Some character and place names in Yuna 3 make a lot more sense when they are translated instead of leaving them in Japanese. For instance, which do you think has more impact: "Kikaikakoutei" or "The Machine Empress?" At any rate, explanations of how I translated what words are given below.
The Machine Empress (Kikaikakoutei) and The Machine Empire (Kikaikateigoku)
"Kikai" means "Machine." "Ka" means "-ized" turning "Kikaika" into "Mechanized." "Koutei" means "Emperor" and "Teigoku" means "Empire." I translated "Kikaikakoutei" as "Machine Empress" (since it's a woman) and "Kikaikateigoku" as "Machine Empire." Why not "Mechanized Empress" and "Mechanized Empire?" Err, I think my way sounds cooler. :) When I see "Mechanized Empress" I think of Mecha-Godzilla or a wind-up toy, while Kikaikakoutei herself is a whole lot more sinister than that.
Mechanizans (Kikaikajin)
"Kikai" means "Machine." "Ka" means "-ized" turning "Kikaika" into "Mechanized." "-jin" is a suffix denoting a type of person; for instance, Americans are called "Amerikajin." I translated "Kikaikajin" as "Mechanizans" since they're from the Machine Empire but I think they themselves are mechanized (I think they're all robots - this is where the three sisters from the second Yuna Anime OAV are from, and they were definitely robots). Note that nobody in the game makes any connection between Yuuri and the Kikaikajin, so it doesn't seem to be just another word for "android."
The Six Flower Warriors (Rokkasen)
As to "Rokkasen," I had to break it into the individual Kanji making up the name (ick!). "Ro" is as in "Roku" meaning "Six." "Ka" has the Kanji that means "flower." "Sen" is as in "Senshi" (warrior) or "taisen" (great war) or "senkan" (warship) so it means "war." Originally I messed up on the middle Kanji and called them the "Six Flower Warriors" but I'm now in the process of fixing it everywhere... ^_^ All the Rokkasen members have "pha" on the end of their name, which I believe is Chinese for "flower." (It has the same "flower" Kanji as "Rokkasen" does.)
The Three Sisters of... somethingorother
These are the three sisters from the second Yuna OAV: Ayako, Kyoka, and Genmu. Their original name is "Youki Sanshimai." "San" means "three," "shimai" means "sisters," and "Youki" I have no earthly idea. ^_^ It's not in my dictionary. ADV Films translated this as "The Three Ghostly Sisters." Of course, they also titled the OAV "Dawn of the Dark Sisters" whereas the original title was something with "fairy" in it. (Yuna refers to Ayako as her "fairy-like friend" at one point in this game; if ADV had translated the OAV properly this would make a lot more sense.) My guess is that "ghostly" isn't the right translation. One of these days I'll go back and see if the Kanji used give any clues...
Tastiya (Oishiiya) and Oolalaka (Uraraka)
"Oishii" means "Tasty" so I renamed "Oishiiya" to "Tastiya." The surface of the planet is covered in candy and food a la the gingerbread house in Hansel & Gretel. As for "Uraraka," the Rs in Japanese are often pronounced like Ls so when Misaki and Yuna are talking about the planet it sounds like "Ulalaka." Since it's a flower planet, I figured they were making a play on "ooh la la" and so I spelled it "Oolalaka."
Everythingy (Tsubetei) and Thatwaya (Achiya)
"Subete" means "Everything" and "Tsubetei" sounds a lot like that so I called the planet "Everythingy." Achi means "That way" so I renamed "Achiya" to "Thatwaya." These are an ice planet and a scorched planet respectively so I have no idea what these names have to do with the planets, but oh well.
Ako&Mako and Chichena
Ako and Mako are an inseperable pair; they're probably twins or something. They both have ping-pong player battlesuits and seem younger than the rest. When Ruminaev mentions them, she says "AkoMako" as though it were one word; the text says "Ako&Mako." Obviously they're so commonly found together that people think of them as one person - AkoMako. However, "Erika and Ako&Mako" sounds awkward so I changed the & to a /: "Ako/Mako." While I'm at it, the planet "Chichena" is spelled the same as it was in the original.
The Sarcashew Dimension
Yuna didn't hear the name right; Elnar called it the "Sargasso Dimension" but Yuna thought it said "Sarsoba." Soba is a type of noodles. Since most English-speakers don't know that, I picked something that sounded kinda like "Sargasso" and decided to have Yuna call it "Sarcashew." You know, as in cashews, those yummy nuts that are kinda curve-shaped?
Tensei
Tensei means "Heaven Planet." But I couldn't think of any suitably suave way to say that, so... ^_^ Not to mention, the word is used like every three seconds in the following conversation, so I got used to hearing Tensei.
Oh Shut!
This is the best I could translate this Japanese pun. Polylina originally said "Shimatta!" Shimatta can either mean "It shut!" or "Damn!" So, I crossed the two: Oh Shut! ;) This pun is used in Fushigi Yuugi too. I like my translation better than Pioneer's though... they changed it to a completely different joke. ^_^
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