Ask John: Do Japanese People Really Speak Like Anime Characters?

Question:
Do people in Japan really talk like they do in anime? Is it common to use words like “baka,” “kuso,” “gomen nasai,” the I form “ore,” and English words and phrases?

Answer:
Voice actors in anime actually often speak slower, and enunciate more clearly than real life Japanese native speakers do, however in the same way American Hollywood movies roughly match the way average Americans speak, anime roughly matches the way average Japanese speak. Naturally, exclamations like “baka” and “kuso” aren’t as common in real life as they are in anime because circumstances calling for their use in real life aren’t as frequent as in anime. A visit to Japan will reveal that Japanese people do use terms like “gomennasai” and “thank you,” and some Japanese men do use the “ore” masculine phrasing, and groups of Japanese schoolgirls do giggle to each other and shout out phrases like “kowai!” when startled or “Kakoii! Sugoi ne!” when talking about something trendy or cool. Keep in mind that if the dialogue in relatively realistic anime wasn’t equally representative of average, daily Japanese life, it wouldn’t be believable or accessible to Japanese viewers.