It’s a bit confusing.
Summary:
- There are two versions of Ichikawa’s name: Reno and Leno.
- It’s the same character.
- This translation difference appeared because of the Japanese language peculiarities.
Kaiju No. 8 (Kaijuu 8-gou) hasn’t had enough time to properly explore all of its main leads yet, but to be honest, it’s not an issue, we still love these charming characters a lot.
And Ichikawa is certainly one of them. He is the only person who can keep Kafka’s over-the-top nature under control. But who would’ve thought that the most mysterious and puzzling thing about Ichikawa is his name, Reno.
You might have noticed that a number of fans call him Leno, and the same name appears even on the Kaiju No. 8 fandom wiki website. But both the manga and the anime call him Reno instead. So what is the issue? Are we still talking about the same character?
Reno and Leno Are the Same Person
Yes, we are indeed talking about one character, Ichikawa. And the official translation of his name is Reno, not Leno, even though some still call him that.
It has something to do with the Japanese language. R and L often get mixed up during the translation process, and Reno is not the first example of that.
In Attack on Titan, there’s a character named Levi, and when the manga first started coming out, there was no certainty about how the name should be translated. That’s why he had been Rivaille or Rivai at first before he became our beloved Levi.
The same thing happened to Reno/Leno. R and L are allophones in the Japanese language, so it might be difficult to distinguish between the sounds for people with other native languages. That’s why it’s sometimes challenging to understand what sound you hear while watching an anime.
This Japanese language issue has become so common that there’s even a wikipedia article, titled “Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers” that explains the confusion of translators and English-speaking people.
You Can Go With Any Name
So yes, Leno and Reno are the same character, so you shouldn’t get confused when you see some fans calling him each of the names. You can also call him Ichikawa, if you’re afraid to make a mistake and embarrass yourself. But trust us, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Moreover, a lot of fans think that both Reno and Leno have the right to exist. Of course, the official manga translation has “Reno,” but it doesn’t mean that you can’t interpret it as Leno. So just choose the version you like best and go with it.