AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - Licensed Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

Pelleas · 2007-03-28, 05:29

Funnily enough, this issue came up on the threads in YouTube for Full Moon wo Sagashite. My replies there appear to apply here except the idiotic/mature ratio of posters seem much more favorable here

First off, it's a Japanese show, so it's aimed towards a Japanese audience. It's pretty obvious that whatever language is being spoken is for the benefit of the audience it's intended for. Since Rock was hired to be an interpreter for Balalaika and Revi is Chinese-American, it's my guess you're to assume everyone's speaking English.

A good American example of this is "Enemy at the Gates". Instead of having Jude Law and Rachel Weiz learn Russian for two years before filming, they speak English and leave it to the audience to figure out that yes, they're Russian and therefore speaking Russian.

Personally, I think Black Lagoon handled this better by having Revi and Balalaika speaking English (albeit horribly) to cue the audience before reverting back to Japanese. It definitely aids in perceiving all those moments of tension and alienation certain characters find themselves in during this series.

Also, I agree about the "hotness" of the cigarette kiss. It's my favorite scene in the entire series. Discarding the usual Hollywood-type cliche' and replacing it with disturbing elegance.

2007-03-28, 05:29	Link #859
Pelleas Cute but Useless Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waaaaay over there	Better a few pockets of bad English than a crappy English dub job Funnily enough, this issue came up on the threads in YouTube for Full Moon wo Sagashite. My replies there appear to apply here except the idiotic/mature ratio of posters seem much more favorable here First off, it's a Japanese show, so it's aimed towards a Japanese audience. It's pretty obvious that whatever language is being spoken is for the benefit of the audience it's intended for. Since Rock was hired to be an interpreter for Balalaika and Revi is Chinese-American, it's my guess you're to assume everyone's speaking English. A good American example of this is "Enemy at the Gates". Instead of having Jude Law and Rachel Weiz learn Russian for two years before filming, they speak English and leave it to the audience to figure out that yes, they're Russian and therefore speaking Russian. Personally, I think Black Lagoon handled this better by having Revi and Balalaika speaking English (albeit horribly) to cue the audience before reverting back to Japanese. It definitely aids in perceiving all those moments of tension and alienation certain characters find themselves in during this series. Also, I agree about the "hotness" of the cigarette kiss. It's my favorite scene in the entire series. Discarding the usual Hollywood-type cliche' and replacing it with disturbing elegance.