Voice Actors - Shin'ichirou Miki and Ryou Horikawa

[gemini_artemis]

Okay, so maybe I should be doing something more productive, like writing fic or, even better, finishing my homework, but yesterday I was hanging around the MLR section on FF.net again and got the promise of at least one Yamino fic, probably two. So, I was on a Yamino-fangirling mood and decided to read about his voice actor.

I found out that he's

Comments

[vampirenaomi]

Whoa, he's James? That's awesome! I really like his original voice, though I've got a soft spot for the English and first Finnish voice, too. James/Kojiro sounds more manly in Japanese, I think. I doubt I would have recognised the voice because Japanese voice actors all sound the same to me

[gemini_artemis]

Oddly enough, Japanese VAs usually sound the same to me, too, unless they're VERY popular and/or have a very unique voice and/or I've been constantly listening to them in another series. Even then it's tricky, because some of them can sound very different from one character to another. Like Shin'ichirou Miki.

But I thought your problem was with the Vampire Princess Miyu TV series, but you still liked the OAV? Though, I can't really see why you'd have a problem with Larva being able to speak and having a face. I mean, he's voiced by Shin'ichirou Miki and has such a pretty face! :D

Yes, keigo is the polite/respectful language. In Japanese, there's a huge difference between casual speech and polite speech, and even within the latter there are many levels of politeness. The more polite, the more elaborate and verbose. Keigo is almost like a whole different language; I heard that even native Japanese must take courses to learn it properly. Here are some examples:

"Can I send you a letter?"[casual] Tegami wo okutte mo ii

[vampirenaomi]

Yes, my problem is with the TV series, not the OVA (which I still love). Larva was a much more interesting character when he couldn't speak and wore that mask. Now that he can speak, he an Miyu can angst endlessly to each other between spitting out semi-mysterious mumbo jumbo about destiny. Every main character in that series is a horrible, whiny and self-righteous angst bucket who doesn't accomplish anything useful.

Whoa, keigo is so bizarre! You're right at saying how it's almost like a different language. The politeness in that "Please correct the exercise" is just... wow. o_o

[gemini_artemis]

At least Larva is hot? :D Seriously, though, I can see why you'd dislike the series after having got so used to the OVA. Which one came first, by the way?

Yeah, that's why speaking in keigo is so daunting to us students, especially us Brazilians, who are always very informal even towards our own teachers. In keigo, you can never give direct orders or speak for another person or say anything that even suggests that you know something for fact or that you're right and someone else is wrong.

The literal translation of the keigo "Can I send you a latter?" is also long-winding: "I wonder if it would be all right if you did me the favour of allowing me to send you a letter?"

Besides, some words are different depending on whether your speech is casual or if you're referring to yourself or to someone superior. For example:

Watashi wa iku. = I'll go. (casual)
Watashi wa mairimasu. = I'll go. (keigo)
Sensei wa irasshaimasu. = The teacher will go.