Pretty sure it’s just “rule of cool” most of the time.
You’re thinking about this wrong. The reason it’s done this way in Japanese is because the sounds you’re trying to translate to do not exist in Japanese.
Who says that キルア is translated to Killua? Google translate? If you know that キルア should be Kirua, then that’s fine.
>キルア is translated to Killua (should be Kirua)
He is a fictional character in a world not based on Japan, and his name obviously comes from “kill”. It’s not “キルア is transliterated to Killua” but “Killua is transliterated to キルア”
>スタジオジブリ is Studio Ghibli (should be Studio Jiburi)
The name comes from [Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caproni_Ca.309) and ‘Ghibli’ refers to a desert wind. It’s not “ジブリ is transliterated to Ghibli” but “Ghibli is transliterate to ジブリ”.
Basically, when a word/name comes from other languages and the らりるれろ are originally “L”, they’re spelled with “L” in the (re-)transliterations in most cases.
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But some Japanese words/names are spelled with “L”, too. It’s just a personal choice. “Ō > OH”, “K > C” are sometimes used for the same reason.
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Pretty sure it’s just “rule of cool” most of the time.
You’re thinking about this wrong. The reason it’s done this way in Japanese is because the sounds you’re trying to translate to do not exist in Japanese.
Who says that キルア is translated to Killua? Google translate? If you know that キルア should be Kirua, then that’s fine.
>キルア is translated to Killua (should be Kirua)
He is a fictional character in a world not based on Japan, and his name obviously comes from “kill”. It’s not “キルア is transliterated to Killua” but “Killua is transliterated to キルア”
>スタジオジブリ is Studio Ghibli (should be Studio Jiburi)
The name comes from [Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caproni_Ca.309) and ‘Ghibli’ refers to a desert wind. It’s not “ジブリ is transliterated to Ghibli” but “Ghibli is transliterate to ジブリ”.
*According to [Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%82%B8%E3%82%AA%E3%82%B8%E3%83%96%E3%83%AA#%E5%90%8D%E7%A7%B0): 宮崎駿の思い込みから「ジブリ」となったが、「ギブリ」の方が原語に近い発音である。
Basically, when a word/name comes from other languages and the らりるれろ are originally “L”, they’re spelled with “L” in the (re-)transliterations in most cases.
​
But some Japanese words/names are spelled with “L”, too. It’s just a personal choice. “Ō > OH”, “K > C” are sometimes used for the same reason.