The world of One Piece features a multitude of interesting characters and strange, mysterious islands—but, since the original source material is based in Japanese, many names can get lost in translation. Raftel Island is shrouded in secrecy as it is, but many fans wonder why Raftel is called "Laugh Tale" in more recent versions of One Piece, wondering if it's simply due to mispronunciation or perhaps something more meaningful.

Oda wanted to change "Raftel" to "Laugh Tale" for a while but opted for One Piece: Stampede for the reveal. Apparently, when translated from Japanese, the words "Raftel" and "Laugh Tale" are both spelled "ラフテル" and pronounced "ra-fu-te-ru," making them similar given that Japanese short "u"s are often ignored and "R"/"L"s can be interchangeable.

While Raftel and Laugh Tale are the same island, fans have begun to wonder why there was such a sudden name change out of nowhere. Stick around to learn more about Raftel Island in One Piece, as well as why the creators started calling it Laugh Tale instead.

Raftel Island

There are countless crazy One Piece theories that fans have pieced together over the years, and a few of them revolve around Raftel Island, later known as Laugh Tale. Some fans believe that Raftel Island could house the One Piece treasure, while others believe it holds secrets regarding the Ancient Kingdom, the Void Age, the Ancient Weapons, and much more—in addition to the location of the One Piece treasure.

Apparently, the island was originally discovered by Gol D. Roger and his crew, where they uncovered many secrets about One Piece as well as the true history of the One Piece universe. But no one else in the One Piece universe has managed to find Raftel Island—the main reason why many One Piece fans believe the final arc will take place on Raftel.

There are, however, a handful of poneglyphs with strange ancient texts in various locations, possibly indicating the location of Raftel Island once reconstructed. Regardless, Raftel is undeniably important to the overall storyline of One Piece.

Why is Raftel called Laugh Tale in One Piece?

One Piece: Stampede was a box office success for the already incredibly successful One Piece franchise, created in honor of the 20th anniversary of the One Piece anime series. But the film also came with something fans weren't quite expecting: a name change for one of the most notable locations in history.

Raftel Island appeared in the film under the name "Laugh Tale," a radically different English name from the one everyone was familiar with. The name change sparked much debate and theories among One Piece fans.

Japanese translation: is it a mispronunciation?

Many One Piece fans concluded that the name change was primarily due to the transition from Japanese to English, or similar to "Gold Roger" and "Gol D. Roger." However, this wasn't a mispronunciation at all, as the creators of One Piece intended to make this change—it wasn't a misperception on the part of fans.

Is "Laugh Tale" Canon?

Many fans wondered if Laugh Tale was a non-canonical spin-off, but One Piece Media editor-in-chief Takuma Naito actually shared the reason for the name change in an interview with Oricon News. In addition to confirming that the name "Laugh Tale" was completely canonical, the editor also stated that he knew the name and its meaning long before the change occurred, and explained why this change debuted in the film rather than at a later point in the One Piece anime series.

Meaning of "Raftel" vs. "Laugh Tale"

Apparently, the decision to change Raftel's name to Laugh Tale actually came from none other than Eiichiro Oda himself, and this name was one he wanted to reveal at some point in the storyline—eventually settling on in One Piece: Stampede. But the name seems to have a deeper meaning than fans might have expected.

There's a rather strange bridge between Japanese and English, detailed in a post by a major One Piece fan on Reddit. This fan explains how the translation can differ considerably regardless of pronunciation, and it may very well be related to the "deeper meaning" Oda is implying—or perhaps providing meaning rather than changing it.

"This is a 'translation reveal,' which is a kind of plot development. As a result, 'ラフテル' must have two forms in the story. One is 'Laugh Tale' in English, while another is an ambiguous term written in another language like ラフテル (which only has a pronunciation but no literal meaning)."

Another fan on the same thread pointed out that the name change makes little to no technical difference, depending on how you look at it.

"Rafuteru" is rafuteru and given that Japanese short "u"s are often more or less ignored and Rs and Ls are interchangeable, Raftel is as good a translation as any.

Highlighting the history of One Piece in anime, manga and movies

While the exact reason for the island's name change hasn't been made clear, it's said that the name Laugh Tale and its inclusion in the film were Oda's way of going against the grain. Changing Raftel and revealing its name as Laugh Tale allowed the film to stand out and bridge the gap between important or new canonical details that were only just debuting in the manga and anime formats—only to be enhanced by the One Piece films.

The shift to Laugh Tale was supported in Chapter 967 of the One Piece manga, as seen below thanks to a fan on Quora. Characters in One Piece's story seem to be continuing the shift, though not all formats and versions are the same in this regard.

Following the release of One Piece: Stampede, the name Laugh Tale was adopted by other platforms such as the Funimation dub, as opposed to the name Raftel previously used for both official and unofficial translations. However, some subtitled One Piece anime episodes appear to have kept the name Raftel out of choice.

The reason Raftel Island is called Laugh Tale may have seemed incredibly mysterious at first, especially regarding the potential truth behind Raftel Island. While there are many unanswered questions surrounding this location, the name Raftel Laugh Tale seems to have only come about thanks to meanings translated between Japanese and English—in addition to a few secondary motivations from the creators of One Piece.