Like manga, I hate it when they, for example, transliterate さん as -san, when there is an “equivalent” word for it, like Mr. but would it carry the same connotation as the source material? I cringe when I buy translated versions of Japanese literature due to this (which is why I stick to the source material), it just… does not sit well, I mean instead of writing -sensei, -senpai, or -sama there are “equivalents” in English for those but the catch is that would it work well upon translation?
I think the trouble is that “-san” is used at times that would feel unnatural for an English speaker to be using Ms/Mr. Same with sama. They have to find a balance between “English equivalent” and keeping a flow that feels natural. For something like sensei and senpai, the hierarchy is just a lot stronger in ways that they aren’t in western countries, so I suppose it reinforces that character dynamic. Japanese and English are such very different languages and cultures, it’s not easy at all to translate! I do prefer they keep the honorifics as it conveys more information/nuance to me than the English would.
That’s my opinion too. Besides, sama is literally untranslatable. You could use “lord” but it doesn’t fit at all because most of the times you’ll be addressed in extre polite jargon like this in restaurants and hotels.
It’s possible to replace the stock customer service keigo with similarly stiff English. There is a distinct register that customer service folks are expected to use in the US, so that does feel translatable. Of course it’s not a perfect match, but maybe that’s the price of translation.