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Posted by KT1972 on 23-12-2020 at 13:20:

Was Joe's name changed?

Somehow, maybe canon, or fanon, I believed that when Nambu saved Joe from assassination on the beach, he changed Joe's name from George to protect his identity.

We know his name was George from ep 81, when the mayor and Katse are having their discussion about him, and whether he actually died, yet that same episode his childhood friend, Alan, refers to him as "Bad boy Joe" and flashbacks Joe has himself we hear his parents screaming "Joe" as they're being shot.

This seemed odd to me. Why would they call to him by a name he wasn't given until after the event?

For years I've tried to let it go (No singing please!) putting it down to poor continuity or whatever, but today I finally found an explanation.

I've become familiar with Joe written in Japanese, ジョー
but never actually seen the name George written as such, so with the wonder of google translate I decide to check it out.

Joe = ジョー
George = ジョージ

So, they weren't addressing Joe by a non-existent name, but simply abbreviating his existing one.

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Posted by The Other Jason on 23-12-2020 at 22:13:

RE: Was Joe's name changed?

Hi KT,

quote:

Originally posted by KT1972
I've become familiar with Joe written in Japanese, ジョー
but never actually seen the name George written as such, so with the wonder of google translate I decide to check it out.

Joe = ジョー
George = ジョージ

So, they weren't addressing Joe by a non-existent name, but simply abbreviating his existing one.

Yes, that's pretty much the reason. They just shortened it to the first part of the name. The way "George" is pronounced in Japanese is like "Joji," with the first syllable elongated. So "Joe" became a nickname.

In some early planning and a couple of the earliest scripts, his name was given as "錠," which is "じょう" (Jo), the same elongated pronunciation. For the most part though, the shorter "Joe" name was in place in one form or other from the start. For instance, other early planning had his name as "ジョー鷹野" (Jo Takano) and listed as Italian, born in Sicily. The final planning had him listed as "ジョージ浅倉" (Joji Asakura), but his team name was shortened to the "Joe, the Condor" we all know and love.

Just for fun, here's a shot of his early name still appearing in the script for the first episode. He's wanting to fire Bird Missiles at the turtle robot monster (shocker, isn't it? ;-)):

The Other Jason
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 24-12-2020 at 03:46:

Here I thought I had a chance to look smart, but, dammit, Jason beat me to it! uberdestructo3000

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Posted by KT1972 on 24-12-2020 at 08:47:

quote:

Originally posted by ElectricWhite
Here I thought I had a chance to look smart, but, dammit, Jason beat me to it! uberdestructo3000

Sorry, EW!

And thanks for the added info, Jason. To think after all these years, I could simply have asked!! Wallbash

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER