A "spoonerism" is a rearrangement of selected letters in adjacent words, changing the pronunciation of the syllables. It is a literary device often used in comedy and parody, for example in the famous case of the Herlock Sholmes character in Maurice Leblanc's "Arsène Lupin" novels. The use of the name Herlock also establishes a literary precedent for the romanization of the Leiji Matsumoto character Space Pirate Captain Herlock, which can be seen written out in the 1991 GAINAX series "Otaku no Video". For whatever reason, US companies releasing the Herlock properties have used the more phonetic spelling "Harlock." On a whole other tangent, the titles of anime classics "Detective Conan" and "Lupin III" were changed for the US release. "Conan" takes its name from "Holmes" author Conan Doyle, whereas "Lupin" is a direct reference to the Leblanc character.
The title Mei-Ra Sjun is a spoonerism referencing a popular magical girl franchise that, as of this writing, is not commercially available in the US.
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