YOU SAID:
There was once a guy...
INTO JAPANESE
かつて男がいた...
BACK INTO ENGLISH
There used to be a man ...
INTO JAPANESE
そこに男がいた...
BACK INTO ENGLISH
There was this guy.
INTO JAPANESE
そこに男がいた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
There was this guy.
That didn't even make that much sense in English.