Anime and language

[Daravon]

This is only about japanese anime and its original japanese dubbing.

Of course in general any japanese show is going to be dubbed in japanese. But there should be some instances where you would have some characters speaking some other language. For example, Saving Private Ryan is an american movie, but the germans still speak convincing german. In many american movies you have characters that speak imperfect english or whatever. Sometimes there will be subtitles if it's important.

I never see this in anime. Most of the shows I've seen have taken the cheap way out of just having everybody speak japanese (eg Tenma and the english speaking couple in Monster, or the spanish guy in H&C II). In NGE Asuka is supposedly german, and we get a halfassed scene where she tries to speak german before switching her EVA over to japanese but that's it. For the rest she apparently speaks perfect japanese. I don't hear characters that speak poor or accented japanese. Rarely do I even hear characters that speak smooth english.

Can you think of some shows where you actually get some bona-fide foreign language speaking?

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Sandora, Pedro and Gomez speak a Japanese that's supposed to be Westernized, as they put stressed syllables everywhere. As for actual English... I've only heard it from the Westerners who they hire to play the roles.

[Daravon]

Of course to convincingly portray a language the actor would have to be native speaker or damn good. It seems that anime producers don't go to the trouble to get such talent.

And who are Sandora, Pedro and Gomez?

[jetfire]

I'm watching Monster as well, and I wondered about that...for a moment. Until I realized that the show is made from Japanese people (and for the Japanese market), and that it would be too much trouble to find different (and good) voice actors from many languages. I have seen a few instances in anime where characters would speak some english (ex. Kurz in FMP, "Hello, Japanese Pretty Girls!"). It would be neat if we did see some anime use different languages for characters that belong to different countries, but you have to admit that English speaking creators of movies, cartoons, etc...will take the easy way out as well.

[soundchazer]

Some of the Beck voice actors spoke decent English (albeit still under the "engrish" umbrella).

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Of course to convincingly portray a language the actor would have to be native speaker or damn good. It seems that anime producers don't go to the trouble to get such talent.

And who are Sandora, Pedro and Gomez?

Three Latinos from Excel Saga.

And Jetfire bringing up FMP reminded me of Mao's butchered Cantonese.

[LadySage]

In most of Gravitation's scenes that took place in New York, they spoke English. It seems like they even hired an American guy to place the cab driver, since he was pretty accent-free.

[Major Tom]

Perhaps you should check out the Blood movie. If anything, they did a good and proper job on the dubbing in that film. They hired english voice actors for the english bits, and it does make for a better film (a bit).

In the show NieA_7, the actor who plays Chada, the Indian wannabe alien, is a foreigner, Allan Schintu. I don't know if he's actually Indian though, but they did have an Indian guy doing the next episode previews.

These are the only examples I can think of at the moment. On an intersting side note, I can remember in one of those side panels in manga that the authrs ramble on in, the author of Fruits Basket was complaining about this very subject. So it's not only limited to Western audiences.

[ant]

The Full Metal Panic franchise handles this situation check out FMP TSR.

[LadyYuina]

In most of Gravitation's scenes that took place in New York, they spoke English. It seems like they even hired an American guy to place the cab driver, since he was pretty accent-free.

Although, to me, some of the english parts did sound rather funny; but still, I adore this anime immensely. Was the cab driver the only person who they might have hired a English speaker for?

[Erigion]

Two words: Budget Constraints.

Comparing a Hollywood movie to an anime is really comparing apples to oranges.

But on topic, take a look at The Place Promised in Our Early Days. It sounded like their hired native speakers of English for that OVA.

[miss demi]

there was english in azumanga daioh a little bit with tomo and yukari. i dont remember what they said though.


i swear. if i ever get to be in chatrge of anime i'll have an englsih-spekaing family and just get wo voice actors.

[Javer]

there was english in azumanga daioh a little bit with tomo and yukari. i dont remember what they said though.

"'Ow, good, fine, fantastic!'"

Priceless.

[laborpilot86]

Blood, Gasaraki, NGE, Samurai Champloo and Patlabor are the Anime i've seen with non-Japanese speaking parts in the original dialogue. I think in Samurai Champloo they hired Dutch-speaking actors for the episode with the runaway Dutch official, and they brought in Americans for the 'Baseball Blues' episode.
They did a very good job with the English-speaking characters in Blood, even incorparting differant regional accents.
In Gasaraki, one of the female characters use a very stilted, but understandable English when speaking to a UN soldier
In NGE, They used English-speakers for the 13th Angel episode, but they did mess up Asuka's German badly, unless it's supposed to be a dialect like Saxon or Bavarian
The characater of Kanuka (whose my favorite female character besides Eureka) is supposed to be part-Japanese/part Irish-American, but she speaks with a heavy Japanese accent. The voice actor on the TV series does a pretty good job though.

[Daravon]

"'Ow, good, fine, fantastic!'"

I've actually seen two different translations of that infamous scene. It's hilarious that there could be disagreement on the 'english' she was supposedly saying. Furthermore, on the episode where Kagura tries to help the the 外人 in the airport, I swear they had him voiced by a machine, like in the Radiohead song Fitter Happier.

I actually watched the blood movie. Horrible movie, but it was refreshing.

[Panwolf]

In Hellsing, the helicopter people speak English.. (Actual english!)