Gratuitous Japanese: Difference between revisions

[[File:cit_jastusa_web_comic_22_cit jastusa web comic 22 -_rites rites.png|frame|[[The Worf Effect|Worf-san no warrior skills are now perfect desu.]]]]

{{quote|''Hey bitch you look [[Kawaii|kawaii]].''|'''Willow''', ''[[My Immortal]]''}}

In the [[Anime]] [[Fanfic]] community, the name given to the practice of including in a story the occasional word or sentence (or paragraph!) of Japanese in place of its equivalent in the author's language of choice, [[Self-Demonstrating Article|desu]]. This also occurs in [[Fan Sub|Fansubs]] and [[Scanlation|Scanlations]]s.

Sometimes this can be a mere leavening for flavor, using terms likely to be familiar to even a casual anime viewer such as [[Honorifics]], [[Japanese Sibling Terminology]], various pleasantries and exclamations, and the ever-popular "[[Baka]]". Another popular one is using "Kami" as synonymous with "God" leading to "Oh Thank Kami!" and the like. However, some authors go overboard, dumping into their stories entire sentences and more in Japanese of varying grammatical precision. While the more thoughtful of such authors may provide footnotes or glossaries for the convenience of their readers, the sudden transition from English to a block of Japanese is still jarring for many readers.

Naturally, opinion varies within the anime fanfic community on this subject. Most readers are united in their dislike for finding walls of Japanese text in the middle of their stories, but some do enjoy (much) smaller "flavor bits".

The form of this that just about ''everybody'', even the purists, despises is "[[Fangirl Japanese]]", where a newbie inserts big blocks of Japanese that they don't even understand every other paragraph, not just in their fanfiction (which is usually plain ol' bad) but ''in their everyday life''. The word "''kawaii''" still leaves a bad taste in many reformed fangirls' mouths. It is amusing, though, to read their flailing attempts if you know enough Japanese to realize that no, "koi" is not the verb for "love" and that they've used the word for "bow (weapon)" instead of that for "bow (hair accessory)" by mistake. This is sometimes seen in [[Fanfic]] of such things as ''[[Harry Potter]]'', which isn't Japanese, has [[Original Character|(usually)]] no Japanese characters, and hasn't been anywhere near Japan.<ref>The extent of the series' contact with Japan is a passing reference to the "Toyohashi Tengu" quidditch team in ''[[Quidditch Through the Ages (Literature)|Quidditch Through the Ages]]'', which at least references a real [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyohashi,_Aichi Japanese city] and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu mythical creature] that's probably real in the Potterverse.</ref>

This is also a source of much argument in the area of [[Fan Sub|fansubs]], over whether or not to include honorifics, localize idioms, translate certain special terms, or use translator notes at the top of the screen.

* A general note: If the word "[[baka]]" (a derogatory term, roughly meaning "idiot") appears in any manga or anime, you can be sure that at least some of scanlations/subs leave it untranslated. Probably because it's one of the most well-known Japanese words, even though English words like "idiot" or "fool" could be used without any problems instead.

* Fansubs can also have this, with some things being written in Japanese in the subs, with an accompanying translation. The most infamous example is the "Just according to keikaku (Translator's Note: keikaku means plan)" meme from a parody of a [[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]] fansub.

** Note there are fansubs who invert this, absolutely refusing to give notes and explanations even if that means butchering a joke based on wordplay or Japanese culture, or giving slang and other untranslatable words absurd translations ([[Tsundere]] doesn't mean "bipolar", despite what some would let you believe). Note these tend to be [[Troll|trollsubstroll]]subs that [[Spice Up the Subtitles|make up most of the text anyway]], so this is the least of their issues. All in all, [[Take a Third Option|extremes are bad]].

*** It can also be a useful way to cope, when you're trying to do a 'sense' translation,<ref>where the meaning, not the words, are what matters</ref>, and you realize the English word that would fit the meanings would be instant [[Narm]].

* Done deliberately as a [[Woolseyism]] in the first volume of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei-sensei]]''. When Kaere is in her [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Kaede]] [[Split Personality|personality]], she uses several Japanese phrases, which are transliterated (rather than translated as they would be for other characters) and she even refers to herself as a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]. All of this is to show how this personality is an exaggeration of how an actual Japanese person would act.

* Ninjette from ''[[Empowered (Comic Book)|Empowered]]'', as well as the various McNinja clans she is estranged from, use this a great deal (oft complete with Kana/Kanji). Indeed her very name ({{spoiler|Kaburagi Kozue}}) counts as such given that she is a white girl from New Jersey.

* One of the reasons that Drift from IDW's ''[[Transformers]]'' comic drew so much hatred before his debut was the Gratuitous Japanese ("Dorifuto") and rising sun motif on his car mode. According to his creator, Drift is supposed to be a tribute to the land that birthed [[Transformers]]...[[Did Not Do the Research|which is an even bigger backfire because while the toy molds were indeed Japanese, the brand and the characters were of American origin]].

** Technically they are still behind the toys. Aside from the Star Wars and Marvel Crossover lines, fans still turn to Japan to design robot figures that fold up into vehicles, even for the movies and heavily stylized Animated series since, let's face it, if anyone's going to come up with a robot that turns into a car, it's Japan.

*** Doesn't change the fact that the land that birthed the Transformers franchise is [[Eagle Land|the US of A]], by way of [[Marvel Comics]] and [[Hasbro]]. ''Because'' you think 'Japan' when you think 'giant robot,' many think Transformers is originally Japanese, especially now that [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise|several]] [[Transformers Armada|Japan]]-[[Transformers Energon|original]] [[Transformers Cybertron|series]] have been aired in the US. But they're mistaken.

* In a case of back-engineered [[Gratuitous Japanese]], Ben Dunn's ''[[Ninja High School]]'' started off a Japanese character with an almost offensively fake "Asian-like" name -- "Itchy-koo" -- and—and eventually hamhandedly backformed a real Japanese name around it ("Ichi-kun", from "Ichinohei Hitomi") with the implied explanation that it had been mispronounced all this time. ''Even by her parents.''

* ''[[My Immortal]]'' uses quite a bit of Fangirl Japanese -- inJapanese—in a ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic.

* It's extremely common in ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' fanfiction for everyone to call [[Trickster Archetype|Duo]] "Braided Baka" -- regardless—regardless of character's national origin, and Wufei tossing around "Onna", when everything else is in English.

* Played straight in the ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' fanfic ''[[Digital Prey (Fanfic)|Digital Prey]]'', though it's mostly limited to the names of the canon characters and their attacks, and occasionally using Japanese honorifics when the characters address each other.

* Parodied in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' [[Meta Fic]] ''[[Those Lacking Spines (Fanfic)|Those Lacking Spines]]'' with Pence in the [[High School AU]] chapters, who speaks in a garbled mix of Japanese, Spanish and English.

{{quote| ''"Vivi-chan! NAN DESU KAN! Domo kawaii arigatou Mr. Roboto!"''<br />

''"Kairi no BAKA! Baka Kairi forgetta Pence-chan existikimori!"''<br />

* The [[Deva Series (Fanfic)|Deva Series]] has quite a bit of [[Gratuitous Japanese]], often in the form of common statements such as "Hai" and "Gomen nasai", and occasional phrases (?Ohayo, minnnaaaa-ssaaaaan!?).

* A horrific example of this very nearly destroyed the Improfanfic series ''Final Fantasy Legacy'', and was the very first instance of an Impro part actually being pulled ([[Canon Dis ContinuityDiscontinuity|entirely removed from the series and disregarded by all future authors]]) to save the story. The original author for the sixth chapter (of what would go on to be a 60+ chapter story) committed multiple sins, including killing off half the characters, throwing a brand-new story into ending mode, and spewing rivers of gratuitous Japanese into a story which, at that point, had used ''absolutely no Japanese whatsoever''. Some of the worst examples:

{{quote| Chapter title: ''"Shoujou no Kokoro to Akuma no Higeki"''<br />

... dare ga? Kimi wa dare?<br />

"Davin... don't you remember? Wasurenai yo?"<br />

"Ore no kichigai."<br />

"Iya, Darovan-sama, boku wa kimi---"<br />

* '''[[Eiga Sentai Scanranger (Fanfic)|Eiga Sentai Scanranger]]'' tended to do this. Sometimes it made sense, because a lot of characters were of Japanese descent, but it also manifested when the writer was trying to come up with cool-sounding "alien" names (e.g. kagami/mirror = Kagamirron, the name of a mirror universe). Also, why in the crossover with ''[[Choujin Sentai Jetman]]'' did the characters keep slipping into Japanese...after an alien used her powers so there was no such thing as a language barrier when the story seems to assume the reader's native langue is English?

* ''Team8[[Team 8]]'', otherwise [[So Cool Its Awesome|one of the best]] ''[[Naruto]]'' fanfics around, often suffers from this.

* ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon Big Damn Hero]]'' doesn't have much [[Gratuitous Japanese]] but the unusual part are the [[Yakuza]] terms, which tend to get used occasionally, translated once in the text itself, and replaced by English equivalents. The effect can be... odd.

* ''[[Starkits Prophecy (Fanfic)|StarkitsStarkit's Prophecy]]'' uses this a lot. In case you didn't know, all the characters are '''[[Xenofiction|cats]]'''. This actually makes the [[Gratuitous Japanese]] more plausible; writing the cats' dialogue in English is a just a [[Translation Convention]], so it doesn't matter what language is used. There's also a high chance that it's a [[Troll Fic]] (see [[My Immortal]]).

** What's funny is, the actual Japanese turn for [[Schoolgirl Lesbians]] is "Girls Love," in English. It's also the literal meaning of the words 'shoujo' and 'ai.' So we use [[Gratuitous Japanese]] the same way they use [[Gratuitous English]] when referring to ''the same thing.''

** Also, using hentai for porn (it actually means pervert(ed). Typically used of a person.) Ero (for erotic) is more likely to be used in Japan; for example, an H-game is an [[Eroge]], erotic game (game pronounced as gemu.) ''Also'' also, Nakama doesn't strictly mean teammates with a [[True Companions|family-like bond]]. Otaku as geek is not an affectionate term; basically, it's less 'affectionate term for enthusiastic fan' and more 'loser who will never get a girlfriend because he has no life and speaks only Klingon.' However, like many such things, it may be adopted by people it's said of and soften with time - to some. See [[N-Word Privileges]]. But ''know your Japanese friend well'' before you call him an 'otaku' for liking [[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]. First time he heard the word, it's highly unlikely it was said with a smile.

* Many fanfics confuses 'nee-chan' (big sister) for 'nii-chan' (big brother). Some also use them for ''younger'' siblings -- [[Japanese Sibling Terminology|which is just wrong]].

* [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Eva-fanfic]] ''[[The Second Try (Fanfic)|The Second Try]]'' keeps "baka" and "hentai"... almost exclusively for Asuka insulting Shinji. It also keeps a grand total of one honorific when referring to {{spoiler|Aki}}, which is mainly used to emphasize how adorable that particular character is.

* In ''[[Cannibal! theThe Musical]]'', the characters meet a tribe of Indians called the Nihonjin, who speak Japanese.

* In ''[[Erik the Viking (Film)|Erik the Viking]],'' the oarsman taskmaster is inexplicably Japanese, who hilariously insults the galley slaves:

{{quote| Row! Row! You incomprehensible, horizontal-eyed, Western trouser-wearers!<br />

Eurgh! You all look the same to me!<br />

How I abominate your milk-drinking and your lack of ancestor-worship, and your failure to eat your lunch out of little boxes! <br />

SILENCE! Unceremonious rice-pudding eaters!<br />

How I despise your lack of subtlety and your joined-up writing!<br />

* In Alison Goodman's ''Singing the Dogstar Blues'', one of the heroine's [[Has Two Mommies|two mommies]] is Japanese, and the heroine has picked up some of the language from her and scatters it at random in her speech (as does the mother in question). Unfortunately, it's [[Did Not Do the Research|not very good Japanese]] -- which—which might be excusable in the heroine's case, since she's not fluent, but the mother should know better than to refer to the heroine as "nee-san," which means "older sister."

* The William Gibson novel ''[[Idoru (Literature)]]'' is taken from the Japanese word for [[Idol Singer|Idol Singers]]s, which itself is [[Gratuitous English]]. However, Gibson's transliteration is wrong- it would be spelled ''Aidoru''.

* In the web-novel ''[[Domina (Literature)|Domina]]'', Lizzy insists on only using Japanese when speaking with her Japanese friend Akane. A few comments imply that she tries to speak to ''everyone'' in their native language, but Akane is the only one who understands the language in question.

* ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' parodied this brilliantly in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120606202248/http://www.hulu.com/watch/289406/saturday-night-live-j-pop-talk-show "J-Pop America Fun Time Show"], a public-access TV show run by students from a Japanese class who are, as their faculty sponsor points out, woefully uninformed about the language they're studying.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'', a remake of ''[[Kamen Rider Ryuki]]'' intended for an American audience, kept the "Kamen" in [[Kamen Rider]] untranslated despite the fact that the English name "Masked Rider" is also used in Japan. Producer Steve Wang stated [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216221910/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/02/22/kamen-rider-returns-to-us-television/ in an interview] that he prefers the actual Japanese moniker over the translated form, but admittedly he also wanted to distance ''Dragon Knight'' from Saban's [[Ink Stain Adaptation|early adaptation]] of ''[[Kamen Rider Black RX]]'', simply titled ''[[Masked Rider]]''.

* [[Queen]]'s song "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" uses this -- itthis—it's hard to tell, because Freddie Mercury's pronunciation is terrible, and the lyrics sheets use archaic romanization that renders "wo" as a terminal "o" on the end of the preceding word, rendering portions of the lyrics gibberish to people only familiar with more recent romanization systems. This isn't enough to make it one of [[The Oldest Ones in Thethe Book]], but it is enough to make it [[Older Than They Think]]. This being the 70s, the song was written specifically as a thank you to their vast legions of Japanese fans.

* "[[Me Love You Long Time|Mitchiko from Tokyo]]", as recorded by Gene Vincent, features garbled Japanese ("Wa tasi noko domo") and one instance of butchered German in the lyrics. To be fair, Gene Vincent pronounces "geisha" right and mushing "number ichiban" into "numb and itchy bun" was possibly deliberate on his part.

* [[My Chemical Romance]]'s song "[[Danger Days: theThe True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys|Party Poison]]" includes a woman speaking frantic Japanese in the background.

* One can say [[Blue OysterÖyster Cult (Music)|Blue Oyster Cult]]'s "Godzilla" couldn't be played without this. There is an interlude with a newscaster speaking fluent Japanese, asking the citizens to seek refuge after the titular [[Kaiju]] is seen around Ginza.

* Near the end of "Upside Down (And I Fall)" by Jakalope the singer chants "Ichi! Ni! San! Shi!"

* There is a Japanese version of the [[Veggie Tales (Animation)|Veggie Tales]] "Hairbrush Song". Note: Includes [[Gratuitous English]].

{{quote| Miya sama, miya sama,<br />

On n'm-ma no mayé ni<br />

Pira-Pira suru no wa<br />

Nan gia na<br />

** In the first act finale, the chorus drowns out Katisha by singing "O! ni bikkuri shakkuri to!" This roughly translates as "surprise, with a hiccup." But https://web.archive.org/web/20131027034523/http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Mikado-in-Translation-290255.html declares that it's "Demon, you surprise and shock us!"

** For some, it can be easier than busting your [[Unusual Euphemism|hoop]] trying to get the game's future slang down, chummer.

** Hilariously, the game also includes a few sample Japanese phrases to use to sound badass in combat including, "I'll tear you in half!" The catch? That phrase is lifted directly from the subversive, parody travel guide ''Wicked Japanese'' in its section of things for women to say to rebuff unwanted advances, and is feminine in tone thanks to the "wa" at the end.

* [[Magic: theThe Gathering]]'s ''Kamigawa'' block is guilty of this somewhat. It's set in a world inspired by Japanese mythology, so some untranslated Japanese is to be expected, but some card names (such as Slumbering Tora) really aren't necessary.

* Used by the Aldrin Colony pilots in the [[X (Videovideo Gamegame)|X]]-Universe games. The Terran Democracy and the Argon Federation pilots sometimes use it, but less often. Justified in that Japanese became a major language on Earth prior to the discovery of the jumpgate system

* The North American version of ''[[Devil Survivor (Video Game)|Devil Survivor]]'' has a textual example by what appears to be accident; namely, some of the blue text pertaining to Gin's actions were left in their original Japanese. For instance, {{spoiler|[[media:jin_o_saseta2_4632jin o saseta2 4632.jpg|when you defeat him on Naoya's route]]}}, the text reads "ジンをさせた!"

* In ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Melee'', Marth and Roy from [[Fire Emblem]] speak Japanese in all versions of the game. In ''Brawl'' this was retained, even though fellow Fire Emblem character Ike was given an English voice actor, since he had one in his own game. This may have had something to do with an intent by Nintendo of Japan to [[No Export for You|dummy them out for the American release]], but the localization team liked them enough to keep them in the game. Most of the characters in ''Melee'' actually ''still'' had Japanese voice actors - with many of them using English catch phrases ("Mission Comprete!"). Strangely, everyone who actually spoke got an English voice actor in ''Brawl''...except Marth.

** With the release of ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Shadow Dragon'', there has been much debate over whether or not Marth will be given an English voice actor in possible future installments in the ''[[Super Smash Bros.]].'' franchise.

*** All of this only serves to perplex those who consider the ingame inversion; Lucas from ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]'' has always had English dialogue in ''Brawl'' (even in the original Japanese), despite the fact that he's from [[No Export for You|a game that Western gamers have been fruitlessly clamouring for for years.]]

* Played with in ''[[Street Fighter Alpha (Video Game)|Street Fighter Alpha]]'' with [[Final Fight|Sodom]], a hardcore [[Otaku]]. Many of his win quotes are in Japanese, but he mangles the pronunciation horribly, and they're written as he pronounces them. (For an example, he pronounces ''ichiban'' -- "number one" -- as—as "itchy bun".) Other examples include:

* In ''[[SSX (Video Game)|SSX]] 3'', Japanese competitor Kaori Nishidake speaks approximately zero English; The only time she does is at the character selection screen.

* Not sure if this is [[Gratuitous Japanese]] or reverse [[Gratuitous English]] due to [[Translation Convention]]: In ''[[Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army]],'' an off-screen foreign NPC (you observe her by examining the portion of her fence that is on screen) is described as wearing "a shirt with an angry face on it with three Japanese words above it. The words read BABY DUCK ENEMA."

* The game ''[[Daikatana (Video Game)|Daikatana]]'' was arguably an entire game that resulted from this trope; the name "daikatana" itself is a mistransliteration of a word that actually is read as "daitou".

* ''[[Sudeki]]''. Even the developers admitted they were going for "suteki", which is "lovely/fantastic" in Japanese.

* Likely in reference to the previous example, one of the personality types for the Ninja class in ''[[Disgaea 4: a Promise Unforgotten (Video Game)|Disgaea 4 aA Promise Unforgotten]]'' has him spouting similarly inappropriate Japanese in a foreign accent.

* The code for the Japan flag pants in ''[[The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction]]'' is "furaggu" ("flag").

* In ''[[Siren (Videovideo Gamegame)|Siren]]: Blood Curse'' Howard and Seigo can speak both English and Japanese, and Miyako can only speak Japanese. It's done really well with Seigo, who sounds like he's having trouble talking in English because it's not his native language. Justified because the game takes place in Japan.

* Mariko "Spirit" Tanaka of ''[[Wing Commander (Videovideo Gamegame)|Wing Commander]]'' typically greets the player with "Konichi-wa", and often uses honorifics in her speech in the first game, referring to the player by his last name and callsign as "-san", and once refers to the colonel as "Colonel-sama", in order to represent her Japanese identity. In the second game, she mostly refrains from doing this, except for sometimes substituting "Arigato" for "Thank you" and saying {{spoiler|"Tengoku de omachi shite imasu!" ("I will be waiting for you in Heaven!") before her death}}.

* In ''[[Final Fantasy X -2|Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission]]'', which uses the American voice-actors, occasionally Yuna will use badly-pronounced Japanese words during combat.

* Yoshimo in ''[[BaldursBaldur's Gate]] 2'' speaks a couple of Japanese phrases, though they're spelled funny. "Soh dehs ney?" meant "Soh desu ne?", while "Yokatta" appears to be spelled right. He also mocks his tendency to do this mercilessly ("The tourists love that stuff!")

* Piston Honda in the NES version of ''[[Punch -Out!!]]'' behaves kind of like a [[Japanese Tourist]], because they put this into his character. The following is one of his between-round quotes. Seriously:

{{quote| "Sushi, kamikaze, Fujiyama, Nippon'ichi..."}}

* ''[[MirrorsMirror's Edge]]'' has gratuitous katakana on shipping crates... all gibberish.

* ''[[Command and& Conquer: Red Alert]] 3'': the [[Japan Takes Over the World|Empire of the Rising Sun]] faction actually averts this trope in its cinematics, not including any Japanese at all. The unit names, however, include a few Japanese words sprinkled in -- mostlyin—mostly ones English-speakers would be familiar with, such as the Tsunami Tank and Steel Ronin. Unit dialogue also includes some snippets of Japanese, but overall they come off with much less of it than the [[Gratuitous Russian]] used by the USSR.

* Parodied in the webcomic ''[[Sword of Heaven]]'', wherein one of the characters bears a weapon named "Muhoushuu-Nihongo-Namae" -- a—a subtle joke by the author, as the name means "Gratuitous-Japanese-Name."

* ''[[Ronin Galaxy (Webcomic)|Ronin Galaxy]]'': There isn't too much of this surprisingly, given that the comic takes place on the equivalent of Japan-the-Planet. The examples of this trope are primarily in the titles of the chapters: Chapter One - Gaijin Girl and Chapter Two - Cho Han Hustle. Kira Moritomi also calls Leona a "stupid gaijin" on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120715004218/http://www.roningalaxy.com/comics/chapter-2/page-60/ page 60.]

* Referenced in ''[[Dan and MabsMab's Furry Adventures|DMFA]]'' [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_619.php here].

* ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'': Elliot, being an anime fanboy, insists on using gratuitous Japanese to call out his attacks. (He even asked for a do-over once when he forgot.)

* Freddy from ''[[GhastlysGhastly's Ghastly Comic]]'' constantly speaks some special Otaku language. [http://www.ghastlycomic.com/d/20011216.html The Japanese don't understand the sounds Freddy emits, but this doesn't disconcert him... her... uh, whatever].

* In [http://www.housepetscomic.com/2011/09/21/the-staples/ this strip] of ''[[Housepets (Webcomic)|Housepets]]'', Earl Sandwich even mentions the trope by name, saying that Itsuki can keep using it [[Rule of Cute|because it's cute]].

* ''[[Large Bagel]]'' is possibly even worse about this, however it's an obvious joke.

* [[Retsupurae]]'s title is this ([[Spell My Name Withwith an "S"|sort of]]), although it's less grating than other examples. Their logo is also the kanji for "failure."

* ''[[Gaia Online]]'' both parodies this and plays it straight. The Kira Kira earrings use Gratuitous Japanese to deliberately annoy some of the users. Playing things straight, the artist Drinky Tengu has made two items which only use Japanese names for poses. (The Furugasa, which features Obakemono, and the Yama [no Kami] no Tamago, which is fittingly enough a Tengu.) And finally, Logan and Agatha (neither of whom are Japanese, though they have hung out with Ninjas in the past) named their secret love child Mirai, Japanese for "future".

** They may have been setting up a bonus [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] for users; the shop that Mirai owns was the first one to use Gaia Cash, and her introduction marked the first major step Gaia made toward selling items to users (as opposed to offering thank-you letters for site donations). Now, Gaia is a million dollar corporation, mainly thanks to Gaia Cash-- maybeCash—maybe they were telling us what the future of Gaia was going to be.

*** Except Gaia released the Cash Shop in June 2007 and Aquariums weren't released until September 2008 (almost exactly one year after the first EI was released in 2007). One year after the [[E Is]] had been out, let alone the CS? Hardly a "first step."

* Often a charge within the ''[[Protectors of the Plot Continuum]]'', who seem some pretty ugly abuses of [[Fangirl Japanese]]. One particularly bad case involved a character using "baka" in ''[[Redwall]]''. With poorly placed footnotes. Another one involved [[Gratuitous Spanish]], which, as Agent Mara explained, wasn't even spelled correctly.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series (Web Video)|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]'': In Episode 48, Yugi tells Kuriboh to activate "Super Chibi Kawaii Desu Moe" mode.

* ''[[Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi]].'' In their case, the characters are meant to be Japanese, and they don't tend to use any complex terms. This does lead to a strange case with the theme song (the full version, at least), where Japanese singers are singing an English song that has gratuitous Japanese thrown in at several points.

* In ''[[American Dad (Animation)|American Dad]]'', one of teenage son Steve Smith's nerd friends is a stereotypical Japanese boy named Toshi (or possibly Toushi). He's so stereotypical, in fact, that he exclusively speaks fluent Japanese. While the viewers get to see subtitles whenever he speaks (and his dialogue is often quite humorous), it's evident that Steve and his other friends have no clue what he's saying. At one point, Toushi goes into a lengthy monologue in objection to something Steve had asked him, and Steve responds along the lines of "Wow, that's a lot of words for 'yes'."

{{quote| '''Homer''': ''Satori no himitsu oshieru no?'' (Should we tell them the secret of inner peace?)<br />

{{quote| '''Homer''': ''Shimata baka ni!'' (D'oh!)}}

* Splinter will occasionally use this in the second ''[[TMNTTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' with honorifics and such, as will the characters from the ''[[Usagi Yojimbo (Comic Book)|Usagi Yojimbo]]'' universe (a convention imported from the comic books). However, a more egregious use occurs in ''Fast Forward'', where a race of vaguely bird-like aliens with no established connection with Japan are named the Inuwashi Gunjin.

* The episode "Speak No Evil" in [[My Life Asas a Teenage Robot]] had Jenny speaking speaking in Japanese for pretty much the whole episode. Justified in that Jenny can change language to whichever one she needs at the moment, and the episode began with her going to Japan. It also helps that Janice Kawaye, Jenny's voice actor, is fluent in Japanese.