Why do you use the transliteration “Maeter” for the blond in Galaxy Express 999 instead of “Maetel,” like VIZ and the other translation companies do?
A. As you may know, “maeter” is Latin for “mother.” As the character is obviously representative of a mother figure (a song sung from her point of view in Eternal Fantasy is entitled “Mother,” for example,) it seems obvious that “Maeter” is the correct rendering. VIZ reportedly passed on this romanization on the grounds that it was too obvious a metaphor. I, however, am disinclined to exclude the author’s ideas because people might understand them. (Note: the Japanese interchangably use both spellings. It’s not like they much care what it reads as in English, anyhow.) For a comprehensive look at Matsumoto anime, visit The Captain Harlock Archives section of this site.
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