Risebell the Star Psycher - Yu-Gi-Oh!

What the hell are those demon dog things?

This is actually not the first Risebell. Their is another counterpart that first appeared in Lord of Tachyon Galaxy, called Risebell the Star Adjustor. In both cases though, the TCG got it wrong. In the Japanese, the card's name isn't Risebell, it is Risebelt. You know, like the stellar cluster known as Orion's Belt. And this guy is connected to the stars. This was apparently lost on the TCG, since they went with Risebell, missing that crucial -to at the end of the Japanese name. The only other explanation is that they had originally translated it correctly, but were worried it might be misinterpreted as some kind of weird euphemism. Then again, just about anything in Yu-Gi-Oh! can be turned into a euphemism, and the tail between the legs in the art undermines the whole sentiment, so it's still kind of a stupid reason, but one that at least doesn't insult the intelligence of the translators.

And the other part of the the name, Star Psycher. The original Japanese translates roughly to Star Awakener, which conjures in my mind Risebelt tapping into the unused potential of the stars and bringing it out. But the TCG decided for some reason that psycher is a better word (because it's a psychic monster, har, har), which now just conjures the image of Risebelt giving the stars a pep talk, trying to get them riled up for the game. In short, it's a needless change that takes away any mysticism or mystery behind the card.

Skelesaurus - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Jurassic Park of the Living Dead.

I pick on the translators and localizers for the TCG, but occasionally they actually make good decisions. This card is an example of that. While Skelesaurus in the TCG, the OCG version has a different name: Natural Bone Saurus. What. Seriously, this is a phrase I have never heard used in my life. I think I understand why its specified as Natural Bone though. Most dinosaurs fossils aren't the actually bones. They're fossilized, meaning all the bone has been replaced with rock and sediment. That's part of why in GX the Fossil monsters that show up are specified as Rock monsters. Here though we are dealing with the actually bones, as opposed to rocks shaped like the bones.

Still, the Japanese name is odd, just because it sounds unnatural. And this isn't even an artifact of translating the Japanese; the OCG card name is actually in Engrish. The TCG translators must have realized all this, and therefore decided to come up with a new name. Hence the portmanteau above. The English name in my opinion actually sounds better than the Japanese one, thereby proving that not all change is necessarily a bad thing.

Terrene Toothed Tsuchinoko - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Watch out for snakes.

This is an odd case. The English name, as shown above, is Terrene Toothed Tsuchinoko. The Japanese name however is Tsuchinoko. The TCG actually added adjectives to this card's name. What. Just what. Why in heaven's name would you do this? Usually the TCG is removing words from a name, either because it's too long for English or because the Japanese name is redundant, listing the name in both Japanese and Engrish. For example, if you translate the name of Jellyfish from the OCG, you end up with Jellyfish - Jellyfish, since the card has both the Japanese word for jellyfish, followed by a pronunciation of the English word jellyfish. This card is the complete opposite though. The TCG is adding words that were never there.

The words they added are equally strange. The first word is terrene. I actually had to look this word up, that's how often it's used. The definition I got links it to the word terra, meaning earth, making the definition worldly or earthy. Yes, it was very important that they tell us this monster is earthy, less we look at the art and it's attribute and confuse it for a sea-dwelling monster. The second word is toothed. Well, you can see the two top fangs. Barely qualifies as toothed though. Maybe the toothed part refers to the spikes this version have, but then why not just say spiked? Is the alliteration that important? I would have been fine if it was just Spiked Tsuchinoko, since the illustrations and descriptions I'm finding don't usually depict this guy with spikes.

Now, what exactly is a tsuchinoko. The tsuchinoko is a mythological snake-like creature, different from snakes in that it's often depicted with a bulge following the head. After that description, reports of the tsuchinoko start to wildly diverge. Some say it can actually jump. Others say it can speak. Some say its poisonous. Others say it has a propensity for alcohol. The claim that's my favorite is that it can swallow its own tail, then travel around by rolling in a hoop shape. Unfortunately, the tsuchinoko has reached cryptozoological status, meaning amateurs with cameras go hunting for it and report seeing it when alone or in blurry photos. I don't wish to sound demeaning, since things like the coelacanth do pop up, but sadly most people in the field of cryptozoology have no idea what they're doing and only have the vaguest notions about what science actually is.

Ghostrick Yuki-onna - Yu-Gi-Oh!

She's a snow spirit, hence the exposed legs.

Before we discuss the change, what is a yuki-onna? Bloody terrifying, that's what it is. Yuki-onna are spirits and/or demons in Japanese folklore that often appear in snowstorms as a woman in white. Seeing her is very bad, because it usually means you are about to freeze to death. Despite the unfathomable horror though, Yu-Gi-Oh! takes a yuki-onna and makes it look adorable. In general, that's what the Ghostrick do, take horror monsters and concepts and turn them into a goofy band of misfits all living together. The ability is a nice fit too, freezing the monster who destroys it.

So, what did the TCG change this time. Here is the original Japanese art.

Oddly no objection from the TCG to the skirt length.

Don't notice the difference. In the Japanese version, the snowflake in her hair resembles a six-pointed star, with two overlapping triangles and a circle in the middle. In the TCG, the snowflake is redrawn to look more realistic, probably to avoid any religious connotation. My opinion on this change is mixed. On the one hand, it is a minor change and hardly noticeable. On the other hand, it is a minor change and hardly noticeable. Why change such a minor detail that no one notices? What doesn't help is the reason for the change is ridiculous. It's a bloody geometric pattern! Even if people did interpret this as a reference to Judaism, what is wrong with that? It's not portraying the symbol in a negative light, nor is it advocating the religion that uses it. Its not offensive or demeaning, and it's not propaganda. So, whoever is in charge of localization, please explain to me; What is wrong with this?

Battlin' Boxer Rib Gardna - Yu-Gi-Oh!

I can't help but notice the neon orange cup.

This card raises an interesting debate regarding its name. I'm not talking about the Burning Knuckler -> Battlin' Boxer thing. As far as localizations go, this actually isn't a bad one. Why they felt they couldn't use Burning Knuckler though is beyond me. When Rib Gardna was first spoiled, fanslators were translating it as Burning Knuckler Leverage Gardna. But the translation the TCG seemed to go with was Burning Knuckler Ribbage Gardna. Due to certain Japanese practices, like the l and the r thing, both translations are actual possibilities. If I had to guess, Ribbage Gardna though was probably the original intention, but there is still an interesting lesson in all this.

Next thing I want to talk about is the ability. In the card game, this guy has a blink effect. Blink effects temporarily remove a card, often your own, from the game. The usefulness of this ability is that it allows cards to dodge removal, whether targeted or sweeping. This is actually a useful ability, one that conveys the idea of the Gardna taking the blow for your guys. However, that was not Rib Gardna's anime ability, not even close. In the anime, Gardna redirects an attack targeting it to another monster you control. It is also an anti-Exceed monster (yes, I know its Xyz, but the fanslation is an actually word and is spelled the way you would pronounce it), detaching all Materials from the attacking monster. This is a general trend I do not get. If you are going to make a card with a totally different ability, why not just make it a totally different card? Why not print Rib Gardna with its anime ability, then print an original Battlin' Boxer monster with this ability?

Baby Raccoon Ponpoko - Yu-Gi-Oh!

THIS IS NOT A RACCOON.

It's the new year, and my resolution is to actually work on this again. I'm looking at the TCG release of Shadow Specters, mainly to call out and poke fun at the localiztion. Which brings us this little guy. In the OCG release, this guy wasn't a baby raccoon, but rather a baby tanuki. Tanuki is a Japanese word that has special connotations and meanings in Japan and absolutely no meaning in the US. First, a tanuki isn't a raccoon, but rather a similar looking animal, called a raccoon dog. They have similar face shapes and patterns to raccoons, but raccoon dogs are often stockier and don't all have the repeating ring patterns on the tail. Since nobody in the US knows what a raccoon dog is though, translators often purposely mistranslate it as a raccoon. The two are similar enough that nobody notices the difference.

Tanukis also feature prominently in Japanese folklore. Similar to how Native American tales have magical trickster animals like Coyote, Japan has the tanukis. They are said to be shapeshifters, often impish and prankish and nature, but their tricks are meant to do any real harm. Often times, tanukis can be helpful animals, loaning money to those who need it (though make sure it's not just leaves), or helping drunkards reach home safely. Some have even become patrons of the theater.

This card references one particular aspect of the tanuki: the drumming. People would sometimes report the mysterious sound of drumming where no drums could be found. These sounds were attributed to tanukis drumming on their bellies. Here, the artist decided to skip that and just show a tanuki with a drum strapped on. This is said to be a baby tanuki though, so maybe its belly isn't big enough for acoustic accompaniment and it's wearing the drum for practice.

Ability wise, it's a Call for Family. In the Pokemon TCG, some Pokemon had an ability called Call for Family that allowed them to summon Pokemon from the same evolutionary line. While the ability here isn't as restricted, any Level 2 Beast will do, it's clear what the intention was, Ponpoko pounding on his drum to call for the aid of his tanuki brethren. Flavor wise it works.

One final note I want to make is the name. I already pointed out why raccoon is an inaccurate translation, this is referencing something clever the fan translators did. For awhile, fans were calling this guy Tanukit Ponpoko. Tanukit is a portmanteau, two words smashed together, in this case tanuki and kit. A kit is most often used to refer to a young fox, but the term can be applied to other species, including the raccoon. Whether the term can be used for a baby raccoon dog as well I'm unsure, but I thought it was really clever what they did, and I find it sad that the TCG translators weren't as clever.

Tenochtitlan King - Hecatomb

"Funny hats are essential to world destruction."

With all the hype last year surrounding the Mayans and their calendar, people have been overlooking another ancient Meso-American civilization: the Aztecs. Hecatomb had several sub-themes based around ancient civilizations, primarily the Aztecs, with the Ancient Egyptians appearing in the next set. Which leads us to this guy.

First, what is Tenochtitlan? From the world's most edited database (Wikipedia), I found the answer. Tenochtitlan was once the capital of the Aztec Empire. It was built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, giving the Aztecs the engineering challenge of building stable buildings and foundations on less than stable terrain. And they pulled it off. The city's name is most often translated as coming from the words tetl (rock) and nochtli (prickly pear).

Tenochtitlan unfortunately also bore witness to the beginning of the end of the civilization that built it. You see, there was a jerk named Cortez. This is my own personal bias, as I view most of the Spanish conquistadors as jerks considering how they blatantly ignored and mistreated other civilizations. The Spanish arrived at Tenochtitlan, meeting the current ruler Moctezuma. Moctezuma welcomed the visitors, not necessarily just out of kindness but also for religious and political motives. Cortez and his crew showed up right around the time of an Aztec prophecy predicting the coming of some god or something akin to Jesus. Whether or not Moctezuma personally believed it, he was definitely away his subjects and some of his enemies probably believed it, and so he wasn't letting the opportunity go to waste. The Spanish repaid this kindness by destroying their entire civilization. This is a drastically shortened cliff notes version of history (aka I probably got most of it wrong), and I recommend you read the story yourself.

Continuing to show that Wizards did their research, the flavor text mentions the people of Tlaxcala and Azcapotzalco. Both are these are real places that exist in present day Mexico and that existed during the time of the Aztecs. Why they chose these names and places is another issue. Regardless of their original thinking, I think this guy being the king of Tenochtitlan works really well in the apocalyptic setting. Tenochtitlan set the stage for the destruction of the Aztecs, and now its setting it for the destruction of the world. There's also a kind of poetic justice in a destroyed city coming back to wreak havoc.

Ability wise, this guy is a lord. The term comes from Magic the Gathering, and refers to creatures that grant bonuses to creatures of the same type as it. In this case, the card is an Aztecal that gives +2 strength to other Aztecal. The flavor of the guy also works for a lord theme. He is an Aztecal king, and therefore he commands and has influence over the Aztecal.