ChouToshio
01-24-2010, 09:10 AM
Accents in Dubs!
Love 'em? Hate 'em? Let us hear your thoughts on all the bizarre accents anime characters get when transitioned to the English language (or any other I guess).
Why is Bakura Brittish? Heck, why is Ren (Shaman King) stuck with a Brittish accent when he's CHINESE??
Dialects in Anime!
It's not like we don't understand that accents can be interesting-- they can give a character a new dimension and a cultural flare. Actually a lot of characters in anime have accents (well dialects really).
Some examples:
Kansai Ben (dialect) is without a doubt the most common dialect to be heard in Japanese anime. Kansai is a major region in western Japan, which includes Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto. There are some subtle differences within the region, but most Kansai-ben speakers in Anime use Osaka-ben, in large part because it's traditionally used for Manzai (a form of stand up comedy) and also used by many comedian television personalities. Amongst Japanese, Osaka folks just have an image of being funnier.
Example:
Standard Japanese (casual): Sonna tsumaranai koto itteru baai janai darou!
Kansai-ben: Honna Shoumonai kotta yuutoru baai chau yarou!
English: It's no time to be saying something so boring!
Some Kansai characters you may know: Rex Raptor/Dinosaur Ryuuzaki (yu-gi-oh), Bill (Pokemon), Shinji Hirako and Gin Ichimaru (Bleach), Kuroi Nanako "Kuroi-Sensei" (Lucky Star), Ootani Atsushi, Koizumi Lisa and the rest of the cast in Lovely Complex.
As an added note of funky trivia, Kenjirou Tsuda, the voice for Seto Kaiba is also from Osaka, and plays Suzuki in Lovely Complex (even though the character Kaiba has no real hint of Kansai-ben in his speech).
Other dialects are not as exposed to media (so most Japanese have a hard time understanding them, therefore they are often avoided), but there are a few other examples. Off the top of my head, Meiko (Yu-gi-Oh) speaks in Hiroshima Ben, and Chichi (Goku too I think?) from Dragon Ball speaks in a really strong northern country dialect (though not specified to a certain one). Gokuu-sa ha ii danna sama dabe~ When Nodame goes off on Shinichi, she'll sometimes rant in Kyuushuu-ben, which neither Shinichi nor the rest of us can hope to decipher lol.
That being said-- if anime characters are going to be given funky English accents in the dubs, why not give the give the accents to characters that actually should have them?? What do you guys think of making Chichi talk like a Red-Neck or giving Rex Raptor the Brooklyn accent? :D
Love 'em? Hate 'em? Let us hear your thoughts on all the bizarre accents anime characters get when transitioned to the English language (or any other I guess).
Why is Bakura Brittish? Heck, why is Ren (Shaman King) stuck with a Brittish accent when he's CHINESE??
Dialects in Anime!
It's not like we don't understand that accents can be interesting-- they can give a character a new dimension and a cultural flare. Actually a lot of characters in anime have accents (well dialects really).
Some examples:
Kansai Ben (dialect) is without a doubt the most common dialect to be heard in Japanese anime. Kansai is a major region in western Japan, which includes Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto. There are some subtle differences within the region, but most Kansai-ben speakers in Anime use Osaka-ben, in large part because it's traditionally used for Manzai (a form of stand up comedy) and also used by many comedian television personalities. Amongst Japanese, Osaka folks just have an image of being funnier.
Example:
Standard Japanese (casual): Sonna tsumaranai koto itteru baai janai darou!
Kansai-ben: Honna Shoumonai kotta yuutoru baai chau yarou!
English: It's no time to be saying something so boring!
Some Kansai characters you may know: Rex Raptor/Dinosaur Ryuuzaki (yu-gi-oh), Bill (Pokemon), Shinji Hirako and Gin Ichimaru (Bleach), Kuroi Nanako "Kuroi-Sensei" (Lucky Star), Ootani Atsushi, Koizumi Lisa and the rest of the cast in Lovely Complex.
As an added note of funky trivia, Kenjirou Tsuda, the voice for Seto Kaiba is also from Osaka, and plays Suzuki in Lovely Complex (even though the character Kaiba has no real hint of Kansai-ben in his speech).
Other dialects are not as exposed to media (so most Japanese have a hard time understanding them, therefore they are often avoided), but there are a few other examples. Off the top of my head, Meiko (Yu-gi-Oh) speaks in Hiroshima Ben, and Chichi (Goku too I think?) from Dragon Ball speaks in a really strong northern country dialect (though not specified to a certain one). Gokuu-sa ha ii danna sama dabe~ When Nodame goes off on Shinichi, she'll sometimes rant in Kyuushuu-ben, which neither Shinichi nor the rest of us can hope to decipher lol.
That being said-- if anime characters are going to be given funky English accents in the dubs, why not give the give the accents to characters that actually should have them?? What do you guys think of making Chichi talk like a Red-Neck or giving Rex Raptor the Brooklyn accent? :D