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Is “Bardroy” His First Name?

I saw this post recently, saying that Bardroy is his last name, but I disagree.

They cite the moment from ch 176 when Bard tells Sebastian not to call him “Mr” as evidence of this. If this were the only clue we had, I may have been forced to agree. However, it’s not.

But let’s look at the original version of this page first:

In the top left panel, Sebastian refers to Bard as

バルドロイさん

translation: Bardroy-san

Then, on the bottom right panel, Bard replies,

アンタオレの上官なんだろ

“さん” なんか付けるなよ

The first line, somewhat literally translated (more literal than the official English translation) says,

You’re my superior officer, right?

While the second says,

So don’t add something like “Mr”

Though Yana elects to use “さん” in the Japanese with no furigana (telling you how to read it) when Sebastian uses it, she does with Bard, specifically having Bard say “Mister.”

To me, this places emphasis on Sebastian insisting on politeness rather than wanting us to see him as literally calling him “Mr. Bardroy” in English, the same way one would say “Mr Smith.” Especially since Bard specifically says “don’t add something [to my name].”

Two things are important to remember here:

Japanese can use honorifics with first and last names. John Smith can be “John-san” or “Smith-san.” Although it’s typical in Japanese to use last names, perhaps bc all the servants, including Sebastian, go by first name, Yana wanted to maintain that convention so there wasn’t a need to give Bard a surname.

In Japanese manga, there are two kinds of quotation marks used— 「」 and “”. The first is generally used when quoting someone or a particular phrase or word, verbatim, while the second is used more the way we might italics or bold in English—for emphasis. Bardroy is thus highlighting the term more than saying “literally this is what you said”— he just doesn’t get why his superior would be so polite and finds it “creepy.”

In Japanese, it’s generally rude not to use an honorific, but ofc that’s not the case in English. The issue Sebastian has is less with Bard wanting Sebastian to drop the honorific than it is with calling him “Bard” instead of “Bardroy,” since, on the next page, he says it’s not proper to call him by an abbreviated name.

That Sebastian also mentions that “senior servants” like himself and Bard “never call themselves by their first names,” to me further suggests that “Bardroy” is not his last name, but his given name.

The fact that his son is “Bardroy, Jr” also supports the theory that it’s a first name bc “Jr” is used when the person shares their full name (first, middle, last) with their father, and people aren’t generally referred to as “Smith, Jr” but by “John, Jr.”

Lastly, don’t forget that this is the chapter that avoided translating Bard’s (somewhat homophobic) insult to Sebastian as “pretty boy” or “Nancy boy.” (They went with “pale, skinny dude.”) So not sure if I would rely solely on the English when deciding if “Bardroy” is or is not a first name.

Based on the Japanese, that’s my stance on the matter, and unless Yana provides proof to the contrary, I will personally use it as his first name.

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