OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying Anime Series Review – Review

If you are unfamiliar with Okinawa’s position in Japanese culture, there is a convenient simulation in the United States: Hawaii. Like Hawaii, Okinawa was an independent country, annexed by a larger, more militarized empire. Its geographical distance from the colonists allowed it to maintain its unique culture. However, it strives to survive under the tempting and threat of commodification of mainlanders, especially the danger of extinction. okinsura: Falling in love with an Okinawan girl, but I just wish I knew what she was talking about It’s like a boy from Los Angeles moved to Hawaii and fell in love with an indigenous girl who would say Hawaiians.

Of course, this does not involve the furry politics of colonialism and endangered languages ​​that I just mentioned. This is a lovely life span romcom-cum-edutainment series that covers everyday life in Okinawa. The main character Teru recently moved to Okinawa from mainland Japan and was obsessed with his classmate Hina Kyan. However, Kyan mostly speaks in the island’s traditional language, Uchinaaguchi, rather than uchinaa yamatu-guchi, which is closer to the Japanese dialect, and its function is borrowed from Uchinaaguchi. Fortunately, Kyan’s best friend Kana usually translates, but Kana has her own obsession on Teru!

The ROMCOM element is not excited. Teru, Kyan and Kana are all good kids, but not very fun. All three people have deviated their personalities, without any modifications, making them feel different outside of the environment. Teru is a good boy who longs to meet the girls he likes and learns about his new home culture in the process, with Kyan energetic and Kana being more reserved. They spend time hanging out, and comedic misunderstandings occur every once in a while, most often due to cultural differences. No one takes action, but every once in a while they get blushed and shy.

No, the real star here is Okinawa and its language. arrive okinsuraTo its credit, it avoids feeling like promotional anime by focusing on the cultural aspects of everyday Okinawan life. Each plot is interrupted several times to briefly discuss some language or other trivia and tell it in a cute, cartoony little shiisa (Okinawa mythical character). This makes the episode very strange at a pace, rarely lingering in an instant, and then hastily explained its background. Instead of going to Shuri Castle or Churami Aquarium, Teru visited exciting local hotspots such as Drive-In-In A&W, in which the learning Okinawa is the only prefecture in Japan without a train. Rather than trying to attract tourism, it feels like this series comes from a sincere love for the local language and culture. It would be very charming if you are the type of person who loves to learn this, but there is no doubt that it is a bit boring if you don’t.

This is also a nightmare for locals. Kyan’s Uchinaaguchi dialogue is related to Japanese submarines, so, fortunately, no matter who is in charge of the translation, they don’t have to spell the entire foreign language themselves, although they do perform transliterations. Making an accurate, readable experience for an English-speaking audience requires a lot of cultural knowledge and an understanding of technical language terms. Aside from the clumsy title, I doubt the forced inconsistent tense of Japanese licensors, who do admirable work even if it simply cannot fully replicate the experience of Japanese audiences.

The main trio is made up of some Seiyuu The brightest star in the world: Fairouz ai As Kana, akapo As Kane, then Takeo Otsuka As teru. These three are very talented actors who perform well in their roles. However, AI comes from Tokyo and Kito comes from Nagoya. I admit, I don’t have ears to Okinawa dialect, just like I do with standard Japanese or Kansai In dialect, Uchinaaguchi is totally unknown to me, so I can’t say how persuasive their accent is. However, considering Okinawa’s marginalized position compared to the main islands, it is frustrating that, even if most of the secondary actors are in language, neither Okinawa’s protagonist is expressed in the native language of the dialect. Miyuri Shimabukurofor example, there may be no star power of an actress, he expresses the expression of Jolyne Cujoh, but she has experienced her own experience and has proven herself to play the leading role, while also being able to start from Okinawa herself.

Okinawa is an amazing place, which makes it even more impressive okinsura Resisting the urge to focus on its famous scenery, instead setting most of the action in the suburbs. After all, items stored in department store clothing areas and local products are more relevant to the county’s daily life. There are still many beauty to be found, but more places are found here, such as Shia statues that decorate the landscape. The most exotic thing about making is easy to be the soundtrack. this Background music Even the theme song is dominated by Sanshin, the Sanshin, the indispensable sanstring lute for the island sound.

Here I admit that I have a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and Japanese and often bring in the language trivia I just learned. Therefore, like okinsura Almost mine. But if you don’t share my peculiar intersection of interests, there’s not much appeal about the show. These characters are flat, basic, cultural trivia delivery equipment more than fun. The animation is bright and colorful, but rarely impressive and avoids the landscape of its famous landscape. No, you have to be that nerd who finds the engaging voice of dialects to get anything from it.