Naruto, Or Anime, In English

[Tea]

It is unquestionable that a roleplay for an English-speaking community of roleplayers must be in the language of English if that community is to understand it. It is also poignantly obvious that the Japanese language and customs add flavor to a roleplay which is centered around a place very near, or in, Japan.

But not all roleplayers can read Japanese. Even those who consider themselves avid fans of Japanese Anime will be unable to participate in a roleplay if they do not understand all of the text. So then a reasonable answer is to find a balance, or zero acceptance, between English words and Japanese words inside such an anime-themed thread.

But where is that balance? At what point is the use of Japanese too much for an English-reading English-speaking community?

My supposition centers around the word: Names. Japanese characters possess Japanese names. And while it would be very interesting to translate all Japanese names in a thread into English, some might find that silly. In the same way roleplayers might feel more at home traveling to a town with a Japanese name, if located in Japan, instead of an English-translated alternative.

Dialog, meaning character speech, is where the waters of roleplay become murky. All of the roleplayers should be able to understand every word which comes from the mouth of a character. Using Japanese in this context creates difficulty for anyone not familiar with the language and its non-English grammar structure.

"But what about Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu," someone might say. "That's a name!" And they would be technically correct. It is even a proper name, given the context of its use. But, "Ryu," is not an English word. Used as a conjunctive participle, rather than a separate word, makes the name an improper noun. Anyone not familiar with the use of this Japanese word it might become confused when a simple use of, "Hiten Mitsurugi School," would suffice instead. The same applies to the, "No," participle in, "Henge no Jutsu." Many inexperienced roleplayers are not familiar with Japan's Subject-Object-Verb grammar structure and might be stumped when a simple, "Transform Technique," might be adequate.

My own personal tastes lead my supposition to become that proper nouns, proper names, being preserved in Japanese is part of the balance between an English-read thread and Oriental flavor.

But the above is only one opinion about roleplay habits. What matters more is that the GameMaster make themselves understood. Roleplayers should be able to understand everything that occurs in a GameMaster's posts. Use of English can facilitate this, but sometimes uncertainty might appear. And in those cases it would seem more reasonable for the GameMaster to make themselves understood than to use words, or terminology, which the roleplaying audience might not understand.

But I wonder about other opinions. Where does your line for the balance fall?

[LawOfTheLand]

In my experience, the main instance of Japanese (or any other language, for that matter) in a roleplay that's otherwise done in English is used because the players as a group are comfortable with its use. This is because doing so adds flavor and reminds the players about the details of the setting, even if a few grammar rules get butchered along the way.

I agree with you in that players should take the time to learn the English translation of their favorite Japanese words and phrases, but the truth is that few people do. (There's also the frequent instance where a certain amount of artistic license is required when faced with a certain construct, such as with the -kun suffix.) As a result, I've become somewhat jaded in this regard. If they have more fun by misusing Japanese words and phrases, let them have their jollies and start your own roleplay where the rules of foreign languages are enforced more strictly.

[Tea]

All of the above is presented for the consideration of the New GameMaster perspective. This person is full of vive, desire, and wishes. They feel their emotions quite clearly about wanting to make, or provide, a game which is set in their favorite Japanese Animation. But so many of the phrases in those broadcasts, which I will refer to as Special Titles, are often retained in Japanese due to their conspicuous nature as names.

For instance the name of a martial art technique. Whether it uses a weapon or not these Special Titles are not proper names of persons or places. Instead they are things. They are concepts. And there are thousands of them. Each television show has tens, if not hundreds, of these diverse and usually unordered Special Titles. There is a considerable amount of work necessary to memorize all of them and what they mean.

It is completely true that roleplayers and GameMasters have the option of spending their time memorizing Japanese phrases. Most, though, only memorize those that interest them and ignore the rest. Some persist, but even recently I met a roleplayer who knew very little about an established Japanese Animation. And this roleplayer's enthusiasm would not let them be deterred.

Put another way, "A kind GameMaster prepares the road their players will walk." It is the GameMaster's duty to provide translations if they are needed and I see no evidence that the number of ignorant roleplayers is dwindling. Instead of handing out lists and forcing players to memorize dry and non-interesting content a GameMaster could simply wash their knowledge through English and provide a more knowledge-friendly atmosphere should one of their players be so ignorant.

Let us use Naruto as an example.

There are dozens of martial art techniques in the Naruto series. And there are hundreds more made by fans on forums, in Internet chat rooms, or in private, which are not part of the Naruto Universe. How reasonable is it to expect new, fresh, green, hopeful, yet ignorant roleplayers to memorize the translations to three hundred Japanese phrases just be comfortable inside a single forum? These are not the, "Thank you very much," phrases which can be passed off in English dialog. These are the phrases of power and action which should thrill and frighten the emotions of other roleplayers who participate in the production.

"What did he just say," and similar questions from players who read the Special Titles can wreck the intent of the one who used them. Ultimately, that is one of the reasons that I thought to post the above. It is a suggestion which might help avoid confusion and mental mayhem from any person who might be unexpectedly caught in the tide of Language.

But, yes, Japanese honorific suffixes are not the clearest waters to wade through. There are translation resources available through the Internet. I personally know a number of individuals who are bothered by mixing English words with Japanese conjunctions. There must be a suitable alternative for them in order to facilitate their fun.