Different Anime Accents?

[Mr Poltroon]

First of all, move this thread wherever it fits best. This is just a sort of curious question I have.

I'm sure the Japanese language has various different dialects. Usually in anime I hear something like this (clips chosen at random, mind spoilers):

Spoiler

 

 

Otherwise, they are usually like this:

Spoiler

 

Particular region with a particular accent.

However, there was this one anime film where I thought everybody talked, well, atypically. The question is exactly that. Why do I think this sounds weird? Is it a specific accent? Is it trying not to sound anime-like? Am I on heavy narcotics?

Spoiler

 

 

Pardon the random thread and question.

[Down]

What you hear in anime most of the time is standard japanese, aka Tokyo dialect, with the Tokyo accent.

The second extract you put is the second most common dialect, Kansai-ben, which is the dialect of, well, the Kansai region. Specific locations can have more specific forms of Kansai-ben (Lovely Complex takes place in Osaka iirc, Kyoto-ben can also be different from "generic" Kansai-ben). It's pretty close to standard japanese though.

When you go all the way up to Hokkaido or all the way down to Kyushuu, you can find dialects that are close to incomprehensible if you only know standard japanese (one example is the villagers in Barakamon). Not even speaking of some specific villages with influences from Ainu languages...

However I don't see anything very different in that Summer Wars clip, it's mostly pretty standard japanese. I think what puts you off is the fact that these kind of big movies don't have "anime-like" dialogs, usual anime seiyuus, and often use actual kids to voice kids characters. In short, it's probably just different voice acting from what you're used to.

[Nosebleed]

You're definitely dealing with dialects here. Most characters in anime speak in standard Tokyo dialect, which is what we're all used to hearing.

In Lovely Complex they speak typical Kansai dialect which to be fair is still pretty similar to standard Japanese except for some intonation differences and end particles as well as some specific vocab, so maybe that's why you thought it was just an accent.  It's the most typical non-standard dialect used in anime in my experience.

I find Kansai dialect okay but kinda boring since I'm pretty used to it by now since it's such a common cop out when it comes to a show introducing a character from a different location.

My favorite Japanese dialect is definitely Touhoku dialect, which is commonly found in the north of Japan and sounds really weird, but I just can't help but enjoy the idomatic expressions that come from it.

I also found Barakamon's Goto dialect really cool to listen to and you should definitely check out the series if you want an anime set in a place where none of the characters speak standard Tokyo dialect.

Arata from Chihayafuru also speaks some legit Fukui dialect and Chihayafuru is a great anime so go watch that too.

[KuroganeHomura]

8 minutes ago, Down said:

When you go all the way up to Hokkaido or all the way down to Kyushuu, you can find dialects that are close to incomprehensible if you only know standard japanese (one example is the villagers in Barakamon). Not even speaking of some specific villages with influences from Ainu languages...

Case in point: Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san's Muromi. Osaka-ben can at times be somewhat difficult to understand, too, though, depending on how heavy it is. http://cameronjove.web.fc2.com/osaka04.htm

But yeah, there's nothing unusual about that Summer Wars clip.

[OriginalRen]

[Mr Poltroon]

7 minutes ago, OriginalRen said:

Clearly you mean something, but I don't speak imagery.

[Nosebleed]

7 minutes ago, Tiagofvarela said:

Clearly you mean something, but I don't speak imagery.

Ebina from Umaru-chan speaks Akita dialect, a non-standard Japanese dialect that sounds like you're in an alien planet if you've never heard it before. People who speak this dialect are usually considered countryside bumpkins so it's not a very popular accent outside of the region. I personally think it sounds really nice though.

[Fred the Barber]

We could just jump straight to heavy narcotics as the explanation, but maybe you could pinpoint some part of the Summer Wars clip that sounds unusual to you? Most of it is narration by the main character, who is presumably speaking the Tokyo dialect. His speech all sounds "normal" to me, at least, and while I'm far from knowledgeable, I can easily hear and describe specific differences in the Lovely Complex clip vs. the Tokyo dialect I'm used to hearing. But I didn't even hear any of the family members in the Summer Wars clip sounding unusual, either... So, if there's some small, specific selection of the video you could point at, maybe? Or a single character?

[Mr Poltroon]

24 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

We could just jump straight to heavy narcotics as the explanation, but maybe you could pinpoint some part of the Summer Wars clip that sounds unusual to you? Most of it is narration by the main character, who is presumably speaking the Tokyo dialect. His speech all sounds "normal" to me, at least, and while I'm far from knowledgeable, I can easily hear and describe specific differences in the Lovely Complex clip vs. the Tokyo dialect I'm used to hearing. But I didn't even hear any of the family members in the Summer Wars clip sounding unusual, either... So, if there's some small, specific selection of the video you could point at, maybe? Or a single character?

The way they speak is slower, more nosely, if I wrote that right. If it were just a single character, it would have been fine, but literally everyone seems to speak that way. And the slower doesn't always apply, really. I cannot describe it.

[Fred the Barber]

6 minutes ago, Tiagofvarela said:

The way they speak is slower, more nosely, if I wrote that right. If it were just a single character, it would have been fine, but literally everyone seems to speak that way. And the slower doesn't always apply, really. I cannot describe it.

"Nasal" is probably the adjective you're looking for. I can't hear it, though.

[Zodai]

As someone writing something in English set in Hokkaido, how do you think it'd be best to approach the accent/dialect part?  o_O

[Down]

39 minutes ago, Zodai said:

As someone writing something in English set in Hokkaido, how do you think it'd be best to approach the accent/dialect part?  o_O

Translate it all in Glasgow dialect

twill make your readers want to bang their heads on the wall but if the dialect really is far from standard japanese, a weird english dialect is your best bet imo.

Or you can just ignore it if literally everyone speaks the dialect in the game or if it's very minor.