Wronged by the translation?
Summary:
- The title of Chained Soldier originally had the word “slave” in it.
- Yen Press changed the title when they started publishing the manga.
- Fans don’t see the point in doing so.
The premiere of the Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave) anime adaptation got fans talking about the translation of its title again.
Not a soldier, but a slave
This conversation started back in 2022 when Yen Press published the first news about their Chained Soldier debut. Fans noticed that the title of the manga had been altered and the word “slave” was excluded from it because of the censorship concerns.
The Japanese title of the series is 魔都精兵のスレイブ (Mato Seihei no Sureibu). The word “スレイブ” or “sureibu” means “slave”, and Yen Press decided it was inappropriate to leave it like that, so they changed the title. And, of course, fans were outraged.
A lot of people didn’t see the point in censoring this word, and found the decision even more problematic than the word itself. If the publisher feels that this word is solely connected to some historical events, that says a lot about them. Their intention might have been honorable, but the result caused nothing but frustration.
The name change also made fans worried about the anime adaptation. If even the title had to be censored, how would they handle all the sexual and problematic themes in the series? Would they be censored, too?
The new name makes zero sense
The problem is not just the censorship itself, though. The new name doesn’t describe the series correctly. Yuuki is not even a soldier, he’s a slave, so the new name doesn’t even make sense.
Fans suggest to use the word “demon” instead and make it into “Demon Slave” like many European translators did. Or at least “Chained Demon” if they want to avoid the word “slave” so much. Anything is better than “soldier” that has nothing to do with the series.
On top of that, the anime doesn’t omit the word “slave” in it. Yuuki calls himself that, and this word is not censored in the adaptation. So why do it with the title, when everyone who would actually watch the series will realize that there was never any intention to offend anyone with this word.
Some topics are sensitive, and everyone understands that, but fans think that treating the word “slave” like it’s some sort of frightening taboo is just stupid. Especially when used in an entirely different context.