Article[]
This article really has potential. It leaves a lot to be desired. But hey, it's a long article, with small summaries of information written to start on. If anyone wants to add the the Architecture or Landmarks section, or write a good summary of the Arabasta Arc on this page, I'm all for it. I will be adding pictures soon, but if anyone wants to add some temporary ones thats no problem. I worked really hard on this page. Cody2526 02:02, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
Name[]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Oda himself spell the name "Alabasta"? Specifically, on the Eternal pose leading to it?
- Yes, he did. However, every other time it was written he wrote it "Arabasta", including on all maps of the country, the 6th Log Book, and probably other places I'm forgetting at the exact moment. ^^;; --Murasaki 04:27, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
- Yes its one of those Oda confusion starters we get every so often. So long as you redirect one to the other there shouldn't be a problem at all! One-Winged Hawk 22:52, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
As both are correct terms, we must go by what is used most:
Alabasta "One Piece" -wikipedia: 101,000 Arabasta "One Piece" -wikipedia: 43,200
Alabasta is the most used, correct term, ergo, what should be used.
Oh, by the way I myself have only seen it as "ALABASTA" in the manga, can anyone point out where it says "Arabasta" (or some other capitalisation)?
I will move this page in roughly 24 hours, unless anyone wants to refute this. Justyn 22:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
- I do. It belongs at Arabasta, for the following reasons. Both have been used in the Manga, and are technically correct. Oda might not have been the one who always romanized it, and as we all should know, big mistakes happen when someone else romanizes it. There was a page in Shonene Jump, probably romanized by a Shonen Jump employee, not on Oda's staff. This caused a couple major mistakes like Jabra for Ja{ya}bura and I think Lucci was Rucchi. Also consider that 4Kids used Alabasta, so dub fans would use that, any just about any One Piece fansite mentions "they changes Arabasta to Alabasta in the dub" would make that show up. the most romanized version I've seen is Arabasta, and KF used it as well. We aren't wikipedia, just because Google gets more hits doesn't mean it's more popular, and even if it was a little more popular, we don't absolutely need to go by that. I'm basing my facts, obviously on that so far I've only ever seen ALABASTA in artwork, the eternal pose with it, if I remember correctly, had the R and the L switch a could times. SO while both are correct translations that took their time, and weren't rushes, mostly use Arabasta, while some rushes just say Arabasta or Alabasta. Also KF used it, and they know what they are doing. Also by default most translators use R since the Japanese r/l hybrid sound is a little more like R. Simply put: This page belongs at Arabasta. Cody2526 22:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
Basically you are going on that fans of Kaizoku-Fansubs say that 4Kids "changed" it to Alabasta, despite the fact that "ALABASTA" is what is used in the manga. Just being used by 4Kids does not make it automatically wrong.
And, when you have the search show you none of the results that have the other term:
"One Piece" Arabasta -Alabasta: 18,400 hits
"One Piece" Alabasta -Arabasta: 30,000 hits
Justyn 06:28, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
- I have also seen Arabasta in the Manga. Both in the images and romanization of the scan groups themselves, which assuming we are ignoring the scan groups (I realize many names are spelled completely wrong when first done, like Galley-La was Garrera) means both are equally correct. Therefore, We need to consider what our translation groups are using, as well as Google searching. I don't trust Google for perfectly accurate results, I'm sure there's a large number of pages, especially on forums where someone has mentioned Alabasta because they call it that/interchange between both. By default the next choice wold be what do most translators use? Arabasta. I'm not seeing enough proof for Alabasta, while I see just as valid proof for Arabasta, since the translators use Arabasta, then putting aside my own opinion( like Arabasta, it has that ring to it) and that by default people consider the L/R hybrid sound as R in Japanese, I'm siding with Arabasta. Besides, people put too much trust in Google. It's great at identifying Internet pages but really, people rely on it too much.
- The second set of results completely omitted the other term; that means that it only showed the term that we where looking for and not the other term at all. And can you show what page of the manga it shows "ARABASTA"?
Non-Google engines:
Ask.com
"One Piece" Arabasta -Alabasta: 762
"One Piece" Alabasta -Arabasta: 1,630
Yahoo
"One Piece" Arabasta -Alabasta: 3,600
"One Piece" Alabasta -Arabasta: 16,800
It's not just Google. Justyn 07:30, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
- It's not just Google indeed. But remind me again when we started using search engines to gauge "popularity" then go by that. The fact that the results will be "tainted" by forums and certain websites is especially true with ask.com, yahoo makes it much more unlikely. Thus we end up back at Google. But still, just when did we start following WIkipedia's rules for this, and since when has Arabasta been under fire like this? Last I checked most fans preferred Arabasta, and most people use Arabasta. Also all search engines have been known to generate double postings of websites as well pages under the same domain that include your search terms in both. Alabasta wins if we're simply using the basic search engine function without considering anything else, sure. I'm just curious though, since when is Arabasta an iffy name? Whats next, the Marines page coming under question? Cody2526 09:10, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
- Well my view is that since the Japanese version used both spellings, neither is incorrect and that either will do... So long as we have a redirect between one or the other. We also need to note the different versions of the same name.
- The one I've come to know is Alabasta, though my choice is simply because 'Ala' is easier for me to remember over 'Ara'. One-Winged Hawk 10:38, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
- Thanks for reminding me. Ar/labasta is a desert, correct? Well the whole culture seems to be taken from the Arabs and the Egyptians (although Egypt less so) therefore the beginning of Arabasta may be a reference to Arabs, which would be lost if translated as Alabasta, just another piece of evidence for Arabasta. I personally have a harder time remember Alabasta, but I could remember if I really tried, since I prefer Arabasta anyways I don't bother. Cody2526 03:50, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- Actually, the WHOLE of Alabasta arc was based on Egypt. Reread the SBSs and Vivi's page. I just wanted to point that out. One-Winged Hawk 13:33, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- Wow... I'm not even starting on how flawed that is.
If it has actually shown "ARABASTA" in the manga: prove it. Otherwise, it's going against the canon set by Oda. Justyn 08:14, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- It was worth a shot. I'm not, however looking through about 100 chapters of manga searching for ARABASTA in the art. If you will be fair about this maybe you should do it, that is unless your not suddenly going all Dubby on me. Cody2526 08:42, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- I can supply the spelling in the anime... If thats anything. I know its not worth as much as the manga version, its something. ^-^' One-Winged Hawk 13:33, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- What is "going all Dubby" supposed to mean... seriously, I've never heard it before. Justyn 23:19, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
Bingo! Here we are: Arabasta as in the anime. Yeah... Manga would be nice I know. But it is half the quest done already.
I'm searching for Alabasta now. One-Winged Hawk 13:40, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
- Well that's in the Anime, but it is still valid. The Anime is just as valid as the Manga most of the time. I have yet to see Alabasta in the japanese Anime, and we can't go by any dubs, because they've all been butchered. By "going dubby" I meant sorta like going with the 4Kids dub. Are we absolutely sure the ALABASTA in the manga page you showed wasn't translated and replaced by the scanlation group? Cody2526 03:15, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- First, look VERY closely at the Eternal Pose on that page... it says "ALABASTA".
[[Image:Alabasta.JPEG]]
Oh yeah, the anime has used "Alabasta" too. That was a Kaizoku-Fansubs sub by the way.Justyn 04:02, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- Well now all thats been done is created proof for both. In the end it pretty much evens out. I'd recommend just leaving it at Arabasta. Both could technically be proper, but Arabasta sounds better anyways, also the Anime used it on maps and Alabasta on eternal poses, and the Manga, I dunno if thats been translated or not. Cody2526 09:32, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- Hey someone found the Alabasta spelling in the anime... Which episode was that, I kinda couldn't find it. The trouble with the manga is I only can find translations, not raws. Translations tend to spell it how the translator wanted it spelled. ^-^' One-Winged Hawk 14:39, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- BTW I note, that the spelling 'Arabasta' was in almost every episode once they got to that country. Whereas Alabasta as I said, I couldn't find that one. One-Winged Hawk 14:41, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- It's the last episode of the Whiskey Peak arc, forgot the number.
- The terms are not equal, Alabasta gets nearly twice as many hits WITH ARABASTA REMOVED then Arabasta with Alabasta removed: on Google; and nearly five times as many on Yahoo. And I showed that Alabasta is used in the manga, did you notice that LITTLE TINY "Alabasta" on the Eternal Pose in the manga? Justyn 19:40, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
- Why can't we just stick with Arabasta??? It's been fine before, so why try to change it now? What brought up this argument in the first place, I'm content with Arabasta, and you want it changed to Alabasta, and I have no idea what Angel wants. Cody2526 23:53, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
EVIDENCE FOR ALABASTA
- Eternal Pose and map (chapter 113, "大丈夫!!!" ("It's Okay!") - pg. 15)
EVIDENCE FOR ARABASTA
- Map (chapter 179, "決戦はアルバーナ" ("The Decisive Battle is in Alubarna") - pg. 18)
- Dendenmushi (chapter 216, "ビビの冒険" ("Vivi's Adventure") - pg. 8)
- Blue Grand Data File (pg. 114, text says "Arabasta Map")
- The 6th Log "Arabasta"
- The 7th Log "Vivi" ("Voyage So Far" poster has the factions labeled (in English text) as Baroque Works, Marine, Luffy Pirates, Rebel Army, and Arabasta Kingdom Army)
Not only is Arabasta used more often, it's also the second one he used, not a new thing. I prefer using Arabasta for stuff, so that's definitely where my vote goes. ^^
Oh, and if anyone wants scans of any of these, I'll do it, I know some of them might not be easy to find places... And I much prefer using the manga as fact than the anime, as the anime has far more inconsistencies. ^^;;
--Murasaki 02:04, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
- The data files definitely have more information than the Manga, and Oda makes sure it is exact. Most names were found out from the data files, and I have the blue one myself, although I can't read any of it really.
Also Alabasta has more hits on Google, while Arabasta is used by most sub groups. Cody2526 04:40, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
- Oh, I wasn't counting English fandom stuff, I'm just giving the facts. I figured that mattered more, since we have Bon-chan's page as Bon Kurei instead of Bon Clay, using the Oda-sensei version instead of the popular version... ^^
- And... "most sub groups?" Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't K-F the only actual group that did the Arabasta arc? Not saying it doesn't count, I just don't think there are any others out there that did Arabasta... ^^;; --Murasaki, possibly not logged in but I'm not sure because my computer is logging me out randomly. XD
- Really; that many times? ...Well, I'm going to include a note that "Alabasta" is used frequently by fans (see above). Justyn 05:43, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
- And... "most sub groups?" Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't K-F the only actual group that did the Arabasta arc? Not saying it doesn't count, I just don't think there are any others out there that did Arabasta... ^^;; --Murasaki, possibly not logged in but I'm not sure because my computer is logging me out randomly. XD
- Don't you think Arabasta is a better translation as in Arab
iaor Does it reffer to the Muslim God Elaw ??? - Mohid Syed 16:03, October 9, 2011 (UTC)
- Don't you think Arabasta is a better translation as in Arab
It's Alabasta, not Arabasta[]
It's spelled Alabasta as seen on the eternal pose here:
http://groups.msn.com/OnePieceManga/onepiecechapter113.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=2233
Those other pics, I think, are bad translations... - BattleFranky202 00:03, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
- There's far more evidence for "Arabasta", though, and it's the second one used, which seems to me to mean it's the more official spelling. It's not the only time he spelled things one way and then changed it later, with the second spelling being the official one... I seem to remember "Cutty Flam" being spelled with a "K" the first time it was shown in the manga, and I know he spelled "Erumalu" a different way the first time. --Murasaki 03:17, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps everyone here is hard of hearing but in EVERY episode in the anime they say ALabasta not ARabasta (the two sound completely different might i add) - obvious 1
- I think you should you read the posts above besides this is based on writing and not how it is said in the English dub as both 4kids and Funimation dubs have inconsistencies with each other.Mugiwara Franky 08:34, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
who the fuck said anything about dubs? i was refering to RAW which might i add has no images saying arabasta <----- that is only in the subs - obvious1
And it starts again[]
Ok, I think we can settle this now. It is the latest romanization, so like Big Mam, we should stick to it right? GMTails 19:24, January 20, 2011 (UTC)
- I agree. Just in case though, invite some people in the discussion before you move the page. MasterDeva 00:41, January 21, 2011 (UTC)
- Agreed. Should be Alabasta. YazzyDream 00:43, January 21, 2011 (UTC)
If the word fits, write it.DancePowderer 01:10, January 21, 2011 (UTC)
In my opinion, we should wait a while longer because it could be a mistake. Mistakes are usually corrected when the volume comes out. Think about the incident with Jozu's arm back in Chapter 589 (I think that's it) and was corrected with the volume release. It should be next volume when Chapter 611 comes out.68.36.166.78 22:03, April 4, 2011 (UTC)
Oda used both. There is no reason at all to change it. SeaTerror 05:51, April 24, 2011 (UTC)
Bumping this since nobody responded to it. SeaTerror 13:51, May 13, 2011 (UTC)
- Which spelling has he used mostly? One-Winged Hawk 14:47, May 13, 2011 (UTC)
Arabasta I believe. In fact this article even shows another image where he used Arabasta in the actual Arabasta arc. SeaTerror 14:59, May 13, 2011 (UTC)
- According to the first section of this page, this makes 2 for Arabasta and 2 for Alabasta in the manga. sff9 (talk) 20:08, May 13, 2011 (UTC)
Then why the hell was it moved? SeaTerror 23:22, May 15, 2011 (UTC)
This needs another bump. SeaTerror 15:57, May 25, 2011 (UTC)
Symbol[]
I think this is the Alabasta Kingdom' symbol, if you look at chapter 130 in the panel where Vivi reads the newspaper [removed illegal scanlation site] you can see a rebel burning a flag, which can be assumed to be the Alabasta one, with this symbol on it. I don't know if take as fact that this is the symbol, but we should at least consider it. As an alternative we can upload the burning flag as the symbol. I take this one from Sanji outfit, I couldn't find it somewhere else. — Preceding unsigned comment added by leviathan 89 (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~ next time!
I think it's safe to say that's the symbol. That's the only way the flag burning can make sense.DancePowderer Talk 20:23, January 26, 2012 (UTC)
I found the symbol only twice apart from those two you mentioned: In chapter 182 it's on the shield of one of the guards and in chapter 217 it's on Igaram's fan.
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1156/alabastaguard.png http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/899/igaramfan.png
I suppose since it's on the shield of the royal army it could be the kingdom's symbol but then I'd expect to see it more often. Neo ♠ Witch 14:02, February 7, 2012 (UTC)
The Small Towns[]
Why do we need to have individual articles for all the small towns that were just mentioned? They could easily be merged into this article. Galaxy 9000 03:18, May 13, 2013 (UTC)
I hate to bring it up again[]
I noticed under "translation and dub issues", it says under the photo of Karoo iceskating from chaper 611, that the most recent translation spelling from the manga is "Alabasta" but this isn't true. Chapter 823 has the sail spell out "Arabasta". (before viz changed it to L). You can see this on any raw version of the chapter both in and out of the volume. It's even present in the colour manga release and the anime. Aditionally I don't think anyone has ever mentioned this before but on the maps provided in Colour walk 2, Oda did spell it Arabasta too. Personally I've always regarded the evidence as balanced till recently. L and R are just interchangable and both versions have good puns on alabster and Arabia. I adimit I am used to the Ar spelling from old fan subs but I think it's important to consider the most recent manga spellings too. Anyway I don't mind which way the wiki goes, but I do think that the caption under Karoo iceskating should be amended. Rice-grain (talk) 12:14, December 2, 2018 (UTC)
Rice-grain (talk) 19:00, January 3, 2019 (UTC) (Edit: the original image seems to be a dead link now, so I updated to a color manga version of the same pannel).
- "L and R are just interchangable" - why would they be interchangeable? If the name is "Arabasta", then it's not "Alabasta" and vice versa^^ • Seelentau 愛 議 21:45, January 3, 2019 (UTC)
I think it should be Arabasta. In addition to a map in Volume 19, it appears written with R in a canon chapter, while "Alabasta" has only appeared in a non-canon cover. Cdavymatias (talk) 22:28, January 3, 2019 (UTC)
There are more instances for Arabasta than there are for Alabasta be it non-canon or canon. It should be moved. SeaTerror (talk) 22:40, January 3, 2019 (UTC)
I support "Alabasta" because it's the spelling we've used in the community for ages just like "Reverie". 2019 data shows that "Alabasta" outnumbers "Arabasta" compared to 2006 data by the way. But I'm okay with "Arabasta" too given that there are evidences of it appearing in 2 canon chapters plus 3 databooks, compared to just two covers alone with Alabasta. WikiText Signatures are So W***a (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC) (Right, Ed?) 01:15, January 4, 2019 (UTC)
A couple friends and I compiled evidence for both Arabasta and Alabasta in order to discuss changing the term we used for our fan group. This google doc shows all the evidence we've gathered.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tIdooaDWdSq8JYzidwtzlSLrr0nrAtjscwxy3zQkR_0/edit?usp=sharing
TLDR / for people who don't trust links I'll sumerize.
Both spellings show up 3 times in the manga. Al in 113, 127 and 611 and Ar in 179, 216, 823. Arabasta is used in Databook blue and the log books. volume 19 has a map that uses Ar. In colour walk 2 there is another map oda drew that labels it as Arabasta. The Japanese DVDs uses Ar on the log collection sets. The Anime uses both spellings however uses Ar in all it's recap maps during the titular arc. Material from the official Japanese web site uses both Ar and Al. Finally Funi and Viz have used Al in all their releases. Rice-grain (talk) 10:11, January 8, 2019 (UTC)
Only what Oda himself used is what matters. The others don't matter. That aside, Oda has used Arabasta more so it should be moved. If we had to move fishmen to Fish-Man because of color walk then this MUST be moved too. SeaTerror (talk) 18:30, January 8, 2019 (UTC)
Well I would argue that the other material is handy as it shows a general trend towards Ar in other offical Japnese media, I do concur Oda should take priority in most cases, So if you limit the scope to Oda I guess you got both spellings with 3 appearances in the manga, Al's last appearnce being in 611 and Ar's in 823. As for other Oda matieral there is the colour walk map showing Ar and potentially the map in volume 19 which does the same.Rice-grain (talk) 05:56, January 9, 2019 (UTC)
Added it to the article. Kaido King of the Beasts (talk) 16:21, January 14, 2019 (UTC)
That's not good enough when color walk also spells it that way. Otherwise that means we have to move all fishman stuff back. SeaTerror (talk) 16:37, January 14, 2019 (UTC)
Except Fish-Man was never romanized in the manga. Alabasta was. Kaido King of the Beasts (talk) 17:50, January 14, 2019 (UTC)
Arabasta also was and is the latest example of that spelling. Color walks are also from Oda. SeaTerror (talk) 19:21, January 14, 2019 (UTC)
As it stands there are 3 uses for each spelling in the manga, with Arabasta being the latest. To tie break you can look at the colour walk or other media evidence outlined earlier, but so long as the wiki has updated that "latest spelling" mistake, my major issue is setteled. I do think it is Arabasta but I don't mind which way the wiki goes so long as it's not spreading misinformation. This probably does warrent more consideration regardless given all the points made on this topic already, Rice-grain (talk) 17:23, January 17, 2019 (UTC)
The color walks are done by Oda so that would be equivalent to an SBS. That means Arabasta is the correct spelling and if we had to move fishman to Fish-man because of colorwalks then we have to move this too. SeaTerror (talk) 03:25, January 24, 2019 (UTC)
Since this is the most recent spelling, it should be change. Cracker-Kun (talk) 00:22, May 5, 2020 (UTC)
Yeah, so, there's 3 examples of Alabasta (3 chapters) and 5 examples of Arabasta (3 chapters, databook blue, color walk), 6 if you include the map in Volume 19. Plus Arabasta is the most recent spelling, so it probably should be changed to Arabasta, right? Not really any good reason to keep it as Alabasta other than it being familiar. Also the article title should probably be changed to "Arabasta Kingdom" since it's spelled out like that in color walk and the volume 19 map and it's kind of inconsistent to not have kingdom in the article title. DewClamChum (talk) 01:04, May 5, 2020 (UTC)
I feel like if both have appeared in manga and many mediums have shown Alabasta and Arabasta back and forth, then both have a legitimate claim. Al and Ar are not huge differences like Levely and Reverie or Mary Geoise and Mariejois. At that point, it is just Oda being inconsistent with spelling because his English is not exactly top knotch. Both hold weight and it should be a matter of familiarity and whatever is most common in the English language.Nightmare Pirates (talk) 03:51, May 5, 2020 (UTC)
Yeah but since Kaido has the bot, it makes no effort to change it. Cracker-Kun (talk) 15:06, May 5, 2020 (UTC)
It's also spelled "Arabasta" in One Piece Magazine Vol.9. Kaido King of the Beasts (talk) 00:18, June 3, 2020 (UTC)
The most recent manga spelling is "Arabasta", and the magazine spelling is also "Arabasta". So the change is clear. Cracker-Kun (talk) 01:01, June 3, 2020 (UTC)
The magazine said Shanks was a Yonkou at the start of the series. The manga takes priority and so do color walks. So just move it. The bots can do the work. SeaTerror (talk) 01:19, June 3, 2020 (UTC)
Hasn't the change been made for something special? It would not be the first time that a decision is made and it is postponed for months. Cracker-Kun (talk) 15:05, June 4, 2020 (UTC)
It seems I was right xD. Cracker-Kun (talk) 17:40, July 1, 2020 (UTC)
Oda's flip flopping on this has always made it hard/ contentious. Both have been Romanized about as many times as each other in the manga, to the point where I don't think it's necessarily right to put 100% faith in Oda's romanization alone. Many are used to Alabasta because of funimation, viz and 4kids going with it but I don't think that's a valid reason for keeping it either, One Piece is an internationally loved series and basing terms on what one countries localisations choose is kinda short sighted. So I think it's best to try and reason out the intended pun/meaning behind the name and go off of that or else use supplemental Japanese material to tie break because as it stands we can't be sure that Oda won't keep flip flopping even if Arabasta is the more recent usage. So basically it comes down to whether the pun is on Arab or Alabaster or both. I find it far more likely going off the aesthetics of the country that Oda was going for Arab, it's a simplistic more direct pun, which is more inline with his style and we know he's familiar with 1001 nights from an sbs question. The modern architecture, fashion, environment and cuisine all resemble the Arabian penesular. (Although it should be noted that the ancient tombs and royal family are clearly more inspired off of ancient Egypt, I wouldn't be surprised if Arabasta in the ancient past resembled Eygypt like real life it shifted to what it is now. The Alabaster pun feels very remote to me but I wouldn't be surprised if Oda intended to pun both simultaneously looking at the Japanese. It's a non issue in Japanese where L and R are interchangeable but it means English speakers have to priories one over the other. I think that the Arabia parallel is more important to draw since it's literally the basis for the design of the country. That said I also think the Ar spelling best represents both, cause at least you keep the "bast" part either way. you could assume Arabasta is a modified portmanteau of Arab and Alabaster. Finally there's all the side material. As documented in my google docs above, the colour walk, the guidebooks, volumes, anime recaps, dvd covers and official Japanese site all go with Ar. In fact just today we got an announcement of a reprint of the manga in Japan and guess what name they went with on the spins of the box set?
All in all I don't think there is strictly speaking a wrong answer based on the Japanese, so I don't begrudge anyone with going with what they know, but I feel Arabasta just represents the inspiration behind the setting more clearly and it's more supported is supplementary stuff which has to be used as a tie breaker with Oda being so inconsistent, so that's what I'm using personally. Rice-grain (talk) 02:01, July 17, 2020 (UTC) Edit: photo got broken so tried fixing it.Rice-grain (talk) 02:14, July 17, 2020 (UTC)
Shueisha: Is it Alabasta or Arabasta?
Oda: Why not both?
However, Arabasta seems to be better romanization as the region is obviously based on areas populated by Arabs. Cdwp22 (talk) 19:46, July 22, 2020 (UTC)
The fact that they changed the spelling on the boxsets to Alabasta might indicate that that's the spelling they want to go with. But honestly at this point I don't think there's a right answer either. It seems pretty apparent at this point that they're probably never going to settle on one spelling of the name, so we might as well just stick with Alabasta since that's what most English-speaking fans are familiar with and it's been used in an official capacity plenty of times at this point, even if it technically hasn't been used as much as Arabasta. DewClamChum (talk) 20:05, July 22, 2020 (UTC)
What's the source for the image where it's spelt with Al? Cause I've checked all over Twitter, Amazon, their sites and various retailers and they all still use the Ar spelling. Regardless I think their site and all the other material shows how conflicted they are but Ar remains the most used and it's the name that matched the reference best. I don't know if not being used to it is enough to stay the course, considering loads of things have changed in the fan base over the years. People adapt and get used to new spellings like Lode Poneglyph or Laugh Tale all the time. Rice-grain (talk) 11:27, July 23, 2020 (UTC)
The image comes from yesterday's One Piece 23rd Anniversary Live. Takano, Oda's editor, showcased those new box sets. Cdwp22 (talk) 12:40, July 23, 2020 (UTC)
Ah I see, that’s interesting. I wonder if that was an early copy or if a change was made either way later, very interesting that there’s a discrepancy. Either way putting this conflicting example aside, I think the point still stands. Rice-grain (talk) 13:13, July 23, 2020 (UTC)
Solely based on the images, printed box is more reliable then concept art. Rhavkin (talk) 17:20, July 23, 2020 (UTC)
Potentially but considered how recently the art was shown off its very possible that his demo box was printed before hand. There’s no way of knowing which is the final design. Regardless I think this one conflicting example isn’t the be all and end all when we have so many others. I think it’s more important to focus on the frequency and meaning of each spelling. Rice-grain (talk) 02:24, July 24, 2020 (UTC)
I don’t think we should try to interpret which spelling is best based on “meaning” since they both have valid references you could derive from them. Arabasta has appeared far more frequently in material outside of the manga, but within the manga itself they’ve appeared equally. Arabasta is also the most recent spelling that’s been used in the manga. I think if we wanted to change the spelling to Arabasta that would be fine, but I don’t think there’s really any reason it must be changed at this time. Both spellings have been used a lot and there hasn’t really been a clear preference for either of them. I think we could wait and see what the final spelling on the boxsets is, because that would be a very deliberate change which could indicate what Oda’s preferred spelling of the name is. DewClamChum (talk) 03:21, July 24, 2020 (UTC)
I'm not sure we could gleam Oda's prefrence from this one release either way. And there's no reason to value this spelling more than all the others either, like within the volumes, the site, the dvds, magazine, logbook release, the guide books and the colour walk. So I don't think this one example can be a decider. I think this confusion just shows that we can't really rely on the Japanese sources to be consistent. We can only opt for what's generally used more by them. And I think looking at the meanings/refrencesis the smartest option. Arabasta at least represents both potential refrences so to me it feels like the safest bet. We can wait and see if more information comes up but there's equally no reason to keep it as is either. Rice-grain (talk) 07:19, July 24, 2020 (UTC)
[[File:Screenshot 20210121-211436 Samsung Internet.jpg|thumb]]
Official one piece site for polls, I don't know who wanted to change but he made a mistakes. Mugy69 (talk) 09:22, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
Why did you remove my picture ?????? Mugy69 (talk) 16:43, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
The polling site did use Ala but I really don't think that makes any difference. The primary sources are super inconsistent, Oda himself has flip flopped every time the term has come up. I don't think we can rely on any one romanization. It only makes sense to look at the etymology and puns. If you compare sources they're basically equal in the manga, Ara shows up more in data books, colour walks and anime related material. I think the polling only used Ala for the English version of the page so they're just sticking to the most popular spelling in a given region. The Japanese version of One Piece.com still uses the Ar spelling in their "story" section. We've also got the new Eternal Log DVDs rocking that spelling. I'm still cataloguing all the romanizations I know of here: [1]
I think this is just something that can't be definitively proven anymore, so I don't begrudge anyone going with what they prefer. For me and any project I've been involved in, I think it makes more sense to roll with what represents the potential ethymology best and I think the Arab inspired setting makes the Ar spelling more likely and if it's meant to be a portmanteau of Arab and Alabaster, I think the Ar spelling represents both potential puns where the Al only represents the later. Honestly though I think a lot of people will always stick to what's popular because of the English localizations and that's cool.
Rice-grain (talk) 02:21, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
Aside from the ones mentioned theres also an Alabasta spelling from chapter 743. Just for reference
Alabasta Kingdom[]
Any reason why this article is named "Alabasta" instead of "Alabasta Kingdom"? Cracker-Kun (talk) 23:33, May 24, 2020 (UTC)
That's how it is referred to as in the story. Just like how many real life countries are simply called by their name and not like "The Russian Federation" or something like that, like Japan is. Most kingdoms in the story usually have it in their name and thats how they are referred to, like the Drum Kingdom was, but Alabasta was never(I think?) referred to as Alabasta Kingdom, same as Dressrosa. Dot (Talk) 12:20, June 25, 2020 (UTC)
Bruh the infobox romaji and the picture literally says "Alabasta Kingdom". Cracker-Kun (talk) 16:02, June 25, 2020 (UTC)
This would be it's full official name but you wouldn't always use it in every description of it. Like it's not always the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland. It can just be Great Britain. Most countries have very long official titles. So yeah the main title should probably add kingdom but there's no need to have it for every use imo.Rice-grain (talk) 02:16, July 17, 2020 (UTC)
Alabasta, Dressrosa, etc are rarely referred with their "Kingdom" moniker. It's also more convenient for linking seeing that those are major settings, thus there's many articles related to it.
There's also the fact that Drum Kingdom, Sakura Kingdom, etc. prevents ambiguity with other terms like Sakura or Drum Island. KingCannon (talk) 13:30, July 23, 2020 (UTC)