Stuff that annoys nobody but me
Nov. 2nd, 2022 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameSo in things I am unnecessarily irritated by, I really wish that sci fi writers and/or the translators of sci fi properties that feature Militaries In Space would stick to a single ranking system. Because Tsuburaya announced the new Alien Magma Invasion Army for Ultraman Regulos. And while I'm ultra-excited to see that we're doing something with these bastards and L77 in general (see my series review of Ultraman Leo from some months ago), I'm just needlessly aggravated by the fact that the ranks don't make any goddamn sense.
Disclaimer: I'm familiar with the U.S. military ranking system for commissioned officers, particularly in the Navy. But there's a good few breakdowns for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces on Wikipedia here and a comparison among multiple nations that includes Imperial Japan at TV Tropes here. Plus, Fullmetal Alchemist translated the ranks for the Amestrian military as essentially the same as American army ranks, and it was internally consistent.
That being said, this is my issue: either the translators really could brush up on FMA or Tsuburaya really doesn't know the difference between the Army/Ground Defense Forces and the Navy/Maritime Defense Forces.
On TsuPro's official site, Volcan of the "Magma Invasion Army" is listed as an Admiral, with Yurub as Captain and Lava as Vice-Captain. While I don't see "vice-captain" anywhere, that's been the terminology that Starlight Runner, the licensing group handling translation and localization, has been using for ranks like Sawa Kaizaki in Ultraman Decker, so fine. But what gets me is that an admiral is a NAVAL position, not an army rank.
But it gets more annoying from there. Because if you assume that they mean "General Volcan," rather than "Admiral," then there is a HUGE gap between Volcan and Yurub.
See, I can believe that, say, the original Leo Magma is the equivalent of an American four-star, five-star, or even six-star George Washington general. Or even that Volcan is just a lieutenant or brigadier general. But if we assume that they do in fact mean that this is the Magma Invasion Army, then that means that Yurub is four ranks lower than Volcan at least.
Why? Because only in the Navy is "Captain" a high rank. In the Army and Air Force, it's OF-2, as opposed to OF-5 in the Navy, using NATO ranks as comparison as in the TV Tropes list. The Naval equivalent to this rank would be Lieutenant. Lava, in turn, would be a Lieutenant, Junior Grade since she's the next most senior officer to Yurub.
How to fix this? The easiest is to just change it from army to navy. Treat space like an ocean the way Star Trek and innumerable sci fi franchises not named Stargate do.
But given that their whole shtick is "invading planets, committing genocide, likely looting and a shit-ton of other war crimes," then give them their correct Army ranks. General (whatever level of general you want) Volcan. Colonel Yurub. Lieutenant Colonel Lava. Those ranks sound almost exactly like what they're going for, right?
Again, Fullmetal Alchemist is RIGHT THERE.
Edit, 11/18/22: Messed up some HTML and the last part of Kaizaki's name. Don't know why I put in "Kaizawa." Must have gotten thrown off by her first name.
Disclaimer: I'm familiar with the U.S. military ranking system for commissioned officers, particularly in the Navy. But there's a good few breakdowns for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces on Wikipedia here and a comparison among multiple nations that includes Imperial Japan at TV Tropes here. Plus, Fullmetal Alchemist translated the ranks for the Amestrian military as essentially the same as American army ranks, and it was internally consistent.
That being said, this is my issue: either the translators really could brush up on FMA or Tsuburaya really doesn't know the difference between the Army/Ground Defense Forces and the Navy/Maritime Defense Forces.
On TsuPro's official site, Volcan of the "Magma Invasion Army" is listed as an Admiral, with Yurub as Captain and Lava as Vice-Captain. While I don't see "vice-captain" anywhere, that's been the terminology that Starlight Runner, the licensing group handling translation and localization, has been using for ranks like Sawa Kaizaki in Ultraman Decker, so fine. But what gets me is that an admiral is a NAVAL position, not an army rank.
But it gets more annoying from there. Because if you assume that they mean "General Volcan," rather than "Admiral," then there is a HUGE gap between Volcan and Yurub.
See, I can believe that, say, the original Leo Magma is the equivalent of an American four-star, five-star, or even six-star George Washington general. Or even that Volcan is just a lieutenant or brigadier general. But if we assume that they do in fact mean that this is the Magma Invasion Army, then that means that Yurub is four ranks lower than Volcan at least.
Why? Because only in the Navy is "Captain" a high rank. In the Army and Air Force, it's OF-2, as opposed to OF-5 in the Navy, using NATO ranks as comparison as in the TV Tropes list. The Naval equivalent to this rank would be Lieutenant. Lava, in turn, would be a Lieutenant, Junior Grade since she's the next most senior officer to Yurub.
How to fix this? The easiest is to just change it from army to navy. Treat space like an ocean the way Star Trek and innumerable sci fi franchises not named Stargate do.
But given that their whole shtick is "invading planets, committing genocide, likely looting and a shit-ton of other war crimes," then give them their correct Army ranks. General (whatever level of general you want) Volcan. Colonel Yurub. Lieutenant Colonel Lava. Those ranks sound almost exactly like what they're going for, right?
Again, Fullmetal Alchemist is RIGHT THERE.
Edit, 11/18/22: Messed up some HTML and the last part of Kaizaki's name. Don't know why I put in "Kaizawa." Must have gotten thrown off by her first name.