When I first became an anime fan I was surprised at how often characters would say a random English word or phrase. I'm used to it now but it almost used to annoy me, especially when I was studying Japanese. I'd be watching anime and listening for grammar and sentence structure, only to have my concentration disrupted by... Engrish.
Someone told me that Japanese requires fewer sounds to pronounce than English: in other words, if pronouncing English requires 200 separate and distinct sounds, Japanese only needs 75, or whatever. So it's harder for Japanese people to pronounce English words correctly than it is for Americans to pronounce Japanese correctly.
Of course, that doesn't stop either side from mispronouncing the other's language all the time. XD Usually for us watching anime it's Japanese speakers mispronouncing English, but sometimes it goes the other way. In
Zettai Karen Children there are two American secret agent characters, Ken McGwire and Mary Ford, who speak Japanese with horrible-sounding American accents - and it's very funny.
Most of the time though, as anime fans in the west, it's mispronounced English in anime that we hear. Before I launch into some of the best anime Engrish clips I was able to find on You Tube however, I need to say two things.
When I was growing up as a Japanese-American in California many years ago, I didn't care for the term "Engrish" as essentially it made fun of Japanese people for switching the "L" and "R" sounds in English. Times have changed though, and now a site like
Engrish.com or anime fans using the term "Engrish" doesn't come from racist attitudes as it once did: it's more just an appreciation of how funny English can be when it's misused or mispronounced.
In other words, the term "Engrish" used to offend me, but I don't believe it's used in a racist way anymore so I don't see its use (especially in this context) as offensive.
The second thing I need to say is that while the point of posting anime Engrish clips is because they're funny, when I laugh at these clips I'm not laughing in a mean-spirited way. In fact, I have the opposite reaction - I think Japanese seiyuu are quite courageous to try and act in a second language and in a language that is hard for them to pronounce. If I were trying to act in Japanese it would be at least a hundred times more unintentionally hilarious than any of the clips below. Plus, as you'll see with the last two clips, not all seiyuu speak English poorly: some are excellent at speaking English.
So with these disclaimers - let's anime Engrish!
I THINK THE SPRINKLER IS BROKEN
I think this is from
Itazura no Kiss. I love the man's monotone, almost mechanical-sounding English. =D
Masamune Date in
Sengoku Basara clearly deserves his own Engrish clip:
LET'S PARTY
In case you were wondering why a Japanese general from the Warring States era says things like "Crazy Storm" and "Blast Off" and "Let's Party" in English, well... welcome to the world of
Sengoku Basara. There is no other explanation. XD
GET IN MY HOUSE
In this clip from
Junjou Romantica, young Shinobu is conversing with a gaijin classmate of his while trying to avoid his older lover Miyagi whom he's mad at. That's Kazuhiko Inoue (Kakashi in
Naruto) as Miyagi, by the way. =D
The next two clips are from
Azumanga Daioh.
CRAP IT'S A FOREIGNER
I find this one funny because of that frozen look of horror on the girl's face when the gaijin turns around. When I went to Japan, Japanese people would look at my Japanese face and speak to me in (naturally) Japanese. When I opened my mouth and said something in English, they would get that same frozen look of horror on their faces. XD
OH MY GAH
This one is just plain funny. XD OH MY GAH
Finally, two clips that will restore your faith in Japanese seiyuu speaking English. Both are from
Kuroko's Basketball.
The first clip is the funnier of the two. Main character Taiga Kagami (the red-haired guy) was raised in America, where he used to play basketball as a boy with Tatsuya Himuro. Kagami and his teammates come across Himuro in Tokyo at a street ball contest. What's funny about this clip is that this is our first time seeing Himuro so when the characters begin speaking English, it's completely unexpected. I won't tell you when in this clip the English starts so you can feel the same surprise as I did. When it starts it's like a sudden assault. XD Here it is:
I AIN'T KEEPING A POKER FACE IT'S MY NATURE
The English is actually very good here. The first speaker, Himuro, is played by seiyuu Kishou Taniyama, and he stays in character while acting out the lines (as opposed to just reading them in English) quite well. The same for Yuuki Ono who plays Kagami, and Kenji Hamada who plays Teppei Kiyoshi, the third speaker. It's funny because you're not expecting the English but otherwise it's a fine example of seiyuu doing a good job acting in English.
The last example is the best English spoken by a Japanese seiyuu I've ever heard in anime. Here's Yuki Kaida as Alexandra Garcia in
Kuroko's Basketball:
JUST SHUT IT AND PUT YER PANTS ON
I actually thought at first that they got an American voice actress to play Alex and then she started speaking fluent Japanese. When I looked up who played Alex, I realized why the English was so good.
Yuki Kaida lived in San Diego, California for four years studying drama and English. She played Fuji in
The Prince of Tennis and China in
Hetalia, but this is the first time I've seen her really using her English and she's fantastic at it.
So the next time you're tempted to think that Japanese seiyuu just can't do English, just remember Kaida-san. "Hey! Who the hell are you guys?" XD
