Why don't jdrama have english title names?

I wonder, cdrama, kdrama have english titles, makes it easy for us that use english (it's not my native language though).

There are some jdrama that have english titles, but not all. Isn't this just a matter of translation?

Ashi Girl    

Marry Me!    

Switch Girl!!    

Transit Girls   

Maybe they should display the english titles if you prefer that over the japanese name in alphabetic characters.

Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo

• Also Known As:   Love Lasts Forever ,  Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo ,  恋つづ ,  KoiTsudu ,  Koi Tsudu ,  Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomademo ,  An Incurable Case of Love    

 ArniA:

There are some jdrama that have english titles, but not all. Isn't this just a matter of translation?

Those just happen to be the drama's original title (meaning, its original title is either in English or in Japanese but with English/foreign word)--what@Elite above said, basically.

To reiterate once again, if a drama does have an English title, it might mean that:

1) Their original title is in English/have English words

2) They're officially licensed abroad (on Viki, Viu, WakuWakuJapan, etc)

3) They're based on another piece of work (manga/foreign production) that does have a commonly-known English title

And seriously, given that most of those dramas are never officially licensed anyway, looking them up with their original title is actually easier.

Perhaps both titles should be displayed on MDL.

In the case of Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo, it could be displayed as a sub-title something like this:

Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo 
(Love Lasts Forever)

The reason I brought this up, is because I have a hard time recognizing those japanese titles. The only japanese drama I know in the japanese title is Hana Yori Dango.

But oh well, I guess this is just the way it is.

 Baklajan:

I also wish the titles were in English. Those who are committed to Japanese dramas might like the original title. But for casual fans it’s almost a barrier.

I agree. I'm a committed J-drama fan by this point, but when I was a newbie the titles were a bit of a barrier, as you said. I got over it, of course, but it seems like it should be something that MDL could do something about, if they wished. There are a few other forum conversations about this that we should familiarize ourselves with, though, to understand the issues with just changing the titles to English, I think.

 kura2ninja:

I might be wrong, but based on MDL's Guidelines, I think if a drama/movie that does have an official English title should be listed with its English title. It's easy enough to do when something is a Netflix original, not so when something only has an official release later on, months (or even years!) after it's aired in Japan. And of course, with a user-generated endeavor like MDL, people don't always follow the guidelines, even if it's there :D

The MDL rule is different for Jdramas and movies.
J-Drama/Special title should be Japanese/Romanized. That kinda suggests that you won't see any J-Drama with its English title.
For Japanese movies, English titles should be prioritized, If there isn't one then the romanized title should be used.

Regardless, all other possible titles can be found in "Also Known as". So, if one knows the English title of a drama and searches with it, it'll appear in the result. You'll have to recognize from the poster

 ArniA:

I only thought it would be more useful to see english titles than romanised japanese titles, which are gibberish to me really.

I mean, "gibberish" is an offensive way of putting this, since it's the Japanese language and not actually gibberish. Certainly having English titles would be easier and more comfortable for English-speaking folks like me, but it's because I don't speak Japanese, not because there's something innately wrong with using another country's language in its titles. 

If we felt really strongly about it, any one of us could put a suggestion up for votes in the forum, and see how far we get.

I think leading with the English title or a translation of the Japanese title where English subtitles are found might be a good idea and then the Romanized version for anything that can't be found with subtitles. Though that's an ideal and probably not practical as it would require some work and review by moderators who approve edits.

An English title makes the dramas more approachable. I don't read  a Romanized title and then say it out loud like I'm a Japanese speaker. And a Japanese speaker isn't going to need a Romanized text. Like others have said - just seems like a barrier. A weird barrier that serves no purpose IMO.

Viki for example seems to understand this and their goal is to get viewers to make money. All the Japanese shows they get lead with the English title.