The English translation of Hirohiko Araki's manga Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has continually had to rename the characters and their powers to avoid copyright disputes, but some of these changes are hilariously absurd. Araki has a fondness for naming his characters and their powers after musical acts or specific songs, but in some foreign markets, these names carry the risk of creating legal issues. Translators of the series have therefore had to rename many of the characters and powers for the American localization while also trying to preserve the spirit of the original names.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a manga following the adventures of the Joestar family over many generations. The manga is broken up into many different parts each following a different Joestar and beginning in part 3, it has featured a unique system of superpowers called Stands. Stands are manifestations of their user’s life energy that can grant their user various special abilities. As they appear as somewhat distinct entities despite being connected to their user, they often receive names of their own.
Perhaps the most iconic Stand name localization is of Funny Valentine’s stand in part 7. Funny Valentine is the villainous president of the United States and his Stand name, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, reflects Valentine's willingness to get his hands dirty to make sure his country prospers. As his Stand shares a name with an AC/DC song and album, its name was localized to the much more cumbersome Filthy Acts at a Reasonable Price. While the name also conveys Valentine’s willingness to stoop to any low in the name of American prosperity, it strips away a lot of the menacing nature of the original. However, as the original Stand name is often abbreviated as D4C, a name that is not trademarked, the English translation can refer to Valentine’s Stand as D4C most of the time, disregarding the full translated name. This is unfortunately not the case for Sports Maxx’s Stand’s name in part 6.
Sports Maxx is a rather important minor villain in Stone Ocean. He is an integral part of the backstory of Ermes Costello, the main ally of part 6’s main character Jolyne Cujoh. He got sent to prison after murdering Ermes’ sister and is the main reason Ermes is incarcerated. He is a brutally violent man whose Stand Limp Bizkit enables him to turn corpses into invisible zombies that he can sic on his enemies. While Limp Bizkit isn’t the most intimidating name for such a terrifying power, its reference to the hard rap-rocking band of the same name at least indicates the aggressive nature of the wraiths it creates. The name of this ability is localized as Flaccid Pancake, stripping the stand name of any violent implications and belying the deadly nature of Sports Maxx’s Stand. It is simply impossible to take anything named Flaccid Pancake seriously, despite it being one of the most terrifying Stands in Part 6.
Given that the series often employs its band/song theme, these localized Stand names aren't uncommon, from Spice Girl becoming Spice Lady to Green Day becoming Green Tea. Of course, the American localization of these stand names in no way reflects poorly on the translators who brought this series to an English-speaking audience. Translation is already an immensely difficult job without having to add in the complications of complying with copyright law. However, the comical nature of theses Stand name localizations do make it very hard to take some of the deadliest threats in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure seriously.
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