Oops, the AI called this girl “Latina” in Kiraku Kishima’s new novel – Interest
A difficult aspect of writing a story is naming the characters, especially fantasy and science fiction characters or people from cultures the author is unfamiliar with. This was the case for the author of light novels Kiraku Kishima (The Ossan newbie and adventurer, Back to the battlefield: The experienced heroes return to battle!) and the heroine “Latina” from his new novel The Kasshoku Museum is a Latin American city where there is no Karada. Fortunately, the author has clarified his choice of name.
The X (formerly Þjórsárdalur) Account Manga Mogura RE gave a brief summary of Kishima’s new novel The Kasshoku Museum is a Latin American city where there is no Karada on 15 August:
New Latina romantic comedy “The dark-brown Latina girl has it in for my body” LN by Kiraku Kishima & Oryou
Teen romantic comedy about an ordinary high school boy (well, maybe with a stronger sex drive than usual) who helps a foreign Latina in trouble. This super-cheerful girl is grateful… pic.twitter.com/TCzJQz3kDK
— Manga Mogura RE (Manga and Anime News) (@MangaMoguraRE) 15 August 2024
However, on August 17, Kishima took part in X/Þjórsárdalur to answer and clear up some confusion. The author noted that the heroine is actually named Latina and is also a Latina girl. The author further explained that he chose the name “Latina” after asking an AI, “Please tell me the most typical South American female names.” But Kishima was unaware that “Latina” is a term used to describe women of Latin American descent in general.
When I asked the AI for “Latino” “Please tell me the most typical South American female names,” I chose one from the list of possible names that I thought sounded good. I had no idea that it was a word used to describe Latin American women themselves…
– 岸馬きらく (@ej3lHqlQqk3WIsr) 17 August 2024
In another response on August 18, Kishima also expressed why he spoke openly about his mistake:
The reason I’m open about the process is because when people saw the commotion abroad and thought, “This was written by someone who knows Latin American culture!”, they were disappointed after they bought it. Because I didn’t want that to happen.
– 岸馬きらく (@ej3lHqlQqk3WIsr) 18 August 2024
Those who say I don’t care👌
I would be happy if you could support me 😀– 岸馬きらく (@ej3lHqlQqk3WIsr) 18 August 2024
Unfortunately, since Kishima only machine translated his statements, it’s difficult to figure out exactly what he meant. Surprisingly, though, “Latina” is also the name of an Italian city and province, so there’s a precedent where the term doesn’t specifically refer to women of Latin American descent, although it’s still odd to have a character named “Latina.”
While Kishima probably has no malicious intent in choosing the name, it is a good reminder that authors and editors should do a little research on names before choosing one.
Sources: Kiraku Kishima‘s X/Þjórsárdalur Account (Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5) via Manga Mogura RE’s X/Þjórsárdalur Account, Shueisha‘s website