Looks like I'm late to the party!
Anyway's yes I have noticed that mPlayer doesn't display Japanese characters (not a problem for me cause I don't read or speak Japanese). I also have noticed all subtitles are in the same color. That's not a problem for me either because it's usually fairly obvious as to who's speaking which line of subtitles.
@thr Cool thanks for posting that! I'll have to try it out sometime soon. Mind if I add it to the walkthrough?