Most viewers who watch anime in Japanese are likely to have heard bad English spoken by a supposedly native English-speaking character. For example, a British or American character who speaks with an unexplainably thick Japanese accent, or whose words feel rigid or nonsensical. These characters are presented as native English speakers but sound unnatural to English speakers. In the last few years, Do It Yourself and Blue Lock are two anime featuring native English characters whose English feels a little less than natural.Rurouni Kenshin (2023) Season 1, Episode 8 “Beauty on the Run,” features a supposedly native English character, a ship captain, who is talking to Takeda Kanryu, a Japanese drug syndicate leader. The captain shakes his head in disdain at the end of the scene, saying, “Kanryū, you are fantastic.” The moment was puzzling and unintentionally funny for English viewers, as his words belied his intention. Moments such as this, while infrequent, can break viewers’ sense of immersion, raising the question of why these issues exist when a high amount of attention is lavished on other parts of the anime.The issue of bad English used by characters who are meant to be native English speakers can be traced back multiple decades. Anime released in the 1980s and early 1990s were notoriously bad for portrayals of foreign characters, such as Sakigake!! Otokojuku (1988), where a USA national basketball player says “shar it” (shut it) in a Japanese accent. This isn’t an English-language issue alone, though. In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Asuka, whose first language is German, speaks her native language with a Japanese accent and, incredibly, accent-less Japanese. In the early 2000s, Hellsing’s Father Andersen said, “If anyone does not love the Lord, Jesus Christ. Let him be accused. Oh, Lord!. Come, amen.” There are hundreds of examples, and many of them can be found online.RELATED: Zom 100: How Akira Tendou Became A Beacon Of Hope For The Zombie Apocalypse — And The Real WorldRELATED: Why Violet Evergarden is a Must Watch Anime for Hopeless Romantics
Most viewers who watch anime in Japanese are likely to have heard bad English spoken by a supposedly native English-speaking character. For example, a British or American character who speaks with an unexplainably thick Japanese accent, or whose words feel rigid or nonsensical. These characters are presented as native English speakers but sound unnatural to English speakers. In the last few years, Do It Yourself and Blue Lock are two anime featuring native English characters whose English feels a little less than natural.
Rurouni Kenshin (2023) Season 1, Episode 8 “Beauty on the Run,” features a supposedly native English character, a ship captain, who is talking to Takeda Kanryu, a Japanese drug syndicate leader. The captain shakes his head in disdain at the end of the scene, saying, “Kanryū, you are fantastic.” The moment was puzzling and unintentionally funny for English viewers, as his words belied his intention. Moments such as this, while infrequent, can break viewers’ sense of immersion, raising the question of why these issues exist when a high amount of attention is lavished on other parts of the anime.
The issue of bad English used by characters who are meant to be native English speakers can be traced back multiple decades. Anime released in the 1980s and early 1990s were notoriously bad for portrayals of foreign characters, such as Sakigake!! Otokojuku (1988), where a USA national basketball player says “shar it” (shut it) in a Japanese accent. This isn’t an English-language issue alone, though. In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Asuka, whose first language is German, speaks her native language with a Japanese accent and, incredibly, accent-less Japanese. In the early 2000s, Hellsing‘s Father Andersen said, “If anyone does not love the Lord, Jesus Christ. Let him be accused. Oh, Lord!. Come, amen.” There are hundreds of examples, and many of them can be found online.
#Bad #English #Anime
Note:- (Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor. The content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.))
