| Welcome to Eleven Famous Japanese Movie Quotes by JapanesePod101.com! |
| Hi Everyone! I’m Alisha. |
| And I'm Risa. |
| Want to know a FAST, FUN way to improve your Japanese? Do you really want to know? |
| Learn… quotes from famous Japanese movies! This is an easy way to learn tons of new phrases, words, and grammar points. |
| In this lesson, we will look at some of the best Japanese movies and TV series, mostly from the previous century. |
| We’ll also give you quotes to memorize and practice with your classmates, friends or Japanese teacher on JapanesePod101. |
| By the way… |
| Do you want to finally learn and speak Japanese? If yes… Then get our fast, easy lessons and study tools.... go to JapanesePod101.com and sign up for your free lifetime account. Just click the link in the description right now. |
| バトル・ロワイアル |
| Battle Royale |
| Our first movie is “Battle Royale.” |
| This dystopian movie was shot in 2000 and is set in the future. It was based on a novel with the same name, written by Koushun Takami. The story is about a group of ninth-grade Japanese students who are forced by the government to battle and kill one another on a deserted island. |
| They are instructed to fight to the death (leaving only one victor) or commit suicide. |
| The drama, and themes such as betrayal, lost love, and friendship keeps the movie relatable. Yet, it was still released with an R-15 rating (meaning the film was banned for anyone younger than 15). This is an unusual rating in Japan. |
| The teenagers’ battle is launched with the following chilling words by their class teacher: |
| そこで今日は皆さんに、ちょっと殺し合いをしてもらいます。 |
| It means: “So, I would like everyone to kill each other today”. Not for the faint of heart! |
| そこで今日は皆さんに、ちょっと殺し合いをしてもらいます。 |
| “So, I would like everyone to kill each other today.” |
| [SLOW] そこで今日は皆さんに、ちょっと殺し合いをしてもらいます。 |
| そこで今日は皆さんに、ちょっと殺し合いをしてもらいます。 |
| 戦場のメリークリスマス |
| (Senjō no merīkurisumasu) |
| “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.” |
| Our second movie is more heartwarming, and a classic worldwide. It’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. Do you know it? It's a classic! |
| Released in the early Eighties, this famous human drama was directed by Nagisa Ôshima. It is set in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. The story centers on the battle of wills between a Japanese camp commander, and captured British soldiers. One of the captives, John Lawrence, acts as interpreter and tries to mend the cultural divide between the British and the Japanese. Its English title, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, is also its most famous quote, said in the bittersweet end by a Japanese prisoner. |
| In Japanese, this is メリークリスマス Mr.ローレンス。 |
| メリークリスマス Mr.ローレンス |
| "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence." |
| セーラー服と機関銃 |
| “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” |
| A movie that pushed the cinematic boundaries when it first came out was Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, or セーラー服と機関銃 in Japanese. |
| Called one of the defining comedy-action films of Japanese cinema in the early Eighties, the movie tells the story of an average school girl taking over her uncle’s yakuza clan. The yakuza are the Japanese equivalent of the mafia. |
| The film makes fun of the action-driven yakuza movies. In it, schoolgirl-turned-gangster, Izumi, wears the traditional Japanese sailor-style school uniform throughout. One of the film’s famous, rather bleak quotes comes from Izumi as she discharges her machine gun in front of a crowd and says, “Feels so good.” This translates as 快感。in Japanese. |
| 快感。 |
| “Feels so good.” |
| 男はつらいよ |
| “It’s Tough Being a Man” |
| 男はつらいよis again lighter fare, and if you're interested to learn more about real Japanese culture, this movie is for you. It's a fun title in English is It's tough being a man! |
| It centers around the antics of an endearing loser called Tora-san, and was released in 1969. The film’s plot is simple enough - Tora-san is a traveling salesman estranged from his family. After 20 years, he returns to the lives of his aunt, uncle and sister, and effortlessly creates chaos for them. The movie was so popular that very long movie and TV series were conceived with the same characters. |
| It’s most famous quote is used throughout the series, and roughly translates as: “You shouldn’t say that!” The phrase means, in essence: ‘If you say that, it’s the end of everything!’ Pure over-the-top comedy. You say it in Japanese like this: それを言っちゃ、おしまいよ。Can you try saying it? |
| それを言っちゃ、おしまいよ。 |
| “You shouldn’t say that!” |
| ルパン三世 ルパンVS複製人間 |
| “Lupin the Third, The Mystery of Mamo” |
| The Japanese title of our next movie is ルパン三世 ルパンVS複製人間 and it's English title is Lupin the Third, The Mystery of Mamo. |
| Lupin the Third was a manga series that became popular in the late ‘60s. It shows the adventures of a thief, Arséne Lupin, who is the grandson of the well-known, French gentleman thief with the same name. Lupin the Third comics appeared in the Weekly Manga Action magazine. The Mystery of Mamo is the first film in a string of adventure-comedy anime based on this franchise. It remains one of the most popular Japanese anime series worldwide. |
| The film follows the young thief’s antics as he tries to foil Mamo, who is a powerful, rich hermit seeking eternal life. Of course, the lady characters find Lupin irresistible, which is responsible for one of the movie’s more memorable quotes. It goes like this in Japanese: やつはとんでもないものを盗んでいきました。あなたの心です。In English it means: "That guy stole an irreplaceable thing. Your heart." What an awesome quote to learn off by heart! So dramatic! |
| やつはとんでもないものを盗んでいきました。あなたの心です。 |
| That guy stole an irreplaceable thing. Your heart." |
| トリック |
| “Trick” |
| The movieトリック, or Trick, in English, started as a single TV-series in 2000, and was the brainchild of director Yukihiko Tsutsumi. It later turned into two more seasons on TV, four movies and three feature-length specials. The plotlines centre on Naoko Yamada, a young woman who got fired from one job after the other. In her own mind, she’s a talented magician though, so eventually she lands with Professor Ueda. Together the two work to expose fake spiritualists, and solve mysterious murders and other crimes. |
| The quote most used in the series and movies is: “I know what you’ve done!” This is uttered by the triumphant protagonists upon solving a mystery. The quote in Japanese is: お前らのやった事は全部お見通しだ！ |
| お前らのやった事は全部お見通しだ！ |
| “I know what you’ve done!” |
| その男、凶暴につき |
| “Violent Cop” |
| その男、凶暴につきor Violent Cop is indeed a movie with lots of violence. Released in 1989, it tells the blood-spattered story of detective Azuma, a Japanese police officer, who follows his own head and rules chasing results. This loose cannon gets entangled in a drama involving gang-violence, drugs, his close friend and police partner, and his sister, who gets kidnapped. |
| This dark film was originally written to be a comedy, but no trace of funny is left in the final version. One cryptic quote from drug-dealing character, Shinkai about sums up the feeling: “Everybody is crazy”. In Japanese, this translates as: どいつもこいつもキチガイだ。Not for the feeble hearted. |
| どいつもこいつもキチガイだ。 |
| “Everybody is crazy.” |
| 鬼龍院花子の生涯 |
| Onimasa |
| 鬼龍院花子の生涯 is the Japanese title of our next film. It’s English title is ‘Onimasa’. |
| If you’re into brutal movies, Onimasa is another one for you. This epic gangster and family melodrama was released in 1982, and is sometimes referred to as Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather. The story deals with the life of a crime syndicate boss and his family on a remote island. Patriarch Masagaro, also called Onimasa, and his wife have two daughters - one adopted and one of their own. |
| Our quote this time comes from the adopted daughter, Matsue, who exclaims: “Don’t make a fool of me!” In Japanese, this is なめたらあかんぜよ! |
| Matsue is a striking female lead in the film, whose character is headstrong and unconventional. Portrayed as strong-willed and liberal, her character really stands out in the chauvinistic society portrayed in the film. |
| なめたらあかんぜよ! |
| “Don’t make a fool of me!” |
| 紅の豚 |
| Porco Rosso |
| And next, a fun movie with the Japanese title: 紅の豚. It’s English title is Porco Rosso. |
| The title literally means “crimson pig”, and it is another hugely popular animated comedy-adventure film. It was released in 1992, and tells the story of an ex-World War Two pilot who gets cursed and turned into a pig. This doesn’t stop him, though - he rescues beautiful ladies in trouble, and other victims of kidnapping pirates. The movie was based on Miyazaki’s Hikōtei Jidai or The Age of the Flying Boat. |
| Porco Rosso famously says: “A pig who doesn't fly is just an ordinary pig.” In Japanese, this quote is 飛ばねぇ豚はただの豚だ. Don't be ordinary - fly with your Japanese quotes! |
| 飛ばねぇ豚はただの豚だ |
| “A pig who doesn't fly is just an ordinary pig.” |
| リング |
| “The Ring” |
| The following is a super-scary film with the Japanese title of リング. The title of the English version is: The Ring. |
| In 1998, this horror movie was quietly released in Japan. Nobody would have guessed that it was going to change the face of the horror movie genre forever. Ringu, directed by Hideo Nakata, was soon remade for the English market, and scared the wits out of movie viewers across the globe. It follows a female reporter, Reiko Asakawa, and her ex-husband as they chase a story about a killer video. Everyone who watches the video dies within a week. |
| "Don't watch this. You will regret it", is how one of the characters explains the video’s horrific effect. In Japanese, the quote is: コレを見るな。後悔するぞ Don’t watch it alone...! |
| コレを見るな。後悔するぞ |
| "Don't watch this. You will regret it" |
| 踊る大捜査線 THE MOVIE 2 レインボーブリッジを封鎖せよ! |
| “Bayside Shakedown 2” |
| Well, ten is a nice round number, but no list of Japanese movie quotes would be complete without 踊る大捜査線 THE MOVIE 2 レインボーブリッジを封鎖せよ! It's English title is Bayside Shakedown 2 |
| 踊る大捜査線 THE MOVIE 2 レインボーブリッジを封鎖せよ! (Bayside Shakedown 2) was released in 2003. Originally, this film came from a Japanese drama series broadcast since 1997. In total, six movies were made. The story is about Japanese police in Odaiba, Tokyo. In one famous scene, he tries to blockade the Rainbow Bridge, which is located between the Isle of Odaiba and Tokyo's mainland, in order to trap a suspect on Odaiba island. However, Aoshima figures out that it's impossible to close the Rainbow Bridge and reports this to the incident room. |
| One of its most famous quotes is レインボーブリッジ封鎖出来ません, which means "I cannot blockade the Rainbow Bridge!" |
| レインボーブリッジ封鎖出来ません |
| "I cannot blockade the Rainbow Bridge!" |
| So, have you seen any of these movies? Is there a movie you think we missed? Tell us what you liked about your favorite movie in the comments. |
| Thank you for watching the video! |
| See you next time! |
| またね！ |
Comments
Hide