
> Stepper's names, or is it still fresh in your mind from last time? Surely you
> didn't forget the "Cybertronian Lord of the Dance" so easily? <G>
Uh, either I never saw it or I blocked it out. :-) I'd use Deja to
check, but I don't trust it to remember what happened 6 hours ago...
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
Perhaps you're being tongue-in-cheek, but that's pronounced "dee-go",
not "day-go", Thy. And it's "San Deego," at that. Let's not start up
that whole "Apache as a bad Amerind stereotype" routine again. :-S
As for "Greaser", well...yeah, that's kinda touchy, but the term's
ambiguous and obscure enough to the target audience, I think, that
unless Hasbro/Marvel had portayed him as the TF equivalent of an
Italian, it's dodgeable. Or at least I could see that argument being
used in court. :-)
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Douglas W. Dlin
>>> Actually, that's probably just one way to do the kana for "Dinosaur"...
>>> Terrosaur could also be romanized "Terrorsaurer," since they use the
>>> long "a" at the end.
>>>
>> My take on it was they just slightly altered the ending of the standard
>> word to sound cool. (Cf.: Scorponok, Rhinox, Cheetor, Cyclonus) The
>> normal ending for "-saurus" names in kana, as I'm sure you know, is
>> "-zaurusu".
>>
> Right, right, that's pretty much what I was saying... I was just pointing out
> that it probably doesn't have any significance beyond the general sound, and I
> thought it might possibly be a stylizing thing done for names normally ending
> in "zauru," Like Terrorsaur would... I think it has been done even outside
> those two examples, but I don't recall....
I don't recall that being done elsewhere, either. Your initial
statement, though, seemed to imply you considered it an acceptable
"alternate spelling" as opposed to a stylized variation done purely to
sound "cooler". IOW, "Terrorsaur" if you wanted to just kana-ize it as
is, would not be spelled "Terrorsaurer"; that would require a conscious
decision to MISspell it, I believe.
>> Drancron and ElphaOrpha I can sorta forgive. Lertlerter (or however you
>> want to spell his name), on the other hand... :-S
>
> Yeah, that really was the odd one out. I can safely say I have no idea...
Neither does Fumihiko or other native speakers I've questioned on the matter.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Thylacine 2000
> > Not so much as "Dego", which was also a real TF name. :-S
>
> Perhaps you're being tongue-in-cheek, but that's pronounced "dee-go",
> not "day-go", Thy. And it's "San Deego," at that.
Not according to both the Big TF Variations List and the TF Toy List, I'm
afraid.
San Diego / San Deego / Sandeego, a member of the Sixtrain team, was
repainted into Dego, a separate character with a different name and color
scheme, who helped form Sixliner.
Though I can't argue that "Deego" doesn't sound a helluva lot more
presentable than "Day-go". ;)
> Let's not start up
> that whole "Apache as a bad Amerind stereotype" routine again. :-S
Hey, I was just doing my part paving the road to hell.
(I'm still sort of bemused by the amount of time it took to get a fact-based
rebuttal of that admittedly mistaken assertion.)
TTT, and no big surprise, it was *you* who ended up providing it....
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin wrote:
>
>>> Not so much as "Dego", which was also a real TF name. :-S
>>
>> Perhaps you're being tongue-in-cheek, but that's pronounced "dee-go",
>> not "day-go", Thy. And it's "San Deego," at that.
>
> Not according to both the Big TF Variations List and the TF Toy List,
> I'm afraid.
>
> San Diego / San Deego / Sandeego, a member of the Sixtrain team, was
> repainted into Dego, a separate character with a different name and
> color scheme, who helped form Sixliner.
?_? Been a while since I had to think of which names were Sixtrain's
and which were Sixliner's. Hang on while I see if those TV MAG issues
are on hand...ah! Okay, matter of personal interpretation for spelling,
but Sixliner's locomotive's name is still pronounced "Deego". His
partners names were Leaf/Leif, Knight, Alan, Joe and Spark. Dull for
the most part, true, but OTOH, nothing there suggesting why one of them
should happen to have a name suggestive of an insult. :-S
> Though I can't argue that "Deego" doesn't sound a helluva lot more
> presentable than "Day-go". ;)
One is a nonsense word, the other is a racial slur. Don't take much to
make the difference. I learned that when I was helping my mom with her
GRE vocabulary section and she misread the definition of "apotheosis" as
"defecation" instead of "deification". :-)
>> Let's not start up that whole "Apache as a bad Amerind stereotype"
>> routine again. :-S
>
> Hey, I was just doing my part paving the road to hell.
>
> (I'm still sort of bemused by the amount of time it took to get a fact-
> based rebuttal of that admittedly mistaken assertion.)
>
Me too. I thought for sure someone with at least SOME Japanese
knowledge (they seem to be coming out of the woodwork here these days
:-) ) would've seen the episode before I could and responded.
> TTT, and no big surprise, it was *you* who ended up providing it....
Just doin' my own part to put "Detour" signs on that road you're paving...
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
M Sipher
news:3962443D...@texas.net...
> M Sipher wrote:
>
> > I dunno, for some reason I LIKE "San Diego". ("Santigo"?) It gives me a
good
> > basis for the character's personality, I envision the character as
> > laid-back, fun-loving...
> >
> And into comic books! :-)
Perhaps. Shame the Six-Micros got ZERO official personality... (then again,
Japan seems kinda bad about making its team-robots indistinguishable form
each other outside of visually...)
> > What about San Deigo's teammate "Desire"?
> >
> Ah, yes. Named after the streetcar, perhaps.
You're putting me through hella.
> > I find the similarities between BB and Bon Bone from RockMan DASH to be
> > interesting. BIG characters who only say one word ("Rojaa!" and "Babu!"
> > respectively)... is this some kind of stock character in Japan, or just
an
> > interesting coincidence?
> >
> Not sure. I can't think of too many others off-hand, but that just may
> be the limits of my personal experience. Perhaps they're stock the way
> hulking lunkheads (VISIONARIES' Cindarr, TF's Dinobots, Bruticus and
> Menasor, TENNESEE TUXEDO's Chumley the Walrus, UNDERDOG's Cad, etc.) are
here.
Perhaps. It's just that one-word, near-childish following of another
character that strikes me as remarkably similar traits between the two...
> > I've got this Macross 7 (I think it's 7) model kit of a VERY feminine
Valkyrie
> > whose - for lack of a better word - boobs open up to reveal large
speakers...
> >
> I don't know if that one belonged to a female character or not.
Well, the instructions have a picture of who I can only assume is the pilot,
a girl in her young teens...
> Thing is, all the Valkyries piloted by those band members (I don't
> recall how many; 2-3, tops, I think) had some sorta weapon like that.
Well, I have four kits from the series... a black stealth-bomber looking
one, a red Valk, the girl, and a large blue one with two different heads...
apparently it's a military model, the instructions show a general and tell
you to use different decals depending on which head you give it.
> Like as not, the one you describe belonged to teen girl Mylene Genus
> (Max & Miria's 7th kid), though I'm sure someone here will correct me on
that.
Ooooookay.
> > You know, I don't think I ever saw a translation of Artfire's spec...
>
> Me either. I don't think I've ever seen his spec, period.
I wish I'd picked him up back at BC'96, but I was running short of funds and
Stepper looked cooler...
> Or
> Stepper's. Or did I do that one and just forget...? :-S
I have Stepper, I though I had sent it to you at some point in history...
> >> And what the heck earned "Stepper" his name, anyway? :-)
> >
> > Can't remember if I saw his translated tech or not. I'm somewhat
convinced
> > it's a dim reference to Jazz, whose mold Stepper uses... music and
dance!
> >
> Mmmaybe. Does that mean he can mariachi with the Jointrons?
OLE'!!!!!!!
> > M "I Swear, Those Finnish Movies Were Some Of The Most Acid-Trippy
Things
> > I've Ever Seen..." Sipher
>
> What DO mushrooms hallucinate about, anyway...?
Licking toads.
M "I'm With Ellen DeGeneres In Wondering How Many Animals They Tried Before
Finding Out It Was Toads..." Sipher
M Sipher
news:20000705073405...@ng-fj1.aol.com...
> >
> >Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too (Goryu,
> >Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing
should
> >ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
> >
> Then there was Jinrai....
Okay, him. And Shuta Go... though I find it interesting that most of the
other human characters had names like "Road King", "Lightfoot", "Cab",
"Cancer", "Wilder"...
Wonder where Mega and Giga got their names. Weren't they, Buster and Hydra
part of some ancient civilization that worshipped Devil Z or something?
> >Aerolame. Tatou. Vif-Argent.
> >
> Heh, these do seem funny to me. Aerolame is self-explanatory, and
Vif-Argent
> _really_ sounds like a detergent, for some reason.
STAND BACK, citizen! *I* shall handle those deplorable grass stains!
> >Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
> >Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic
Bomber,
> >Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of which are
pretty
> >cool.
> >
> >Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same
thing
> >as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?) in
the
> >English-Language market.
> >
> I was just going from Neo names... there are definitely some _killer_ JTF
names
> out there. "Black Zarak" just sounds so arcane and evil (as it was no
doubt
> intended to), and "Overlord" is a veryt powerful sounding name.
"Break" sounds neat, if simple... yet "Breaker" strikes me as a weak name.
Weird.
Star Saber is fine... Hellbat... Drillhorn... Killbison... Glide...
M "Fear The Might Of DISCHARGE!!!" Sipher
Douglas W. Dlin
>
> Douglas W. Dlin <ap...@texas.net> wrote in message
> news:3962443D...@texas.net...
>
>> M Sipher wrote:
>>
>>> I dunno, for some reason I LIKE "San Diego". ("Santigo"?) It gives
me
>>> a good basis for the character's personality, I envision the
>>> character as laid-back, fun-loving...
>>>
>> And into comic books! :-)
>
> Perhaps.
Sorry, that was probably too obscure. I was referring to the annual
comic con in San Diego, the biggest one in the nation, if not all of
North America.
>>> I've got this Macross 7 (I think it's 7) model kit of a VERY feminine
>>> Valkyrie whose - for lack of a better word - boobs open up to reveal
>>> large speakers...
>>>
>> I don't know if that one belonged to a female character or not.
>
> Well, the instructions have a picture of who I can only assume is the
> pilot, a girl in her young teens...
>
That'd be Mylene, yeah...
>>> You know, I don't think I ever saw a translation of Artfire's spec...
>>
>> Me either. I don't think I've ever seen his spec, period.
>
> I wish I'd picked him up back at BC'96, but I was running short of
> funds and Stepper looked cooler...
>
That's how it goes sometimes...
>> Or Stepper's. Or did I do that one and just forget...? :-S
>
> I have Stepper, I though I had sent it to you at some point in
> history...
>
You might have, but most of the specs I translated for you back then are
on my old computer's hard drive, which was disconnected and put away
somewhere in the office a while back to make room for newer stuff. At
some point, I'm gonna have to dig it out, hook it back up to a monitor
or another computer, and arrange to connect a CD-ROM burner or Zip drive
plugged into it as well so I can back up all that info. (And I mean ALL
of it. IIRC, the entire hard drive was 80M max, meaning it could all
fit on one Zip. :-S)
Anyway, the point is, if you sent it to me, I don't remember and have no
way to check right now.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Hydra Darkwings
>news:20000705073405...@ng-fj1.aol.com...
>> >
>> >Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too (Goryu,
>> >Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing
>should
>> >ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
>> >
>> Then there was Jinrai....
>
>Okay, him. And Shuta Go... though I find it interesting that most of the
>other human characters had names like "Road King", "Lightfoot", "Cab",
>"Cancer", "Wilder"...
>
probably a reference to his soccer skills, which he never failed to apply in
battle. Not really a Japanese origin name for a Transformer itself, then...
>Wonder where Mega and Giga got their names. Weren't they, Buster and Hydra
>part of some ancient civilization that worshipped Devil Z or something?
>
Hmm... Buster and hydra weren't they were really just 17 and 19-20,
respectfully, and a radio DJ/ actor prior to joining up, respectfully. I don't
know why the hell they did, or if their family was a long line of Destron
supporters... that might be a plausible answer, since they seem to have
Destronism ingrained into their very sense of being. Masterforce does have the
storyline of the Destrons wreaking havoc over history, possbly causing
phenomena such as the Bermuda Triangle, "alien" abductions, etc. Mega and Giga,
however, come from regions unknown, and do have that medieval thing going, with
the witch/sorceror garb going... Hell, Mega even has an attack called "Satanic
Megammissile." I've enver heard any info about their mysterious pasts, but I
guess that's a plausible explanation...
>> >Aerolame. Tatou. Vif-Argent.
>> >
>> >Besides, Japan also gave us Mach Kick, Wild Ride, Sharpedge, Bazooka,
>> >Deathsaurus (shut up), Lobclaw, Artfire, Overlord, Metalhawk, Sonic
>Bomber,
>> >Shadow Panther... all kinds of ENGLISH-BASED names, many of which are
>pretty
>> >cool.
>> >
>> >Stuff like "Pibo" makes sense if you're Japanese, since it's the same
>thing
>> >as naming a character "Vroom" or some other anomatopea (right word?) in
>the
>> >English-Language market.
>> >
>> I was just going from Neo names... there are definitely some _killer_ JTF
>names
>> out there. "Black Zarak" just sounds so arcane and evil (as it was no
>doubt
>> intended to), and "Overlord" is a veryt powerful sounding name.
>
>"Break" sounds neat, if simple... yet "Breaker" strikes me as a weak name.
>Weird.
>
On the other hand, Blacker, Braver, and Laster sound simple and cool, but
Black, Brave, and Last sound lame. Guess it's the adj. as opposed to verb
thing.
>Star Saber is fine... Hellbat... Drillhorn... Killbison... Glide...
>
I dunno, I tend to like all the Brestforce names, aside from Jargua or
whatever...
Lars Eriksson
>Not according to both the Big TF Variations List and the TF Toy List, I'm
>afraid.
>
>San Diego / San Deego / Sandeego, a member of the Sixtrain team, was
>repainted into Dego, a separate character with a different name and color
>scheme, who helped form Sixliner.
Just thought I should make a slight correction - Sixliner was released in
1991 and Sixtrain in 1992, so it's actually San Diego who's the repaint of
Dego and not vice versa. :-)
--
Lars Eriksson, grounds...@chello.se
Personal home page: http://home.swipnet.se/groundsplitter/
Groundsplitter on IRC
TF-code: G++ FR+ FW- M+ #554 D+++ ADA N++ W++ B+++ OP BC98++ CN+++
Founder of the Nordic TransFans Association (NTFA)
NTFA home page: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/
TF:Universe Archives: http://members.xoom.com/ntfa/universe/english/
The Doc.
If you don't mind me asking
What would be the problem with just keeping his original name?
M Sipher
> >Hydra Darkwings <hydr...@aol.com> wrote in message
> >news:20000705073405...@ng-fj1.aol.com...
> >> >
> >> >Well, the DinoForce characters have distinctly Japanse names too
(Goryu,
> >> >Kakuryu), but at least thanks to STREET FIGHTER the whole "ryu" thing
> >should
> >> >ground most non-Japanese people a bit.
> >> >
> >> Then there was Jinrai....
> >
> >Okay, him. And Shuta Go... though I find it interesting that most of the
> >other human characters had names like "Road King", "Lightfoot", "Cab",
> >"Cancer", "Wilder"...
> >
> Well, Shuuta Goh was a Japanese kid. Go-Shooter, on the other hand, was
> probably a reference to his soccer skills, which he never failed to apply
in
> battle. Not really a Japanese origin name for a Transformer itself,
then...
No, but one of those amusing multi-level names you sometimes run across.
> >Wonder where Mega and Giga got their names. Weren't they, Buster and
Hydra
> >part of some ancient civilization that worshipped Devil Z or something?
> >
> Hmm... Buster and hydra weren't they were really just 17 and 19-20,
> respectfully, and a radio DJ/ actor prior to joining up, respectfully.
(Checks the datacards on Buster & Hydra)
17 and 20, respectfully. Can't read the rest...
(Oh, I hope I get one of those jobs at NCSU... that way I could take me a
Japanese language course cheap...)
(I really oughtta get a card folder for these Japanese TF file cards... I've
got two for my RockMan cards that aren't even close to full... wonder if I
could dig up a TF-themed folder at BotCon.)
> I don't
> know why the hell they did, or if their family was a long line of Destron
> supporters... that might be a plausible answer, since they seem to have
> Destronism ingrained into their very sense of being. Masterforce does have
the
> storyline of the Destrons wreaking havoc over history, possbly causing
> phenomena such as the Bermuda Triangle, "alien" abductions, etc.
Masterforce does kinda seem to exist somewhat outside of the previous TF
series, doesn't it? I mean, yeah, early on we get a pre-recorded message
from Chromedome (accompanied by recycled footage fromthe HeadMasters series
intro), but for Earth 2010-and-beyond, it sure looks a lot like Earth
1980...
> Mega and Giga,
> however, come from regions unknown, and do have that medieval thing going,
with
> the witch/sorceror garb going...
Mega is HOT in that witch dress, I don't care what anybody says. THERE is a
classy evil lady...
> >"Break" sounds neat, if simple... yet "Breaker" strikes me as a weak
name.
> >Weird.
> >
> On the other hand, Blacker, Braver, and Laster sound simple and cool, but
> Black, Brave, and Last sound lame. Guess it's the adj. as opposed to verb
> thing.
Well, I'm not too wild over "Blacker", myself... "Braver" and "Laster" at
least seem based on qualities you'd want in a knight (isn't that what their
tech Functions are? "So-and-So Knight"?)...
> >Star Saber is fine... Hellbat... Drillhorn... Killbison... Glide...
> >
> I dunno, I tend to like all the Brestforce names, aside from Jargua or
> whatever...
Though I'm wondering what the significance of the "zack" part of Leozack is,
if any. I would assume "Gai" has some Japanese meaning...
M "Shame Jaruga/Jargua Has The Weakest Name... He's The One I Like The Most"