Viz Media's latest One Piece mistake removes key significance from the series' newest name reveal

Modified Jul 16, 2024 20:00 GMT

Viz Media's latest One Piece mistake removes key significance from the series' newest name reveal (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece chapter 1120 was released on July 15, 2024. The chapter revealed Professor Clover as a D clan member and revealed his full name. But the name revealed by the official translation of the chapter became part of a controversy as it took the lore away from the D clan member's name.

The chapter also continued the battle between the Iron Giant and some of the Gorosei as the former was about to unveil a weapon that he was keeping hidden. The chapter also showcased Vegapunk Atlas' sacrifice to help the Straw Hat Pirates escape from Egghead Island.

The star of the chapter was Professor Clover's reveal as a D clan member. The official translation revealed his name as Clou D. Clover, whereas a popular scanlation revealed his name as Claíomh D. Clover. The official translation took away the lore from the D clan member's name, as Claiomh has cultural significance in Irish and Scottish folktales.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

One Piece: Exploring the translation discrepancy in Professor Clover's real name

Clover the true identity of his brother (Image via Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1120 commenced with a flashback from the time when Professor Clover pleaded with Vegapunk to give his assistance in Ohara's research of the Void Century.

The professor continued by revealing his real name and expressed his disappointment over letting his brother die by lying about his true name. After the Professor's death at the hands of the World Government, Vegapunk picked up his research and continued it as an apology for rejecting Clover when he asked.

Professor Clover as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Professor Clover's real name, revealed in a popular scanlation, is Claíomh D. Clover. This name ties the professor to an ancient weapon of historical importance in Irish and Scottish folktales, the Claíomh Solais. The sword is also termed the Sword of Light and is famous for guiding the hero towards the 'One Story.'

Claíomh Solais adds a lot to Professor Clover's character. The One Story in this reference could be related to the 'secrets of the Void Century', and the 'hero' could be 'the people' that Clover wanted to guide towards the secret, mainly Nico Robin and Professor Vegapunk.

Unfortunately, this name is just a fan translation and cannot be considered true as Viz Media, the official translation partner of One Piece, translated Professor Clover's name as Clou D. Clover.

Imu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Viz Media's translation of this name puts a question mark on the manga itself, as most fans already know most names in the series have references from folktales and mythologies. This adds depth to these characters.

For instance, Imu is linked to Nure-Onna from Japanese mythology, and so are many other characters in the series. Clou D. Clover (when simplified to Cloud Clover) also doesn't match his name to any historical reference or mythological reference. So, Viz's choice, when relating to the choice of Professor Clover's real name, is taking away the lore from such an important character.

Viz Media's translation discrepancies in the past

Shoko as seen in the anime (image via MAPPA)

In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 220, Shoko Ieri conveyed her feelings for Geto Suguru and Gojo Satoru. In the scanlation, her feelings were translated as she would never fall in love with any 'one' of them, but Viz's transition stated that she was in love with 'one' of them, thus creating confusion amongst the fandom.

Similarly, in One Piece chapter 1105, after the Straw Hat Pirates were about to board the Thousand Sunny, Nami sent Jinbe toward Zoro so that he wouldn't get lost after his fight with Lucci. The scanlation translated this passage as it is, but Viz translated it in a way that portrayed Jinbe as being sent to 'help' Zoro in the fight against Lucci, infuriating Zoro fans.

Other than this, there have been several other times when Viz's choice of words has been controversial in the eyes of the fandom, as compared to scanlations. This could be due to the diversity of the Japanese language, where combinations of kanji characters portray different meanings.

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Edited by Gayatri Chivukula