To Aru Kagaku no Railgun - Episode 1 Discussion / Poll

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Do they both say the same thing?

You mean, is it written out the same way in both Japanese and Chinese? I believe so. Japanese and Chinese (I believe) use the same characters; just, in Japanese there's also katakana and hiragana, in addition to the Chinese symbols they use. (kanji)

[Keroko]

Whee, confusing.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Whee, confusing.

lol, I definitely wouldn't have done so well in my Japanese classes if I hadn't already been an anime watcher and manga reader when I started.

[Keroko]

I can understand somewhat what is going in in an anime when people are talking after watching anime for years, but reading it is still far beyond me.

Maybe they tried to make this sign speak to as many cultures as possible? You know, to emphasize that Academy City takes on students regardless of where you come from.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Maybe they tried to make this sign speak to as many cultures as possible? You know, to emphasize that Academy City takes on students regardless of where you come from.

That definitely makes sense, just like they do in airports and currency exchange areas and such. Academy City is the home for everything science in the Index/Railgun world, if I recall correctly.

[MeisterBabylon]

I know the difference! Japanese use something similar to traditional Chinese script, but most of the world including China use Simplified Chinese. This is definitely simplified Chinese, and the radical/letter meaning "on" here does not exist in Japanese.

So it's English, Korean, AND Chinese meaning the same thing as the picture. Where the hell is the Japanese indeed?!

[kazunari]

I think that sign is based on this sign in Shinjuku in Tokyo.
Japanese is written on the red circle.
Nowadays many public signs are written in multi language in big cities in Japan for
travelers and foreigner residents.

[MeisterBabylon]

Yeah I failed to notice that even in traditional Chinese script, the Japanese language also jumbles the arrangement of the sentence up. For instance, a Chinese would place "Do not" at the start of the sentence, Japanese dumps it at the end, as seen here.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Maybe they tried to make this sign speak to as many cultures as possible? You know, to emphasize that Academy City takes on students regardless of where you come from.

Alternatively, they distrust foreigners and assume that Japanese people don't need to be told.

[dahak]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Alternatively, they distrust foreigners and assume that Japanese people don't need to be told.

Unlikely in a city founded and run by an Englishman.

[MeisterBabylon]

It does then lead to the question of how did an Englishman found and run a Japanese city on xenophobic soil...

[MrTerrorist]

If there's one thing i learn from The Tudors, it's that, praises, gifts, bribes, intimidation and lots of money can get you anything.

[Strange]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

If there's one thing i learn from The Tudors, it's that, praises, gifts, bribes, intimidation and lots of money can get you anything.

Japanese also have a thing for tall blond people.

[OkamiNoKaze]

Well, I followed up Index, by continuing on with this series, I rather liked Mikoto so a spin-off featuring her isn't a bad idea. As far as Kuroko's voice, maybe it's just the way her name is pronounced but, the croaky voice, fits. I'm guessing it was intentional. Saten seems like an interesting character also.