His name is Ichigo

[Athena Bast]

No, this thread isn't about Bleach but about that special breed of snobbery. Where does Ichigo fit in? I'll tell you.

Someone I know was telling me about her vacation that coincided with going to a convention of some kind. She's a huge manga fan/reader. So she's goes about telling me how she saw this kid who was like 10 years old and dressed as "the perfect Strawberry from Bleach" and how she kept coming across them this one day at the con. She's huge into Japanese/Asian culture. Is learning kanji and how to speak Japanese and only eats asian food.

I know Ichigo means strawberry but.... who the hell calls him Strawberry?!? His name is Ichigo. I've never heard anyone but her refer to him as Strawberry. Congrats, you know Japanese but his name is still Ichigo.

Anyone else have moments like this? ;) heheheh

[The Xenos]

That's odd. Usually they insist on stupidly using Japanese words instead of English ones, not the other way around.

A friend of mine would use 'baka' waaaaay too much. I swore never to use it again myself. Peppering random anime fandom favored Japanese phrases is quite annoying. That friend also was also calling another friend in his Japanese class with the surname of -chan. Which is not something you do to someone you're in college with. Freaking idiot.

Meanwhile some other friends who leaned Japanese do sometimes drop phrases, but they're more actual common phrases than just ones the anime nerds use.

Yes, I said nerds, not otaku, dammit. That's another pet peeve, people who act like otaku means anime fan. No, it's a general term for nerd or enthusiast or shut in. When I was over there, a friend of a friend asked if I was a camera otaku due to the large SLR camera I bought over. Though certainly the term does have an interesting history among anime fans, or rather manga fans.

[Kage Kisaragi]

So this is the "Hate people who love anime/manga to much thread!?" I'm game if you're game. :p

[The Xenos]

Not that they love it too much, moreso that they act like they know everything and try to speak Japanese when they actually don't know what they're talking about and speak gibberish.

[Kage Kisaragi]

I remember a friend of mine did that back in our junior high school days, he did it a few times in high school to.. but I let it slide because I knew he meant it to be cool or funny, it didn't persay sound stupid but, it was the realization that he was we were black, didn't learn japanese, just had a admitted love of anime, that and we were kids. Still I don't think we actted like we knew everything about Japanese culture or Language, (not for a lack of trying on our parts. heh heh) but I definitely can relate to the thread OP in some way.. I don't do Cons (anime or comic) namely because anime and comics is something private for me, I don't mind talking about to them.. but togathering just for them, or to brag about them, ... something about that strikes me as weird. So when I hear people going on and on about anime like some obessive manic and about a foreign place they never been to or only wanna go to because they love a producted produced there it kind of makes me mad to. Yet, I think its kind of funny.

Oh and this was my 2,500 post. Yay!? Furururu furururu!?

[Nik Hasta]

No, this thread isn't about Bleach but about that special breed of snobbery. Where does Ichigo fit in? I'll tell you.

Someone I know was telling me about her vacation that coincided with going to a convention of some kind. She's a huge manga fan/reader. So she's goes about telling me how she saw this kid who was like 10 years old and dressed as "the perfect Strawberry from Bleach" and how she kept coming across them this one day at the con. She's huge into Japanese/Asian culture. Is learning kanji and how to speak Japanese and only eats asian food.

I know Ichigo means strawberry but.... who the hell calls him Strawberry?!? His name is Ichigo. I've never heard anyone but her refer to him as Strawberry. Congrats, you know Japanese but his name is still Ichigo.

Anyone else have moments like this? ;) heheheh

Actually I'm pretty certain he is referred to as Strawberry a couple of times in the manga itself.

[Athena Bast]

Actually I'm pretty certain he is referred to as Strawberry a couple of times in the manga itself.

I was trying to get my lips around saying Orochimaru and couldn't quite get it out and this uber-Naruto fan (complete with headband and other gear) got all, "It's O RO chi MA ru," and did that little head thing that followers of the likes of Paris Hilton do. You know what I mean.

[Kage Kisaragi]

I was trying to get my lips around saying Orochimaru and couldn't quite get it out and this uber-Naruto fan (complete with headband and other gear) got all, "It's O RO chi MA ru," and did that little head thing that followers of the likes of Paris Hilton do. You know what I mean.

Oh oh oh thats what we are talking about.. oh oh oh, I remember when I got into this tif with a someone online because when I original watched the Shadow Skill Movie that was released in the 1989 (you know the best one.) her name was subtitled and sounded like Ellen Lang, and Gau Pan, .... well you know people watched the OVA ones that were released a couple of years after the one I mentioned, and again the newer series that brought it back into peoples minds but the idea since the 2nd hashing was like "It's Elle Ragu, and Gao Ban!" and all that, and im like thats not what I saw when I saw back in 89 and there all like, its blah blah blah!! and im like screw you, its Ellen Lang and Gau Pan! Doesn't it sound better when say it that way ^_^

Anyway, yeah i have few stories like that, like people who were all trying to correct me on this DBZ forum because i spelled it Broli and not Broly or Brawley, or whatever.. and im like thats what I remember seeing damnit and if you can recognize who im talking about why should it matter?

I mean they were totally pmsing about it, its no big deal right?

[The Xenos]

Well, I must confess some friends and I still complain about this one kid at club who called Evangelion as 'Eee-van gel lion". Though that was among many other things. One time at club he annoucned to everyone that he had to leave because his mom was outside waiting to pick him up and wanted to hear how the last ten minutes of the movie were next week. ... Wow.

[FroFroYo]

o______o

Wow, indeed.

[The Xenos]

I almost want to say this is a generational thing and the problem is 'kids these days'. Yet I know fans my same age who are just as bad. Not sure how much I should say, but mind you, that was a college anime club. Also, I think the friend who did the baka and chan thing was a bit older even. So age doesn't mean maturity.

[Len Ikari145]

Actually I'm pretty certain he is referred to as Strawberry a couple of times in the manga itself.

Hell, one of the female Vizard's officially refers to him as "Berry-san", and I believe there have been other occurances in the manga where people have mocked the meaning of his name.

As for the use of japanese terminology, I've been a little guilty of it. I've used the words "baka", "hentai", "kuso" and even "teme" quite a few times (never in conversation though, usually to myself).

[running_sushi2]

As for the use of japanese terminology, I've been a little guilty of it. I've used the words "baka", "hentai", "kuso" and even "teme" quite a few times (never in conversation though, usually to myself).

actually I think "hentai" isn't such a otakuish word, or rather my (japanese) girlfriend and I, quite often used to refer to each other as Hentai-kun (when kun is used to express the level of my childishness) and Hentai-chan (vice-versa) for days. :)
But elsewise I wouldn't even think about using it in front of a stranger.

and I think the -san mistake is a common problem for everyone starting to learn japanese, because you are always refferred as name-san by others, then this always comes to your mind at the time you have to introduce yourself.

anyways, the strangest occurences are always the people who barge in your japanese conversation with phrases like "Ore wa Otaku desu" "omae wa baka desu" "kimi ga suki desu" etc... etc...
at least you can start gossiping about those people right away since with a probabilty of 99,98% they won't be able to catch the meaning of any of your phrases.:)

[Alex L]

No, this thread isn't about Bleach but about that special breed of snobbery. Where does Ichigo fit in? I'll tell you.

Someone I know was telling me about her vacation that coincided with going to a convention of some kind. She's a huge manga fan/reader. So she's goes about telling me how she saw this kid who was like 10 years old and dressed as "the perfect Strawberry from Bleach" and how she kept coming across them this one day at the con. She's huge into Japanese/Asian culture. Is learning kanji and how to speak Japanese and only eats asian food.

I know Ichigo means strawberry but.... who the hell calls him Strawberry?!? His name is Ichigo. I've never heard anyone but her refer to him as Strawberry. Congrats, you know Japanese but his name is still Ichigo.

Anyone else have moments like this? ;) heheheh

Ichigo = homonym. I think the kanji for his name means "defender" or something like that. Just to be nitpicky. :)

But otherwise, yeah, I've seen a few people say "That's so KAWAII~!" or "Baa..ka" or other such... is there a term for it? Like Engrish, but in reverse?

Never at anime cons, oddly enough -- the people I know or meet are similarly annoyed by people who talk like that.

Hyper Ichiban GO!

[Kage Kisaragi]

... what about the level of english that has gradually been increasing in specks in anime. I mean, I was watching some episodes of bleach today and I could help but notice all the english being added in, usually as stand alone phrases like, "Mission Complete!" "Spirits are always with you!" "No Comment" "Yes" and a few others... how does the community feel about that?

[Eliseu Gouveia]

i like saying okonomiyaki. :D

[tipo4thesoul]

... what about the level of english that has gradually been increasing in specks in anime. I mean, I was watching some episodes of bleach today and I could help but notice all the english being added in, usually as stand alone phrases like, "Mission Complete!" "Spirits are always with you!" "No Comment" "Yes" and a few others... how does the community feel about that?

Teen Titans intro.

[Len Ikari145]

i like saying okonomiyaki. :D

I also have an inconsistent fondness for adding ~nano! and ~de gozaru at the end of my sentences.:p

I just like saying it.:cool:

[Rod G]

I also have an inconsistent fondness for adding ~nano! and ~de gozaru at the end of my sentences.:p

I just like saying it.:cool:

THAT YOU DO.

[Ghost]

I also have an inconsistent fondness for adding ~nano! and ~de gozaru at the end of my sentences.:p

I just like saying it.:cool:

Ah, so da ne? ^_^

THAT YOU DO.

Ah! So desu yo! o_O

[The Xenos]

Holy crap, I kinda understood that. It's not just anime speak either, I heard that a bunch over in Japan. Though I thought it sounded more like 'So das neh'. Eh, 'Romanji' isn't an exact science. That's what you get when translating from Japanese with its katakana, hiragana, and -shudder- kanji. Then again, even within Japan there are different accents. Sure, not as diverse as accents in the much larger US, but still there.

Even my friends who speak Japanese don't know too many kanji. What's the basic set for kanji? Like 2000 characters? Imagine that. An alphabet of 2000 'letters'.

Also, depending on what mood I'm in, I'll say tako yaki or octopus balls. Dammit. Now I want some and I'm back home for the weekend, away from like the two places that sell them I know of.

[Alex L]

Holy crap, I kinda understood that. It's not just anime speak either, I heard that a bunch over in Japan. Though I thought it sounded more like 'So das neh'. Eh, 'Romanji' isn't an exact science. That's what you get when translating from Japanese with its katakana, hiragana, and -shudder- kanji. Then again, even within Japan there are different accents. Sure, not as diverse as accents in the much larger US, but still there.

Even my friends who speak Japanese don't know too many kanji. What's the basic set for kanji? Like 2000 characters? Imagine that. An alphabet of 2000 'letters'.

Also, depending on what mood I'm in, I'll say tako yaki or octopus balls. Dammit. Now I want some and I'm back home for the weekend, away from like the two places that sell them I know of.

Sounds about right. IIRC there's just under 2k jouyou kan'ji (common-use ones, the official list of "should be learned by all school kids") but there's more for names and such/

[Ghost]

As for me, I consistently refer to myself as ore-sama.

[Inkthinker]

Holy crap, I kinda understood that. It's not just anime speak either, I heard that a bunch over in Japan. Though I thought it sounded more like 'So das neh'.

That's because the "u" in "desu" is semi-silent. You almost breathe it rather than vocalize it... it's a like a sub-spoken beat in the word. It's the same with names like "Sasuke" and "Kosuke" (pronounced "sahs-kay" and "kohs-kay", but that "u" is still there, like a hiccup).

I'm not sure what the rule is for "u", but I notice that the semi-silent thing often applies.

For additional fun, if I'm not mistaken (my knowledge of Japanese is very spotty), when pronouncing Japanese the emphasis on almost every polysyllabic word is placed on first syllable. But one of our more linguistically savvy people here can clarify that more...

[Ghost]

That's because the "u" in "desu" is semi-silent. You almost breathe it rather than vocalize it... it's a like a sub-spoken beat in the word. It's the same with names like "Sasuke" and "Kosuke" (pronounced "sahs-kay" and "kohs-kay", but that "u" is still there, like a hiccup)

"DESU!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkVYHUMCCwc) ^_^

[The Xenos]

"DESU!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkVYHUMCCwc) ^_^

Wow. That didn't take long to get brought up. Well, at least you haven't been in a room of nerds at a con chanting: Desu Desu Desu Desu Desu Desu etc.. o_o

[Alex L]

Well, maybe I haven't...

...but I have wandered around a dealer's hall only to see a conga line of Chii's chanting "Pantsu - Pantsu." http://www.fcv-vfl.de/forumgrafik/smilies/ugh.gif

[Robin3]

I think caring one way or another would be a sign of snobbery. This reminds me of the time that manga was coming out and some companies like Tokyo Pop decided not to flip the manga to left-to-right, or to translate sound effects as was done by the prior companies, like Viz.

If someone wants to call an anime character, especially a 10 year old, by his translated name, why is that such a big deal? The people in the original language know what the name means, why can't we? Live and let live.

[Athena Bast]

I think caring one way or another would be a sign of snobbery. This reminds me of the time that manga was coming out and some companies like Tokyo Pop decided not to flip the manga to left-to-right, or to translate sound effects as was done by the prior companies, like Viz.

If someone wants to call an anime character, especially a 10 year old, by his translated name, why is that such a big deal? The people in the original language know what the name means, why can't we? Live and let live.

It's not that. It's people who need to prove they are cooler than you and more dedicated than you and need to bring fandom to another level because they are just that more l33t.

Because I knew Ichigo is Strawberry in Japanese I knew who she was talking about but someone who didn't she would have to explain it proving she knew something that you didn't.

[Drink]

Ichigo = homonym. I think the kanji for his name means "defender" or something like that. Just to be nitpicky. :)

That's something I've been wondering about. If the spoken word for his name is one thing, and the Kanji is something else entirely, how do the Japanese readers know his name? I don't really understand that aspect of the language, and I know how in Death Note they pointed out what the Kanji meant and the actual name.

For that matter, if their names are common words, how do they know when they're talking about the actual word or the name? Though I guess that's where the Honourifics come in.

As for the subject of the thread, I do find it odd to call them the English translation if they aren't actually called that in the Manga. Though I can barely say some names/surnames, I usually just go with whatever they're called in the story.

[Alex L]

"Real" words are often used as names. Look at how many Sakura's there are.

Ichirou also can literally translate to "first-born" (as an aside, for namings).

If a relatively common word is used as a name, it's often distinguished by writing in the katakana alphabet. As an American/English analogue, it would be like writing the name Baker in cursive, to indicate the person's name instead of profession.