Nihongo de Kurasou starts off in typical wacky Japanese fashion. This includes gross stereotypes and Daikon radish pulling (like in Mario 2!). Next, we’re introduced to three non-native Japanese speakers (I think). There’s the kind of cute Korean girl, the creepy looking Spanish speaking guy, and the Chinese guy that speaks English and Chinese. They sit down at some kind of panel and watch a skit. A husband comes home, finds out that his wife has made a mistake with some kind of greeting card, and scolds her. She comes back with the phrase “If that were the case, you should have said so from the beginning. It’s too late now.” This is the extent to which Japanese people get angry!?
In this episode, there was also a “Kanji Corner” and another skit where the wife of the previous skit visits her mom. She was there to visit her Tea Teacher (I think), and her mom tells her she wouldn’t be there today. Instead of throwing a chair, the daughter replies in Japanese, “Oh, is that what happened? If only you had told me earlier…”
I guess I can understand what’s happening here. In typical Japanese fashion, you really have to “play by the rules” to express your displeasure. This episode wasn’t really about trash talking anyone, it was about politely being upset. Though not as interesting, I guess it’s more helpful than learning Japanese swear words (which anime teaches me well enough). I’ll probably get into less fights too. If you’re looking to learn useful Japanese phrases, I’d say Nihongo de Kurasou is a pretty good show. It’s not for beginners, though. Besides the key phrases, the whole thing was unsubbed, so I had to gather a lot through context. I’ll be looking forward to the next episode: “picking up chicks.” Tanoshimi ni!
