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!