Episode 162 – English in Anime

Episode Summary: Inspired by a question by blazekizashi about English in anime the Anime Addicts talk about what anime directors do to be cool and trendy in their shows.  From English and other languages in the anime to foreigners and  their representation.

Opening Song: Revise the World from the anime Muv-Luv Alternative by the artist Ayami

Main Topic Notes: 

ORIGINAL QUESTION by blazekizashi:
I don’t know if you guys realize it or not but there seems to be a lot of English in anime. Not that it’s a bad thing but anime characters’ dialogue and especially the theme songs can be randomly filled with arbitrary English lines that can sometimes be weird to listen to…  Do you guys think its because they’re trying to appeal to a large English audience or is it that the language simply has infiltrated cultures all over the world, including anime? Just wondering…

English/Other Languages:
Girls un Panzer: German – For some reason in Japan German is almost as trendy as English to speak.  I think it is because of the fact that Japanese have a deep respect for German culture.  As a result we see many German influences in anime and random words thrown in, Girls un Panzer is one such thing.  
Mirai Nikki: German – I can’t say if there’s German in the anime itself, but the opening song Kuusou Mesorogiwi uses random snippets of German in the chorus for “one two three.”
[C]: English – now it could be argued that the character is American and in the flashbacks or scenes of her interacting with other Americans could be authentic rather than trendy or gimmicky.  But with how AWFUL the voices were no one but English speakers would know it was awful, leading me to think that if the director wanted to be authentic they would’ve found someone who actually speaks English well to do the 3 minutes of dialogue.  

Foreigners:
Tari Tari: This could also go under the first category but there is a group of hispanic performers, one of whom only speaks in Spanish with eccentric motions and actions.  This series was serious enough that I may be inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt that it was a representation for how nervous foreigners make Japanese people – which was shown.  But he also served as a key comic relief and a spectacle for characters and viewer.
Utena: Bet you didn’t see this coming.  But seriously, there was no reason for Anthy to appear of Indian descent other than to set her apart as something mysterious and exotic.  Not to mention the fact that she was OWNED could be seen to ruffle a few feathers in that regard.
Black Lagoon: I think Dutch is very cool, and very stereotypical of the “big black guy” that many Japanese people have the perception of.  Dangerous, renegade, overly muscled.
Ouran High Host Club: In this anime Tamaki Suoh is actually a halfling, a half-Japanese, half-French character.  The important thing to note is that he has BLONDE hair.  Genetics say no to that mix.  But it’s an interesting thing that just because someone is “half” they become much better than a “whole” Japanese person.  This example holds true in:

• Rebecca Miyamoto (half-Japanese, half-American) from Pani Poni Dash!
• Momiji Sohma (half-German, half-Japanese) from Fruits Basket
• Elise Housen (half-French, half-Japanese) from Canvas 2
• Eri Sawachika (half-British, half-Japanese) from School Rumble
• Maria Tachibana (half-Russian, half-Japanese) from Sakura Taisen
• Heindrick and Elizabeth K. Strawberryfield (half-English, half-Japanese) from Kamen no Maid Guy
• Niina Isokawa (half-American, half-Japanese) from Tona-gura
• Sophie Balzac Kirisaki (half-French, half-Japanese) from Yakitate Japan
• Meister Silvan Kirisaki (half-French, half-Japanese) from Yakitate Japan

Angel Beats: The character TK from Angel Beats shows another side to how foreigners are viewed in Japan.  Crazy, funny, amusing, impossible to understanding, brash, loud, but somehow charming to be around.  TK is incredibly annoying at times but the entire cast has no problem tolerating him.

• Another example of the loud American steryotype is Roy Focker from Macross

Closing Song: Sarari from the anime Suki tte Ii na yo by the artist Sunoehair