Saki 咲希
 

Why has Oroku Saki a female name in his name?
Saki: 咲 (sa) "blossom" and 希 (ki) "hope".

Probably for much the same reason a lot of the "Japanese" stuff in TMNT is a little bit askew. Kev and Pete simply didn't research it all that deeply and probably just went with something that "sounded good". That's what I figure.

This. The anime tried to fix that a little by calling him Sawaki instead.

Any chance at all they were just getting baked and cribbing stuff off of the menu from the local Noodle House? I kind of want to believe that. :P

How do you know it was written that way? It could be written"さき" or "サキ"・:P

Not to be racially insensitive, but I'm genuinely amazed that anyone can make heads or tails out of all those squiggly lines and interpret them as words. :lol:

Carry on.

Maybe his parents wanted a girl. And then with his behavior ended up not at all the 'hope' his parents hoped for. lol No wonder he's so angry.

The Cantonese dub had Oroku Saki translated as 小祿崎.

崎 being "saki".

:lol: That would be something. Would explain a lot.

Too bad it doesn't work that way with the Kouseki system.Well, the kanji (Chinese characters) is difficult. Each character has a meaning. For example, 手話. 手=hand 語=language. So hand language. In other words sign language. I got the meaning, but still misread it. I thought it was "tego". I knew to say hand was "te" and "go" was attached to the end of words for language...like eigo (English), for example. Anyway, it's read as Shuwa.

Another one...火山. 火 means fire. 山 means mountain. What do you think this is?

Usually, the characters look like something, so that helps. Some Japanese can't read Chinese, but they can understand the meaning because of the characters.

The other writing system is more simplified and completely easy to get mostly. Hiragana and katakana. Katakana is used for foreign or borrowed words mostly...like anime (アニメ) which is English and borrowed from the word animation. Hiragana is used for Japanese words and can help with Kanji reading when studying.

Anyway, each character for hiragana and katakana has its own sound...

a (ア)
ni (二)
me (メ)

Everything pretty much ends with a vowel, for the most part.

Couldn't you name a boy pretty flower if you really wanted to?

ssjup81: Uhhh... is it... no, no, wait, "answers must be in the form of a question", duh... ummm... "What is 'Volcano'?" Did I win?!

You know, I gotta admit, I learned something today, even though when I woke up, I swore to myself that I wouldn't. But thanks to you, taking the time to try and help me out, I learned a valuable lesson.

And that lesson is, I should never, EVER set foot into a Ribera Steak House without a translator, under any circumstances. :lol:

Actually, that's pretty neat. I could never keep all that stuff straight, nice work.

Some people here know Japanese? That's pretty cool.

Umm, I know "Ichiban", but thazzit. :lol: It got a big reaction from Balzac when I saw them open for The Misfits back in the day. That's as far as the conversation went, but still. They're so bad-ass. 8)

TMNT was created when anime was relatively unknown in the U.S.

Imagine if Kevin/Peter grew up being anime fans? Good god.

Yeah, there might actually be some authentic Japan-ness in it, instead of just a light veneer. Tragic.

There's some gender-neutral given names in Japanese. Haruka, Makoto and Madoka being three of them, per example. I guess Saki is exclusively feminine.

A lot of authors don't bother to do some proper research for their works, I'm afraid. This is common in Asian themed cartoons and movies. And even in ancient European ones, it happens. The Vikings are usually portrayed as blood thirsty warmongers, per example. Although this doesn't really bother me much in TMNT. Probably because I've been a fan of it ever since I remember and can't bring myself to dislike it after all these years. And besides, how could you make the Turtles assassins in cartoon adaptations for kids? :P

How is that being racially insensitive? :P

I don't speak Japanese, let alone read/write it, but its characters aren't that hard to tell apart. I find Hebrew and Arabic characters/phonemes much harder to tell apart, per example.

If you want an East Asian language with a simple alphabet try Korean. Although Japanese is, by far, the easiest of the major ones to pronounce.

I can "try" Korean Barbecue and that's as far as I can go. Sorry. :P

I have never learnt Korean either, so don't feel bad.

Can't say I've ever tried Korean food. I don't think there's even a single Korean place in my city while there's several Japanese ones and plenty of Chinese ones. My brother has tried Korean food and says that it's surprisingly spicy despite Korea having a temperate climate.

For a guy who generally tries super hard to eat healthy, I'm a weak-kneed bitch for any kind'a Asian food. Can't even front. :lol: But yeah, I can't even remember the last time I had Korean food, but I'd be down. Frankly, I'll eat damn near anything, but Asian-style food is my Kryptonite. My greasy, sodium-laced Kryptonite. :lol:

Just think of the fan-service we'd get. Can you say April pantie shots? ;)

I kid, I kid.

Haven't eaten Asian food in a long time. I'd like to try Sushi and all the other trendy Japanese dishes but man, they're so expensive and their portions look so tiny.

Always been a fan of Chinese food. It's not unusual for people to celebrate their birthdays by taking their friends and family to a Chinese restaurant here. By "Chinese food" I'm talking about the usual stuff: peking duck, sweet pork, lots of rice, crêpes, etc.

I could eat sushi e'rry day. Chinese is how me and the wife celebrate holidays and such, we got a great little buffet a few miles up the road from us. Since I generally get $40 in take-out all to myself when we order out, the $10 each for the buffet is a steal. :lol: I run through wontons like Rambo runs through foreign mercenaries of questionable allegiance.

I've gotten really neat at using chopsticks, so I got that going for me, which is nice. Sometimes I'll make a simple Asian chicken and fried rice dish at home. Good stuff.

I've tried using chopsticks once when I was a kid and wasn't able to do it right. I'm sure it's not complicated, although my brother says his Korean bosses were very impressed when they saw him eating with chopsticks, as if it was some sort of rocket science. :lol:

Nah, man, it's easy. I messed it up when I was a kid, too, but I only re-learned a couple years ago and it took me five minutes. You just hold the bottom one kinda like a pencil and hook the top one under your pointer finger. Most of 'em come in a little red paper slipcase that flat-out show you how, it's awesome! :lol: That's actually how I learned, I swear. There's just the tiniest little bit of balance involved, but you just hold the bottom one still and make a pincer with the top one. Then you go for that General Tso's, and you squeeze that sh*t, then you eat that sh*t, but it's much more satisfying because you're not merely scooping it up with a fork or spoon like some kind of yuppie. You're doing it with little sticks. Like a boss. 8)

Sometimes eating rice is tricky because it's crumbly, but a little duck sauce makes it clumpy. And, not for nothin', but if you're passive-aggressive at all, it's a super-easy way to make your friends feel inadequate. I mean, even if your technique is clumsy, f*ck it, how're they gonna know? They're over there poking at their food with little rakes and shovels, afraid to even try The Stix, so what do they know? They'll be super-jealous. :P

Nah, but seriously, you got this, bro.

I've suspected that Saki was a feminine name for a long time now. I've studied Japanese and know some of the language.

I like that he has a feminine name. Saki is a good name.

and if it means what the TC says it does (Blossom-hope). Its interesting that such a menacing character has such a peaceful name.



Saki The Shredder is a really badass moniker.

I find it here: http://www.behindthename.com/name/saki

Saki having a girl's name does come from lack of research, but it would be cool to have a female Saki in a future installation.

in the Japanese Fred Wolf dub/anime, not only did Shredder get a boy's name, but they also renamed Hamato Yoshi, to Yoshihama Takeshi.

Anyway, I guess this explains why Shredder didn't like getting called "Saki" by Krang in the 87 series. The funny thing is, his mom called him "Oroku". It's quite odd how they never managed to get Shredder's name order right.

A boy named Sue...A boy named Saki.

Maybe this is why he grew up to be the villains Ninja the he is. Got picked on for having a girls name.

Does it matter that Saki is a girl's name? What is this, some anime otaku forum?

TMNT is not an anime. Peter and Kevin were American comic book artist fans, not anime otaku's who liked lolicons and magical girls. I don't get it.

Calm down. Do you see any of us complaining over it being a girl's name? We just find it amusing and that's it. If you watched a foreign show where an american male character is named, let's say, Kate, wouldn't you find it odd/amusing as well?

Well there are a lot of names I've seen used for both genders. Jessie can be male or female, so can Taylor, Jaime, etc.

Nobody ever brought up Saki being a girl's name in the 30 year history of TMNT before, so why is it brought up now? Because of anime?

But what if it isn't? I don't think Kate is a gender-neutral name. Just like Saki doesn't seem to be one either.

Probably the same reason why it's brought up nowadays that the TMNT aren't a very accurate depiction of ninjas, especially in the cartoons and movies. Do you also think anime's got anything to do with that? People tend to prefer things to be properly researched. Knowing a random fact about Japanese culture/society/history doesn't make someone an anime fan. Dunno what gave you that idea.

Anyway, Shredder's real name doesn't bother me. I find it quite cool sounding and simple.

In Japan? I highly doubt it. I also doubt there are any combination of characters combined that would mean that for a boy. A girl, yeah. In Japan, there are certain rules regarding naming your kids and how you write the name. The Kanji chosen, and all that. It's governed by the Japanese Ministry. For foreigners, maybe it's not so much an issue.

I know a couple here who had a child. They named their child, "Nomidai". Originally they wanted to use "Nomihoudai" but felt it would be offensive to the child because of the "ho" part. I'm not sure how they wrote it...in hiragana (のみだい), katakana (ノミダイ), or used the actual kanji for "nomu" which means "to drink".

Anyway, Nomihoudai (飲み放題) = all you can drink, which is pretty common here. You can go to an izakaya (kind of like a bar) or a karaoke place or certain restaurants, but it is common to have an "all you can drink" deal. They sure do drink a lot here. It's like second-nature, but they also have a strict rule regarding drinking and driving and is very serious if you're caught. Your level has to be 0.0 in order to operate a vehicle, but they have services here where you can go drinking and call up a company that can drive your car while you ride along in another. It's called "daikou", or something like that in my area, but it's common in general here. Public intoxication also isn't an issue, like say back in the US. One time, I saw a Japanese guy that was terribly drunk. He was passed out on the ground and this other dude was nearby, holding up a sign. ￥100 to get a photo with the passed out guy.

Anyway, going back on topic...

The name is pretty weird and strange, imo. I think they enjoyed drinking parties, hence the name. Maybe as a "nickname" though, they'll just call her "Nomi" or something. I don't think it would allowed for them to use "飲" in any kind of name.Yep! You won Final Jeopardy!! lol Let's try three more, but I'll only give you part of the meaning...:P

一人
二人
三人

人 means person.:lol: In all honesty, though, I didn't feel I explained it all that well. I never did give a hiragana example, only a katakana one. Oh yeah, sound effects are usually written in katakana too as well as some animal names or "fake" animals. Digimon and Pokemon come to mind. All of the monsters' names are written in katakana.Well, katakana and hiragana is super easy to remember and recognize. There's also "furigana". It's tiny script written over top of kanji so you can understand how to read it. Furigana = small hiragana characters. For example...

人間. Let's say I see this, but don't know how to read it or anything. I don't know these characters, but with hiragana...

人 (にん/nin)
間 (げん/gen)

Ningen = human

Of course it would be written にんげん in small script over 人間. So maybe I wouldn't be able to read the kanji, but if furigana is used, I can read it and maybe look it up or something.

Hiragana and katakana are easy to learn because each character = 1 sound, for the most part. There's no way of making a mistake with those and you don't have to worry about meaning. With Kanji, it's all about meaning and can have more than one.一番 (いちばん).
I
chi
ba
n Japan has expensive sushi too, but they also have super cheap sushi. Think of it as "fast food". Sushi = fast food, but the portions are small, but at the same time filling. I go maybe once a week, especially on Thursday nights when I just don't feel like cooking after a day of dealing with kids. By the time work finishes at 9:00, I want something fast. lol If they wanted to go for some sort of authenticity, then they could have researched it. In Japan, given the meaning, Saki is a girl's name. I never thought much of it, actually. By "sound" it doesn't sound feminine to me. To Americans it really isn't, but to the Japanese it's strange sounding and I wonder if they'll change Saki and Yoshi's names for the Japanese dub of the Nick show now. "Otaku" have nothing to do with it. It's already unusual that the turtles aren't very "ninja-like" to begin with.

I'm sure most would think in Japan that "Saki" is gay or something if the name is that feminine.

Yes, that's true, but they also have different spellings too...well some.

Jessie/Jesse
Toni/Tony
Chris/Kris
Francis/Frances

etc....hm, Chris wasn't a good example at all. lolUm...no. No one's actually complaining. It's an interesting piece of information to share and fun to speculate on Shredder hating his now feminine name. :tlol:

That's not a bad thing at all. Here, the limit is 0.5, which I'm pretty sure it's one of the highest in Europe. It was 0.2 until a decade ago or so.

Well I suppose it's a fairly healthy "fast food".

Isn't the most popular cheap dish in Japan instant noodles? That one doesn't seem very healthy, though.

I see, but what I meant was, is it officially written in kanji? As in our Oroku Saki. If Saki is written in katakana for example, maybe there is no meaning.

No, it really isn't, but it's a bother where those around you are drinking, and you can't even have a sip of something for a taste (if offered) because they know any type of alcohol + driving is bad. lol IMO, I think it's because some Japanese are bad with alcohol and can get wasted after like two or three beers. lolWell...it depends I tend to like pretty much anything with "toro" in the title. In other words, fatty tuna, fatty salmon, etc. There are many different types, though that don't use only finish. Like...at the place near me, they have smoked duck sushi, but it uses onion and mayo along with the duck. It's pretty good. I like the lemon tuna one, though, best. It's cheap, but good.Oh yeah, it is, but I was thinking along the lines of restaurant places. Going to an actual ramen shop is better, though. The instant stuff is loaded with sodium. Maybe it isn't too high in calories, though. Maybe fresh ramen is a bit better since you don't have to worry about additives and preservatives....but depending what kind of ramen you get, it can be high in sodium or fat. The base for most of the ramen dishes are shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), or miso. I prefer miso personally. As for the type, you could get one with chashuu (or pork....and we know pork isn't all that good for you). Of course veggie ramen or one with a lean meat is okay.

There's also soba and udon. Soba and udon are a bit better. You can pick that up in any convenient store. Like at a 7-11 or a supermarket...or just go to a restaurant. Some ramen shops are open late.

Oh, something else about sushi. Down in Kanto (or the Tokyo area), I'm pretty sure there are some 24hour sushi shops. I went to one once.

Anime is the ruiner of all things good. Anime is the reason for the hole in the ozone layer. :lol: j/k

In retrospect, the Chinese would call roman letters "chicken liver".