Rocking in Hakata

9 – Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman : 0.2)
10 – Claude Rains (Christopher Eccleston : 3)

First off – how on earth did Matt Parkman (played by Greg Grunberg) know that the language Noah Bennet was thinking in was Japanese? Hmmm… Intriguing. Thanks for hanging in with me and catching the last of this series. I think I explained fairly well in the video about why I’m so harsh to Jack Coleman. I think that Christopher Eccleston’s part is just too tiny to warrant any kind of meaningful commentary. So, I think I’ll just broadly close this out.

I’m a big fan of mixing it up in the media. I’ve wanted to encourage the slow steps forward that are being taken. Even when they are incredibly hokey attempts at Japanese – like the Kill Bill films, the Kevin Brauch opening to the American version of 料理の鉄人 (Iron Chef America) and dubbed version of the original, the 3 Ninjas trilogy (I refuse to acknowledge the existence of the most recent 2 films…which technically create a quintilogy…ugh). One of my most recent favorite attempts at mixing it up with an Asian language was the Joss Whedon show, Firefly, which was later extended and ended with a film called Serenity. It had a plot that featured a future where Chinese slang and expletives had entered English language. Sweet. I like hearing foreign languages used in fun ways. The cool thing about Heroes, though, is that it uses a foreign language in real conversational situations as well as improbable fictional situations. It’s great!

Now, for quick tease. I’ve only seen the first episode of the new season of Heroes. That means I’m 3 behind. But, having glimpsed only the first episode, I’ll say the following. At least one new foreign language appears to be used between a brother and sister. Japanese is going to continue to play a big part – but Kaito Nakamura speaks in English during at least one scene. There is a really interesting foreigner-in-Japan storyline to follow up, as well as a new Japanese plausible-love interest. Assuming that the languages will continue to pop up, I’ll be watching the new season, and jotting down the good moments and make a new set of videos. This time, maybe it will go according to plan and I’ll actually do a good job analyzing them. (This time I’m just lucky to have gotten them up without a computer.) Thanks for hanging with me! Feel free to comment below and rate the characters for yourself. Best? Worst? Thoughts?

One last recap:
1 – Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka : solid 9)
2 – Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee : 8ish)
3 – Boss at Yamagato Industries (Tohoru Masamune : 10)
4 – Detective Furakowa (Tadao Tomomatsu : 5)
5 – Charlie Andrews (Jayma Mays : 3)
6 – Kaito’s Assistant (Brad Greenquist : -320,782.002)
7 – Kaito Nakamura (George Takei : 9)
8 – Kimiko Nakamura (Saemi Nakamura : 9.5)
9 – Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman : 0.2)
10 – Claude Rains (Christopher Eccleston : 3)

[UPDATE: For those of you who want a more detailed look at the Japanese used in Heroes Season 2, doing some searches will yield some promising results. These articles were more for entertainment than for academic analysis, in retrospect.]

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Unsolicited Commentary, Video, 日本語

Got this email a few minutes ago. Thought I’d share it for those who are thinking of doing this thing. As of right now, I’m signed up. I’m crazy. For sure. Because I flipping signed up to write a novel during the heaviest cram time before the JLPT in December. (In fact, to finish the novel 2 days before the test.) But…I figure I’m always ridiculously busy. And it’s something I wanted to do last year. Why miss it? Might not make it, but I’m giving it a go. Who’s with me?

Hello!

This is your imagination. I know work, school studying for the JLPT [my edit], and general craziness have been keeping us apart lately. But there’s something we need to do together this November.

It’s called National Novel Writing Month. For it, we’ll bash out a 50,000-word novel, from scratch, in 30 days. You and me. Writing a book. Together.

I need you to sign us up. Because I don’t have any arms.

http://www.NaNoWriMo.org

Love,

Your imagination

PS – I passed my first practice test over the weekend by a hair. Maybe this thing is actually doable for me. Finished 30 minutes early. Got 63%. 60% is considered a pass. This is pre-study. Now it’s game time. Cram on! 3 more practice tests to go. Next time I’ll take my time, too.

PPS – Did anyone else think that their imagination was channeling the PC Gamer Coconut Monkey? Just wondering.

Deas Customary Drivel

One More Minute by Weird Al, translated into Japanese. I said I’d do it, and I did. Again, because I can. If you missed the first helping of (anti) lovey-dovey absurdity, go catch it here.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Well I heard that you’re leavin’ (leavin’)
別れるつもりだと聞いた
Gonna leave me far behind (so far behind)
遠く離れて行くだろう
‘Cause you found a brand new lover
新しい恋人ができたので
You decided that I’m not your kind (aahh..)
この俺は自分のタイプじゃないと君が決めた

So I pulled (I pulled) your name out (name out) of my Rolodex (oohh..)
だから、俺の住所録から君の名前を除いて
And I tore all your pictures in two
君の写真を全てずたずたに裂いた
And I burned down the malt shop where we used to go
よく行っていたアイスクリーム店を燃やした
Just because it reminds me of you (dippity dippity doo)
その店を見るだけで君を思い出したからね

That’s right (that’s right) you ain’t gonna see me cryin’
そうだ、俺は泣かないぞ
I’m glad (I’m glad) that you found somebody new
新しい恋人を見つけて良かったね
‘Cause I’d rather spend eternity eating shards of broken glass
永遠に壊れたグラスの破片を食べる方が良い、
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより

I guess I might seem kinda bitter
俺は不機嫌に見えるかな
You got me feeling down in the dumps
君が俺をこの気分にさせたから
‘Cause I’m stranded all alone in the gas station of love
愛のガソリンスタンドに一人で残されて
And I have to use the self-service pumps
セルフサービスのポンプを使わなければならない

Oh, so honey, let me help you with that suitcase
だから貴方、引っ越しの手伝いをさせてくれ
You ain’t (you ain’t) gonna break my heart in two
俺は悲嘆に暮れないよ
‘Cause I’d rather get a hundred thousand paper cuts on my face
俺の顔に１０万の切り傷を貰う方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより

I’d rather rip out my intestines with a fork
自分の腸をフォークで切り取る方が良い
Than watch you going out with other men
君が他の男性と好き合うを見るより
I’d rather slam my fingers in a door (yah)
それを見るより、戸に指をバタンと挟む
Again and again and again and again and again
再三再四、何回も

Oh, can’t you see what I’m tryin’ to say, Darlin…
さぁ、分かってくれるか、貴方？

I’d rather have my blood sucked out by leeches (leeches)
蛭が自分の血をしゃぶり取る方が良い
Shove an icepick under a toenail or two
足指の爪の下にアイスピックを刺し込む方が良い
I’d rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue
ニューヨーク大都会のグランドセントラル駅の全てのトイレを
俺の舌でなめて掃除する方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより

Yes, I’d rather jump naked on a huge pile of thumbtacks
はい、裸で画鋲のでかい積み重ねの上に飛ぶ
Or stick my nostrils together with crazy glue
又は鼻孔を強力接着剤で密封する方が良い
I’d rather dive into a swimming pool filled with double-edged razor blades
両刃の剃刀で満たしたプールに飛び込む方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより

I’d rather rip my heart right out of my ribcage with my bare hands
俺は自分の心臓を素手で胸郭から掴み出して
and then throw it on the floor and stomp on it ’till I die
床に投げ落として死ぬまでさんざんやっつける方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより

Thank you, and good night.

Deas Customary Drivel, Humor, Media, Music, 日本語

7 – Kaito Nakamura (George Takei : 9)
8 – Kimiko Nakamura (Saemi Nakamura : 9.5)

So, we’re only going to take a look at 2 characters today. The family of Hiro Nakamura – Kaito and Kimiko, Hiro’s father and older sister. Both characters speak exclusively in Japanese throughout the first season. (In Season 2, as I mentioned in a previous comment, Kaito speaks English for at least one scene. Hiro also swaps out into English in Season 2 for at least one scene where Japanese would have sufficed. I’ll say no more at this point.) George Takei was born in America, but is fluent in English and Japanese (and Spanish, actually, but that’s sort of unrelated). Saemi Nakamura was born in Tokyo, but is an American now as far as I can tell. She’s also fluent in English. I had difficulty choosing which clips to use, but wound up going with the two longest ones. As a result, you don’t get to see Kimiko speaking in reverent Japanese. That’s too bad – her honorifics influenced her score in my eyes. Anyway, what I’m curious about is how on earth the director managed shooting these scenes. Without knowing Japanese, choosing when to pan, zoom, etc. – not to mention that he couldn’t coach the actors to sound less rehearsed… I’m also curious about who translated what. Masi Oka claims to have translated all his own lines – but did they use translators for the other parts? Anyone have any thoughts on that? I left the parts with Hiro and Ando speaking in, as promised. Ando has really weird intonation at the beginning, in my opinion. It’s one of his “ah…he doesn’t know Japanese, does he?” moments. Hiro’s speech sounds pretty American to me, in this clip more than in the previous clips. Listen especially to his ん＋です sentences. Anyway, considering that Hiro’s family is pretty tied up in the whole genetics / powers affair, I’m curious about how Season 2 will pan out…more or less screen time? Hmmm… If you’ve got anything to say or ask, feel free to do so in the comments!

Already covered:
1 – Hiro Nakamura
2 – Ando Masahashi
3 – Boss at Yamagato Industries
4 – Detective Furakowa
5 – Charlie Andrews
6 – Kaito’s Assistant

Coming soon:
9 – Noah Bennet
10 – Claude Rains

Come back for the final entry, Part IV, soon!

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Unsolicited Commentary, Video, 日本語

Here are some more funny moments thanks to the feedback portion of my worksheet. I’ve only done 2 other posts that I can remember like this. (Kids Say the Darndest Things and Awkward Corrections, just in case you missed them.) Please forgive the uncorrected camera tilt and enjoy. Ah – and remember, I teach only in high schools.

By the way, I was inspired to revisit this theme thanks to this adorable (and dead-on) bit of homework posted by The Hopeless Romantic. Take a gander if you like.

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Unsolicited Commentary

4 – Detective Furakowa* (Tadao Tomomatsu : 5)
5 – Charlie Andrews (Jayma Mays : 3)
6 – Kaito’s Assistant (Brad Greenquist : -320,782.002)
*it seriously sounds like “Furukawa” when he says it…but it’s listed this way.

Alright, let’s dig in. Let me first add a note about this series: not every bit of Japanese dialogue is included here. I thought that would be a little over the top. Instead, I opted for scenes where you can get a good feel for the Japanese used. It’s a sampling. The actual series has more Japanese in it than is presented here. Anyway, as I did last time, I’ve placed the actors’ names and my completely subjective (read: exaggerated) Japanese language rating on a scale of 1 to 10 in parentheses – 1 being lousy and 10 being stellar. This time we’re dealing with some characters who make only brief appearances in the first season. Detective Furakowa is the NYPD detective / translator who is assigned to Hiro when he first finds himself in New York City. I gave him a 5 in spite of his name flub. We’re not meant to assume that he is Japanese, I think. I took him to be a Japanese American or an American with some Japanese heritage. But he obviously has been separated from the language to some degree. I also may have bumped his score for the unnecessary translation he does about Star Trek. Made me giggle. Cheap, I know. Charlie Andrews is a waitress in the middle of the desert…who shares a precious bit of storyline with Hiro. Ultimately her part comes to an end and a the takeaway moral of the story is “you can’t save everyone.” At least, I think that’s what it was. Jayma Mays was hard to call. Her Japanese wasn’t very good – but according to the storyline everything she said in this clip she learned in a week from a book. She knew the kanji for 「場違い」 (ばちがい / bachigai / out of place)… Given that that’s the case, Detective Furakowa should be ashamed that she’s on his heels so fast. Lastly, we’ve got Kaito’s Assistant. This guy is supposed to be fluent enough in Japanese to be the henchman for Kaito Nakamura, and yet…his Japanese makes flowers wilt and babies cry. It’s bad. He says the word 「欲しい」　(ほしい / hoshii / to wish or desire) as though it is pronounced “ho-see.” My Japanese teacher told me on the first day that I should rejoice for having chosen a language that is impossible to mispronounce. Kaito’s Assistant proved that wrong and then some. I actually chuckled and then groaned the first time I saw him speaking. I’m not trying to bash his acting, but he seriously needed a speech coach…being threatening (or trying to be threatening) while uttering what must have seemed to be a random collection of mumbo-jumbo syllables has got to be hard, though – so I give him due credit there. Agree with me? Disagree with me? Let it be known in the comments! This brings us to the half-way point in the series. 2 more videos to go.

Already covered:
1 – Hiro Nakamura
2 – Ando Masahashi
3 – Boss at Yamagato Industries

Coming soon:
7 – Kaito Nakamura
8 – Kimiko Nakamura
9 – Noah Bennet
10 – Claude Rains

Come back soon for Part III!

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Unsolicited Commentary, Video, 日本語