[quote name='rotlung' timestamp='1294753252' post='703799']1. words like Nakama don't have good translation in english. Literally translated it means friend (which is what One Piece uses in Dubbing) The word extends to companion, shipmate, partner etc. The subbing site I watch explained this before one of the episodes and that they weren't going to translate Nakama cause it didn't have a good translation.[/quote]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]This isn't preserving the meaning, this is lazy translating. "Nakama" doesn't have a [i]single[/i] English word that acts as a catch-all term just like it, because it means different things in different contexts. Take for example, the English word "mate". It can refer to a friend, an acquaintance or a lover depending on the context in which it is used. The thing is, in every context that the word "nakama" is used, there is a perfectly suitable English language substitute to fit that context. It's not some special magical term that describes a level of companionship that's exclusive to the Japanese, it's just a general term that fansubbers are too lazy to apply any context to.[/font]
[quote name='rotlung' timestamp='1294753252' post='703799']2 vulger and curse words. In dubbing they intend most anime to be for kids. They exclude and rewrite things so they can be marketed to US childern. I remember watching DBZ uncut when I was in High school and my jaw dropped how much they cursed and the gore that when along with that series. Sexual situtions also fall into this catagory. [/quote]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]It's a secret to everyone!
[spoiler]In Japan, most anime is intended for children.[/spoiler]
Yes, there is hentai. Yes, there are adult-geared anime, but barring those exceptions, most anime is considered family-friendly. Heck, let's go back to [b]One Piece[/b] for this one. It's got blood, fanservice, dark themes, sex jokes, etc. You know who the target demographic is? 10-16 year old boys. same with [b]DBZ[/b], [b]Naruto[/b], [b]Fullmetal Alchemist[/b], the list goes on. This stuff may not be appropriate for kids that age in the US, but that's an issue of cultural differences. Japan basically runs under the assumption that an adult is supervising during TV time, so they're allowed to show more blood and such because they believe there's someone around to tell the kid why the shouldn't go out and stab people. Not that that's always the case or that Americans never do that, but the joke does go that our kids are being babysat by the Teletubbies.
As for the swearing, a good, heavy chunk of anything stronger than "damn" that you'll come across in a fan sub was [i]not in the original script[/i]. They were added for "flavor" by, once again, lazy fansubbers. Not to say that there aren't good, hardworking groups out there, but in general I find that a lot of misconceptions people have about language in anime comes from some lazy yuk who thought dropping the F-bomb in place of a simple "No way!" would make him more hardcore. In all honesty, Japanese is a very "polite" language. Rather than individual words, most rudeness comes across in the form of entire sentence structures and dialects. Think back to your teacher and "don't take that tone with me". That's pretty much how it works.[/font]
[quote name='rotlung' timestamp='1294753252' post='703799']3. The fan sub work hard on some translations. In one episode of Black Lagoon, there is a part where the bad guy starts speaking spanish (It was another launguge than Japenese, can't remember 100%) He has this whole speech that reminded me of Boondock Saints, and at the end of the video there was a message that thanked several people helping him correctly translate the Spanish part due to how fast it was spoken and it's complicity.
[/quote]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]This is a given, and it's the same for dubbing companies. Case in point: FUNimation vs. 4Kids Entertainment. One works hard to keep the spirit intact, the other mines for marketability and strips away the show's soul.
The thing is, dubbing companies are getting paid for it. They have more incentive to get it right. Therefore, they're more likely to try.[/font]