My Opinions on DIC Sailormoon Names

Written: Early 1999
Added: January 18, 2000

This was my first nice little rant on what I think about DIC Sailormoon. (Written sometime in very early 1999) It focuses on the changes of names in the dubbed version and what I think of them. (This also includes the outer senshi since the names DIC will probably use for them IF Sailormoon S is ever translated are already known) So sit back, grab some popcorn, and journey on into the depths of the treacheries DIC has done to Sailormoon by hacking characters' names up and then putting them back together with bits missing here and there. (There are only three pictures on this page and they are very beautiful. Please be patient and wait for them to load!)
NOTE: I am aware that Pretty Sailormoon Opinions (PSO) also has an article comparing the two names. I wrote this article on Microsoft Word long before I had even heard of Anti-DIC pages. None of this material is copied from PSO in any way. (Yes, I only heard about DIC webpages in December, but I have already been a DIC hater for a long time...call me not perspective, since I'm sure anti-DIC webpages have been around since DIC released Sailormoon!)

Tsukino Usagi= Serena

Serena…it's actually a very nice sounding name, but it just doesn't fit Usagi at all! I understand where it came from, but it sounds so elegant, beautiful…nothing like our bunny of the moon! Then, there was that thing that really annoyed me….Princess Serena. UGH! How could they have named her that? What were they thinking? (It's good thing they didn't call her Neo-Queen Serena!) If they had to name her Serena, couldn't they had at least given her a last name? I wonder what she does when she is asked to fill out health forms. ("Name please." "Serena." "Do you have a last name?" "No, just Serena.") However, even with all that, there's still something that annoys me even more. Have you ever heard one of the girls from DIC say her name? "SEREEEENA!" Egh! I think my eardrums just broke!

Chibi-Usa = Rini

Okay, I thought SEREEEENA was bad. So what about REEENEEE!? I think DIC gave her the most horrible name ever. She has the worst name in the entire DIC Sailormoon in my opinion. I mean, say the name. Rini. Sounds like a snotty little nose brat, doesn't it? (Plus, her voice has given me permanent ear aches) Her name isn't even cute! Chibi-Usa was cute! (little bunny) Rini is just plain obnoxious. (Actually, I think it sounds like something you name a pet. I'll tell my friend to name her dog that)

Chiba Mamoru = Darien

Oh ho. Now it's DAREEEEEIN! I don't have much to say about this name as it isn't that bad a name for some guys. All I know is that it doesn't fit Mamoru and never will. End of story.

Mizuno Ami = Amy Anderson

What was the point here of changing the spelling from Amy to Ami? Sure, I understand that Amy is the more common spelling in the U.S., but just because of this they have to replace the "I" with the "Y"? I think that it is an unnecessary change. What really gets to me though is how they HAD to change the last name of Ami. Most of the DIC senshi (or "scouts" as DIC calls them) don't even have last names, so what was the point of making Ami have one? Couldn't they have at least kept Mizuno then instead of Americanizing it and making it Anderson? No, I guess not.

Hino Rei = Raye Hino

Um…okay…something strange is going on here. Everything (pronounciation, last name, etc.) about Rei's name is the same here EXCEPT for the spelling of her first name. I think it's pointless how they mutilated Rei's name spelling. Did they think that it would be easier to spell Raye than Rei? Think about it. In Evangelion, the white haired girl's name is spelled as Rei. (And I believe it has been translated into English. If it hasn't, so sorry for my mistake! I've only seen the Japanese version of it!) In various other cartoons which were translated before Sailormoon, Rei is a very popular name and is ALWAYS spelled that way. So why would DIC think it would be easier to change the name to Raye? Or that it would be more Americanized? Enough people have seen the spelling of "Rei" around. It's nothing new at all!

Kino Makoto = Lita

Oh no, another bad way of Americanizing the name. Ami, they managed to keep with some spelling changes. Same with Rei, and close enough with Minako. But what about Makoto? They couldn't have kept the name or at least shortened it to be Mako? No, of course not! Instead, they twisted it entirely and formed some new name…Lita. Where did that come from? (I see no relation to Makoto's name except that Lita sounds like "litre" and Makoto cooks so sometimes she uses litres of milk. Haha, no, that's stupid. Don't take that seriously. And by the way, some people might spell it liter, but litre is the way I learned it.) Again, there was no last name included. They would probably have twisted it to Lita Loggings, or something of that sort.

Aino Minako = Mina

Wah? Another pointless change. All they did was remove the "ko" part from Minako's name. Mina is still as Japanese as before. Ha! DIC probably thought that little kids wouldn't be able to remember such a COMPLICATED name as Minako, so they shortened it to Mina in hopes of their kindergarten audience remembering. (As the DIC Sailormoon seems to be aimed towards) My objection to this change however isn't as strong as the other, because at least they managed to keep the spelling the same and only removed the "ko" part. No last name again. (Those poor senshi!)

These names were actually issued to the outer senshi dolls in the U.S., but I have very good reasons that IF DIC ever decides to translate Sailormoon S, these will be the very ones they will be using. (Since they have already submitted to names issued by toy companies before)

Ten'ou Haruka = Corinne

Corinne? It sounds too calm and serene for a tough person like Haruka. Sure, I know that Haruka can show her feminine side sometimes, but a name like Corinne implies that she shows it ALL the time. And besides, what will the senshi say when they meet Haruka for the first time and think she is a boy? (Corinne is a very feminine name while Haruka in Japanese can be for both a boy and a girl)
Minako: What's your name?
Haruka: Corinne
Usagi: CORINNE? THAT'S A GIRL'S NAME!
(NOTE: That does not happen in the real Sailormoon, only in my imaginations of the horrors Sailormoon S would go through if DIC ever translated it)

Kaiou Michiru= Nerissa

Now, Nerissa is a very pretty name and I admit that it also sounds quite feminine. So I won't write much about Michiru's name change here. I only have one question which remanes the same for ALL of the senshi, and that is: Why couldn't DIC just have kept the Japanese names? If the English translation of Ranma can do it, then why can't they?!

Meiou Setsuna = Celia

This is another very pretty name and it could fit Setsuna if your imagination stretched far enough. Of course though, it has no relation to Setsuna's name at all, (like Mina at least is close to Minako) and our poor solitary soldier is missing a last name just like "Corinne" and "Nerissa".

Tomoe Hotaru = Who knows

Oh please don't screw Hotaru's name up as badly as they did to Chibi-Usa's name. Pretty please! They might think that because Hotaru is young, it would be good to give her a little cutey wutey name with a long EEE sound in it. Just one thing. If they change her name to HARREEEEEEEEIT, I'm packing my bags and moving to another planet. (No, I have no negative feelings to the name Harriet unless they decide to lengthen the "I" into lots of "E"'s like they did in REEEENEEE.)


That's it from me on my DIC Sailormoon Senshi Name Opinions. You can leave now although that would make me very sad since I would prefer if you went back to my Opinions or AWARENESS page. ;)

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