Forum - View topicpeople from Osaka
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v1cious
 Posts: 6284 Location: Houston, TX |
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i've noticed in a lot of dubs people from Osaka are always portrayed as dumb hicks. is this like a really rural area of Japan or something?
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one3rd
 Posts: 1820 Location: アメリカ |
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Osaka is the third largest city in Japan. I think the usual stereotypical rural hick region is Hokkaido. I think most of the "dumb hick" portrayal might come simply from the dialect, but I'm not completely sure.
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Kelly
Posts: 868 Location: New York City |
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So in other words, New York Bronx/Brooklyn or London Cockney accents would probably be better approximations of the general idea then?
That's sort of the impression I've gotten when this topic comes up. |
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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My mom mas huge Osaka pride and always says how their food is better and people are nicer there. She has a law degree from UC Berkeley which is #3 in the nation so she's not really dumb. Anyway, it's just their accent really. In the past Osaka people were regarded more as not upper-class and whatnot but recently the "Osaka-ben" is now considered cool and a lot of famous people take pride in their Kansai dialect rather than use "proper" Japanese. I really want to learn Osaka-ben, it sounds like a lot of fun. Usually in animes, the dialect (and character/persona) is wayyyy exaggerated. I lived with my cousins for a while and I hardly noticed their accents at all, and my parents said that they were as Osaka as you can get.
Osaka is more rural than Tokyo for the most part, especially the place I stayed, but it also has its really urban parts (like Namba, the main station). A lot of the beauty of Japan comes from the nature there which is quite unlike anything you can find in America, so I hope the other parts of Japan don't become like Tokyo, to be honest. There's also some rivalry between Tokyo and Osaka (which often takes form between baseball teams), so maybe the bias leads anime producers to make Osaka people look stupid? Who knows. You can't really make a comparison to American people...the culture is entirely different. There are just as many idiots, if not more, in Tokyo as there are in Osaka. |
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Coffeeman
Posts: 298 |
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Osaka is also famous for its' type of comedy.
With the straight man/physical abuse theme, Boke humour is always present when an Osakan character is around (see: Ayumu in Azumanga Daioh, and Tomo's attempts to master Boke humour; see also Yuu in Comic party, and her Harisen) |
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PantsGoblin
 SubscriberEncyclopedia Editor  Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Well, yet again, I couldn't agree with you more on this Fui. I don't particularly like American dubs translating Kansai accents to the dumb hick Southern accent. To tell you the truth, before I went there I actually didn't like Osaka because of what they made it out to be in anime. Going there myself completely changed my opinion of them. They are one of the nicest community of people I have met. They also have great food (the first time I ever ate octopus, I actually liked it). If I were ever to live in Japan I would definatly chose Osaka over Tokyo. Don't let anime fool you cause they're a great group of people and are definatly not stupid (maybe a little odd sometimes but not stupid). |
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Arkard
 Posts: 677 Location: Poland |
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The Osaka dialect isnt really "incorrect Japanese". I mean, yes, the official Japanese "dialect" would be the one from Tokyo but Osaka`s been there longer
 so I really wouldnt go as far to call it improper. But it is true most people like to jokingly mock Osaka. You know how it is with the Japanese, many of them dont like the idea of someone "standing out too much" because when you compare both Kansai (the region where Osaka is located) and Kantou (Tokyo) you definetely notice a difference. Its quite funny, the Osaka inhabitants like to think highly about theselves, that they have totaly different cooking (which is true), like they are more sincere etc. There is a region in Poland called Silesia, which is quite paraller to Osaka - it has its own dialect, and once you go there it feels like a different country.
More on Osaka - this city is freaking huge. It has its rural and urban areas. I will give you an impression on how big this city is. Getting from the most northern part of what is described as "Osaka", to the most southern part, takes about 2 hours by train. |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Not just Japan, but Korea, China, Vietnam and other asian countries has different dialect of the same language, it depend the region: (rurual vs urban)
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6921 Location: Kazune City |
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Well, even non-Asian countries like the U.S. and the UK have different dialects in rural vs. urban areas, or between regions. The supposed "hick" part of Osaka comes from the Kansai Dialect that they speak in the area--it's a type of Japanese that is fairly distinctive from "standard" Japanese, as much as a U.S. southern accent or New York accent would differ from the more or less "standard" American English that I experience in the Midwest. So, dubbing companies use some sort of English regional accent to "approximate" the Kansai dialect--sometimes, this is done well (Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, or so I've heard), and other times, it's done poorly (Love Hina:evil:). So, even if people in the Kansai region aren't exactly "hicks," they sort of get that treatment in English. (Lol, today I spoke a little bit of Kansai-ben with some Japanese students at the conversation table. Amusement was had. I told them I learned it from Kero-chan in CardCaptor Sakura  )
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madpierrot
Posts: 29 |
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Here in America many different parts of the country are known for having their own accents, like the south. Well the same is true for Japan and people from Osaka apperently have a unique accent that's much different then the rest of the country. So to portray this unique accent on the dubs they will give the characters the unique southern accent that's known to everyone here in America. At least that's the best way I can describe it and what I know to be true.
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mrgazpacho
Posts: 316 Location: Australia |
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Osaka - rural?
I believe the neon lights of Dotombori were the inspiration for the futuristic madness depicted in Blade Runner... |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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Osaka is Japan's Texas.
That about sums it up. I do love to hear Osakan characters in anime though, it's a very lively accent, exagerated or not. I hate when they try to dub in Southerners though I get the idea, but it's kind of annoying, and not usually appropriate to the situation. Actually, maybe Osaka is Japan's Jersey. The Jersey accent seems to work better for kansai dialect to my mind. |
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Coffeeman
Posts: 298 |
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And not just because of the Jersey/Mafia and Osaka-ban/Yakuza connection.
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Anthony P
Posts: 227 Location: Phoenix, Arizona, US |
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If Osaka is known for friendly people and good food, then I'd say it's more comparable to Texas.
People from southern parts of the Midwest like Kansas and Missouri have a subtle twang to their voices. The good "standard" American English comes from more northern midwest places like Michigan
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Fui
Posts: 339 |
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No, definitely not. Perhaps anime is skewing the way you view them. I lived in Osaka for a while and the people and culture is essentially the same as anywhere else. I know what both dialects sound like and believe me, it did not even occur to me that I was living in Osaka rather than anywhere else in Japan, unlike when I watch anime where the difference is so exaggerated that you notice it immediately. I will now watch some of the animes I own with Osaka dialects in dubs to see how horribly and inaccurately it's been dubbed. This is going to be painful... |
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