ID E NTITY - Cultural Notes

Cultural Notes

• While Roto's name has been translated as "Roto," this translation has a possibility of being "culturally" incorrect. "Roto" can be spelled either one of two main ways in English. The first one being "Roto" and the second being "Lotto." The Korean language has no "l" or "r" sound so "Roto" is a correct translation. However, the Korean slang term for "lottery" is "lotto" and so the main character's name could be seen as a play on the Korean word for "lotto," thereby making his name "Lotto" instead of "Roto."

• Something of note is that while Jang-Gun's sister's name, Chang-Mi, was translated into "Rose" (an accepted English name), Jang-Gun's name, which means "General", was left in the original Korean. But in Korean language, the family name comes first. It is not said specifically in the series but it is possible that her name is actually 'Mi' and her family name is 'Jang' which can be read in 'Chang' in English(but, in volume 7 Wunha mentioned that his family name is Jang and his little name is Gun). The same goes for the Lovely Angels; Jin-Na was close enough to Gina for editors to localize it. (Korean parents often give siblings the same first syllable in their names)

• In Volume One in a flash back with the "Fallen Angels" a skit from "Pinky and the Brain" is used in a conversation between Roto and Boromid.

• when Woon-Suk (Ah-Dol) is given the title Force Master he make a rather obvious star wars joke