AnimeSuki Forums

Triple_R · 2013-10-01, 07:58

Most, if not all, of us here are familiar with Engrish in anime. There's plenty of examples of anime characters who mix in this very halting Engrish with a much more natural-sounding Japanese.

But on the flip side, there are some anime characters that speak English well.

Angel Beats! had a character that spoke very little, and what he did speak was usually (always?) English. That character was TK. A lot of TK's English statements were English pop culture references, and/or made no sense grammatically, but the English words themselves were clearly spoken and natural-sounding.

More recently there's Shinobu in Railgun S. Shinobu's use of English seems to suggest that the Japanese really do see English the way English-speakers tend to see French (as this inherently beautiful, exotic, poetic language). Shinobu randomly starts some pieces of dialogue with specific English words or phrases, usually ones that fit the situation very poetically. Shinobu says the English words with a real touch of flamboyance, but at the same time the English words are enunciated well (just with a theatrical slowness for greater impact).

What other examples of good English-use can people think of in anime?

AntonKutovoi · 2013-10-01, 08:17

Well, there's Project K
http://youtu.be/yGbIq0qnyjU?t=3m9s

mistress_kisara · 2013-10-01, 08:20

The British people in the K-On movie I remember them speaking very good english

Kotohono · 2013-10-01, 08:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistress_kisara

The British people in the K-On movie I remember them speaking very good english

Definitely agreed with that, it had it an impressive level .

Alice from Kiniro Mosaic speaks english pretty well, though Karen borderlines the line between good english and engrish

.

Marina2 · 2013-10-01, 11:09

English used by Alice and Karen in Kiniro Mosaic is not perfect but their VA put a lot more effort to it than many show.

Here is one of conversation for example

Infinite Zenith · 2013-10-01, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistress_kisara

The British people in the K-On movie I remember them speaking very good english

As far as I am aware, they had native English speakers provide the voice acting, hence the natural-sounding English.

Archon_Wing · 2013-10-01, 16:38

Raising Heart and Bardiche.

Aka the 3rd and 4th best characters in their respective shows.

Triple_R · 2013-10-01, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

Raising Heart and Bardiche.

Aka the 3rd and 4th best characters in their respective shows.

Good point. Raising Heart sounds like a hot, mature, English-speaking woman.

Bardiche has a perfect British accent.

Obelisk ze Tormentor · 2013-10-01, 18:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

Raising Heart and Bardiche.

Aka the 3rd and 4th best characters in their respective shows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Good point. Raising Heart sounds like a hot, mature, English-speaking woman.

Not being a native English-speaker, I wonder whether the intonation of Raising Heart’s English speaking is good or not (in the 1st movie at least, as that is the only one I watched out of Nanoha so far

). But if you two say that she speaks well then maybe I have no choice but to agree.

McMilk · 2013-10-01, 22:11

Mari Illustrious Makinami in Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 is alright, IMO. Then again, as an "American" character, Sakamoto Maaya probably rehearsed like crazy before the actual recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_oSr-vZsrE

Archon_Wing · 2013-10-01, 22:54

That's not too bad. Maaya Sakamoto is a good VA. That's why I feel she gets wasted so much. Such as that movie.

Mari has a nice ass though.

erneiz_hyde · 2013-10-01, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Good point. Raising Heart sounds like a hot, mature, English-speaking woman.

Bardiche has a perfect British accent.

If I remember right, that's because their voice actors were actual gaijins.

Anyway, the only character I can think up now is Archer by Suwabe.

KanbeKotori · 2013-10-01, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konakaga

Definitely agreed with that, it had it an impressive level .

Alice from Kiniro Mosaic speaks english pretty well, though Karen borderlines the line between good english and engrish

.

Karen speaks better than Alice.

Lord of Fire · 2013-10-02, 00:22

Momoko Asuka from the Ojamajo Doremi franchise can speak fluent English.

Example: http://youtu.be/j2Oe31JT1q4?t=1m9s

Subayai · 2013-10-02, 04:28

Hattori Heiji from Detective Conan speaks english very well.

I think it only happened in one episode but it was funny because Jodie-sensei (who is supposed to be American but ironically her english is not so good) was asking Heiji why was he hiding the fact that he can speak very good english, to which he admitted that she was right and proceeded to demonstrate.

I think Heiji's voice actor Ryo Horikawa studied in America and that's how he learned to speak english well.

Coldlight · 2013-10-02, 08:49

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari (and by extension, the entire Monogatari Series) yet. Chiwa Saito's impressive handling of her character's occasional English lines (mostly in Bake) is a factor in my becoming a fan of both her and Hitagi. She gets a lot of respect from me for that.

I remember reading from somewhere that Chiwa had the opportunity to study in New Zealand for a time, and that's how she's become able to pronounce English words quite well.

spirits having flown · 2013-10-02, 09:05

Anyone ever watched Chuu-Bra? The first episode had Takatou-sensei, voiced by Yuu Asakawa (Vocaloid Luka, Motoko Aoyama), who said something in English. At the AX 2010 panel, she answered some questions in English, which I think is good as compared to the other seiyuu around.

If you do want to listen to some of her voice samples, check this out:

http://www.artsvision.co.jp/data.php?id=508

Around 1:44, you can get to hear her say something in English.

Chiibi · 2013-10-02, 21:11

Sailor Moon's cast made sure Minako could speak English well, since that was a large part of her past.

There's Njihara Ink too, from Moetan....but I'm not sure if that counts....

Soliloquy · 2013-10-02, 22:14

Kate from Sketchbook spoke English which sounded in my ear very natural and not thick in her accent. That was pretty cool.

Animexcel · 2013-10-03, 01:04

I remember some parts in Genshiken.

@2:36

2013-10-01, 07:58	Link #1
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	Anime characters that speak English well. Most, if not all, of us here are familiar with Engrish in anime. There's plenty of examples of anime characters who mix in this very halting Engrish with a much more natural-sounding Japanese. But on the flip side, there are some anime characters that speak English well. Angel Beats! had a character that spoke very little, and what he did speak was usually (always?) English. That character was TK. A lot of TK's English statements were English pop culture references, and/or made no sense grammatically, but the English words themselves were clearly spoken and natural-sounding. More recently there's Shinobu in Railgun S. Shinobu's use of English seems to suggest that the Japanese really do see English the way English-speakers tend to see French (as this inherently beautiful, exotic, poetic language). Shinobu randomly starts some pieces of dialogue with specific English words or phrases, usually ones that fit the situation very poetically. Shinobu says the English words with a real touch of flamboyance, but at the same time the English words are enunciated well (just with a theatrical slowness for greater impact). What other examples of good English-use can people think of in anime? __________________

2013-10-01, 11:09	Link #5
Marina2 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006	English used by Alice and Karen in Kiniro Mosaic is not perfect but their VA put a lot more effort to it than many show. Here is one of conversation for example <p>No iframe support, please <a href="http://youtu.be/cR4nIZLh1jM">watch on YouTube</a>.</p> __________________ Last edited by Marina2; 2013-10-01 at 11:23.

2013-10-01, 22:11	Link #10
McMilk Senior Member Artist Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: サンレス水郷	Mari Illustrious Makinami in Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 is alright, IMO. Then again, as an "American" character, Sakamoto Maaya probably rehearsed like crazy before the actual recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_oSr-vZsrE __________________

2013-10-02, 00:22	Link #14
Lord of Fire The Voice of Reason Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: The Netherlands Age: 47	Momoko Asuka from the Ojamajo Doremi franchise can speak fluent English. Example: http://youtu.be/j2Oe31JT1q4?t=1m9s __________________

2013-10-02, 08:49	Link #16
Coldlight Sayaka★Magica Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Under the piercing blue sky	I'm surprised no one has mentioned Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari (and by extension, the entire Monogatari Series) yet. Chiwa Saito's impressive handling of her character's occasional English lines (mostly in Bake) is a factor in my becoming a fan of both her and Hitagi. She gets a lot of respect from me for that. I remember reading from somewhere that Chiwa had the opportunity to study in New Zealand for a time, and that's how she's become able to pronounce English words quite well. __________________ Miracles and magic do exist. I have no regrets.

2013-10-01, 08:17	Link #2
AntonKutovoi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Vladimir, Russia Age: 30	Well, there's Project K http://youtu.be/yGbIq0qnyjU?t=3m9s

2013-10-01, 08:20	Link #3
mistress_kisara Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008	The British people in the K-On movie I remember them speaking very good english

2013-10-02, 04:28	Link #15
Subayai Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2013	Hattori Heiji from Detective Conan speaks english very well. I think it only happened in one episode but it was funny because Jodie-sensei (who is supposed to be American but ironically her english is not so good) was asking Heiji why was he hiding the fact that he can speak very good english, to which he admitted that she was right and proceeded to demonstrate. I think Heiji's voice actor Ryo Horikawa studied in America and that's how he learned to speak english well.

2013-10-02, 09:05	Link #17
spirits having flown Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 42	Anyone ever watched Chuu-Bra? The first episode had Takatou-sensei, voiced by Yuu Asakawa (Vocaloid Luka, Motoko Aoyama), who said something in English. At the AX 2010 panel, she answered some questions in English, which I think is good as compared to the other seiyuu around. If you do want to listen to some of her voice samples, check this out: http://www.artsvision.co.jp/data.php?id=508 Around 1:44, you can get to hear her say something in English.

2013-10-02, 21:11	Link #18
Chiibi Vanitas owns you >:3 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: in a boring place you will not want to go to	Sailor Moon's cast made sure Minako could speak English well, since that was a large part of her past. There's Njihara Ink too, from Moetan....but I'm not sure if that counts.... __________________

2013-10-02, 22:14	Link #19
Soliloquy 絶対領域に嵌り過ぎた。 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Trendy Backwater Age: 38	Kate from Sketchbook spoke English which sounded in my ear very natural and not thick in her accent. That was pretty cool. __________________ Zettai Ryouiki Addict

2013-10-03, 01:04	Link #20
Animexcel Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006	I remember some parts in Genshiken. @2:36 <p>No iframe support, please <a href="http://youtu.be/9-1AhiukDc0">watch on YouTube</a>.</p> <p>No iframe support, please <a href="http://youtu.be/pysFELAQR6o">watch on YouTube</a>.</p>