One thing that can happen, especially with newer series, is thatthe names of characterscan change in spelling depending on various factors. Sometimes a name is not Romanized correctly, which can happen due to various ambiguities that can occur when one translates media from one language to another. In the case of character names in anime and manga, these ambiguities can give rise to confusion, and when characters' names change entirely in order to make it easier for a particular audience to refer to them, this confusion can get even worse.
Given that it is originally in Korean,LOOKISMis a series that has various translations including an official English translation that is found on the official WEBTOON. This translation also features localization of the first names of all the characters, meaning that the names of characters are completely different from their original Korean names, which can be confusing, so here’s a guide to map the English names ofLOOKISMcharacters to their original Korean names, which will be used in the upcominganime adaptation of the original manhwaby Park Tae Jun.
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Context
While largely something that would happen in the past, localizations extending to the names of the main characters of anime properties is a quite normal and has an extensive history in various popular works. These includePokémon; theDragon Ballfranchise and more, and the reasons behind changing the name of a main character are often associated with making the name more accessible for the audience in question. A great example of this would be the alteration of the name of theTower of Godmain character, commonly referred to as “Bam” by readers of the WEBTOON. While he is introduced as “The Twenty-Fifth Bam”, which in turns means something akin to “The Twenty-Fifth Night”, the anime version of the character (hence, the Japanese-speaking version) has the name changed to “Yoru”, which is the Japanese word for “Night”, invoking the original concept behind the name. Legendary examples of this would be theCase Closedmain character Shinichi Kudō; known to American audiences as “Jimmy Kudō”, as well as the main character of thePokémonanime franchise,Ash Ketchum; or rather, Satoshi (Tajiri?).
Park Ha Neul/Zoë Park
Unlikely Characters
The upcomingLOOKISManime adaptation has shown that there will definitely be some fighting in the story; however, the initial stages ofLOOKISMare not quite as action-packed as the series shapes up to be after the introduction of certain characters and plot lines. Some of the series' most interesting characters only make their first appearances a little later in the story, and their plot significance can only be seen in the latter stages of the series, which is unlikely to be animated at this early stage. Characters like Jiho, Jang Hyun/Eli Jang fit into this category, especially Jiho, who undergoes one of the series' most dramatic character changes and a very notable example of a descent into madness.
