Whilst I’m quite sure that this has been discussed many, many times, I find myself with this problem in my own writing.
Or, more precisely, which name variation should I use?
[ Rua/Lua/Leo ]
[ Ruka/Luca/Luna ]
It’s probably obvious by now, especially in the way in which I’ve organised the names above, that there are probably three “groups” or “sets” of names to use. Rua and Ruka, Lua and Luca, and the English variation, Leo and Luna.
Let’s go through these in an order of thought.
The last group, Leo and Luna, is automatically rejected as they belong to the English variation of things. This isn’t to say that I incredibly loathe 4Kids!, no, it’s simply because my entire fiction’s working with the Japanese way of things. (Rather, I quite respect 4Kids! and their script editors despite the fact that some of them don’t seem to know the basics of the game, but those technicalities aren’t very relevant to this point.)
In the Japanese variations, this is where choosing becomes more difficult. It has been written canonly in the anime as Lua and Luca, however many fansubbers and fanfiction writers prefer Rua and Ruka, simply because it is the direct romaji and therefore closer to traditional Japanese culture. I’m only assuming that the fanfiction writers follow their lead, seeing as that is how they read their names on a regular basis when watching the series.
(Actually, that should be a point in itself; fansubbers quite often find it difficult to find a balance between traditional Japanese – where many of the important terms can be left in romaji [example: Jibakushin] – and catering for a Western audience – where they can give the translation of that Japanese [example: Earthbound God]. Or, they have the choice to go with the “official” English [and thereby “completely” Western] variation that often provides the emotional effect that’s lost between the translation of the Asian-Western cultures [continuing with the same example, the “official” version is known as an Earthbound Immortal].)
Luca’s name seems to be a special case, as well. She has potential for more English variations than her brother, as the last sound in her name is a “ku”, but westernized as “cu”, since the Japanese lack the letters necessary for that and rather go by sounds instead of letters. So, her name can be “Ruka”, a direct romaji, “Luca”, the translated version of the romaji with the “proper” lettering for the sounds or a combination of the two, “Luka” and the slightly rarer “Ruca”.
In my story, I have Asian names, because I’m working along the lines that Neo Domino is in Japan (Domino was in Japan, therefore Neo Domino, which was built where Domino used to be, is also in Japan but just in the far future). But, since the Japanese have an interest in the Western culture (comparable to westerners seeking for kanji tattoos), they have canon English names in the series. And, these names have been seen to be more acceptable once translated. (Jack Atlus/Atlas vs. Jakku Atorasu; Crow Hogan vs. Kurou Hougan, etc)
(Also, I have my original characters belonging to the Yakuza with “fully” Japanese names, e.g. Ito Ryota, Kishimoto Aki)
Probably the best way for me to go with this is to take the middle line, and if in the case of no middle line take whatever is preferred the most, like the rest of my story. (This is similar to how all the Japanese names in my story are referred to in lastname-firstname order, and all the western ones are firstname-lastname. Though it causes some issues with a normal standard, it’s more preferable and visually aesthetic.)
So, taking the middle line would mean that Ruka/Luca’s name would have to be half-translated and half not, i.e. “Luka” or “Ruca”. Personally, I prefer Luka as opposed to Ruca as it sounds more feminine and seems to carry its intended expression. Rua/Lua is essentially a tossup, since there is no middle line, but I think the fandom would prefer “Rua” more as it is seen more often than its alternative.
Therefore, the names I shall be using in request of continuity would be Rua and Luka.
That was a rather long remark for one topic, don’t you think? 😉
– Nex
Posted by rebirthofnexus 
Reversed Nexus 
