myanime002 wrote:Don't know whether anybody notice previously, the "SG Megatron" young lady, her name is Rikka Takarada. For the individuals who viewed Toys That Made Us ought to recall: Takara was right off the bat well known for their Rikka-chan doll line.
Thing is, the way the names of Rikka Takarada and the doll you mention are spelled and spoken aren't the same.
Rikka Takarada's name is rendered in Kanji as 宝多 六花 (
Takarada Rikka). The 六花 (
Rikka) part when written out in Hiragana form would be as りっか (
Rikka).
The name of the doll, Licca-chan, when written in its original Japanese form is リカちゃん (
Rika-chan). Or as her full name is Licca Kayama, that would be written as 香山リカ (
Kayama Rika). Either way, her given name of "Licca" is rendered in both forms as neither in Kanji nor in Hiragana but in the foreign-word alphabet Katakana as リカ (
Rika). And if one were to write her name in Hiragana form, it would then be as りか (
Rika).
As a result, we have りっか (
Rikka) for the Gridman character and りか (
Rika) for the doll. Both are spelled differently and are spoken differently as well. "Rika" is pretty straightforward "ree-kah", while "Rikka" is more distinct in how there's a brief pause between the two syllables and an extra emphasis place on the beginning of the second syllable, sort of like "ree-'
Kah".
It's a subtle difference to us, yes, but a notable enough one in Japanese to make them unalike in the native tongue of the country from which both originate.