Gratuitous Japanese: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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{{quote|''Hey bitch you look [[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
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.
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* 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]] 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 [[
*** 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>
* Done deliberately as a [[Woolseyism]] in the first volume of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-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.
* The English dub of ''[[Naruto]]'' never bothers translating the word "jutsu", even though it could easily be rendered as "technique" or something similar. (The Viz manga translates it as "art" - for example, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" is "Art of the Shadow Doppelgänger" in the manga and "Shadow Clone Jutsu" in the anime.)
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*** And even then, Takaratomy basically deals with the ''engineering'' aspect of the toys, the designs are still made in America by people like Aaron Archer, Bill Rawley, Eric Siebenaler, etc.
** Drift's toy makes it all the funnier, though, thanks to the addition of gratuitous Japanese on his totally badass plus one sword. This sword is an ancient Cybertronian weapon passed down through the mysterious third faction of Knights Of Cybertron, and the implication is that Drift basically defiled it with the kanji for "peerless" to be more gratuitously Japanese.
* In a case of back-engineered
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''"Naze are we teishing?"''
''He looked yuki white with dark ruby and kuro eyes.'' }}
* ''[[My Immortal]]'' uses quite a bit of Fangirl
** Of course, no one knows if it's a [[Troll Fic]] or not.
* It's extremely common in ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' fanfiction for everyone to call [[Trickster Archetype|Duo]] "Braided Baka"
* Played straight in the ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' 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]]'' with Pence in the [[High School AU]] chapters, who speaks in a garbled mix of Japanese, Spanish and English.
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** Not to mention the constant fanfics that have Vegeta calling Bulma "Onna" and talking about how he's the "Saiya-jin No Ouji" and came from "Vegeta-sei"
** Dragonball fandom is particularly guilty of this trope, though in some cases it's because authors are using Japanese to represet alien (usually Saiya-jin) dialects. Perhaps a rare case of a [[Justified Trope]] given that Toriyama used English for Vegeta's attacks for exactly this purpose.
* The [[Deva Series]] has quite a bit of
* 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 Discontinuity|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"''
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*** Also "jutsu" is treated as some foreign ninja word in [[Crossover]] fics
** Also apparently the fandom think that kit and Vixen are Japanese.
* ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'' doesn't have much
* ''[[Starkit's Prophecy]]'' uses this a lot. In case you didn't know, all the characters are '''[[Xenofiction|cats]]'''. This actually makes the
* ''[[Kimagure Orange Road|Kimagure Orange]] College'' started out using only a few Japanese words or phrases. However, around episode 25 there started to be entire passages of dialogue in Japanese (which required that translations be provided.) So either the authors wanted to show off their Japanese language skills, or KOC was slowly being phased into a Japanese language fic.
* The ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' fandom is an interesting case, as the canon actually has a [[Moe Anthropomorphism|personification of Japan]] for whom it's a widely accepted practice to have him use [[Japanese Pronouns]] and even the occasional Japanese term in fanworks as a sort of [[Verbal Tic]]. However, some fanworks still definitely go overboard with this trope for him, and there's debate over whether having Korea refer to China as "aniki" is an acceptable or unacceptable use of this trope.
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* April Richards' ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' fanfics have a tendency to portray Tommy with a dark, mysterious past. And he's Japanese.
* Really, any writer who uses the term "shoujo-ai" to refer to [[Schoolgirl Lesbians]], despite the fact that in Japan, ''shoujo-ai'' refers to [[Lolicon]].
** 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
** [[Gender Flip]], and you get Boys Love and shounen ai for [[Yaoi Guys]].
** 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]]. First time he heard the word, it's highly unlikely it was said with a smile.
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== 文学 <small>(Literature)</small> ==
* 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]]
* Carmela Rodriguez of ''[[Young Wizards]]'' does this occasionally (though usually only with the odd word in Japanese rather than whole sentences).
** There's also the talking TV and DVD player, which, [[Justified Trope|being made in Japan]], occasionally do this. Yes, "talking TV and DVD player." [[It Makes Sense in Context|It's that sort of series]].
* Even James Clavell's ''Shōgun'' (part of the [[Asian Saga]]) suffers from this. The various Japanese bits written into the story range widely, from sentences where he obviously asked an actual native Japanese speaker for a translation, to phrases constructed from words gotten out of a dictionary and inserted into English grammar. Interestingly, Clavell's overly-simplified explanation of Japanese verbs is immediately contradicted by one of those sentences from an actual Japanese person.
** Example: When Toranaga asks if a ship is seaworthy, he ends up asking if the sea is worthy of respect.
* The William Gibson novel ''[[Idoru (Literature)]]'' is taken from the Japanese word for [[Idol Singer
* [[Ender's Game|Battle School slang]] incorporates a lot of Japanese. Most notable is the use of "kuso" as an expletive and synonym for "bulls**t".
* Neal Stephenson's [[Author Vocabulary Calendar|frequent use]] of the term "Nippon" and complete avoidance of the word "Japan," extending to referring to people as "Nipponese." This makes sense when used by an American soldier in the Pacific Theater of World War II in ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', less when used in the cyberpunk future of [[Snow Crash]].
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== 音楽 <small>(Music)</small> ==
* [[Queen]]'s song "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" uses
** A similar example would be their song "Mustapha", which is basically Gratuitous Arabic. At least "Let Us Cling Together" used real words.
** Bohemian Rhapsody also has an instance of Gratuitous Arabic, although since this is a song where Scaramouche can do the fandango, some random "Bismillah"s almost make sense by comparison.
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** Many characters in [[Persona 4]] use Japanese pronouns, but thankfully avoid going overboard.
** In the original Japanese, Bebe would be speaking gratuitous samurai Japanese. The translators described it as "talking like he's in a samurai movie".
* The North American version of ''[[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:
* 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]]'' 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]]'' 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"
** "Die job death car?" (''daijoubu desu ka?'', Are you alright?)
** "Show sea send bang!" (''shoushi senban!'', Ridiculous!)
** "Nip on die ski!" (''nippon daisuki!'', [[Otaku|I love Japan!]])
* In ''[[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
* The 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.
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** And [[Gratuitous Foreign Language|gratuitous Simplified Chinese]]. [[China Takes Over the World|Does that mean..?]]
* The early [[Compile]] shmup ''Gulkave'' is a bizarre example in that it was only released in Japan, yet all its in-game text was in English except for a few lines of romanized Japanese in [http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/msx/a/gulh.htm the hard mode ending].
* ''[[Command & 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
== ウェブコミック <small>(Web Comics)</small> ==
* Parodied in the webcomic ''[[Sword of Heaven]]'', wherein one of the characters bears a weapon named "Muhoushuu-Nihongo-Namae"
* ''[[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 [http://www.roningalaxy.com/comics/chapter-2/page-60/ page 60.]
** This trope is somewhat subverted in the fact that the word "gaijin" in particular doesn't seem to be used gratuitously, so much as it is succinctly. By use of the word, the reader would be able to realize that the person being called a gaijin is a foreigner, is being referenced to by a Japanese person, and also that person's possible tension towards said foreigner. (Since gaijin can sometimes be a rude expression.)
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** Though it should actually be "Retsupurei" - what they've got there sounds like "Let's Pry".
* ''[[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
*** 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."
* Sakura, the [[Catgirl]] student in ''The Official Fanfiction University of [[Redwall]]'', is a stereotypical Japanophile. She intersperses her speech with Japanese words, and has also dropped into [[Japanese Ranguage]] on at least one occasion. [[My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels|Not always the right word]]; she once [[Did Not Do the Research|referred to Nagru's ermine Dirgecallers as]] ''[[Did Not Do the Research|"neko-chan"]]''. It's not clear whether she just didn't know the word for ermine or if [[You Fail Biology Forever|she actually thought they were kittens]] - she's [[The Ditz|not particularly bright]], so it could be either. She later runs into Agent Drake, who is from a Japanese-speaking continuum and represents an author that ''has'' done her research. Eventually this results in her [http://community.livejournal.com/kit_n_minty/5788.html#cutid1 offering to sell internal organs].
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