fictional Japanese names

[kevin332]

I usually don't have much trouble finding furigana for real Japanese names, but how the heck are you supposed to read names of fictional characters? I've always found it odd that fictional names are usually written in kanji with no hiragana clarification when the kanji could be pronounced 6 different ways. Are you just supposed to wait until you hear it spoken out loud to be sure or am I missing something?

[migimaru]

I think most authors follow the convention that a name will be interpreted as its most common reading, and when it isn't, the name is usually written also in hiragana when it first appears (at least in printed media).

When you don't have that, you pretty much have to guess what it is until you see/hear something official. I've found it to be a pretty frustrating problem too when I'm trying to translate plot summaries. I've guessed wrong a couple times before :( But even Japanese people get confused - I've occasionally seen them post on various sites asking for correct readings of names.

[kevin332]

ahh, okay that explains it. everyone's pretty much in the same boat then. i guess it shouldn't come as a surprise to me since few have ever pronounced my last name right just from reading it. ;)