Forum - View topicJapanese Comedy: Who Gets It?
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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The Japanese seem to LOVe puns. Tons of anime feature them, sometimes all over the place. The problem of course is that puns don't translate into English at all, so unless you're in on the joke being made (through explainatory subtiling or knowledge of Japanese), you aren't likely to get the joke.
For example, Negi, in Negima, also means "wild onion", so there are occasional jokes or scenes that involve the use of that pun. Ichigo in Bleach's name means "first", because it uses the kanji for "ichi" (1), and "go" (counting particle as in "first, second third), but it can also be translated as "strawberry" (different kanji though), something that is referenced at least a couple of times in the series in a comical fashion. It's sad that Adult Swim and Toonami rarely post notes to clue viewers in on these sort of jokes like the fansubbers do. |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Even when the fansubbers add notes I still don't find it that funny, if I have to read an explanation as to why it's funny then it's not really funny anymore.
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Hisdon
 Posts: 411 Location: Poquoson, VA |
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south park is big in japan? news to me O_0
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hentai4me
 Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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In general I don't find the humour that funny. AzuDai worked for me because it was cute rather than uproarously funny, it elicted a smile here and there (usually when Osaka was on screen) but in general it wasn't that funny.
On the other hand I love watching people like Jack Dee(I suggest anyone and everyone watch 'Lead Balloon' even if you have to do unscrupulous things to get it.) or Dylan Moran in stand up, Bill Bailey also gets a vote because he's just wierd. I guess I just like Deapan and Sarcasm...I want to have a wonderfully cynical response to everything. |
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Shorty22
 Posts: 504 |
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I heard somewhere that Seinfield failed there. I never watched the show, but from what I understand/read, there was just too much localized humor in the show that did not translate well at all to Japanese. Of course, as is the way with the internet, people, and bad memories, I have no idea where I may have gotten this idea or if it's even true, so take it with a grain of salt. 
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Anime humor works for me most of the time, especially when it's a visual gag (a la Hayashida's mohawk moving on its own in Cromartie HS). What I don't get is the whole Osaka-ben humor thing. The "Nande daro?" and hand slap, for instance. I used to have two Japanese roommates whose parents sent them tapes of Osaka comedy shows that basically consisted of one guy talking really fast and then saying "Nande daro?" *slap* and another guy laughing at the first.
I don't know if it's a culture barrier or what, but there's definitely something I'm not getting there.
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VW66
 Posts: 5 Location: Oklahoma |
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It's not just the Japanese, I never found Seinfeld funny either. I'm sure culture barriers have something to do with it. The humor in the anime 'sit-coms' doesn't do a lot for me but some of it makes me laugh. Mostly if I'm into a series like that it's to follow the story.
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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The more I see that kind of thing in anime the more funny it is when I see it. I guess it's an aquired taste or something. The tend to do that sort of thing in One Piece a lot lately (usually with Usopp and either Luffy or Chopper). |
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hayakunero
Posts: 61 Location: 日本 |
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"Nandedaro" isn't Osaka-ben. Did they really say "Nandedaro"? If it had been Osaka comedy, they must have said "Nandeyanen." What show did you see? I live near Osaka so I like Osaka comedy much better than Tokyo comedy.  Oujoushimasse mitaina yatsu
I think it's hard for non-Japanese speakers to enjoy Japanese comedy when it is based on wordplay. |
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Zoe
 Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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Regardless of what was actually said, the joke is always the one guy slapping/berating the clueless guy, right? |
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Greennunu
Posts: 145 |
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When I first started watching anime subb'ed I rarely get any of the humour, but as I watch more and more comedy series and even if you don't get a laugh from the fan sub's explaination, its a good note to have because other animes will most likely have those jokes with a bit of modification later on. In conversations with some japanese people they sometimes try to make american style jokes for you but usually it ends up a mix, and you'll probably won't understand it unless you know somewhat of their culture.
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unhealthyman
 Posts: 306 |
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There is also a vast gap between a lot of British Humour and US humour. It seems that comedy is the kind of thing that struggles to cross cultural borders.
I remember when Sky TV was showing some Australian comedy in the UK, and it was genuinely a total surprise and change from the norm of British Humour. British comedy is fairly specific, but it works for me. I don't know what British comedy crosses over well to the US, but there are a lot of comedians and shows which do not even try to cross over at all. It would be interesting to see why comedy seems more localised than other dramatic forms. OT: I am always intrigued, but bothered by the fact that my browser tells me I am misspelling things when I am spelling them in the (UK) English form. - Do Americans notice how I spell 'localised' (without a z) and humour (with a u)? Or armour (with a 'u')? Apparently the American way of spelling is more authentic to original English (as how it was used when the puritans were shipped off to America,) but I find it fascinating how the two have evolved... |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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Yeah, I saw a show on that (the English Language). Blame Daniel Webster for most of the spelling differences. He locked the US forms in stone, while the English ones continued to morph.
Anyways, as for British comedy, I love it, at least what I've seen of it. Coupling, for example, and the humor in Doctor Who and Torchwood, plus of course Monty Python, but who doesn't love Python? |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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Long before I had ever seen anything resembling Japanese humor I had already found great amusement in British humor. I tend to enjoy Japanese anime humor, strait faced British humor, and I even enjoyed the American sitcom Seinfeld. I guess I'm just that kind of guy.
I remember wondering what the hell "colour" (regarding the spelling) and "al-u-mini-um" (regarding the pronunciation) were, but I think most educated Americans learn what that's all about as children. |
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d.yaro
Posts: 528 |
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Well, I don't know enough to be able to explain it but I can make a suggestion on where to get started... Do a bit of research on the topic of "manzai" acts (there's an entry in the ANN Lexicon for it too). I've probably come across manzai's "boke" (comic) and "tsukkomi" (straightman) structure in all sorts of Japanese shows (from things such as the old "Hachiji Da Yo! Zeiin Shuugo!" TV variety show to feature films such as "Warai no Daigaku") without realizing that structure was what the humour was built on. It wouldn't surprise me that I've seen it in various anime shows too without recognizing it. The Rei and Himeko banter in Pani Poni Dash! is the first one that pops into my mind (the "sake-ben"/"syake-ben" example in particular). I came across the following in an article about "Yose" theatre on the goabout.japan.com website, you probably can find out more with a little bit of digging: "Yose is a Japanese-style vaudeville theater. Rakugo (comic storytelling) and Manzai (comic dialogue) are commonly performed in yose theaters. You can watch Rakugo and Manzai on TV in Japan, but it's more fun to see them live." Rakugo is the traditional comic seated on cushion telling a comic story act which is a fair bit above my head. I realize talking about the structure of Japanese comedic acts probably doesn't do much in helping to explain what is funny to the Japanese. Understanding the structure is one thing but figuring out the mechanics of it is another thing unto itself. It's like how someone explained to me the "Gyo!" ending to the one about the fish-shop's master dropping dead where "Gyo!" was the response (in horror/shock) but it's also another reading of the kanji for fish. I'm going like "Okay, so that's how it works but I still don't get it". I suppose the underlying humour is based on being clever and witty enough to be able to follow the wordplay games and riddles. Like I said up top, I'm not an expert on the topic but I hope what I've supplied so far is enough food for thought... |
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