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Set in a fictional city on the West Coast (i.e. California), with large cameos by Washington D.C. and the White House, “Heroman” is a show about, essentially, a very unlikely, introverted, 97-pound weakling type boy named Joey, and the trashed toy robot he repairs and calls Heroman, before an alien invasion centered on his hometown causes a freak bolt of lightning that allows Heroman to transform into a hulking, beefy All-American machine.
Heroman himself is a mute hero, unable to express himself through words or facial expressions, though his eyes contain intelligence and thoughtfulness. His stoicism and loyalty to his owner, Joey, and the warmth and compassion Joey holds for Heroman and others, sets the tone for the rest of the series. In this sense, it begins with a “Boy Meets Robot” kind of beginning… but there is much more to tell.
“Heroman” is currently 23 episodes into its run in Japan. As is typical of Studio Bones’ products, the animation quality is stupendous. For a “shonen” type series, it’s devoid of Dragonball Z-style martial arts or ki blasts and instead focuses on science – both human and alien – in a comic book, near future world. Themes such as friendship, loyalty, love, and certainly heroism, fill the show without the pretentiousness of other franchises. Joey isn’t a chest-thumper, but he does what is right, he displays great emotional and, yes, physical courage, and all this makes the show very entertaining indeed.
The show does not shy away from its American setting, with a fictional 3-letter agency investigating when the initial alien invasion is defeated (though of course it doesn’t really end there), air time for the fictional President (no, it’s not Obama, this isn’t Air Gear…) and features a pretty, though not classical, blonde cheerleader as Joey’s love interest, with her big brother football jock playing a “rival” role in the show.
Well, that’s good enough for a general introduction. I plan to do blogging on things like actual episodes, as long as I have a helpful amount of spoiler tags and such. Thanks.
trust me おろしてみればいい そう 君のために 僕がいるんだ
trust me / just put it down and see yes, I’m right here for you
OK, now we’re getting into the heavy stuff. Good, good.
Keep in mind that the subject is the “baggage” that the listener has been “carrying” (from Line Eight).
“Orosu” means “To Put Down.” Japanese: おろす、下ろす。 “Miru” means “To See.” Japanese: みる、見る。
This is a compound verb combining the two.
To begin with, “oroshite” is the -te form (continuative form) of “orosu.”
Second, “mireba” is the conditional form of “miru.” That is, “See this, and X will happen.”
Put it all together, and you get “oroshitemireba,” or, “if you put down (the baggage you’re carrying) and see, X will happen.”
This is a plain, colloquial version of “yoi,” which uses the same kanji. Japanese: いい、良い.
Let’s get past the strict definitions and focus on what this really is, when used as a suffix like this: A Stamp of Goodness. It identifies what immediately precedes it as a Good Thing that should be thought of as such.
So, with the “baggage you’re carrying” from Line 8 as the subject:
(You can) trust me / just put it down and see
Now, we could leave the “yes” at the end of the phrase, but I’ll leave that for singers to decide. I think this works better as English: intensifier first, key phrase second.
Used in this way, “sou” (Japanese: そう) is an affirmative intensifier. You know when singers go “Yes!” at the end of a line? It’s like that.
Technically it’s used for things like “sou ka,” which reads like “Is that so?” but… not really here. It’s part of a statement, not a question. (No “ka” particle to be found.)
The “kimi” is a 2nd person pronoun. We’ve covered this in previous parts.
The particle “no” establishes a relationship between the preceding and the following parts. (“kimi” and “tame”)
“Tame” means, in essence, sake/ benefit. Thus, this is “for your sake” (for the sake of “kimi”). There. It’s simple, so let’s not make it more complicated in a case where it’s really plain and obvious. Japanese: ため、為 (kanji would be used in formal high level writing, not for anything meant for teen consumption)
Just the particle identifying the “kimi no tame” part as modifying what follows.
Introvert 1st person (“I”) pronoun, usually used by men. We’ve gone over this one, too. Japanese: ぼく、ボク、僕
This is the “subject” particle. Remember, in Japanese, the topic and the subject can be different. “Ga” is used, when necessary, to mark a noun as the subject of the verb that follows. In this case, the subject is “boku,” above. Japanese: が
This is the existence/ presence verb for animate objects, which we covered two Parts ago in Part 8. This completes the phrase, “boku ga iru” (“I am here”). Japanese: いる、居る
Another copula, an affirmative existence sentence ender. In other words, “iru” may affirm that “boku” is present, but “nda” affirms that this is indeed so and not just your imagination. Japanese: んだ
Now, let’s go over a few of these:
Polite non-past affirmative: desu
Plain non-past affirmative: da
Old polite non-past affirmative: no da
Old plain non-past affirmative: nda
Now, I’m characterizing this as “old,” but at any rate, “no da” sounds like antiquated Japanese. As a consequence, “nda” sounds more adult and mature than “da” and is frequently used as a mature-sounding copula in Japanese, particularly by adult men.
So, in this case, the speaker is sounding older than a 12 year old, but still using “boku.” This is why Japanese has a lot of nuance to it.
The thing is, “for your sake” may be technically correct, but in English colloquial speech, “for you” carries the same meaning and sounds much more vivid. So:
Yes, I’m right here for you
That’s all we need.
trust me この想いほどけないから my dear 抱えた荷物
Trust me / these feelings will never come apart my dear / that baggage you carried
Normally, this would correspond to “this.” However, if what follows is a plural, we would logically use “these.”
There are two common words that use “omoi.” One is the adjective form for “heavy”; the other is the noun for “thought/ thoughts.” This is the latter case. The plural works better here. Japanese: おもい、想い
Note that the kanji here may work with “omoi,” but unlike 思い, this is not for just thinking; it is for concepts, ideas, etc. However, this is too subtle to attempt to translate. “These thoughts” leaves considerable wiggle room, and that is enough.
The verb “hodokeru” means “to come untied, to come apart.” In other words, to unravel. Using “nai” here turns it into a non-past negative form. Japanese: ほどけない, 解けない
“Kara” is used here to mean, arising due to the fact that the previous is true… …or, “so.” (The latter is much simpler, yes?)
These feelings will never come apart, so…
Kakaeru is Japanese for “To Carry.” So, this is the simple past tense of carry, i.e. “carried.” Japanese: かえた、換えた
Nimotsu is a noun meaning, put simply, baggage. As in English, it can easily be used in a figurative manner. Japanese: にもつ、荷物
Since there’s more coming, I wanted to use the implied-but-not-said “that” for “that baggage” in the second line.
I’m here どこにいたって call me ひとつになれる
I’m here / no matter where you are call me / we’ll become one
Once again, “ni” shows that the word preceding it modifies the verb after it. “Doko” is Japanese for “where.” Japanese: どこ, 何処 (not often seen as kanji in regular writing)
Here, this is a form of the verb “iru” (Japanese: いる、居る), which is the “existence/ presence” verb for animate objects, i.e. people or animal.
Rather than dwell on verb details, here’s the bottom line: using -tte here is using it as an intensifier, to make the verb stronger in a colloquial manner. This is a common enough feature of informal speech.
That is why I have rendered it as “no matter where you are.” After all, the sentence doesn’t define the listener as being anywhere in particular; she could be anywhere, but no matter where that person is, the singer’s “I’m here” will remain true. It’s simple extrapolation.
Let’s cover this as one phrase.
Here, “hitotsu” means one, as in, becoming one. “Ni” fulfills the same role as before.
“Naru” is “To Become,” and the kanji for it is identified with growth. Thus, something “grows into” something else rather than presto, wave of a magic wand, it has transformed into something else. That’s a different word. Japanese: なる、成る
So, “nareru” is a potential form of “naru.” This is different from conditional forms in this way:
Conditional: If we become one, X will happen
Potential: If X happens, we will become one
Clearly, this phrase is written in the latter manner. Thus: Call me -> as a result, we will become one.
You cannot do business in Japan to any serious degree without getting people to trust you. Here are five simple steps – I won’t call them easy – that you can follow to make your task less difficult.
Japanese people, as a broad rule, do not force their opinions down your throat. This is part of the culture.
Japanese people, as a broad rule, very badly want you to hear, and listen to, their opinions. This, too, is part of the culture.
You are not obligated to agree with them, but they really, really would appreciate you listening to their concerns. It makes them feel better. It makes them sense that you are respecting their beliefs as individuals, not just as part of the company hierarchy. It makes them feel whole, if you will.
So do it.
One of the most wonderful way to make a person feel like you’re actually listening, is to ask follow-up questions to probe deeper into a subject. Better still, this could get you information you could not have received initially.
It is important to be patient and unravel things step by step. People who do not wear their hearts on their sleeves do not want to, as they say in English, spill their guts without some gentle prodding. Indeed, it should be gentle prodding; don’t be rude or mean. Curiosity and acting reasonable gets you a long way.
As long as you show you’re willing and able to listen, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with advancing your own opinion. Don’t think your opinion will be taken as fact. On the other hand, sharing opinions shows different sides of yourself to the other person; in other words, you become a more memorable and vivid individual. This is how networks are formed.
In Japanese business culture, networks are very important because personal trust is so important. Dealing with a stranger is always a touch and go thing with a lot of formality. If you can share opinions with a Japanese businessperson, and vice versa, you’re already well on your way to establishing trust.
Now, this shouldn’t be done out of order; breaking the ice requires building trust in itself. However, once initial phases are complete, try to avoid the trap of treating “business” as the only part of business. In other words, the immediate business at hand is just a starting point. From the Japanese point of view, people make a business really work. It’s all right to show that you have a life, too.
Mileage may vary but, what if you keep track of professional baseball? Do you pay attention to Japanese teams or just the American major leagues? Do you know about (insert Japanese player playing in Major League Baseball here)? Who do you think will win this year’s World Series?
In a case like this, there is no “right” answer, nor should you invent one and fake it. In Japan, sincerity is considered a great virtue. Be true to yourself and have a little fun with questions that are intended to be a little fun. If you’re at this stage, it’s a good thing, not a waste of time.
All of these steps can be done in English to some degree, but unless you are truly linguistically and culturally fluent in Japanese, you will benefit from the availability of an interpreter. This is more than likely a Japanese native speaker who speaks better English than most. This individual will understand all the nuances of Japanese and will try to put these nuances into English for your benefit as well as possible.
Some nuance must be lost, if we’re talking strict translation, but a good interpreter focuses on what the Japanese speaker means, not on grammatic structure. In other words, you can get some information about the subtext.
It’s still not a perfect process, so patience and flexibility are virtues.
Here’s the real reason interpreters are great: Japanese natives with less than a full command of English will trust interpreters to convey the deeper message to you better than they can themselves. In other words, the interpreter is probably getting far more of the nuance than you are. Even if you don’t speak one word of Japanese, and the interpreter can only convey half of this deeper nuance to you, you’re still a long ways ahead of where you were by just relying on a non-native English speaker’s use of English.
Keep in mind that language classes focus on polite speech. This is also true for English natives who are being taught Japanese. Anything outside of the narrow confines of polite speech must be learned beyond the textbooks. The resulting English is an imperfect tool for conveying the true opinion of a Japanese native, but an interpreter can guide you to at least get much closer.
All of these steps are meant to convey consideration and respect for your Japanese business partners. I strongly advise you to sincerely do so, not just fake it. Broadly speaking, consideration and respect are things that Japanese people really want from you – and if they get it, they will provide you with much more trust in return.
This opens the other party up to your message as a promoter of your own business. This has a direct bearing on your success.
Broadly speaking, we all want to make a sales pitch.
It’s a difficult habit to resist. We want to put the best spin on our company’s talents and resources and present everything in as positive a light as possible. We want to make a good first impression. We want the other side to fall in love at first sight and sign a deal ASAP. Then, we go home, celebrate, pop the champagne, and look forward to the next challenge.
Back up.
It’s not about what we want to say. It’s about what the other side, the Japanese business culture side, wants to hear.
In Japanese society, people never really gave up on the idea of objective facts. In other words, in spite of Western philosophy having made heavy inroads in establishing that “there are no objective facts” – which in practice tends to mean, you have no objective facts that you can use to counter my amazing logic – Japan simply doesn’t, well, care.
In Japan, there is a vast gulf between your opinion (iken, 意見), what you think you know, and an objective fact (jijitsu, 事実). In the first case, “iken” is formed with “i,” representing idea, and “ken,” representing view. In other word, an idea from your perspective. In the second case, “jijitsu” is formed “ji,” representing an intangible thing, and “jitsu,” representing fruit.
In Japan, a “fact” is the fruit of an intangible thing. By their fruits will you know them; similarly, by their facts will you know them.
Now, a Japanese businessman will very politely listen to your opinion. He will nod his head. He will appear attentive. He will make every effort to demonstrate that your opinion is important.
Yet, your opinion is not what he wants to hear.
He wants to hear facts.
Japan’s strict educational system serves to accomplish two things:
Very often, what will make or break a business proposal is not the spin, not the gloss, but the facts underlying the presentation. It will be the express, explicit job of the note-takers and studiers of your presentation to rigorously analyze your presentation, both “objectively” (to identify jijitsu, facts) and from their own company’s standpoint (tachiba, 立場, lit. stand + ground, the ground on which you stand).
There is a strategy used by Japanese companies that goes like this: respond very favorably, nod your head, look like you’re considering something, and wait until the other side understands this isn’t going anywhere and gives up.
Still, you have to understand that this isn’t meant as deception so much as putting you down gently. When a rejection must be done, they believe that doing it politely is an obligation, not an option. As much as Western culture wants to a) get informal, b) get to the point quickly, in Japan, that is showing disrespect to the other party and making yourself look like an ass. Japanese businessmen do not make themselves look like asses lightly.
An additional problem is that the put-downs tend to be more direct, that is, polite but firm with the subtext clearly understandable, when in Japanese.
This is for a couple of rather valid reasons.
First, even if a Japanese person can speak the words of English fluently, they will lack the confidence to send a lot of subtle subtext with the English language, a well-founded concern, and given this, will favor towards polite language rather than risk coming off as rude.
Second, English has less nuance and complexity than Japanese does. (I speak from a great deal of translation experience: yes, Japanese has more complexity and is capable of greater nuance, which comes across well in Japanese but even with the best intentioned translators and interpreters, must necessarily lose nuance when transformed into English.) So, there’s that.
Totally besides this, there’s probably the concern that Westerners don’t like rejection and don’t take it very well. This, too, is well founded.
Trust is all-important in Japanese business.
Besides being important in general, put simply, Japanese business relies on being able to fulfill obligations a long time in advance, on being reliable, on being trustworthy, and on not pulling a fast one for a quick buck.
It is important to note that this didn’t happen yesterday. This is a product of many centuries of Japanese business culture, dating back to the merchant caste during the Edo period. It was not a “samurai businessman” invention; it was common sense over hundreds of years by “commoner” merchants who could very easily lose everything if things went bad.
A hundred years ago, the United Kingdom would have been considered much the same. In modern America, bankruptcy is common enough and isn’t really held against people. Not so in Japan. Not so at all. (And not so in the U.K. of 100 years ago; you’d be barred from holding political office for life.)
So, it’s all about trust.
Do you want an honest answer, not a polite one? Do you want to find out what the other side’s really thinking? Do you want extra details that won’t be revealed at first blush?
The answer is to get the other side to trust you.
The best way to accomplish this is to have real, solid substance behind your gloss.
Be prepared to back up anything you say with something from the real world. Not everything can have an objective fact behind it, but the more, the merrier.
Demonstrate that you are taking the first step towards trust by being honest. That doesn’t mean broadcasting your weaknesses; it means being pragmatic about the challenges that must be faced to get the job done, and showing you are prepared to overcome setbacks.
Don’t just be willing; be able.
This will show that you are reliable, and that you are worthy of being trusted.
All else flows from this.
“Shiki” began as a novel written by Fuyumi Oni, whose chief claim to fame is writing the “Twelve Kingdoms” novels. (I have yet to read these, but I am told they are very interesting. I am aware of some Tokyopop translations as well.) Shiki has now become an anime from studio “Anime no Chikara” (“The Power of Anime”) and is currently airing in Japan.
The word shiki itself is spelled with two kanji: corpse + fiend. (The kanji for the latter is used for the Japanese native word oni, but my years of experience tell me that “fiend” is a good way to read it for its broader, less limited meaning.) The “shiki” in this show are vampires, but not traditional Dracula vampires.
The show is centered on a sleepy mountain village (keep in mind that a “village” can still include a fair number of people!) that is being visited by death. At first, this is believed by the village’s practicing doctor to be the result of a contagious illness, but the truth is more insidious: some of the recently killed are rising as vampires themselves and are being unleashed on the unsuspecting population.
The show has the air of a medical murder mystery about it, dovetailing into a supernatural conspiracy. The key to the show seems to be a little girl who is clearly not “human,” the daughter of a wealthy couple whose mountain estate seems to be Vampire Central. A young adult son is the public face of the family, moving around in broad daylight in spite of coming off as clearly a vampire himself.
Key Line: When vampires accept an invitation, they always talk about how they will come to visit “very soon.”
Without getting too deeply into the plot – because frankly, the plot is the point of these things, as you’re not getting the action of some shows – there are a lot of interesting characters. Not all are likable; indeed, we’re not really supposed to like them all. Nonetheless, the show succeeds in providing several things:
Here’s something to note: this series has the self-confidence to start slowly. It’s assuming we have some reason to be interested in it and that we are looking for real drama, seeing the world from the characters’ own eyes and experiencing their horror at discovering a “real-life” (to them) infusion of the supernatural in a world where it clearly is not expected.
Indeed, since no one sane would believe such a thing is possible in “reality,” it seems evident that teenagers will be the ones to fully awaken to the threat and attempt to deal with it, without the benefit of special powers. Not a cool place to be!
How will it end? Here’ s the good part: I have no idea based on eight episodes of the show.
Well, that’s as far as I want to go without going over anything that might be considered spoilers. Bottom line? I’m interested.
There’s also… what I’ll call the “real people factor,” when people who aren’t super-heroes are trying to tackle problems that aren’t sane to begin with. That’s what makes this a drama, not an action film. For that reason, it is all the more interesting.
We’re already up to part #7! Yes, it’s a long work in progress, but explaining things the right way takes time.
変わることのない 愛はきっとここにある
That’s not something that’ll change surely there is love here
Once again, a non-standard kanji is being used ( but in this case, it’s still in my first resort electronic dictionary). This is “kawaru,” the verb “To Be Changed.” It is very important to understand exactly how I wrote that definition: “To Be Changed.” Grammatically speaking, this isn’t like changing your hairstyle; it is to be fundamentally different. As in the cliche, to “be a new man” would apply. Japanese: かわる、変わる
Let’s get this out of the way.
Both koto and mono refer to what we call, in English, things. However, there is a fundamental difference.
Koto refers to intangible things.
Mono refers to tangible, physical things.
In other words, love is a koto and an apple is a mono. This is a very, very important distinction to make. Japanese: こと、事
Here, I added “That” to the sentence because this is a reference to the end of Line 6: the fact that “you’re not alone.”
This is simply a more profound-sounding version of ja nai, covered previously. Unless you’re writing poetry, best to lay off this one. Japanese: のない
“Ai” is the Japanese word for the koto (intangible thing) we call love. Though, to be really technical, it’s affection. There is a more specific word for romantic affection, but we won’t get into that right now. This kind of love can apply to parents and children (between each other), to family pets, and so on. It is stronger than the idiomatic suki (Like) and its emphatic cousin daisuki (Like A Lot), which are used as “love” while trying not to sound too corny. Japanese: あい、愛
Topic particle again. Refer to past articles.
OK, this is a new one. “Kitto” means surely, undoubtedly, etc. In other words, it says colloquially that there is certainty in something. It is not “absolute” certainty – there’s another word for that – but it’s very high probability, and is usually used idiomatically to imply complete certainty, even if “literally” it is not. Japanese: きっと
This stands for “here, which is near to me.” Japanese: ここ (I won’t list the kanji, it’s too rare and for advanced students, and tests, only)
This particle, once again, indicates that what preceded it (in this case, “koko”) modifies what follows. Japanese: に
This is the Japanese existence verb for inanimate objects (i.e. not people, not animals). Here, the subject of the verb is “ai” (love). Japanese: ある、有る
So, this is telling us that the fact the listener isn’t alone isn’t something that will change. In addition, the speaker is very certain that there is love here.
The fact we’re talking about the same speaker isn’t explicit in the grammar, but it doesn’t have to be. So, we can do something like this:
That’s not something that’ll change I’m sure there’s love, right here
This is more localization, but hey, it’s not that bad, is it?
There’s existing, and then, there’s living.
“High School of the Dead,” adapted from a manga of the same name, is a Japanese take on Romero style zombie movies, down to the open homage in episode titles (featuring English and the word DEAD in capital letters). Homage to Romero style zombie movies means, by the way, we’re talking slow zombies, not the “fast zombies” of “28 Days Later” type films, just so you know.
High School of the Dead, the anime, is heavy on fan service (for more on fan service, read this earlier post), even to the point of being pretty over the top and actually distracting from the action – which can be quite good. Yes, it’s anime, but there’s a lot of hat tips to the real world, especially in regard to weapons (yes, they get weapons – along with convenient explanations for why even with the world ending, someone can get their hands on a stash in Japan..) thanks to having a “gun otaku” on the “team.”
Anyway, the real theme of this show, I think, is passion. It’s not just about staying alive, as massively difficult as that is in a zombie apocalypse. It is about staying alive spiritually as well as physically, retaining humanity in a world gone mad and inhuman. This is exemplified when the leading male of the team makes an individual decision, followed by the others, to rescue a little girl whose father dies at the hands of fellow humans while trying to get people in a house to open the door to save the little girl. (He gets shot with a shotgun, and the girl’s cries call the sound-following (albeit blind) zombies near.) This isn’t because it brings any advantage; it’s because it’s the right thing to do.
The irony of the situation is that, while there’s terrible situations where the heroes are on the defensive, the leading male’s thoughts to himself confirm what seems apparent to the viewer: when he is on the attack, with the odds against him and nothing before him but striking down his foes, escaping horrible death at every moment, it is at this time that he feels more alive than at any other time in his life.
The opening theme is sung with immense passion. Ultimately, it’s not about “winning,” nor is it about “survival”; it is about retaining humanity or even, one might say, living more humanly than people in less horrific circumstances might manage to do.
As in the best traditions, zombies are metaphors. We can go through life as if we, too, are lifeless, or we can embrace a love of life, resisting the forces of entropy and sameness. …Anyway, not to make too grand a thing out of it, this is the basic theme.
Animation is certainly high quality. Action choreography and sound and so forth are all not bad at all; when the action is good, it’s very good to see. Nonetheless, please understand this is escapist fantasy, so don’t try everything you see here in the event of a real zombie apocalypse. Your mileage may vary, that’s all.
Anyway, the largest complaint that can be launched – with some legitimacy – is that the fan service actually distracts from good action.
This is a show for mature, jaded viewers who are cool with something that is just a pure ride, pure entertainment. The level of gore and fan service is absolutely not for kids. It is therefore for the young adult, the experienced movie-goer, the person who wants something edgy and new without losing itself in either of those things.
Bottom line: It’s extremely entertaining, as long as the viewer is suited to the material.
In all seriousness, if your average zombie movie was as entertaining as a random High School of the Dead episode, I might watch them. As it is, I’ll stick to the anime. (Well, I might read the manga later.) It’s a wild ride, but I find it well worth it because, well, I fit the “mature, jaded viewer” category just fine.
Not everyone does. If you don’t, don’t force yourself. This show knows its target audience and flaunts both its virtues and vices. Namely, if gore and fan service bother you, stay away!
I like it, but it’s not for everyone. – J
