I came home from work the yesterday and my SO struck up a conversation about a friend wanting to borrow some DVDs. Well, I started to look through our collection when I noticed one was facing backward. My SO said, “What’s that?” I grabbed it and turned it around. To my surprise it was Lady Snowblood. She had found it on sale and grabbed me a copy. It’s one of those films I’ve always wanted to own but just never got around to buying. The film is based on the excellent comic (currently published in English by dark horse) written by Kazuo Koike of Lone Wolf and Cub fame. Most folks have gotten to know Lady Snowblood because of Quentin Tarantino's affection for the film. It’s a classic with plenty of drama and martial arts action that only a deadly lady assassin could deliver. What a nice surprise indeed.
Last month, My SO also got me a copy of Looney Tunes Golden Collection #4. I’m a big fan of these wonderful characters and cartoons, so I’m really happy. It’s interesting to watch my SO’s reaction to these animated shorts. Ya’ see, she’s originally from another culture so she’s watchn’ these ‘toons with fresh eyes, while I other hand grew up them. She finds them very creative and likes the fact that they’re only a few minutes long. Her favorite characters are: Speedy Gonzales, Road Runner and Coyote, and Marc Antony and Pussyfoot.
All and all, I say I made out like a fat rat.
-Swinebread
8 comments:
Speedy Gonzalez rulez!
Although I work for the ACME company so I'm sympathetic to the Roadrunner.
I like all of those ones too...maybe she should check out some of the crazy Betty Boop ones I have from the '30's?
Does she wish the coyote would catch that annoying road runner? Most people I know are on the side of the coyote.
Send Lady Snowblood after the road runner. If she catches him, he's through.
Does your SO find it odd that, in the original "English", Wile E. Coyote doesn't talk? (In the Japanese version he has a dubbed in thought voice.) The same is true of other classic cartoon characters that either muttered incomprehensibly (like Muttley in Wacky Races) or didn't speak at all. For some reason the Japanese can't accept a cartoon character who doesn't communicate comprehensibly.
My (Japanese) wife, who grew up with a coherent "Ken-Ken" (Muttley's Japanese name), reacted to his unintelligible mumbles in the non-dubbed version by making a sour face and saying, "Too weird!"
On the other hand, is your SO impressed by the fact that the mouths of American cartoon characters actually match what they say to a considerable extent? (Japanese cartoon characters only mouth "myab myab myab myab myab"...with apologies to Dewkid.)
My (Japanese) wife actually pointed that out.
Dean - Speedy is the best! I was pissed when they banned him for a while but he’s back now.
I feel sympathy for the coyote but he must NEVER catch the roadrunner.
LB – Yeah I think she would. She knows Betty Boop. She was/is very popular in Japan. The whole big eyes, small mouth thing in Japanese animation goes back to Betty.
OD – Yeah, she’s on the side of the coyote. He’s very Japanese if you think about it.
Snab – that’s gruesome thought!
Moody – She’s never seen hardly any Japan versions of US cartoons. She watched a lot of Popeye and Tom and Jerry but that’s it. She was mostly viewing the Japanese stuff like Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou, Hakushon Daimaou, & Cutey Honey, (for example). So it's all new to her.
She watched a lot of Popeye and Tom and Jerry but that’s it.
In the Japanese versions of Tom and Jerry they often dubbed in squeaky voice moans, gasps, and cries of surprise that don't exist in the original versions. I even saw a couple of episodes in which both Tom and Jerry had dubbed-in thought voices.
Like I said, I think the Japanese have an aversion to silent characters.
Moody – Hmmm, I just don’t think she’s really noticed but maybe she’s responding to the silent characters because it’s a new style for her. I tried to engage her in a conversation about it but basically her response was she like what she likes, and that’s it.
This got me thinking though… How do they deal with the Pink Panther in Japan?
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