I was reading about Dungeon Meshi and Kuro, the “kobold”.

Kobolds are usually depicted as canine humanoids in Japanese media compared to the more reptilian humanoids that kobolds are depicted as in western media[4] such as Dungeons and Dragons. The reason for this is credited as either a mistranslation of the first Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual[5] or because of the lack of reference art in said Monster Manual, but a picture of a jackalwere being present on the opposite page[6], which was then used as reference art for the anime, The Record of the Lodoss War. That anime is credited for solidifying the trope of canine kobolds in Japanese media.

From https://delicious-in-dungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Kobolds#cite_note-5

And the supporting youtube video https://m.youtube.com/shorts/rUntTZ6spOc

Bonus fact: piglike orcs.

  • Mnemnosyne@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    It’s not a mistranslation that caused it, kobolds were both described and illustrated as doglike until 3rd Edition where with no explanation they simply changed it and decided they were lizard like/draconic.

    I do think the new version of kobolds is an interesting creature, but truthfully they should’ve just come up with a new name for this new creature instead of just completely changing the kobold.

    • pwalker@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      Found a really good source including a picture of the first edition. It looks like that they were mentioned indeed in the 2nd edition to be more dog like in a sense of voice “yappin like a dog” and smelling like damp dog. Their visuals however were not really dog like. So I assume it was maybe both a mistranlation and an over interpretation of some texts from 2nd edition or just pure free choice from the author of this anime. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2022/01/dd-monster-spotlight-kobolds.html

      • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        Their visuals however were not really dog like.

        The kobold in the 1st edition illustration in the article you linked has a distinctly dog-like muzzle. Other related media, such as Stone Soup, also depict or describe them as “dog-like”.

  • SSJMarx@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    2 months ago

    In the old D&D fluff, kobolds are described as having “dog like faces”. They became lizard and then dragon people later, so I guess you could say that both versions of kobold are equally divergent from the original concept.

  • Tudsamfa@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 months ago

    I’m still fighting the good fight of keeping Kobolds as they originally were in Germanic fairy tales: weird little guys spiritually bound to a house or ship.

      • Tudsamfa@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        If you expect a consistent appearance from fairy tale creatures I am sorry to disappoint you. They’re just weird, little, solitary creatures.

  • Bianca_0089@lemmy.todayEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    I always saw kobolds as ‘slightly redder than normal goblins’ in old grindy korean MMOs

  • tiredofsametab@kbin.run
    1·
    2 months ago

    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/コボルト seems to have a bit of a different approach stating that D&D 3rd ed. changed them to be more reptilian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobold actually seems to corroborate this. I played D&D since the end of the 1st ed. days and I think of them as kinda dog-like heads that were also scaly. I have a 2nd ed. Monstrous Manual, but it’s on the other side of the world at the moment so I can’t check.

    https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kobold

    https://adnd2e.fandom.com/wiki/Kobold_(Creature)

    I’m not buying the OP here.