Being among the last geeks in America to see the Star Trek movie, I hope you’ll indulge the following, as it’s currently top of mind. <Claven>It’s a little known fact</Claven> that (at least, according to my wife, whom I have no reason to doubt), in Japan, Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu is not Mr. Sulu, but, in fact, Mr. Kato.

This makes sense when you realize that Sulu is not, by any means, a standard Japanese name. (At least, not as far as my experience goes.) That isn’t to say it doesn’t translate. It does, in fact, mean something in Japanese. It means “do.”

By process of logic, then, this means that–had the Japanese not changed Mr. Sulu’s name when importing Star Trek many stardates ago–Mr. Sulu would effectively be Mr. Do.

Also, rumor has it the Klingons were wholesale replaced by koopa troopas.