Lenna or Reina?

[Sephiroth]

I usually hate literal translations and the purists who back them. Saying things like "The Japanese say it like this". Yes, but they were actually trying to say it the other way. They just can't. Or at the very least they can't write it that way

Not always. Sometimes a name is just exactly what it sounds like. Lenna is Lenna. Reine sounds better for me but that is a mistranslation. There is a great difference between:

A name that has been used and not changed for the west, sometimes despite the sound seeming something different

- Yu-na was supposed to be Yuna and is exactly that.
- Se-hu-i-ro-su who is supposed to be Sephiroth/E-a-ri-su who is supposed to be Aerith/Ri-ba-su Se-hu-i-ro-su who is supposed to be Rebirth Sephiroth
- Su-ko-ru would would be pronounced like "Skol/r" or "Skaul/r" but is still supposed to be "Squall"
- Te-i-da who would be "Tida" but is always meant to be "Tidus"
- Za-kku-su who would be "Zaks" or something like that but is always supposed to be "Zack"
- Aa-ro-n who is pronounced like "Ahron" but is still meant to be our "Auron".

Some people who know or don't know Japanese often say "person xy is called this and that so that is their original name" but that is not true. Sefirosu was supposed to be Sephiroth all the time, Zakkusu was supposed to be Zack all the time, Earisu as Aerith because of her Earth connection, Tida as Tidus, et cetera. Words like Zakkusu or Sefirosu are only the Romaji version but not really the intented version of the name with our letters. The Romaji version helps us understanding the origin and pronounciation often but it does not mean it is their intended western name.

A name that has been changed in the West:

- Butz who is Bartz or Tina who is Terra

A name that has been mistranslated through missing information or such:

- Lenna as Reina
- Sarisa as Salsa
- Ultima Weapon as Atma Weapon
- Aerith as Aeris
- Force Bracelet as Fourth Bracelet
- Rebirth Sephiroth as Reverse -> Bizzaro Sephiroth
- Sepher Sephiroth as Safer Sephiroth

There is a difference between these things. Not that the changed versions or mistranslations never sound cooler for people, in fact many of them do for me, too. I like Tiedus better or Reina. But there is a difference between original intention that actually has been used and is still supposed to be, and changed version that does not matter and a mistake.