2016年03月07日
Japanifying Hollywood Titles
Hey, all—
A new movie opened in Japan this weekend. I'd love to see it if I get some time. It's called The Big Short, and it just won an Oscar for its screenplay... but I can't watch The Big Short in Japan. In Japan, the movie's called... Money Short. The only trouble is, "money short" is nonsense English!
One of the oddest things about living in Japan is seeing English film titles get changed to different English titles for their Japanese release. Usually the Japanese titles are either worse, or complete nonsense. For example, The Martian, about a man trapped on Mars, was renamed... Odyssey. This title makes no sense—although Ulysses is stranded several times in the original Odyssey, the word "Odyssey" means "a very long journey." It's the opposite of being stuck in one place! Other current examples include:
—Point Break, which is called "X-Mission" here
—The Finest Hours, which is "The Blizzard" (the movie is about... a rescue at sea), and
—London Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen. The new movie is called, "End of Kingdom" in Japan, because the original was called... "End of White House."
Now, the Japanese title is not always worse than the original. I will never forget how hard I laughed when I heard a deep-voiced narrator bellow the Japanese title of Fast Five: "WILD SPEED: MEGA MAX!!!" That title is so absurd, I have to love it.
Sometimes even when titles are translated into Japanese, the Japanese title is... odd. My favorite example is We Need to Talk About Kevin, which here is called, "少年は残酷な弓を射る." This means, "The Boy Wields a Cruel Bow," or maybe, "The Boy Is a Cruel Archer." This title is what we call "a little too on point."
Of course, other countries do this too. South Korea renamed In Bruges "Killer City," and cut about 20 minutes of the movie, so you never know what to expect overseas!
—Matthew
A new movie opened in Japan this weekend. I'd love to see it if I get some time. It's called The Big Short, and it just won an Oscar for its screenplay... but I can't watch The Big Short in Japan. In Japan, the movie's called... Money Short. The only trouble is, "money short" is nonsense English!
One of the oddest things about living in Japan is seeing English film titles get changed to different English titles for their Japanese release. Usually the Japanese titles are either worse, or complete nonsense. For example, The Martian, about a man trapped on Mars, was renamed... Odyssey. This title makes no sense—although Ulysses is stranded several times in the original Odyssey, the word "Odyssey" means "a very long journey." It's the opposite of being stuck in one place! Other current examples include:
—Point Break, which is called "X-Mission" here
—The Finest Hours, which is "The Blizzard" (the movie is about... a rescue at sea), and
—London Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen. The new movie is called, "End of Kingdom" in Japan, because the original was called... "End of White House."
Now, the Japanese title is not always worse than the original. I will never forget how hard I laughed when I heard a deep-voiced narrator bellow the Japanese title of Fast Five: "WILD SPEED: MEGA MAX!!!" That title is so absurd, I have to love it.
Sometimes even when titles are translated into Japanese, the Japanese title is... odd. My favorite example is We Need to Talk About Kevin, which here is called, "少年は残酷な弓を射る." This means, "The Boy Wields a Cruel Bow," or maybe, "The Boy Is a Cruel Archer." This title is what we call "a little too on point."
Of course, other countries do this too. South Korea renamed In Bruges "Killer City," and cut about 20 minutes of the movie, so you never know what to expect overseas!
—Matthew
2016年03月07日
Moving from Hokkaido
I recently moved to Kagawa from Hokkaido and I love the warm winter weather here. Where I lived in Hokkaido, snow falls almost every day in the winter. People have to shovel off the roofs to prevent the weight of the snow from collapsing the buildings. I don't miss shoveling snow!
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2016年03月07日
My favorite Tonkatsu place.
Nestled away in Matsuyama is a tonkatsu restaurant called Kiyomaru. 
They serve a fried rice and tonkatsu dish that is nothing short of amazing. I love it.
They also have a really delicious katsu sandwich. I can't recommend this place enough.
It's very close to Takashimaya, just down the street in fact. Give it a try the next time you're in Matsuyama.
They serve a fried rice and tonkatsu dish that is nothing short of amazing. I love it.
They also have a really delicious katsu sandwich. I can't recommend this place enough.
It's very close to Takashimaya, just down the street in fact. Give it a try the next time you're in Matsuyama.
