Thread:Shanethefilmmaker/@comment-397235-20140829052131/@comment-397235-20140830054513

I wasn't interested in just picking names which sound close to the Japanese names, though, because more often than not that's just too easy, and several characters could get fully functional equivalent Anglicized names.

Tomohiko Kazami - Thomas Martin: I picked Martin because Kazami has to do with Harmony, and Martin was the patron saint of harmony and justice. Thomas was for his initial disbelief in the Curse, and the rather dramatic way in which his mind is changed.

Mei Misaki - Holly Jordan: Mei is a kind of ornamental pine tree; I think of pine tress, then think of Christmas, and what else is associated with Christmas? Jordan is an asexual given name which can also be a surname.

Yumi Ogura - Amy Belle: Yumi means beautiful, as does Bella (which Belle is a corruption of). Amy is picked because...of the old J-Pop band Hi Hi Puffy AmyYumi (I don't listen to J-Pop but they sang the theme song for Teen Titans and I rather liked that show).

Yukari Sakuragi - Sherry Link: Yukari's name literally translates as "Cherry Tree Affinity." Sherry is similar to cherry (I suppose I could have called her "Cherry" like the girl from The Outsiders but that'd be stupid); Link is a synonym for "Affinity."

Izumi Akazawa - Isabel Riviera Castille: I know we'd discussed her character being blond, but I got to writing this and I figured both, A, everyone's white, and B, the gorgeous Latina works just as well as the angry redhead for story purposes. Izumi means spring (thus "River") and Akazawa means "strong" or "complete;" thus "Castle." Isabel, I believe, means beautiful.

Takako Sugiura - Alexandria Noble: Takako's name means "Noble Child of the Cedar Field" or something equally unwieldy (I, personally, would also be a cranky individual if my parents had given me a name that pretentious). Noble is obvious; Cedar trees in all cultures are symbols of strength, so I chose Alexandria, which through Alexander, means "Strength and protection."

Junta Nakao - William Mauna: I've very proud of this one. Junta means "thickness" while Nakao means "middle/root of the mountain." However, unlike the vast majority of the characters in Another, Nakao is not actually a Japanese surname; it's Ainu, the people of Okinawa. William also means strong, or so Jack Sparrow tells us. Mauna is Hawaiian for "Mountain." I figured Hawaii was the American equivalent of Okinawa (ironically, WWII began in Hawaii and ended in Okinawa for the US and Japan).

Aya Ayano - Violet Field: Aya's name means "Colored/Designed Field." I have no idea why. Violet is a color, and Field is...a field. This one was just simple.

Naoya Teshigawara - Nolan Fletcher: This one I fudged a lot. Naoya means "straight" or "arrow" (Japan apparently has the "straight as an arrow" epithet as well); this is where Fletcher comes from (and Violet calls him "Fletch"). Unlike most of the names on this list, Googling Teshigawara got me nowhere (actually, that's not true; it took me right to his page on the Wiki, which is less than useful). I picked Nolan because it's close to his Japanese name.

Yuuya Mochizuki - Jericho Chevelle: Yuuya's name means "Full Moon of 100 Nights." Jericho was the City of the Moon, and Chevelle comes from "Chevelier" the French word for knight. Well, I like it anyway.

Takeru Mizuno - Lincoln Rice: Takeru was the given name of Yamato, the somewhat mythical founder of Japan. I picked Lincoln for his given name because in the US we both A, don't have enough history for a figure like that, and B, Honest Abe is fairly close to being that important. I don't remember where Rice came from. It seems like Mizuno has something to do with farming, but I can't remember and didn't write it down. Sanae's name is Elaine, and while I'm sure there was a rationale for it, I can't remember what it was.