What's with the Title?

Now, I have been seeing trailers of this while I was watching in both ABS-CBN and Studio 23. Honestly, to me it’s interesting. I would love to see how they made this fantaserye and hoping against all hope that they won’t follow GMA-7 when they did “Sugo” when it concerns the effects and the fight scenes (what I mean is start very well but end up being half-baked in the end).

Anyway, the story itself isn’t really my problem. It’s what they titled the show.

Being a “table-top” or what people call now as “pen and paper” RPG, and being really interested in Japanese history especially during the era where samurai and ninjas play vital roles in their society, I have read and seen the word “rounin” or “ronin” one two many times. And it’s very different from what Erik Matis’ show is being portrayed into.

Back in college, I play a particular table top RPG called Legends of the Five Rings or popularly known by CCG players as L5R. Set in a land called Rokugan but the setting would relatively copy that of medieval Japan, it’s a game where you are a lord of a certain clan and you basically fight with another clan. In between, you get subplots of subterfuge and political stuff aside from the usual you-me fight to the death and see who’s the last man standing.

Anyway, moving on. As a table top gamer of L5R, I had played two characters. One is a Shugenja and the other is a Clan Ronin. I will focus on my ronin character. The back story of my character is simple. I was a Scorpion Ronin off with my Lord on a mission. During the battle, I failed to protect my lord which is a great dishonor for my clan. The best way to regain honor is to commit seppuku, which my character didn’t. I went into hiding, trying to find a better way to regain my honor.

I did my research.

From Dictionary.com, the term Ronin \Ro"nin"\, n. [Jap. r[=o]-nin, fr. Chin. lang profligate, lawless + j[^e]n (old sound n[=i]n) man.] In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.

From Wikipedia, a rounin was a masterless samurai during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favour or privilege. Since a ronin doesn't serve any lord, he is no longer a samurai. A samurai is a "servant", since the noun came from the verb "saburau" which is the Japanese for "to serve". (In a parallel development, the word "knight" also originally meant "servant" and its Dutch and German cognate "knecht" still means that.)

The word ronin literally means "wandering person". The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it originally referred to serfs who had fled or deserted their master's land. It is also a term used for samurai who had lost their masters in wars.

Getting to my point.

Okay…for a country who’s more or less obsessed with Japanese Anime. A country who has watched Samurai X (aka Rounin Kenshin) one too many times in three different languages. I would have assumed that the word Rounin wouldn’t be depicted as a word that would describe a warrior full of honor and courage.

I mean, yeah…rounin sounds cool but put it in it’s literal sense, not many would have loved to be called a rounin. Honestly, would you really want to be called a “wandering person”? I wouldn’t.

I really hoped they had a different title for the show and call their soldiers differently as well. I mean, if you export the series and send it to Japan, what would the Japanese think? They may think that the story is all about a group of people who lost their master and are exacting revenge? That was what I have thought when I saw them announcing it on TV...then I saw the trailers.

Okay, so they live in a different world. So I guess, rounin there would mean differently. But they should have used another term for it. They should have used a different word...or come up with a different word. Any jibberish would have become a good word and they wouldn't be confusing people who knows the meaning of the word rounin.

With that...I think it's about time I go to sleep before I could find another topic which is to me worth getting to the point at.