Iida City Kawamoto Kihachirō Puppet Museum 飯田市川本喜八郎人形美術館

 High on my list of places to visit the next time I’m in Japan is the Iida City Kawamoto Kihachirō Puppet Museum (飯田市川本喜八郎人形美術館) in southern Nagano Prefecture. The ningyō jōruri ( aka bunraku) puppetry has been performed in Iida City for over 300 years. During the Edo period, the town became famous for its two main schools of ningyō jōruri performance: the Kuroda Puppet Troupe (黒田人形座)...

Subs vs. Dubs: Part Six

Part FiveThe discussion then moved towards the topic of Super-dubbing / Chōyaku aimed at young audiences. (read more on Super-dubbing at wildgrounds)Domenig asked Asakawa if she [as a subtitle specialist] felt threatened by the advent of Super-dubbing. Asakawa gave the impression that she didn’t have a strong personal preference. Domenig noted that in Japan there was a new trend towards dubbed prints...

Subs vs. Dubs: Part Five

Click Here for Part FourDrawing on his extensive knowledge of anime history, Crispin Freeman talked a bit about the Americanization of anime in the early days. In the 1970s and 1980s it was commonplace for dubs to anglicize character and place names. For example, Tetsuwan Atomu became Astro Boy. The internet changed everything. For example, in the dub of Naruto [Freeman does the voice of Itachi...

Subs vs. Dubs: Part Four

sscreencapture from Tekkon Kinkreet For Part Three Click HereDomenig then asked Michael Arias if Tekkon Kinkreet is a Japanese film. Arias claimed that he doesn’t really think about the Japaneseness of his films. With regards to the discussion that proceded this question, he says that he doesn’t feel comfortable addressing the issue of historical Japanese films as it’s not his area of knowledge....

Subs vs. Dubs: Part Three

For Part Two Click HereAsakawa was then asked to share with us her three “No-Nos” when it comes to translation.1. Don’t Create. You are not the director.2. Essence vs. Re-Imagination. You need to understand the film, but the more you understand the film, the more your own flavour gets added to the translation and the original flavour is lost.3. When pushed for a third point, she merely re-emphasized...

Subs vs. Dubs: Part Two

For Part One, Click HereTaguchi was asked if he had ever done any voice acting work for Japanese film or television. It turns out that he was given the opportunity of dubbing the voice of the Jazz Teacher for the Japanese version of South Park. He found it an interesting experience because it was the first time that he as an actor was not physically engaging in a role. He found working on South...