Use official English titles for Japanese TV shows

As long as translated titles (fan romanized  or official English names) can bring up the shows in question, I don't particularly mind it.

Same goes for Korean T.V. shows, but in reverse. I'm more comfortable with titles in Korean, but thankfully the Search feature usually does an OK job bringing up results. Not perfect, but good enough.

I voted so that MDL Admins can add English translated titles into the Also Known As section. English titles, whether fan or officially translated, would provide more description. Not everyone here knows Japanese lol

So reading synopsis vs reading the 'Also Known As' titles quickly, can help form early decision-making.

In general I agree with the idea of Romaji titles to be replaced with English when there is an official translation of the show. Even there are some example of the official Romaji version of some show which is not used by MDL (for example Toudaiou - which TBS officially called it as "Todaioh")

Some problem that we might encounter is that the English title we get might be not in "proper English" - for example Getsuyou Kara Yofukashi would be listed as "Monday Lateshow" based on the show's logo/title video, but the word "Lateshow" is not correct if we think about it. GEM called the show as "Monday Late Night Show" and I feel it could be a potential conflict depending on what a contributor thinks (to follow straight from Japan or just use any English translation). Looks like a minor issue but it might affect the search result when someone search for it.

Personally, I would just use Wiki or TMDb as a model for the MDL International version.

 emmagucci:

In fact TMDb  uses English titles for doramas.

TMDb's rules are here, under Translated Title.

Their basic rule seems to use the title of the first national release in any of US/CA/UK/IE/AU/NZ, if there's ever been one (with more complex rules to decide the title if there hasn't been any).

While it would be simpler to adopt someone else's rules, I don't like how it prioritizes the first title anything was released under rather than that it's currently released under (which would be more useful for finding it) nor how it downplays English titles used in Asia and can downplay creator intent.

E.g., using TMDb's or Wikipedia's rules, the English title of BOYS LOVE 劇場版 would be Schoolboy Crush (what it's released as in US/UK), not Boys Love: The Movie (what its international sales agency titles it according to JFDB). The latter is closer to the Japanese title and, therefore, maybe to creator intent, and it's what's currently used on MDL. Whether one should favour what's the official title according the sales agency or what you need to search for to see something I'm not sure.

It could also be difficult to identify in many cases if the first release of anything in an English-speaking region was on a VOD service or as a broadcast on a speciality TV channel, and it can be difficult to find out what titles were used in TV broadcasts numerous years ago or on now-defunct VOD services. Titles of most recent releases are easier to identify. (IMDb and Wikipedia prefer current English titles of originally non-English works, as those tend to be what they're most referred to by now, rather than the first.)

At the very least, I'd want to modify any other site's rules to not count dub-only releases and prefer romanizations over titles only used for non-original-language versions (which for many old East Asian films and some TV series are the first release they had in a majority-English-speaking region).

A not really much shorter but different version of the draft rules I wrote before is to prioritise English titles like this:

1. The title the work is amost universally called by in English, even if it is not an official title. E.g., Goblin). [This is to incorporate the exception specified in the current rules. I don't much like it, personally, and I don't understand what else, if anything, qualifies for it or not, but evidently people with authority here do.]
2. The title the work is marketed under in English by its international sales agency. For TV shows, this is usually a division of the original network; for movies, it is usually a division of the primary executive production company (which might be a TV network, a theatrical or video distributor, or a production company) but is sometimes a separate, dedicated ISA company, and some have different agencies for different regions. These titles can be found on the English-language websites and SNS accounts of the agencies and on official posters, trailers, and other videos with English text/subs released by them. When a work's title differs between these, prioritize the title which is the most commonly used and/or that which is the same as the Roman-character title used in the work's country of origin. E.g.,  Alda hyeongnim is titled Men on a Mission on JTBC's international sales site, but Knowing Brothers or Knowing Bros in English-subbed videos on JTBC's YouTube channels. Knowing Bros is also used as the show's Roman-character title in South Korea, so prioritize that.
3. The title the work is currently widely released or broadcasted under with English subtitles across English-speaking regions. When the title differs between different promotional material and/or the title card of the work itself, prioritize the title used in the final trailer above all others. When the work has been widely released with English subtitles across English-speaking regions under both a U.S. English spelling and a U.K. English spelling of the same title, prioritize the U.S. spelling. If the title differs between English-speaking regions in other ways, prioritize that which is the most commonly used, that which is the same as the Roman-character title used in the work's country of origin, and/or that which is used for the region(s) with the highest population.
4. The title the work was most recently widely released or broadcasted under with English subtitles across English-speaking regions, though it is no longer available under it.
5. The Roman-character title used on promotional material and/or tie-in merchandise in East Asia, with priority given to that used in the work's primary East Asian country of origin. It doesn't matter if this title is in English, is a romanization, or is in a language that is neither English nor that of the work itself.
6. The title the work was promoted under in English when it was played with English subtitles at major film or TV festivals or markets, or when it was officially available online with English subtitles for a limited time, or that which is widely used in professional English-language publications, if this title has been used relatively consistently across these and its use can be reliably verified. Do not use titles that appear to be translated for one festival or by one writer and not used again by any others, but do consider those that have been widely taken up by others after their first use.
7. If none of the above can be identified, use a romanization of the original title in the default system for the main language of the work. If the main language is a very local dialectof Chinese that is not widely spoken, default to using the Standard Chinese pronounciation for works primarily from mainland China or Taiwan and the Cantonese pronounciation for works primarily from Hong Kong or Macau. Do not use romanizations of transliterations of originally Roman-character words; instead, replace these with the original words.

Note 1: The titles of English-dub-only releases and screenings do not affect the choice of titles on MDL. A romanization of the original-language title is preferred over a title that has only ever been used for an English-dubbed version. The same goes for bootleg/pirated releases of copyrighted works. Titles used for unofficial but legal releases of out-of-copyright works can count, but only if they are high-quality releases from companies respected in the field of releasing such material.

Note 2: English titles in this context refers to titles used in English-language contexts. They can in some cases be (non-standard and/or abbreviated) romanizations of the original title (e.g., Maboroshi no hikari is marketed in English as Maborosi) or be in a language that is neither that of the work nor English (e.g., the official Roman-character title of the Cantonese-language film Meisiunin zi lyun is Bishonen… – though the latter is derived from the Japanese pronunciation  of the title – and the Japanese-language film Hotori no Sakuko is marketed in English under the French-language title Au revoir l'été – which should always be capitalized according to the rules of French title capitalization).

Note 3: If reliable evidence for one kind of title is difficult to obtain, skip to the next number inthe list. A romanization of the original title is preferred over an official Roman-character title there is only vague/sketchy evidence for.

Japanese titles are not easy to read or remember. Even while typing in search. Not just Japanese, any language you don't understand.

And here most of the people converse in English (international language) only and you have chosen English first for the title of the dramas of every country. So why not for Japan.....

 Vyaiskaya:

I can't find anything if it's anglicised, and it's usually hard to find people who understand an english 'translation' of the title anyways.
Romanisation is okay, so long as it's searchable whatever way. 

I’m not proposing using translations from Japanese into English as the main title. I’m proposing using the official title the programme is released under in English-speaking countries (or, if it hasn’t been released in any, that it’s marketed under in English for international sales). Which might be a translation, might be a romanisation or might be completely different; the point is that it’s the one official title (or at least one of them, in the rare case something’s been marketed or released under more than one English title).

If a programme hasn’t been released or marketed in English, the main title should be a romanisation of the original title, not a translation. The same as the rules for all other content on MDL (though clearly some misunderstand this as I’ve found some unofficial translations entered as main titles).

 ASTER:

Japanese titles are not easy to read or remember. Even while typing in search. Not just Japanese, any language you don't understand.

And here most of the people converse in English (international language) only and you have chosen English first for the title of the dramas of every country. So why not for Japan.....

Well said. 

 Vyaiskaya:

however I would argue usually the Japanese title is the one used when referring to a Japanese series.

Obviously, the drama titled will be presented in the language of the country in which it is based. 

But if you want the attention of the international audience or want to reach more and more people, then you will have to create such a medium which can be understood across countries or languages. When a foreign movie or drama is released in any country. Along with their origin name, their titles are also written in the language of the country in which they are released or in English. And the same thing happens with subbing and dubbing.

here we are asking for the official english title

i'm not in support of translation cause  The same sentence can be written in different ways in translation, which can create even more confusion.