Elementary Tokusatsu/Anime Japanese
Need help understanding your tapes? Nothing can possibly take the place of years of intensive
training in the Japanese language, but this guide holds some of the more common phrases used
in Tokusatsu. (I've noted that many of the same phrases appear in anime too, hence the term
"Tokusatsu/Anime".) This is NOT a guide to understanding complicated plots or mastering
conversational Japanese by any means. I myself have enrolled in a Japanese class, but it is
an elementary-level one, and I know full well that it will take many more years before I can
even begin to understand some of my tapes. Obviously, any help or corrections rendered by a
Japanese-speaking fan is truly appreciated, as many of the below are made by ear.
If you'll keep that in mind, I'll introduce some of the terms used in Tokusatsu. If you learn
some of these, it's amazing just how often they will pop up again and again. Sure, this is a
huge list, which is why I put it up in the first place. I suggest NOT
using many of these to communicate with Japanese friends (and especially Japanese superiors),
as many of them stem from someone talking to their enemy, and as such represent some of the more
non-respectful or even downright disrespectful forms of communication. Example: "da" is a
popular form of the verb "is" in Tokusatsu, but in the type of Japanese used to talk to other
people, "desu" is more polite; "da" is usually reserved for friends.
Pronunciation is as follows - a="ah", e="eh", i="ee" like yeast, o="oh" but shorter, u="u", like
the very end of you, but very, very short. All vowels are very short. Especially, make sure
not to say "o" like "ou"; the Japanese "o" doesn't have that drop at the end, and make sure not
to say "u" like "you"; the Japanese "u" is just a short syllable. Most of you who have watched
actual Japanese dialogue are pretty aware of this anyway.
The List:
Ai --- Love
Aka(i) --- Red
Ao(i) --- Blue
Arigatou --- Thank you
Anata --- You (standard Japanese word)
Aku --- Evil
Boku --- I, Me (used usually by boys)
Chikara --- Strength, Power
Chikyuu --- Earth
Chikyuu no Heiwa Mamoru (Tame ni) --- (In order to) Defend the Earth's Peace
Chou --- Super
Dai --- Great
Densetsu --- Legend
Eien --- Eternity
Gatta(i) --- Combine, Combination
Geki --- Angry, Attack, Explosion (yes, these words bear little resemblence to each other -
this word varies depending on usage - you get the idea of the word)
Hassha --- Fire (as in fire a gun, fire a cannon)
Hasshin --- Launch
Heiwa --- Peace
Hikari --- Light
Hissatsu (no) Waza --- Deadly Attack (Hissatsu - sure, certain; Waza - attack)
Hoshi --- Star
Iku --- Go
Ima --- Now
Inochi --- Life
Jin --- Person or People (in Zyuranger, Jin was used instead of Shin to indicate God(s) -
this is not something I've run across anywhere but Zyuranger)
Juu --- Beast (NOTE: Juu is the first Kanji seen in the Zyuranger logo, and Zyuranger
pheonetically is "Juurenjaa", so why does everyone say Zyuranger? Because Toei labels it
Zyuranger; the spelling is labeled on many Zyuranger weapons and accessories.)
Jiyuu --- Justice
-ka? --- "ka" is literally a word designed only to mark questions - make a statement like
"The flowers are beautiful", add -ka, and you get "Are the flowers beautiful?"
Kamen --- Mask
Ki(i) --- Yellow
Kibou --- Hope
Kimi --- You (standard TS word - you'll hear these much more than Anata in TS)
Kisama --- a very, very, VERY rude "you"
Muteki --- Invincible
-me --- an insulting term added to the end of a noun you detest, ex. Hakumenrou-me (that's
the first time I heard this term used, by DaiMaOu, so that's the example you get). Popular with
"Onore" - "Onore, Hakumenrou-me!!!"
Midori --- Green
Mita ka --- See That? (lit. Did you see it? Generally used to "thumb your nose" at the
enemy in a taunting fashion)
Nakama --- Friend, Companion
Nanda --- What
Nani --- What (often used as a word by itself . . . "WHAT?!")
Naze --- Why
Onore --- literally "you", but is usually used as "Damn you!" or some such . . .
Ore --- I, Me (rude and disrespectful in Japanese - implies a superiority to the person
spoken to - used quite a bit in TS)
Ou --- King
-ra --- plural, in certain words like Boku only
Ryu --- Dragon
Seigi --- Justice
Sekai --- World
Sen --- War
Senshi --- Warrior
Sentai --- TaskForce (lit. "Battle Team" or some comparable phrase)
Shin --- Okay, this one's a toughy - depending on the Kanji used, Shin can mean New, True,
or God, so choose wisely
Sou da! (ALSO: Sou ka and Sou desu) --- Of course!; So it is!
-tachi --- plural - ex. Watashi-Tachi means "I" plural=We; Anata-Tachi means "You" plural="You
all", referring to a group of people
Tai --- Team
Taiyou --- Sun
Tame ni --- In Order To, For
Taosu --- to Destroy
Tatakau --- to Fight
Ten --- Sky, Heaven
Uchuu --- Outer Space
Watashi --- I, Me (standard Japanese word for "I")
yo --- no translation: it is added to the end of a sentence to denote emphasis on the phrase -
polite, but usually used only by girls or by really polite guys (like Naoki - Blue Racer)
Yuuki --- Bravery
ze, zo --- no translation; they are added to the end of a sentence to express a certain
emphasis on the sentence - usually used by guys only (Iku, to go, is usually never just said
as "Iku" - you'll ALWAYS hear a Sentai leader say "Iku ze!" or "Iku zo!")
Katakana Intepretation
Ever hear what you think is an English word on a Japanese show? More than likely, katakana was used
to simulate the sound of an English word. There are natural limitations to this (most notably, no "l"
sound in Japanese language). Here are some guidelines to how English words are generated using Japanese
pronunciation.
The most important one - consonant-vowel formation. EVERY Japanese syllable is a consonant and a
vowel. Only one exception - n - and it is not utilized at the beginning of a word. If you have a word,
such as "press", which requires two consonant sounds, the general idea is to put a "u" between them. Watch:
"press"="puresu". In this case, three katakana symbols are used - the ones for "pu", "re", "su". Look at
the "su" at the end. Since every syllable is a consonant-vowel formation, a "u" is added at the end so
the katakana symbol for "su" can be used. Note that the "u" sound in Japanese is sometimes pronounced
rather silently, and almost always silently when using katakana. When said quickly, "puresu" is almost
indistinguishable from "press".
There are several exceptions. Usually, the exception comes from the consonants "d" and "t". They have
no "i" or "u" form. Recently, there has been established a way to make these sounds. However, old series
may still use the traditional "chi" for "ti" and "ji" for "di". Some English words, used so often by
the Japanese, have permanently earned a specific set of katakana, even though a method to make the word
sound more English may exist now. For example, the word "multi" is always spelled "maruchi" in katakana,
despite the fact that "maruti" can now be made.
Some consonants do not exist in Japanese. The ones that do are: k, s, t, n, h, f, m, y, r, w, g, z,
d, b, p. You'll note the absence of "l" and "v". In katakana, usually the "r" sound is used for "l"
and the "b" sound is used for "v". For example, the word "live" (verb, "to live", not live as in a
live performance) is katakana-spelled "ribu". This is also how to spell "rib", so be careful and make
sure the intended English word is clear.
The next obstacle is the double-vowel. Take "Carranger". In Japanese, this is "Kaarenjaa". What's
with the double a's? In this sense, the double a's indicate an "r" sound, and possibly a drop in tone.
Thus, "kaa" is "car". Note how similar sounding they are. In "jaa", going to "ger" in this example,
the tone kind of drops from an a to an e.
As you get more experienced in translating katakana, you'll eventually note that many sounds are
substituted for their closest relatives in Japanese. The sound "si" doesn't exist, though "shi" does.
The word "silver" is "katakana"nized as "shirubaa".
Kei reminded me that there IS a "v" sound in Japanese, though
it is rather new and not used often. It is the "u" character with the diacritical marks. You will
not see this often.
Kei also informed me that there are two romanization styles:
Hepburn, the one that most fans favor, using spelling like "Juu" - "Beast" and "Chikyuu" - "Earth";
and Japanese Romanization, which seems to be the one Toei uses, with spellings like
"Zyu" - "Beast" (like in Zyuranger) and "Tikyuu" - "Earth".
Confusing, ain't it? This is just basic - there are many exceptions to these rules, perhaps more
exceptions than rule-followers! Also, note that you can translate an English word many ways. For
example, take "energy". I've heard both "enaaji" and "enerugi". It can also be confusing to translate
from katakana to English. Take the motorcycle dude from "Megaranger Vs. Carranger". It's "Herumedoo"
in katakana. Is that "Helmed", "Helmedo", "Helmedor", "Herumedor", "Herumedo", "Herumedor", or what?
I chose Helmedor for my "Mega Vs. Car" tribute. Ctenosaur Video's subbed version chooses "Helmed".
Neither is more correct.
Well, hope I helped a bit! Contributions are gladly welcomed, as a native speaker would know best. Send
any help you can to me ASAP!
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