At the moment, I'm watching the Simpsons, yes the Simpsons in Japanese, yes that's right... Japanese. *ahem* Anyway, it sounds strange, but it really really helps when you can recite the lines in English ad verbatim and then see how they fit into the Japanese style translation. Its also useful for vocab as I'm picking up words through known context of the episodes.

Anyways, its really strange hearing the voices of Marge, Homer, Bart et al done in Japanese. In many ways, the Japanese voices are eerily similar to that of the voices in English. You see in Japan, voice-actors (声優 - seiyuu) are artists next to major movie stars, authors and sports-stars. With the massive proliferation of the animated art-form, people who provide voices for a cartoon are simply not niche actors - they make a tidy profit out of the business.

Chief Wiggum's voice is typically nasal (not unlike the robust deep gravelly accent in the French syndication) and Krusty's is neigh on spot on. Even in japanese, you can also hear the clear Mr Burns intonation in the voices. But Marge's voice is so damn highpitched and squeaky in the Japanese version of the show. If you are a fan of the show, you'll know that Marge is anything but high-pitched and squeaky. She sounds like she's just smoked a packet of several Marlborough cigarettes. That's my one main gripe with the Japanese version so far. The rest is well done. The seiyuu working on the Simpsons have done a fine job. They have taken the original and attempted to rework the original sounds of the characters albeit suited more to a Japanese eardrum.

Given the fact that the Simpsons is an American comedy, many of the jokes can't cross over well - this is more so in the latter seasons where the cultural references are far more explicit than in the earlier works (which are some of the finest TV programming in history imho.) Even some of the jokes still fall on deaf ears towards us British viewers who need a slightly more in-depth working of American pop culture - but for these misses it delivers mostly quality hits we can laugh at. Although we obviously don't share these same references we do of course get the added bonus of the language - in which we get to hear the Simpsons in its truest form. That is to say the English language and the wonderful voices of Dan Castanella, Hank Azaria and co.

I always think its interesting how TV programmes in Japan are often repackaging and sold off to the west and horribly misconstrued and badly translated. One of my favourites is a show called Crayon Sin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん) which is about a little boy living in Japan who always gets up to crazy hijinks. (Trust me its a killer.) Unfortunately, this show has been shown several times in the west as Shin Chan, and the dubbing is simply horrendous. In the English version, several jokes play on the fact of Shin Chan's crude behaviour rather than his very clever wordplay. Many of those who would encounter this programme would think it to be a very banal and basic Japanese cartoon about a rude little boy. But sadly its anything but. It has some funny gags in it, based entirely around the comedic use of wordplay in Japanese. For example, one episode sees Shin-Chan playing junior football at his school. In arguing with the opposing keeper about how Shin-Chan can't score past him, the goalie remarks about his tetsu no kabe - lit. 'the wall of steel.' However, Shin-chan mistakenly hears this as ketsu no kabe - lit. 'a wall of butt-cheeks.' and promptly imagines the keeper mooning every shot that gets fired at him, much to the goalie's chagrin.

You see this is how Shin-chan works. He is an essential master of the word-pay and cultural misrepresentations purely associated with Japan and the Japanese language. I think its impossible to translate and doing so just gives the show an entire kick in the balls, because it loses the magic of why it is so great in Japan. Can you image the Simpsons being mutated into something that deviated from the original intentions of the American writers?

As I've said earlier, I think they've done a good job translating it, but some of the jokes and wordplays even in Japanese fails, leaving many Japanese to become quite confused over that is happening. I suppose it becomes a difficult line to draw when you are stuck between keeping things truthful as a translator and sizing up the relevancy and accuracy of what you are translating. I don't why it is but I am drawn to watching the Simpsons in Japanese, but then horribly turned off whenever I see a game or anime dubbed into English.

I think its a clear connection of how the world works in this equation. The Japanese simply do voice-acting better than we do. And I think that is down to the rich heritage of the format in that part of the world. We simply can't compete in terms of market stakes.

However, in the land where the noble seiyuus are lauded, its not always a bed of roses. You may of course remember that the Simpsons branched out into their own little movie. I've just watched it on blu-ray and I still think its freaking hilarious. Now, you'd think if Fox decided to realise this in Japan, they would use the voice-actors who have been doing this show in Japanese for the past few years?

You'd be wrong. In fact Fox decided to switch the actors for the movie. Japan probe takes up the rest of this story.

The little clique of diehard fans (the show is very much a niche show over there, same way many anime shows are over here) were naturally outraged and thus began long standing campaigns to get the original voice actors back. Can you image if they made a movie of a long-standing TV show in the UK and then decided to replace the original cast of that TV show with celebrities in order to appeal to a wider audience on cinematic release?

Anyways, you may notice a lot of Japanese on the Simpsons from time to time. I'm thinking the one where they go to Japan and also the one where Homer phones Japan. Let me tell you, they keep it real. They don't mess about and the Japanese they speak and show is spot-on. Its fantastic attention to detail, although I think this partly due to some of the writers being Japanese-American. (Ken Tsumara who worked on the earlier seasons for example as well producer Richard Sakai.) You'd think with such indepth knowledge and attention to detail for the English audiences, they would allow the same level of detail and continuance for the Japanese?