Why is The Simpsons so unpopular in Japan? [日本語字幕あり]
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- The Simpsons brand is inescapable in the US - apart from its record as the longest-running animated television program in American history, it's spawned countless video games, advertising campaigns, comic books, theme park rides, even knockoff beer brands and a handful of dictionary entries. But what about its run in other parts of the world? Do non-English-speakers have the necessary cultural and linguistic background to understand The Simpsons' sense of humor? Does The Simpsons' take on the human condition make sense regardless of your native language or the culture you were raised in? In this video, I take a look at the localization of The Simpsons in Japan and the Arabic-speaking world, with a particular focus on how the show was received by Japanese broadcasters, the general Japanese public, and long-time Japanese fans.
I would like to give an enormous shout-out to TheRealJims for helping me with the script. You can check out his channel below:
/ therealjims
Another shout-out goes to The Simpsons Fanclub Japan, who were instrumental in helping me finish this video. Check out their blog here:
simpsons333.ha...
I'd also like to acknowledge two errors I made while recording the script.
1. When referring to Japanese people in English, I prefer to use the standard Western given name-family name ordering - for Kouichi Yamadera, I accidentally reversed the order and referred to him with the Japanese ordering. His family name is "Yamadera."
2. The picture I used for Chie Koujiro is incorrect. Below is a link to a post from SFJ's blog featuring a photo of her:
simpsons333.ha...
Feel free to follow me on Twitter for updates on the channel: sl...
Sources:
www.news.com.a...
variety.com/20...
web.archive.or...
old.post-gazet...
www.asahi.com/...
serizo.hatenad...
blog.goo.ne.jp...
Great job! I really enjoyed the video. I had heard a little bit about the Arabic localizations but had no idea how challenging it was for The Simpsons in Japan. I can see why it stayed so niche in that country!
For anyone unaware, those expensive DVDs are normal in Japan. Physical media is stupidly expensive over there, which is annoying for those of us who want to import Japanese disks, because they get even more expensive after shipping and customs fees. Also, fun fact: Japanese Homer is also Japanese Darth Vader. (Also also King Bacchushund in Choriki Sentai Ohranger)
German Simpsons I know is pretty poorly translated. Most of it is word-for-word. Meaning jokes don't make sense. "Die Bart Die" is literal, meaning it no longer makes sense. As is "Supernintendo Chalmers", even though the German for superintendent is "Oberschulrat". Sitcoms are hard to translate though. I dread to think how someone would translate Only Fools and Horses (although I know it has foreign adaptations).
It's interesting that you should mention this, because my next video was going to be on how steamed hams was translated into German. I'm much more familiar and comfortable with German than I am with Japanese and I think it could be interesting to do a direct comparison looking at the translation word-for-word to see what works and what doesn't. I did watch the German dub of the scene myself and I felt that a lot of the delivery fell flat.
@@slio2180 I hope to hear you talk about gedämpfte Huscheln.
Seriously tho, the german dub for the earlier episodes aren't really good. They have so many weird errors to the point, where some things they say in the dub don't even make sense for german speakers. The dub from translator, Ivar Combrinck, who also translated the early episodes of Family Guy and Futurama, is kinda infamous with german fans. He is also known for creating german dubs for Cheers and Family Ties, where he made up new original storylines. Both shows were unsucessful in germany until they got a dub that sticks more with the original script.
@@WinslowCD This already sounds a lot more interesting than I anticipated! I'd like to look deeper into Combrinck's relationship with German audiences before assembling a script, though--perhaps a video about his entire career would be of more interest than a video about his work on The Simpsons specifically?
is it all types of physical media or just some? and is there a reason why it's so expensive
@@thatonecookie242 its most. Anime for example is where most series make their profits to recoup studio expenses. Merchandise can help for other big shows, but smaller shows need strong home media sales to survive and make further seasons
Very interesting video about a topic I didn’t know too many specifics about! I’m surprised that you didn’t mention how on some Simpsons video game covers in Japan, an extra finger was added, or how the show advertised the CC Lemon drink in the 2000s. The amount of research you poured into this still shines through though!
Thank you! I actually wasn't aware of the edits they made to the video game covers, but I did consider mentioning the CC Lemon drink advertisements and merging that with a conversation about The Simpsons as a brand versus The Simpsons as entertainment. Maybe I could make a video exploring this in the future!
A common nicktendo W
What about the popularity of King of the Hill? I know that had a Japanese dub.
I wouldn't say its super unpopular, there are a ton of Japanese comments on Japanese simpsons clips. Saying how they love the show or how funny a certain scene is, i think its just unappealing to the general Japanese audience. Just like how anime use to be with most English speaking people, its only loved by huge otakus/nerds of American media there (i presume.)
I know "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" got the show in trouble for the scene where Homer throws the Emperor of Japan into a sumo bin. So for whatever headway they made into the Japanese market, that probably set it 3 steps back.
Yeah, not a smart idea making fun of the leader of the country you're trying to appeal to.
@@mechajay3358 keizo obuchi was the prime minister (leader) & akihito was the emperor at the time this episode aired because his role is similar to sweden's king, I'd say more but some people think most royalty run a country when they just reign.
In the early 00s of the world wide web there were speculations from anime fans that The Simpsons was not popular in Japan because it clashed with the family values of japanese television audiences, a theory I found so incredibly absurd, but I had no way to debunk. They would say ridiculous nonsense like "most Japanese families want to watch the wholesomeness of Sazea-san." Anyone who knew actual japanese people would tell you that the country is full of people who enjoy anti-authority humor. These days it's quite obvious now the reason the show struggled to be relevant in Japan except to a very small, dedicated fanbase. It is refreshing to have a video essay like this.
I noticed that on Disney+, for some reason the Japanese dubbed simpsons episodes have Japanese subtitles that hardly follow what the characters are actually saying. That seems like more work than was necessary, and is just confusing!
Probably more just a case of the subtitle being a more literal translation rather than being a reflection of the dub’s script
This is a problem I see with a lot of Japanese dubs. There are subtitles, but they're made with the English audio in mind.
Like how the subtitles of a subbed anime don't use the same script as the dub
I always see random Simpsons stuff while im in Japan, but I don't know anyone who is a fan. I think some people like them because they know they're iconic western pop culture, but they don't watch or really get it.
what a cool video! I loved it! btw, the explanation I always heard for the "no four fingered cartoon characters in Japan" thing--with completely no sources or corroboration -- was that having one finger cut off is associated with the Yakuza
This video is great. It's always intresting how translation works for different countries.
I think it's just neat to hear how each voice actor/actress/person take on these iconic characters.
This year The Simpsons season 15 season 16 and season 17 finally got Japanese dubs on Disney+ they had to change some of the actors though but I think it's cool also for The Simpsons Movie The Japanese dub that's on Disney+ is the Theatrical dub (You know, The one that didn't include the original actors) not the Dvd dub unfortunately
If you choose to pursue other topics, please retain your format! The editing was subtle and the writing was deeply intricate. Looking forward to your future endeavors!
What a fantastic video! Thanks hoss, and I can confirm that Simpsons is not famous on saudi but, its well known. A lot of folks down here use homer as a meme. Btw, the background music is cool. Keep up the good work.
Was the idea that animation is for kids really as widespread in Japan in the late 80s as it was in america? There are plenty of anime i can think of aimed at teenagers and adults in japan in the 70s and 80s while America outside the odd Bakshi film was basically either disney movies or bad saturday morning cartoons during the 70s and 80s
This is a good point, but I was speaking more in terms of the perception of animation than the animation itself. My understanding is that adult-oriented anime hadn't really entered the mainstream consciousness yet, or, if it had, that a large proportion of the Japanese public would have likely dismissed it as children's entertainment. This trend seemed to continue into the 1990s.
Simpsons is a weird beast in Japan. Like DVDs are also expensive where a 3 episode anime disc over there costs $80 on average. Westaboos are pretty dedicated though. South Park stopped the Japanese dub after around season 8 but that's arguably even more popular than the Simpsons, especially when they get stuff that isnt really shown on Japanese TV. Still a fun video.
Also compared to the West where Lisa is arguably the worst Simpson, her intelligence and outlook made her the most popular character in Japan
The worst Simpson? I resent that statement, Lisa is very much the best and my favorite, and that has nothing to do with me being a similarly stifled overachiever
@@snakewithapen5489 you can have your opinion, it's the majority consensus among the Fandom post season 10 dude
Great and informative video! I’ve never watched the simpsons on my own- I know most of the references due to internet osmosis- but as someone who studies Japanese and works with media preservation, the sentiment of adaptations overseas is one that definitely hit home. It’s often difficult to find information on how cartoons etc changed when adapted, unless you visit very old blogs, old niconico pages, auctions, or some people on Twitter who are big fans of western cartoons. Im glad you took the time to reach out to a Japanese fan yourself!
Great video! This topic is fascinating!!
Agreed
I was always curious about this. I had no idea just HOW much distribution for the series had difficulty in the country - no wonder it struggled!
As an Australian, a lot of American shows that were hyped up always ended up dying on Foxtel here (our Cable/Satellite Monopoly) in the 90s, 00s, and 10s... so it's no wonder our nation gained its reputation for being a piracy mecca.
I'm curious how much this sort of thing factored in Japan's fanbase persisting. But I also wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to discuss it.
The music in your video is way too loud! And I'm saying this as somebody who really enjoys the content you are talking about. Great video just turn the music down
can u do a deeper analysis on why the Simpsons did not kickstart in the Arab world although it was dubbed in Egyptian dialect, the most popular arabic spoken in 21 countries.
This could be an interesting topic for a future video if I ever get around to making them again. If you have any additional information about this, I'd be curious to hear. Unfortunately, I can't read Arabic and don't speak the language at all, so I'd be at a major disadvantage there.
This was a great video, earned yourself a like and a subscriber. Hope I get to see more on whatever interests you
Algorithm gods bless this man
I think this is so good 😊 take your time with the next video xxx
You earned it.
Thank you for the investigation that was very interesting :)
Great video man, really informative
Very good content, subscribed and I hope to see more good stuff!
Great content!
Thank you!
Cool video
Bart!
The Simpsons is unpopular everywhere that isnt the west
Oh my God the simpsons dubbed in Arabic is soooooo cringe! Arabic is my mother tongue but I could not stand it.
ok video
Great video, but so sad you used the unfunny steamed ham as an example, I don't get why that part is apparently funny, not in English, nor in Spanish (I'm from Mexico) and not in Japanese
Ight?
Skiner burned his mother house,because he wanted perfect dinner for his Boss.
It's unpleasant for you to stick to images of people wearing a face diaper. This adds no value to your video. It only shows that you're into the Covid project and try to slide it in to us under pretext of an otherwise interesting topic.
Well said! I actually went to Morocco myself to capture the footage of the people walking around in their "diapers" towards the beginning of the video. Got a huge payout to put it in this niche RUclips essay with 2500 views.
It's unpleasant of you to make such a stupid comment, it really adds no value to it whatsoever. Lol