Sunday, November 18, 2012

Literary Work -- CHILI SAUCE NINJA


The Story of the Chili Sauce Ninja.

Starring: 
Mr. Santos
Mike Miller
Yamada-san
Kimura-san

The characters read from left-to-right. ENJOY!!!

































I decided to focus on several of the characters from the video series that accompanies "Minna no Nihongo." I found the characters to be endearing and charming and, while under the influence of "osake," I decided that it might be a good idea to incorporate some of the themes we learned in this video series with an animation/plot theme more aligned with Quack Experiemental Anime's "Excel Saga."

Here is an explanation of the various Katakana I used in this project:

ミラーさん:Obviously, this is the "Japanization" of "Mr. Miller."

キムラ:Mr. Miller is obviously incapable of speaking Japanese well. He refers to "Kimura-san" as "Kimura," and I decided that the best way to demonstrate this misunderstanding and cultural faux-pas would be to transcribe it in Katakana. Since Katakana is used to write foreign loan-words, I believed it would be logical for a foreigner to use Katakana to demonstrate "foreignness."

バキ:"Baki" is Japanese onomatopoeia for "crush" or "bam." I wanted to illustrate the sound of Yamada-san thwomping Mr. Miller, and this choice seemed appropriate.


コンサート:Foreign loan-word for "concert."

チョット:In order to illustrate Kimura-san's disproval of Mr. Miller's invitation, I chose to spell "chotto" in Katakana rather than Hiragana.

ワタシノカノジョ:Yamada-san really wants to make it clear that Kimura-san is HIS girlfriend, and by using Katakana, I believe it resonates more clearly with Mr. Miller.

スミマセン: Mr. Miller seems to be increasingly upset/frustrated/agitated as Yamada-san continues his torment. By writing "sumimasen" in Katakana, I illustrate not only his lack of command of Japanese but ALSO the emphasis/sincerity of his apology.

ダレ:Yamada-san really wants to know who the mysterious figure is, so "dare" in Katakana seemed appropriate with regards to emphasis.

ニンジャ:Yamada-san is terrified and bewildered at the prospect of a ninja being before him, hence the Katakana use.

サントス:This is the "Japanization" of Mr. Santos.

ナン:Yamada-san seems highly inquisitive as to the package Santosu-san is holding, so the question word "nan" is written in Katakana to call attention to the desired vocal inflection.

ホンノキモチデス:In the video from chapter 2, "honno kimochi desu" is the term Santosu-san uses when presenting Yamada-san with coffee. Since this time the phrase is being, presumably, shouted or exclaimed, I chose to write it in Katakana.

グオ:"Guo" is the onomatopoeia in Japanese for "blast." Santosu-san is BLASTING chili sauce and coffee at Yamada-san, so this was an obvious choice.

フルフル:"furu furu" is Japanese onomatopoeia that mimics the sound of trembling. Miraa-san is obviously scared at this moment, and is trembling as a result.

コーヒー:This is the foreign loanword for "coffee," "kouhii."

チリソース:This is the foreign loanword for "chili sauce," "chiri sousu."

ドキドキ:"doki doki" is the onomatopoeia for heartbeats. For a fun Google search, look up the video game "Doki Doki Panic," especially if you are familiar with Super Mario Bros. 2.

ナニ:Miraa-san cannot BELIEVE Yamada-san's change of heart. Hence his Katakanization of the word "nani."

ヒクヒク:The shock is so great, in fact, that Miraa-san begins twitching, and "hiku hiku" is the onomatopoeia for "twitch twitch."

イキマショ:Relieved that the experience is over and overcome by the indescribable and transcendental bliss offered by Santosu-san's chili sauce, Miraa-san emphatically agrees to go to the concert with Yamada-san and Kimura-san, hence the implementation of Katakana for "ikimasho."

I hope you enjoyed my project!