Completely Different Title / Japanese

In Japan, WWF SmackDown became Exciting Pro Wrestling.

Sometimes bizarre, sometimes cool, here's a list of the different media titles in Japan.

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Art

• The Statue of Liberty became Jiyuu no Megami (The Goddess of Liberty), which is also a shared name in other East Asian translations.

Asian Animation

• Cubix: Robots for Everyone was called Saiko Robotto Konbokku, and was given a Dub Name Change (for example, the eponymous character was renamed Konbokku, and Connor was renamed Ken Ichirō).

Comic Books

• Both Judge Dredd's films are named as such in Japanese, the remake was just named Dredd anywhere.

Eastern European Animation

• Mire Bala Kale Hin was partially released in Japanese as Hateshinaki Michi (果てしなき道, "The Endless Roads") on April 4, 2012.

Films — Animation

• Abominable became Snow Baby (in Gratuitous English).
• Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation became, oddly enough, Otogi no Hoshi no Kuma-tachi (roughly translated as "The Bears from the Neighboring Stars", since the previous film didn't get released in Japan). The 2000's specials and series keeps the Care Bears title though.
• The Croods became Crood-san Chi no Hajimete Bouken (The Croods' First Adventure).
  • The Croods: A New Age became Crood-san Chi no Atarashii Bouken (The Croods' New Adventure).
• The Despicable Me series became Kaitō Gru (Phantom Thief Gru), with the installments as follows:
  • Despicable Me became Kaitō Gru no Tsuki Dorobou (Phantom Thief Gru, The Moon Burglar).
  • Despicable Me 2 became Kaitō Gru no Minion Kiki Ippatsu (Phantom Thief Gru's Minions in Danger").
  • Despicable Me 3 became Kaitō Gru no Minion Dai Dassō (Phantom Thief Gru's Minions' Great Escape).
  • Despicable Me 4 became Kaitō Gru no Minion Chō Henshin (Phantom Thief Gru Minion Super Transformation).
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru became Minions Fever.
• Disney Animated Canon:
  • Big Hero 6 is known as Baymax.
  • The Black Cauldron is known as Korudoron ("Cauldron").
  • The Emperor's New Groove became Llama ni Natta Ou-sama (The King Became a Llama). The DTV sequel Kronk's New Groove became Llama ni Natta Ou-sama 2: Kronk no Nori Nori Daisakusen (The King Became a Llama 2: Kronk's High Spirited Big Mission).
  • Encanto became Mirabel to Mahou Darake no Ie (Mirabel and the Magic-Riddled House).
  • Frozen (2013) became Anna to Yuki no Joô (Anna and the Snow Queen). The English translation resembles the Working Title of the film.
  • Thanks to Japan's love of cute merchandisable characters, The Great Mouse Detective became Olivia-chan no Daibōken ("Little Olivia's Great Adventure").
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame became Notre Dame no Kane (The Bells of Notre Dame) because the Japanese considered the word "hunchback" as an insult.
  • Lady and the Tramp became Wanwan Monogatari ("A Doggy Story").
  • Meet the Robinsons became Lewis to Mirai Dorobō (Lewis and the Thief of the Future).
  • Moana was renamed to Moana to Densetsu no Umi (Moana and the Legendary Sea) as per Disney Japan's preference to rename its animated movies with longer titles.
  • Oliver & Company became Oliver: A New York Kitten's Story.
  • The Princess and the Frog became Princess to Mahou no Kiss (Princess and the Magic Kiss).
  • Raya and the Last Dragon became Raya to Ryū no Ōkoku ("Raya and the Kingdom of Dragons").
  • The Rescuers became Bianca no Daibōken ("Bianca's Great Adventure").
  • The Rescuers Down Under became Bianca no Daibōken: Golden Eagle wo Sukue! ("Bianca's Great Adventure: Save the Golden Eagle!").
  • Strange World received the Either/Or Title of Sutorenji Wārudo/Mō Hitotsu no Sekai (Strange World/Another World).
  • Tangled became Tou no Ue no Rapunzel (Rapunzel at the Top of the Tower). In turn, due to the title change, Tangled: The Series is now Rapunzel The Series, even in its next two seasons.
  • Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom became Pukadon Kōkyōgaku (Pukadon Symphony Orchestra).
  • Wreck-It Ralph was re-titled Sugar Rush, which is named after the candy-themed racing game that Ralph goes to. It makes sense, considering that most of the movie takes place inside that particular game and that the eponymous credits song is sung by AKB48, a wildly popular Japanese idol band.
    • The sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, is re-titled as Sugar Rush: Online (which itself is a Shout-Out to Sword Art Online), despite the movie not set in the said game, but it still involves the search for a needed replacement part for the titular game and Vanellope trying to find herself out of her game.
• The Emoji Movie became Emoji no Kuni no Gene (Gene in Emoji-Land). The name is a obvious reference of Alice in Wonderland, and its Japanese name (Fushigi no Kuni no Alice).
• Flushed Away becomes Mouse Town: Roddy no Rita no Daibouken ("Roddy and Rita's Great Adventure").
• Hotel Transylvania became Monster Hotel.
• Kubo and the Two Strings became Kubo: The Secret of the Two Strings.
• The Land Before Time is known as Littlefoot.
• The Lorax became Lorax Ojisan no Himitsu no Tane (Uncle Lorax's Seed of Secrets).
• Moses: Egypt's Great Prince became The Prince of Sphinx.
• Mr. Peabody & Sherman became Tensai Inu Peabo Hakase no Time Travel (Genius Dog Dr. Peabody's Time Travel).
• Over the Hedge became Mori no Little Gang ("The Little Gang of the Forest").
• The Peanuts Movie is titled I LOVE Snoopy - THE PEANUTS MOVIE. And yes, it really is written in all caps in English aside from Snoopy's name.
• Pixar:
  • Brave is known as Merida to Osoroshi no Mori ("Merida and the Scary Forest").^note メリダとおそろしの森
  • Cars 3 becomes Cars: Crossroads.
  • Coco became the untranslated English phrase Remember Me, after the title of its central song, because the Japanese word "koko" translates as "here", and possibly because the name "Coco" is also a valid name in Japanese (as Koko/Kouko).
  • Elemental (2023) became My Element.
  • The Good Dinosaur became Arlo to Shōnen ("Arlo and the Boy").
  • The Incredibles became Mr. Incredible. Its sequel became Incredible Family.
  • Inside Out became Inside Head.
  • Luca becomes Ano Natsu no Luca ("That Summer of Luca's").
  • Onward became Nibun no Ichi no Mahou (roughly translated as "Half-Magic'').
  • Ratatouille became Remy no Oishii Restaurant ("Remy's Delicious Restaurant"). Which also spoils the ending.
  • Soul was extended to Soulful World.
  • Turning Red became Watashi Toki Doki Lesser Panda (Sometimes I'm a Red Panda).
  • Up is called Carl-Jiisan no Soratobu Ie (Grandpa Carl's Flying House) in Japanese.
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish became Puss in Boots and 9 Lives.
• The Queen's Corgi became Royal Corgi: Rex no Daibouken (subtitle translated as Rex's Great Adventure).
• Rio becomes Blu: Hajimete no Sora e ("Blu: In the Sky for the First Time").
  • Its sequel becomes Blu 2: Tropical Adventure.
• Rise of the Guardians became Guardians: Densetsu no Yuushatachi (Guardians: Legendary Heroes).
• The Road to El Dorado became El Dorado: Kogane no Miyako (El Dorado: The Golden City).
• SCOOB! becomes Yowamushi Scooby no Daibōken (Cowardly Scooby's Great Adventure).
• The Secret Life of Pets became simply as Pet. The sequel also became simply Pet 2.
• Sing 2 became Sing: Next Stage.
• Snoopy, Come Home became Sunūpī no Daibōken ("Snoopy's Great Adventure").
• The Snow Queen (2012): The third film is named Yuki no Jou'ou: Gerda no Densetsu (The Snow Queen: The Legend of Gerda) being the subtitle a reference from The Legend of Zelda.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse became simply as Spider-Man: Spider-Verse with the "Into The" part removed.
• Spies in Disguise becomes Spy in Danger, with "in" being written in English.
• Storks becomes Kōnotori Daisakusen! ("Storks Great Operation!")
• The Tale of Despereaux became Nezumi no Kishi Despereaux no Monogatari (The Tale of Despereaux the Mouse Knight).
• Thumbelina became Oyayubi-Hime Thumbelina.
• The Triplets of Belleville became Belleville Rendez-vous, which was the same title used in the UK.
• Trolls World Tour becomes Trolls: Music☆Power.

Films — Live-Action

• Most Hollywood films when shown in Japan in theaters, if they don't change the main title and/or rename the subtitle, chances are they would remove the word "The" if the movie name has "of the" in the title, making it a bit Engrishy. Examples would be Pirates of the Caribbean turning to "Pirates of Caribbean" and Guardians of the Galaxy becomes "Guardians of Galaxy". Sounds odd and not right but that's how it is there.
• This trope was once the standard for films that were named after characters since some translators felt that a long foreign name in katakana wouldn't memorable enough. Forrest Gump became Ichigo, Ichie ("a once-in-a-lifetime meeting"), for example, and Bonnie and Clyde became Oretachi ni Asu wa nai ("for us there is no tomorrow"). Since they were designed to be poetic and descriptive, some people on both sides of the Pacific actually like these titles better.
• Unlike with what normally happens with Bollywood films, when their original Indian title remains untranslated, Japan is one of the few countries where Indian films sport different names in the Japanese language:
  • I was renamed in Japanese as Muscle: Odoru Inazuma (Muscle: Dancing Lightning).
  • 3 Idiots became Kitto, Umakuiku (It Will Be Fine), but in context, it would mean "All is Well", which is the Gratuitous English catchphrase used during all the movie.
  • Aashiqui 2 became Ai suru Yueni (Because I Love You)
  • Mission Kashmir became Altaaf: Fukushū no Na no Moto ni (Altaaf: In The Name of Revenge)
  • Barsaat became Uki (Rainy Season). It should be noted that the Indian name means "rain".
• 10 to Midnight became Murderer.
• 22 Bullets became Bullets.
• 24 Hours to Live became Limit of Assassin.
• 100 Bloody Acres became Morgan Brothers.
• 976-EVIL became Horrorscope.
• 2020 Texas Gladiators became Near Future Warrior Texas 2020.
• The South Korean film The Admiral: Roaring Currents (aka Myeongnyang in Korean) became Battle Ocean: Kaijou Kessen (Battle Ocean: Final Battle at the Sea).
• The Japanese release of the Alien movies never Stopped Numbering Sequels, so Aliens and Alien: Resurrection are Alien 2 and Alien 4, respectively.
• All the Boys Love Mandy Lane became Mandy Lane Bloody Blonde Schoolgirl.
• Amen became Holocaust: Adolf Hitler's Baptism.
• American Made became Barry Seal: America wo Hameta Otoko (Barry Seal: The Man Who Went To America^note The name is also an elaborated pun, since "Hameta" can be also translated as "to have sex/to fuck", so the subtitle can be translated as "The Man Who Fucked America")
• The first American Pie film was released in Japanese with the original name untranslated, but oddly enough, the sequel was released as American Summer Story instead. Even more oddly the third film returns with the American Pie moniker again and the fourth film was named American Bye-Bye-Bye! Kanketsuhen Ore-tachi no Dousoukai (subtitle translated as Final Episode: Our Noisy Reunion).
• The Amityville Horror (1979) became The House Where the Devil Lives.
• Analyze This and its sequel Analyze That became Analyze Me and Analyze You respectively.
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy became Ore-tachi wa Newscaster (We are Newcasters).
• Another Gay Movie became Onegai! Cherry Boys, with the title being a word play on Please Teacher! (Onegai Teacher!)
• Apocalypse Now became Jigoku no Mokushiroku (Apocalypse in Hell).
• Arachnicide became Strongest Special Forces vs. Giant Tarantula.
• Army of Darkness becomes Captain Supermarket (...or should we say CAPTAIN! SUPERMARKET!).
• As Good as It Gets -> The Romance Novel Writer
• Bad Grandpa became Jackass: Kuso-Jijii America Oudan Chin-Douchuu (Roughly translated as Jackass: Our Journey Across America with a Fuckin' Geezer. Yeah, that's the name they gave in Japanese to this movie).
• The Barbarians became Great Barbarian.
• The Basic Instinct films became Koori no Bishou (Freezing Smile).
• The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms became Atomic Monster Appears.
• Being There became Chance.
• Benny & Joon -> My little Sister's Lover
• Bicentennial Man became Andrew—NDR114.
• The Big Doll House became Cruel Women's Prison.
• The Big Short became Money Short: A Splendid Reversal.
• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage became Poisonous Fangs of Joy.
• The Black Belly of the Tarantula became simply Tarantula.
• Black Belt Jones became Black Belt Dragon.
• Black Christmas (1974) became The Phone Rings in the Dark.
• The Black Door became Old Castle Door.
• Black Sunday became Bloody Tombstone.
• The Bleeding became Apocalypse of the Dead.
• Blindman became Blind Gunman.
• Blinded by the Light became Cassette Tape Diaries.
• The Blob (1958) became McQueen's Absolute Crisis.
• Blood and Black Lace became Model Serial Killer!
• Blood Monkey became Empire of Apes.
• BloodRayne became Blood Drain.
• Bloodsucking Pharaohs In Pittsburgh became Splatter Murder Case Crazy Cop.
• The Book of Eli became The Walker
• The Boondock Saints became Jyokeinin (Executioners).
• Boyhood became Me as a 6-Year-Old, Until I Become An Adult.
• Bring It On became Cheers!, and even uses a title font almost identical◊ to the TV show.
• Brotherhood of Blades became Blade Master.
• Bubba Ho Tep became Presley vs. Mummy Man.
• Bullet in the Head became Wild Bullet.
• Bullet to the Head became simply Bullet.
• The Butler became Daitoryuu no Shitsuji no Namida (The Tears of a President's Butler).
• Can You Ever Forgive Me? became Aru Joryū Sakka no Tsumi to Bachi (The Sin and Punishment of a Certain Female Writer).
• Chungking Express became Koisuru Wakusei (Planet in Love).
• CJ7 became Miracle 7-go (Miracle No. 7).
• The Color of Money became Hustler 2, making it a Numbered Sequel to The Hustler.
• Colossal was given the new English title Synchronized Monster.
• Cooties became Zombie School!
• Crazy Rich Asians was shortened to Crazy Rich!
• Dance of the Dead became Devil's Poison Party.
• Dance of the Vampires -> Vampire
• Das Boot became U-Boat, after the English name of German submarines. The TV adaptation was named U-Boat The Series: Shinkai no Ookami (U-Boat The Series: The Wolves from the Depths)
• Dawn Of The Dead became Zombie: Chikyū SOS – Shisha ga Yomigaetta Hi (Earth SOS – The Day when the Dead Revived).
• Dead Heat became Zombie Cop.
• Death Becomes Her became Eien ni Utsushiku... (Eternally Beautiful...)
• Death Screams became Deathhouse/Bloody Orgy Play.
• Deathgasm became Devil's Metal.
• The Devil's Advocate got the epic-sounding name of Diabolos: Akuma no Tobira (Diabolos: the Devil's Door).
• The Dictator became Dictator: Mimotofumei de New York (Dictator: Incognito in New York)
• Doctor... Series:
  • Doctor at Sea became My Doctor.
  • Doctor in Love became The Temperature of Love - Light Sum 40.
• Dracula Untold became Dracula Zero.
• Dumb and Dumber became Jim Carrey wa Mr. Dumber (Jim Carrey is Mr. Dumber). Dumb and Dumber To became Kaettekita Mr. Dumber Baka MAX! (Translated. context-wise, as "Mr. Dumber Returns: MAX Stupidity!")
• Dude, Where's My Car? became Zoltan★Seijin (Zoltan ★ Alien).
• Dunston Checks In became Let's Check In!, "Let's" written as is.
• Eaten Alive! (1976) became Devil's Swamp.
• Edge of Tomorrow became All You Need Is Kill, the title of its source novel.
• The Spaniard-Italian film El Angel became Eien ni Boku no Mono (Forever Mine).
• Encino Man became Genshi no Man (lit. "Primitive Man"); the name it's also a bilingual pun using the Japanese pronunciation of the original English name, as エンシノ・マン (Enshino Man), with the Japanese title (Genshi-no Man)
• Enemy Mine became Fifth Planet.
• Everything, Everything was cut in half, becoming simply Everything.
• The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II and Evil Dead (2013) all became Ghost Intestines.
• Equilibrium became Rebellion.
• The Exterminators of the Year 3000 became Mad Rider.
• Farinelli became Castrato, after the Italian term of the titular character's job.
• The Fast and the Furious became Wild Speed.
  • 2 Fast 2 Furious = Wild Speed X2
  • The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift = Wild Speed X3: Tokyo Drift
  • Fast & Furious = Wild Speed Max
  • Fast Five = Wild Speed Mega Max
  • Fast & Furious 6 = Wild Speed: Euro Mission
  • Furious 7 = Wild Speed: Sky Mission
  • The Fate of the Furious = Wild Speed: Ice Break
  • Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw = Wild Speed: Super Combo
  • F9 = Wild Speed: Jet Break
  • Fast X = Wild Speed: Fire Boost
• Fatal Attraction became Kiken na Kōji (A Dangerous Love Affair).
• A Fistful of Dollars became Kouya no Yojimbo (The Bodyguard of the Wild West), after the Akira Kurosawa film the movie is a remake of.
• Flesh+Blood (1985) has two different titles in Japanese, depending of the media the movie was released on: The TV version was named Honnou no Iron Commando: Jigoku-jou no Daibouken (Burning Iron Commando: the Great Adventure in the Hellish Castle) and the video release (and the official one) was renamed as Great Warriors: Yokubou no Ken (subtitle translated as The Sword of Desire).
• The Fly (1958) became Fear of the Man.
• Frankenstein's Army became Human Weapon.
• Frankenstein's Bloody Terror became Vampire Dracula vs. The Werewolf.
• Freaked became Mutant Freaks.
• Freddy Got Fingered became Freddy no Waisetsu na Kankei (Freddy's Obscene Relation).
• Gallowwalkers became Gallow Walker Jail Executioner.
• Gangster Squad became L.A. Gang Story.
• The Garbage Pail Kids Movie became Dirty Kids: Bukimi-kun (The Bukimi-kun can be literally translated as Dirty Kid(s) and it also a reference from a manga of the same name, except the name of the manga is written in kanji (不気味くん) while the one for the American film is written in hiragana as "ぶきみくん") for the movie and Gomi Kids (Garbage Kids) for the original trading cards.
• Geld her oder Autsch'n!, a German, vulgar parody of Sesame Street and The Muppets is named Susame Street: Zen'in Shuugou: Mada wa "Puppet Fiction" Tomoiu (Roughly translated as "Susame Street All Members Reunion: Also Called "Puppet Fiction"), being the English names wordplays of both Sesame Street and Pulp Fiction.
• Get On Up became James Brown: Saikō no Tamashī o Motsu Otoko (The Man with the Best Soul).
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation became G.I. Joe: Back 2 Revenge.
  • Snake Eyes became G.I. Joe: Shikkoku no Snake Eyes ("Jet Black Snake Eyes").
• Girl, Interrupted became 17 Year Old's Medical Records. Um.
• The Good Son became "Deadly Play".
• Gravity became Zero Gravity.
• Hang 'Em High became Yatsu-ra wo Takaku Tsuru se! (Literally as "Hang Those Bastards Really High!" or "Hang'em High" in context).
• Happy Gilmore became Ore wa Tobashiya: Pro Golfer Gil (I'm a Hitter).
• Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together was renamed Buenos Aires
• When released in Japan, The Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night, as well as the album and song with that name, were renamed Beatles ga Yattekuru Yaa! Yaa! Yaa! ("The Beatles are Coming, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!") When the 2009 remastered versions of the band's albums came out, the album and song were changed back to "A Hard Day's Night."
• Hells Angels on Wheels became Explosion! Hells Angels.
• The Hideous Sun Demon became Sun Monster.
• Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers became Female Ripping Madness: Chainsaw Queen.
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is called "Micro Kids" since it would be difficult to translate the word "honey" in that context.
• Hoosiers became Shōri e no tabidachi ("A Journey to Victory").
• Horror Express became Zombie Express Bound to Hell.
• Horror of Dracula became Vampire Dracula.
• Horrors of War became Dead Man Soldiers.
• House of 1000 Corpses became Murder Ride Show.
• House of Usher became Usher's Tragedy.
• House on Haunted Hill (1959) became Room Leading to Hell.
• The Disney Channel Original Movie How To Build a Better Boy gets the purely simple Perfect Boy, despite the titular boy being an android.
• I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House became A Single Flower That Blooms in a Cursed House.
• I Spit on Your Grave became Estrus Animal.
• Idiocracy became 26-seiki Seinen (26th Century Young Man), with the title is a word play of 20th Century Boys.
• Il Giorno della Civetta got the horribly generic title Mafia.
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka became Golden Hero: Last Holy War.
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus became Doctor Parnassus no Kagami (The Mirror of Doctor Parnassus).
• The Invention of Lying became Uso Kara Hajimaru Koi to Shigoto no Seikoujutsu (Love and Work Success Techniques From Lies).
• Iron Sky: The Coming Race became Iron Sky: Dai San Teikoku no Gyakushuu (Iron Sky: The Third Reich Strikes Back).
• It Came from Beneath the Sea became Hydrogen Bomb and Deep Sea Monster.
• James Bond:
  • You Only Live Twice became 007 wa Ni-do Shinu ("007 Dies Twice"), probably due to a translation error.
  • Live and Let Die became 007 Shinu no wa Yatsurada ("007 They Are the Ones Who Die").
  • For Your Eyes Only dropped the "For", becoming 007 Your Eyes Only.
  • A View to a Kill becomes 007 Utsukushiki Emonotachi ("007 Beautiful Prey").
• Jawbreaker became Hard Candy, because jawbreakers are almost completely unknown in Japan.
• John Carpenter's Vampires became Vampire's Final Holy War.
• The Karate Kid (1984) becomes "Best Kid".
• Kick-Ass 2 became Kick-Ass: Justice Forever.
• King Arthur: Legend of the Sword became King Arthur: Seiken Musō (King Arthur: The Peerless Holy Sword)
• King of California became California Treasure.
• A Knight's Tale became Rock You!
• Kong: Skull Island became King Kong: Dokuro-tou no Kyoshin (King Kong: The Giant God of the Skull Island).
• The Lair of the White Worm became Ken Russell's White Snake Legend.
• The Last House on the Left became Fresh Blood Aesthetic.
• The Legend of Tarzan became Tarzan: REBORN.
• Let the Right One In became My Eli: 200 Year Old Girl.
• Liberal Arts became A Literary Lesson for Two People In Love.
• Life (1999) became Eddie & Martin no Tōsō Jinsei (Eddie & Martin's Getaway Life).
• Lifeforce (1985) is called Space Vampire, which is closer to the original novel's title, The Space Vampires.
• Like Water for Chocolate became Akai Bara Sauce no Densetsu (The Legend of the Red Rose Sauce), but only in the Japanese Netflix feed, as the home video versions doesn't have a dub and they use the original Spanish name instead (Como Agua Para Chocolate).
• The Losers (1970) became Hitting Rider Unit.
• Mad Max: Fury Road became Mad Max: Ikari no Death Road (Mad Max: Death Road of Fury).
• While the first film of The Maze Runner Series keeps its original name, the sequel changes the subtitle from "The Scorch Trials" to Sabaku no Meikyuu (The Desert Labyrinth)
• The Martian became Oddysey. Oddly enough, the original novel was named Kasei no Hito (Man of Mars, albeit context-wise speaking, it also could be translated as "The Martian" as well)
• Meet the Spartans became the much more imaginative Almost 300.
  • Following the same pattern, Vampires Suck became Almost Twilight.
• The Meg became MEG The Monster, while the titular monster's name is spelled as it in capital letter and in romaji, while the subtitle is spelled in katakana.
• A Million Ways to Die in the West became Kouya wa Tsurai yo 〜Arizona yori Ai wo Komete〜 (It's Tough to Live in the Wild West: From Arizona with Love). The Japanese name is both a very elaborated pun and a double reference: "Kouya wa Tsurai yo" can be also read as "Kouya Hatsurai yo" (It's a Wild West Outbreak), not to mention it's also a reference to a famous Japanese film series named Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's Tough to be a Man)^note Which, curiously enough, also featured scenes in Arizona., and the subtitle is an obvious reference of From Russia with Love.
• The film version of Mommie Dearest is called Ai to Nikushimi no Densetsu (愛と憎しみの伝説), meaning "The Legend of Love and Hate."
• Monster Brawl became Monster Tournament: World's Strongest Monster Deciding Match.
• The Monster That Challenged the World became Appearance of a Giant Monster.
• Leslie Nielsen's films, as in many countries, has more or less the same name but with a twist: Rather than being named with something related with Airplane!, the most famous movie he did, most of his films in Japanese are named with his name instead:
  • Dracula: Dead and Loving It became Leslie Nielsen no Dracula (Leslie Nielsen's Dracula).
  • Santa Who became Leslie Nielsen: Hadaka no Santa Claus (Leslie Nielsen: The Naked Santa Claus)^note Possibly named after The Naked Gun.
  • S.P.Q.R. 2000 e 1/2 Anni Fa, an Italian film when he starred, became Leslie Nielsen: Hadaka no Roma Teitoku (Leslie Nielsen: The Naked Roman Empire)
  • 2001: A Space Travesty became Leslie Nielsen no 2001-nen Uchuu he no Tabi (Leslie Nielsen's Travel to the Space in the Year 2001)
• The Most Dangerous Game became Bizarre Island.
• The first three The Muppets movies although starting from ''The Muppet Christmas Carol " the titles became more literal
  • ''The Muppet Movie -> "Muppet no yumemiru Hollywood" (The Muppets Dream of Hollywood)
  • The Great Muppet Caper -> "Muppet no dai bōken/ Hōseki dorobō o tsukamaero!" (The Muppets' Adventure/Catch That Jewel Thief!"
  • The Muppets Take Manhattan -> "Muppet mezase Broadway!" (The Muppets aim for Browadway!)
  • The exception to the "literal title translations" rule is ''Muppets Most Wanted" becoming "The Muppets 2: World Tour".
• Murder by Numbers (2002) became Kanzen Hansai Club (Complete Crime Club).
• The Naked Gun became The Man with the Naked Gun
• Nazi Overlord became Overlord Z.
• The New York Ripper became simply The Ripper.
• Night of the Demons (1988) became Evil Spirit House/Cursed Halloween Party.
• Night of the Scarecrow became simply The Scarecrow.
• Nightbreed became Midian.
• Nine Lives (2016) became Men In Cat, the name being a pun of Men in Black.
• Noises Off is known as Curtain Call
• The Notebook is called The Story of Reading About You. Which is a GIGANTIC spoiler as to the plot twist of the movie.
• Now You See Me became Grand Illusion. The sequel got the extra-subtitle of Miyaburareta Trick (Caught-out Trick)
• Once Upon a Time in the West is unironically called Western.
• Osmosis Jones is called Bacteria Wars.
• Out of Africa -> The End of Love and Sorrow
• The Outlaw Josey Wales became simply Outlaw.
• P 51 Dragon Fighters became Dragon of Nazis.
• The Parent Trap -> Family Game
• The Passion of Joan of Arc became Judgement Jeanne.
• The People Under the Stairs became Someone in the Wall.
• The Pianist -> Pianist on the Battlefield
• Pieces became Blood Pieces Devil's Chainsaw.
• Point Break (1991) has one of the weirder titles: "Heart Blue". What.
  • The 2015 film became X-Mission.
• The Prowler became Rosemary.
• Queen of the Damned became Queen of the Vampire.
• Raising Arizona became Aka-chan Dorobou (Baby Theft).
• Re-Animator is known as "ZOMBIO/Shiryō no Shitatari" ("ZOMBIO: Dripping Spirits"). The sequel drops the ZOMBIO title instead just making it a Numbered Sequel.
• The Reef became Red Coral Reef: Open Water.
• Reign of the Gargoyles became Gargoyle Troopers.
• Runaway became Future Police.
• The Running Man became Battle Runner.
• San Andreas became California Down.
• Savaged became Savage Killer.
• Scarecrows became Hell Ghost Devil's Scarecrow.
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World became Scott Pilgrim tai Jaaku na Moto Kare Gundan ("Scott Pilgrim vs. The Army of Evil Ex-Boyfriends").
• Season of the Witch became Devil Quest.
• Sense and Sensibility -> ''Always on Bright Days
• Shaft became Black Jaguar.
• The first Sharknado film keeps it original title, but the second film was named Sharknado: Category 2 and the third one is named Sharknado: Extreme Mission. Oddly enough, the Japanese title given to the second film in the TV version broadcasted by TV Tokyo was Sharknado: Same Taifuu Ni-gou (Sharknado: Shark Hurricane No. 2) being Same Taifuu a closer translation of the original English name in Japanese.
• The Shawshank Redemption became Shawshank's Sky.
• Shot Caller became Blood Throne.
• Silent Night, Deadly Night became Devil's Santa Claus Slaughter Ax.
• Sisters (1973) became Devil's Sister.
• Skin Trade became Battle Heat.
• Film/Sleight became Infinite.
• Snakes on a Plane became Snake Flight.
• Solo (1996) became Cyber Soldier.
• The Sons of Katie Elder became Elder Brothers.
• The 1957 movie The Spirit of St. Louis became Oh Wings! That is the Light of Paris.
• While the original Space Jam retained its original name in Japanese, its sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, became Space Players.
• SS Doomtrooper became Cyborg Soldier.
• The Stepfather became W/Double.
• Stranger Than Fiction became I Was the Main Character.
• Striptease became Sugao no Mama de (Just The Way You Are).
• Sucker Punch became Angel Wars.
• A Tale of Two Sisters became Chest of Drawers.
• Tales of Halloween became Halloween 2016.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows became Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Kage ("Kage" means "shadow(s)" and it's written as such in furigana.)
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) became Akuma no Ikenie ("The Devil's Sacrifice").
• That's My Boy became Ore no Musuko (My Son). The Japanese title is notable because the word for "son" (musuko) is written in katakana (ムスコ) rather than kanji (息子), which both implies the protagonist father is not very smart.^note Katakana is normally used for writing foreign names and words, but is also used as a part of Katagoto, giving a sense of illiteracy (or stupidity in this case), but is also—fittingly for a sex comedy—a slang term for the male genitalia.
• The Italian film They Call Me Jeeg, who is a sort of tribute of Kotetsu Jeeg, is obviously named Minna wa kou Yonda Kotetsu Jeeg who can be translated literally as it, or also as Everybody Calls Me Kotetsu Jeeg.
• This Means War (2012) became Black & White.
• The Thing (1982) became Form X from the Wandering Planet.
• This Island Earth is known as Uchū Suibakusen (Space Hydrogen Wars).
• Thor: Ragnarok became Mighty Thor: Battle Royal.
• ¡Three Amigos! became Saboten Brothers (Cactus Brothers)
• The Three Stooges became San-baka Taisho (The Three Stupid Generals). The 2012 film became Shin San-baka Taisho: The Movie (The New Three Stupid Generals: The Movie).
• Tigers Are Not Afraid became Mommy.
• Tomb Raider (2018) became Tomb Raider: First Mission.
• Tombs of the Blind Dead became The Zombie: Awakening of the Knights of the Dead.
• Torso became Shadowless Horny Beast.
• The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism became Pendulum.
• The Toxic Avenger became Devil's Poisonous Monster.
• Trainwreck became Amy, Amy, Amy! Kojirase Single Life no Nudashi-kata (How to Get Out of a Complicated Single Life).
• Train to Busan became Shinkansen: Final Express (Bullet Train: Final Express^note The title is a pun, since Shinkansen is written as 新感染, which means "new infection".)
• 12 Years a Slave became Soredemo Yo wa Akeru (roughly translated as "And Yet, The Night is Dawning")
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets became Valerian: Sen no Wakusei no Kyuuseishu (Valerian: The Savior of the Thousand Planets).
• The Video Dead became Zombie Channel.
• War Witch became A Girl Called a Witch.
• We Are Marshall became Māsharu no Kiseki (Marshall's Miracle).
• We Are Still Here became The Eating House.
• What Keeps You Alive became Demon Inside.
• What We Do in the Shadows became Share House with Vampires.
• White Chicks became Saikyou Josou Keikaku (Most Ominous Crossdressing Plan).
• Wicked Little Things became 100 Years Later.
• Wild became Watashi ni Au Made no 1600 Km. (Roughly translated as "1600 Km. to Meet Me")
• Winchester became Winchester House: America de Mottomo Nowareta Yashiki (Winchester House: America's Most Cursed Residence).
• The Wizard became Sweet Road.
• Would You Rather became Die or Kill.
• The Wraith became Jyokei Rider (Executer Rider), a word play from Kamen Rider.
• Wrestlemaniac became Death Mask.
• Wyrmwood became Zombie Max! Angry Death Zombie.
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno became Ai suru Porno Grafitti (A Lovely Porno Grafitti), with "Porno Grafitti" being a double reference with both the original English title and the Japanese rock band of the same name.
• Zelig became Chameleon Man.
• Zombie Wars became War of the Dead.

Literature

• Anne of Green Gables becomes Red-Haired Anne.
• The Blue Lagoon becomes The Blue Coral Reef.
• A Brother's Price becomes Welcome to the Kingdom of Women. It even receives an Animesque cover illustration as if it's a light novel.
• Cal Leandros:
  • The series is named after the first novel Nightlife, titled Yoru ni Samayou Mono (夜に彷徨うもの, "Those Who Wander in the Night").
  • Moonshine is titled Tsukikage no Wana (月影の罠, "Trap of the Moonlight").
  • Madhouse is titled Chi no Kyōen (血の饗宴, "Feast of Blood").
  • Deathwish is titled Yami no Kōka (闇の劫火, "Apocalyptic Fire of Darkness").
• The Count of Monte Cristo was rather infamously imported in 1901 as The King of the Cavern, An Historical Tale From Beyond History, a title that doesn't have much to do with anything but sounds really cool. Notably, despite later translations restoring the same title as every other region, Japanese adaptations of the story often see a "Cavern King" creep back in, one way or another. It's both the title and a plot point in Gankutsuou, for instance.
• The Japanese titles of the Disney Fairies chapter books are usually pretty close to the original English, but sometimes they're completely different. For example, "The Trouble with Tink" is "Tinker Bell's Secret", "Iridessa, Lost at Sea" is "Iridessa and Tink's Big Adventure", "Tink, North of Neverland", is "Tinker Bell and Terence", and "Dulcie's Taste of Magic" is "Dulcie's Happiness Cake".
• The Clever Princess was published in Japan under the title of Arete Hime no Bōken (アリーテ姫の冒険, "The Adventures of Princess Arete").
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince became Harry Potter and the Mysterious Prince. Fushigi (mysterious) is a common word for a Japanese title.
• The Earthsea series was renamed Gedo Senki (The Chronicles of Ged). Studio Ghibli's anime adaptation would keep this title for the film.
• As The Other Wiki points out, the Japanese word Monogatari (物語) meaning tale or story, is often used in foreign translations of book titles:
  • The Lord of the Rings became Yubiwa Monogatari (roughly "Tale of the Rings") when it was released in Japanese (the films retain the English title however). The Silmarillion is likewise Silmaril no Monogatari.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird became Alabama Monogatari (Alabama Story).
• While the novel A Song of Ice and Fire has its title translated literally to Japanese (Koori to Honoo no Uta), the sequels had different names there:
  • A Game of Thrones became Nana-oukoku no Gyokuza (The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms)
  • A Clash of Kings became Ourou-tachi no Senki (The Battle Flag of the Wolf Kings)
  • A Storm of Swords became Kenran no Daichi (The Land of the Stormy Swords)
  • A Feast for Crows became Ran'u no Kyouen (The Feast of the Rebel Crows)
  • A Dance with Dragons became Ryuu-tono no Butou (The Dance of the Dragon Lords)
  • The Winds of Winter became Fuyu no Kyoufuu (The Raging Winds of Winter)^note Kyoufuu (狂風) sounds very similar like the Japanese word for Fear (恐怖) so the title also could sound like Winter of Fear.
  • The Hedge Knight was originally named Hourou no Kishi (The Wandering Knight), but it was changed to Kusabushi no Kishi (The Grasshopper Knight) for some reason.
• His Dark Materials is titled Lyra's Adventure over in Japanese.
• The Discworld series became Amazing World, albeit only for the animated adaptation, as the books keeps the original name in English.
  • The animated adaptation of The Colour of Magic is named Amazing World: Yuushi no Kikan (Amazing World: The Return of the Hero), possibly a word play from the last book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, named The Return of the King. The book, on the other hand, was named Discworld Soudouki (Discworld Riot Chronicles)
  • Equal Rites became Madoushi Eskarina (Eskarina The Wizard)
  • Wyrd Sisters became San-nin no Majou (The Three Witches)
  • Reaper Man became Kariire (Harvest)
  • Small Gods became Itanjinmon (The Inquisition)
• The Hobbit became Hobbit no Bouken (A Hobbit's Adventure) for the original novel, but the films are named as Hobbit instead.
  • While the first movie's subtitle was translated literally from English, the last two films has different titles in Japanese:
    • The Desolation of Smaug became Ryuu ni Ubawareta Oukoku (Roughly translated as "The Stoled Dragon Kingdom")
    • The Battle of the Five Armies became Kessen no Yukue (The Outcome of the Final Battle)
• Where's Wally? became Wally o Sagase! (Find Wally!)
• The Call and Other Stories became Mayonaka no Denwa (Midnight Phone Call)
• The Catcher in the Rye has many different names in Japanese across the years, because the translators were trying to figuring out how to effectively translate the name of the book: The first Japanese translation, published in 1952, was named Kiken na Nenrei (Dangerous Years). Another translation, published in 1964, was translated as Rye-mugibata de Tsukamaete (To Catch Something in the Rye, a more or less literal translation of the title), and yet another translation published in 1967 translated the title as Rye-mugibata no Hoshu (an even more literal translation, this time keeping the baseball term in the translation) and finally in 2003, it seems the Japanese translators gave up and decided to keep the English name written in katakana instead. (キャッチャー・イン・ザ・ライ) Oddly enough, the Japanese Wikipedia article about the book uses the 1964 title instead, rather than the modern one.
• The Honorverse:
  • On Basilisk Station became Shin Kanchou Chakunin! (A New Battleship Captain Has Arrived!)
  • The Honor of the Queen became Grayson Koubousen (The Battle of Grayson)
  • The Short Victorious War became Nadasenkan (Naiki) Shutsugeki! (Open Sea Battleship (Traditional) Sortie!)
  • Field of Dishonor became Fukushuu no Joukanchou (The Revenge of a (female) Battleship Captain)
  • Flag in Exile became Kouchou-gun Teitoku Harrington (Space Army Admiral Harrington)
• Rendezvous with Rama became Uchu no Rendezvous (Space of Rendezvous).
• The Enemy Papers became Waga Tomo naru Teki (The Enemy is My Friend, or more accurately, Enemy Mine). Ironically enough, the film based in the novella was renamed in Japanese as Dai Go Wakusei (The Fifth Planet).
• The whole Redwall saga is named Redwall Densetsu (The Legend of Redwall), albeit each book has different names:
  • Redwall became Yuusha no Ken (The Sword of the Hero)
  • Mossflower became Mossflower no Mori (Mossflower Forest)
  • Mattimeo became Chiisana Senshi Mattimeo (Mattimeo the Small Warrior)
  • Mariel of Redwall became Umi kara Kita Mariel (Mariel who Came out From the Sea)
• The Fault in Our Stars (both the novel and the film) became Kitto, Hoshi no Sei ja nai- translated as both "Surely, Don't Blame it to the Stars" or context-wise as You Cannot Blame it to Fate, For Sure, due to the East Asian belief that the fate of a person is already predestined and you cannot change it, in this case could be the main character having cancer.
• Captain Underpants (both the books and the movie) became Super Hero Pants Man, being also the name of the eponymous character in the Japanese version.
• A Dog's Purpose (both the book and the movie) became Boku no Wonderful Life (My Wonderful Life). The name itself is a bilingual pun, as the word "wonderful" pronounced phonetically in Japanese sounds like "wan-da-fu-ru", being "wan" the Japanese onomatopeia for a dog's bark, but also a childish slang for a dog as well. Taking this into context, the name can be also translated as "My Wonderful Dog's Life". The sequel does the same and now it was named as Boku no Wonderful Journey (My Wonderful Journey).
• Ready Player One became Game Wars, but only for the book, as the film based in the book retains the original English name.
• Warrior Cats became just Warriors, albeit each book had different names:
  • Into the Wild became Firepaw, Yasei ni Kaeru (Firepaw, Return to the Wild)
  • Fire and Ice became Firepaw, Senshi ni Naru (Firepaw, Become a Warrior)
  • Forest of Secrets became Fireheart no Tatakai (The Battle of Fireheart)
  • Rising Storm became Fireheart no Chousen (The Challenge of Fireheart)
  • A Dangerous Path became Fireheart no Kiki (Fireheart's Crisis)
  • The Darkest Hour became Fireheart no Tabidachi (Fireheart's Journey)
• The Witcher became Mahou Kishi Geralt (Magic Knight Geralt). The videogames and TV series keeps the English name instead.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (both the novel and the film) became Greg no Dame Nikki (Greg's Useless Diary).
• The Worst Witch is an odd case: The franchise is named in Japanese with the original English name, but the books and the 2017 TV series, which was the only TV adaptation dubbed to Japanese, uses the official name Majou Gakkou (Witch School) instead:
  • The Worst Witch (the very first book) was named Majou Gakkou no Ichinensei (The Witch School's First Year Student)
  • The Worst Witch Strikes Again became Majou Gakkou no Tenkousei (The Witch School's Transfer Student)
  • A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch became Doji Majou Mil no Daidekara (The Great Achievement of the Clumsy/Worst Witch Mil), being "Mil" the Japanese name for Mildred.
  • The Worst Witch all At Sea became Majou Gakkou, Umi he Iku (The Witch School goes to the Sea)
  • The 2017 TV series became Mildred no Majou Gakkou (Mildred's Witch School). Unlike the books, Mildred retains her original name in the Japanese dub.
• Song of the Lioness became Onna Kishi Alanna (Lady Knight Alanna)
• First Blood (the book, not the film) became Hitori Dake no Guntai (lit. One-Man Army)
• Of Mice and Men became Hatsuka Nezumi to Ningen (Twenty-Day Mouse and Human)

Live-Action TV

• Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace is 如懿伝 〜紫禁城に散る宿命の王妃〜 (Nyōi Den ~Shikinjō ni Chiru Shukumei no Ōhi~), meaning roughly "Ruyi's Legend ~The Destined Queen Fallen in the Forbidden City~".
• The Glamorous Imperial Concubine is 傾城の皇妃 〜乱世を駆ける愛と野望〜 (Keisei no Kouhi ~Ransei wo Kakeru Ai to Yabou~), meaning roughly "The Beautiful Empress ~Love and Ambition in a Turbulent World~".
• Bewitched is known in Japanese as The Wife is a Witch (奥さまは魔女, Oku-Sama wa Majo).
• Chips became Shiro-Bi Yarou Jon & Ponch (Motorcycle Police Guys Jon & Ponch) "Shiro-Bi" is a Japanese shorthand for a motorcycle used for law-enforcing use, in this case it stands for "Shiro(i) Bi(ke)" (White Bike, because most motorcycles used for police use are painted white).
• Cory in the House became Cory: White House de Chō Taihen! (Cory: Super Big Trouble in the White House!)
• Deadliest Catch became Bēringu umi no ikkakusenkin (Rush of Money in the Bering Sea).
• Even Stevens became Otoboke Stevens Ikka (The Innocent-Playing Stevens Family).
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was called Quiz $ Millionaire, though the original title is also used in its logo.
• George Takei once joked that the Japanese title of Star Trek was "Sulu, Master of Navigation", which isn't true but is kinda funny. The actual Japanese title of TOS was 宇宙大作戦, meaning "Space Campaign". And Sulu was renamed "Katou" in the Japanese version anyway.
• My So-Called Life became Angela 15-sai no Hibi (15-Year-Old Angela's Days).
• Game of Thrones keeps the original name in English in the Japanese version, but for some odd reason they gave each season a subtitle when the seasons in the original English version are nameless instead (Probably as a homage to the Japanese titles of the novels):
  • The first season is Nana-oukoku Senki (Chronicles of the Seven Kingdoms)
  • The second one is Oukoku no Gekitou (Clash of the Kingdoms)
  • The third and fourth seasons are Senran no Arashi: Senben (third)/Kouhen (fourth) (Storm of War: Prequel/Sequel)
  • The fifth and sixth seasons uses the Japanese names of A Dance of Dragons and The Winds of Winter respectively. (see above for details)
  • The seventh season is named after the Japanese translation of the original book A Song of Ice and Fire (again, see above for details).
  • The eighth and final season is named "Saishuushou" (The Final Episode) because there's no official Japanese translation for the last planned book, "A Dream of Spring".
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Japanese was (roughly) "Buffy 〜 Loving Cross" to emphasize the romantic elements.
• The Italian/Spaniard TV film Imperium: Nerone becomes Nero: The Dark Emperor. Yes, the Japanese title is in English.
• Walker, Texas Ranger became Honoo no Texas Ranger (Burning Texas Ranger)
• Bear in the Big Blue House became Nokku! Nokku! Youkoso Bear House (Knock! Knock! Welcome to the Bear House)
• Get Smart became Soreyuke! Smart (roughly as Let's Go! Smart). The film retains the same name in English though.
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. became 0011 Napoleon Solo.
• Switched at Birth became "Switch ~A Quirk of Fate~". The DVD boxsets do include the original title though.
• Murder, She Wrote became Jessica Obasan no Jikenbo (Auntie Jessica's Case Files).
• Freaks and Geeks became Freaks Gakuen (Freaks Academy).
• Mission: Impossible became Spy Daisakusen (Operation Spy).
• Smallville became Young Superman.
• MythBusters became Ayashii Densetsu (Dubious Legends, albeit in-context it could also mean "Dubious Myths")
• Danger 5 became Kiken Sentai Danger 5: Ware wa Teki wa Soutou Heika (Danger Squadron Danger 5: Our Enemy is the Fuhrer). The name is a very obvious reference of the Super Sentai franchise.
• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina became Sabrina: Dark Adventure.
• Locked Up (Vis a Vis in Spanish) came Lock Up: Spain Joshi Keimu-sho (Lock Up: Spain's Prison for Women). The title shares the same title, both in English and phonetic Japanese, with the Sylvester Stallone's film Lock Up, hence the subtitle. By sheer coincidence (or not) both the Spaniard TV series and the Stallone's film are about the main character being sent to prison.
• Red Dwarf became Uchuu-sen Red Dwarf-go (Spaceship Red Dwarf).
• Seinfeld became Tonari no Seinfeld (My Neighbor Seinfeld).
• Whiskey Cavalier became Codename: Whiskey Cavalier - Futari wa Saikyo Spy (subtitle translated as "The Most Powerful Spying Duo")
• The Worst Witch became Mildred no Majou Gakkou (Mildred's Witch School), when "Majou Gakkou" is the official Japanese name of the franchise.
• Forged in Fire became Touken no Tetsujin (Ironmen of Swords), which is a reference to the original Japanese title of Iron Chef (Ryouri no Tetsujin, Ironmen of Cooking) — as both shows basically require turning in complete blades/dishes based around a theme within a given time limit.
• The Banana Splits became Manga Great Adventure! Slapstick 30 Minutes
• Imagination Movers became Let's Play! Imagination Movers
• Cursed (2020) became Nimue: Erabareshi Shoujo (Nimue: The Chosen Girl).
• The Big Bang Theory gained the Either/Or Title of Big Bang ★ Theory / Geek na Bokura no Renai Housoku (Big Bang ★ Theory / Geeky Love Law)
• Servant of the People became Kokumin no Shimobe/国民の僕. While the Japanese name means the same thing as the international title and the Ukranian name, the name is a rather elaborated pun, depending of the reading of the kanji of "shimobe", since it can be also read as "Kokumin no Boku", being "boku" a Japanese pronoun used for both younger people and also to indicate humbleness, as well as being used by the main protagonist in the Japanese translation when talking to his family and close friends.

Music

• In the 60's and 70's it was common practice in Japan to rename songs and albums, presumably because the (mostly English) original titles were considered too hard to pronounce for the average Japanese. Some examples:
  • Mary Hopkin, "Those Were the Days" → "Kanashiki Tenshi" (Angel of Sadness)
  • The Rolling Stones, "Fool To Cry" → "Orokamono no Namida" (The Tears of the Foolish One)
  • The Beatles, "I Should Have Known Better" from A Hard Day's Night → "Koisuru Futari" (Couple in Love)
  • Pink Floyd, "A Saucerful Of Secrets" (both the album and its title track) → "Shinpi" (Mystery)
  • Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon → Kyōki (Madness), which is at least pretty apt
  • Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" → "Aoi Kage" (Blue Shadow)
  • Olivia Newton-John, "Have You Never Been Mellow" → "Soyokaze no Yuuwaku" (Temptation of the Breeze)
  • Carpenters, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" → "Harukanaru Kage" (A Faraway Shadow)
  • Carpenters, "For All We Know" → "Futari no Chikai" (Our Vow)
  • Carpenters, "It's Going to Take Some Time" → "Chiisana Ai no Negai" (Wishing for a Little Love)
  • Carpenters, "Let Me Be the One" → "Anata no Kage ni Naritai" (I Want to Be Your Shadow)
  • Carpenters, "We've Only Just Begun" → "Ai no Prelude" (Prelude to Love)
  • Carpenters, "I Need to Be in Love" → "Seishun no Kagayaki" (Brilliance of Youth)
  • Herman's Hermits / Carpenters, "There's a Kind of Hush" → "Mitsumeau Koi" (Staring Love)
  • Carpenters, "I Won't Last a Day Without You" → "Ai wa Yume no Naka ni" (Love Is in a Dream)
  • The Miracles, "Waldo Roderick DeHammersmith" → "Chainataun no Yūrei" (The Ghost of Chinatown)
  • Eric Carmen, "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" → "Koi ni No Touch" (No Touch in Love)
• Bon Jovi, Slippery when Wet → Wild in the Streets
• Air Supply, "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" → "Nagisa no Chikai" (A Vow at the Shore)
• Air Supply, "Just As I Am" → "Shiokaze no Love Call" (Sea Breeze Love Call)
• Air Supply, "Two Less Lonely People in the World" → "Yoake no Futari" (Couple at Dawn)
• Air Supply, "The One That You Love" → "Seaside Love"
• Air Supply, "I'll Never Get Enough Of You" → "Anata no Inai Asa" (Morning Without You)
• Air Supply, "Even The Nights Are Better" → "Sayonara Lonely Love" (Goodbye, Lonely Love)
• Sneaker, "More Than Just the Two of Us" → "Omoide no Sneaker" (Memory's Sneakers)

Tabletop Games

• 15 Love became Portable Table Tennis.

Toys

• Stretch Armstrong became Mister X.
• Hasbro's Yellow Tail Funny Car became Mach Rider, which was manufactured by Nintendo during their toy-making days in Japan. They latter recycled the name for a related game years later on the NES.
  • Likewise, another Hasbro toy manufactured in Japan by Nintendo, Ricochet Racers, became Shotracer there.
• Milton Bradley's Merlin was released by Tomy as Dr. Smith.

Video Games

• It was planned for Perfect Dark to have its name changed to Red and Black, but they didn't go with it and kept its original name.
• While it still carried its original license, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES became Geki Kame Ninja Den (Fierce Turtle Ninja Legend). This was before the Japanese dubs of the cartoons and films were made (Which in turn, when it was time to dub the franchise, got the simple Mutant Turtles), since sequels kept the original American moniker in Japanese.
• The Japanese releases of Crash Bandicoot games usually had their titles changed, the result is part this, part The Foreign Subtitle. Notably, they always keep the "Bandicoot" in them, The Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity are considered Crash 4 and Crash 5 respectively, and the Game Boy Advance games received the Super Title 64 Advance treatment.
  • Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back -> Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex no Gyakushu ("Cortex's Counterattack", a somewhat accurate translation)
  • Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped -> Crash Bandicoot 3: Buttobi! Sekai Isshu ("Surprise! Around-The-World Trip")
  • Crash Team Racing -> Crash Bandicoot Racing
  • Crash Bash -> Crash Bandicoot Carnival
  • Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex -> Crash Bandicoot 4: Sakuretsu! Majin Power ("Explosion! Evil Power")
  • Crash Nitro Kart -> Crash Bandicoot: Bakuso! Nitro Kart ("Let's Go! Nitro Kart!")
  • Crash Twinsanity -> Crash Bandicoot 5: Crash & Cortex no Yabou?!? ("The Ambition of Crash and Cortex?!?")
  • Crash Tag Team Racing -> Crash Bandicoot: Gacchanko World
  • Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure -> Crash Bandicoot Advance
  • Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced -> Crash Bandicoot Advance 2: Guruguru Saimin Dai Panic!? ("Spinning Hypnosis Great Panic!?!?")
  • Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage -> Crash Bandicoot Advance: Wakuwaku Tomodachi Daisakusen ("Exciting Friendly Mission!")
  • Crash Boom Bang! -> Crash Bandicoot Festival^note Actually an inversion, since this game was developed in Japan
  • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy -> Crash Bandicoot: Buttobi San-dan Mori! ("Surprise Triple Serving!")
  • Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time -> Crash Bandicoot 4: Tondemo Multiverse ("Outrageous Multiverse"). Yes, there are two games called Crash Bandicoot 4 in Japanese.
• PowerSlave became Seireki 1999: Pharaoh no Fukkatsu ("Year 1999 A.D.: Return of the Pharaoh").
• A Boy and His Blob became Fushigi na Blobby ("Mysterious Blobby").
• Lester the Unlikely became Odekake Lester: Lelele no Le (^^; (yes, the emoticon appears to be part of the title), a pun on a Catchphrase from Tensai Bakabon.
• Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition became Carmen Sandiego o Oe! (Pursue Carmen Sandiego!), while Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego was named Carmen Sandiego o Sagase! (Find Carmen Sandiego!) instead.
• The Binding of Isaac Rebirth became Isaac no Densetsu Rebirth (The Legend of Isaac Rebirth). Even the logo◊ is a parody of the Japanese logo for◊ The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
• Crackdown became Riot Act.
• Faceball 2000 had an unreleased Virtual Boy conversion called Niko-chan Battle. Other versions of the game were not retitled in Japanese.
• Rolo to the Rescue became Zou! Zou! Zou! Rescue Daisakusen ("Elephant! Elephant! Elephant! Rescue Operation").
• Catlateral Damage became Nyankorateral Damage. (Nyanko being a endearment term for a cat in Japan.)
• The Famicom version of Uninvited became Akuma no Shōtaijō ("The Devil's Invitation").
• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain became Kain the Vampire.
• Jet Force Gemini became Star Twins.
• Pandemonium! (1996) became Magical Hoppers, whilst the sequel Pandemonium 2 became Miracle Jumpers.
• The Neverhood became Klaymen Klaymen: Neverhood no Nazo (Klaymen Klaymen: Mystery of the Neverhood).
• Skullmonkeys became Klaymen Klaymen 2: Skullmonkey no Gyakushuu (Klaymen Klaymen 2: The Skullmonkeys Strike Back).
• Spyro the Dragon: Not many games were released in Japan, but, of the ones that were, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! became Spyro x Sparx: Tondemo Tours, and Spyro: Season of Ice became Spyro Advance.
• Viva Piñata became Atsumare! Piñata, with "atsumare" meaning "gather".
• Wizards & Warriors became Densetsu no Kishi Elrond (Legendary Knight Elrond).
• Equinox became Solstice II.
• Donkey Kong Country became Super Donkey Kong.
• Turok 2: Seeds of Evil became Violence Killer: Turok New Generation.
• Best of the Best: Championship Karate became The Kick Boxing on the Game Boy and Mega Drive, and Super Kick Boxing on the Super Famicom.
• Ecco: The Tides of Time became Ecco the Dolphin 2.
• Risky Woods became Jashin Draxos (Evil God Draxos).
• The visual novel Murder by Numbers is titled Pazuru Tantei SCOUT (パズル探偵スカウト, lit. "Puzzle Detective SCOUT") in Japanese.
• FMV game Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy became DeathMask.
• Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey became ABE a GOGO.
• For Gex, the first game's title was completely untouched... but its sequel, Enter The Gecko, got renamed to Spin Tail.
• The Russian-made official expansion to POSTAL 2 originally named Штопор ЖжОт! (Corkscrew RuLes!) was retitled ポスタル２ ロシアより愛をこめて (POSTAL 2: Roshia Yori Ai wo Komete, POSTAL 2: From Russia with Love).
• WWE Video Games, starting from WWF SmackDown were renamed Exciting Pro Wrestling (with numbered sequels) until WWE Smack Down vs Raw 2007 which retained its worldwide name.

Western Animation

• The 7D became Hi Ho 7D
• Aladdin: The Series became Aladdin's Great Adventure
• The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan became Buntai no sugoi Chan (Great Squad Chan).
• The Amazing World of Gumball became Okashina Gumball (Strange Gumball).
• Amphibia became Land of Wonders Amphibia.
• As Told by Ginger became Ginger no Seishun Nikki (Ginger's Youth Diary).
• Babar and the Adventures of Badou became Elephant Babar ~Badou's Great Adventure~
• The Backyardigans became Sing x 3 ♪ We, Backyardigans!
• Birdman (1967) became Electronic Birdman U-Bird
• Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels became Mukumuku Oyaji to Gōgō Musume (Hairy Father and Go-Go Daughter)
• The Chicken Squad became Kaiketsu! Team Chicken
• Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers became Chip and Dale's Great Strategy
• Clarence became Boku wa Clarence! (I'm Clarence!).
• Codename: Kids Next Door became KND: Hachamecha Daisakusen (KND: The Great Nonsensical Operations).
• Count Duckula morphed into Ahiru no Obake Duckula (Duck Shapeshifter Duckula).
• Courage the Cowardly Dog became Okubyō na Courage-kun (Cowardly Courage-kun).
• Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines became Sukaikiddoburakku maō (Skykid Black Demon King).
• Dead End: Paranormal Park became Deddo endo: Yōkoso! Okaruto yuenchi e (Dead End: Welcome! To the Occult Amusement Park)
• Disenchantment became Mahou ga Tokete (The Magic Got Broken)
• Doc McStuffins became Doc wa Omocha Doctor (Doc is a Toy Doctor).
• DuckTales (1987) became Wanpaku Duck Yume Bouken (Rascally Duck Dream Adventure). Later on, its original title was used for both the original and the 2017 reboot.
• Ewoks became Ewok Monogatari (Ewok Story).
• Averted with the title for F is for Family, its title is ''F wa Family no F'' (F is Family's F).
• The Fairly OddParents! became Oops! Fairy Parents.
• The Flintstones became Primitive Family Flinstone
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was shortened to Foster's Home
• Goof Troop became Papa wa Goofy (My Daddy is Goofy).
• Hailey's On It! became Ya Nara Kya! Hailey (Gotta Do It! Hailey).
• The Hair Bear Bunch became Kuma-kun torio dai dassō (Bear Trio Great Escape).
• The Herculoids became Monster King Targan
• Higglytown Heroes became Everyone is a Hero! ~Higglytown Friends~
• The Hillbilly Bears became じゃじゃ熊一家 (Jaja Kuma Ikka). This is a pun on "jajauma," which means something along the lines of "wild," and "kuma," the Japanese word for a bear. So this title would roughly translate to Wild Bear Family.
• Inside Job (2021) became Inbou-ron no Oshigoto ("Conspiracy Theory Job").
• The Jetsons became Space Family Jetson
• Josie And The Pussy Cats became Dora-Dora Ko-neko Chako-Chako Musume (Dora-Dora Kitten and Chako-Chako Daughter). Chako is Josie's name in the Japanese dub, by the way.
• My Friends Tigger & Pooh became Together with Pooh
• My Gym Partner's a Monkey became Classmate wa Monkey (Classmate is a Monkey).
• The Octonauts became Advance! Octonauts
• Oswald became Hello! Oswald, with 'Hello' written in Gratuitous English.
• Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures became Pac-World.
• PB&J Otter became Kawauso Family (Otter Family).
• The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder became Zenryoku! Puraudofamirī (Full Power! Proud Family)
• Puppy Dog Pals became Pug Pug Adventures
• Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja became Gakuen NINJA Randy (School NINJA Randy) The NINJA part is in romaji and capital letters in the Japanese dub.
• Recess became Recess ~Our Break Time~
• Regular Show became Regyurā shō 〜 kori nai 2-ri 〜 (Regular SHOW ~The Two Who Never Learn The Hard Way~). Yes, the SHOW part is written in all caps and in English.
• Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling became Rocko no Modern Life: Hi-Tech na NiJuuIchi-Seiki (Translated, roughly and contextually, as "Rocko's Modern Life: The Very Technologically Advanced 21th Century")
• Scaredy Squirrel became Bikkuri Scary (Surprised Scary).
• Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! became Yowamushi Kuruppa (Scaredy-Cat or Cowardly Crooper), the Japanese dub name for Scooby-Doo.
  • The New Scooby-Doo Movies became Shin Yowamushi Kuruppa, shin meaning "new".
• Shazzan became Great Satan Shazzan
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power became She-Ra to Princess Senshi (She-Ra and the Warrior Princesses)
• Sofia the First became Chiisana Princess Sofia (Little Princess Sofia), with the Princess part in Romaji.
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil became Akuma Bustaa Star Butterfly (Demon Buster Star Butterfly).
• T.O.T.S. became Tots Tobe! I Want to Get the Baby.
• The Transformers was released in Japanese under two titles. The first two seasons were known as Fight! Super Robot Life-form Transformer, while the third became Transformers 2010. Transformers: Prime would latter be aired in Japanese with the "Fight! Super Robot Life-form" prefix added at the beginning of the title.
  • In the Beast era, they do include the "Super Robot Life-form" part before Beast Wars (season 1), Beast Wars Metals (seasons 2 and 3) and Beast Machines (Which did get a new title: "Beast Wars Returns").
• Trolls: The Beat Goes On! becomes Trolls: Sing Dance Hug!
• TUGS became Ganbare Tugs (Good Luck Tugs).
• Uncle Grandpa became Ohaiyou! Uncle Grandpa (Good Morning! Uncle Grandpa).
• Underdog became Ultrawan-chan (Ultra-Pup), the name being a reference to Ultraman. The live-action film was named Tetsu-wan Underdog (Steel Dog Underdog) being both a reference to Astroboy (Tetsuwan Atom, translated as Mighty Atom) and Superman.
• Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production become Bugs: (A) Looney Tunes Production possibly because the word wabbit is normally translated as Uhagi in the Japanese dub by Elmer Fudd as a Woolseyism from Usagi (rabbit). Oddly enough, the Japanese name is the same one used in the Italian dub. Due to the name change since the second season, the Japanese name was accordingly changed to Shin Looney Tunes.
• Wacky Races became Chiki Chiki Machine: Mou Race (Chitty Chitty Machine: Extreme Race).
• Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? became Kaitou Carmen Sandiego (Phantom Thief Carmen Sandiego).

Other

• Just like in Spanish, U.S. Memorial Day is translated differently in Japanese, as it's translated as Senbotsu Shohei Tsuitou Kinenbi. (Literally as "Day of Mourning The (Military) Officers Who Died in Combat") Keep in mind Japanese is a very contextual language that requires normally the complete context of a complete phrase. This is an very stark contrast with other East Asian languages based in the Chinese alphabet, like Korean (who is normally kept the name from English, only written in Korean alphabet) and Chinese (translated as simply as "Day of the Dead Soldiers", who is technically the same thing)
• 20th Century Studios / 20th Century Fox is probably one of the few American studios whose name is different in Japanese, despite the translated name stands for the same thing, as it's normally translated as 20 (NiJu, Japanese for 20)-Seiki Fox/Studios rather than using the Century part transliterated to katakana, probably to make the name of the studio easier to pronounce in Japanese. The same thing is applied towards their former owners, 21th Century Fox (21 (NiJuIchi)-Seiki Fox).
• A very odd case happens with the translation to Japanese of Senegalese Wrestling, the traditional fighting sport of that country, and overlapping with both Woolseyism and Cultural Translation of sorts: Rather than translating the name literally from either English, Serer (Njom), or French (Lutte sénégalaise), the name of the sport is translated as "Senegalese Sumo", due to the similarities between Senegalese wrestling and its Japanese counterpart. Even Senegalese wrestlers are referred to in Japanese as Rikishi, the Japanese term for a sumo wrestler, instead of using the term "wrestler" in English. Keep in mind unlike either Sumo and its Asian cousins, the Korean Ssireum and Mongolian wrestling, the Senegalese version is not related of neither of them in any way.
  • This is not exclusive from that sport: There's a equivalent in Spain, more precisely in the Canary Islands, named "Lucha Canaria", who is also named in Japanese as "Canarian Sumo". Unlike the Senegalese counterpart, the Spanish name is kept as such in Japanese.

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