Joshiraku discussion thread

[something]

じょしらく

Cute girls doing cute things, presumably in very convoluted and absurd ways because Kumeta Kouji. (Without Shaft, is that allowed?)

Airs Friday, July 6 at 02:25 JST on MBS

Animation studio: JC Staff

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=14207)
Official Site (http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/joshiraku/)


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[MelancholicMariya]

This was amazing. The worst wordplay, puns and jokes ever made. It's amazing. Probably my favourite show of the season and the season hasn't even started. It's incredibly Japanese as you'd come to expect from a Kumeta series, so for some the jokes may go way over your head, but it's still really funny. JC Staff really nailed this.

And an interesting note; apparently the ED is by Momoiro Clover Z (Mouretsu Pirates OP) and Hyadain? (Nichijou OP1/2) Not too sure on the accuracy of this but apparently they're credited under an alias, and it sure does sound like Momoiro Clover Z.

Edit: I should also note, seeing as as of right now no one has really translated/subbed this show I watched this raw, but it is very, very close to the manga which I have read with some visual liberties here and there. Don't want to imply anyone has been brave enough to sub this this early.

[tadakichi]

Cute girls doing cute things, presumably in very convoluted and absurd ways because Kumeta Kouji.

Who?

*searches ANN*

Oh, the Zetsubou-sensei mangaka. Didn't really care for the one episode of SZS that I watched, but this was excellent considering I only understood maaaybe half of what was being said. I really wish Crunchyroll had picked this up since it seems like the sort of show that gets fansubbed really slowly, if at all.

Favorite part was probably the series of jokes about the 犬 character. Kanji-based humor can usually get a laugh out of me. The bit about "regular clothes" was pretty good too, especially getting to see everyone's actual regular clothes right afterwards.

[superdry]

This was amazing. The worst wordplay, puns and jokes ever made. It's amazing. Probably my favourite show of the season and the season hasn't even started. It's incredibly Japanese as you'd come to expect from a Kumeta series, so for some the jokes may go way over your head, but it's still really funny. JC Staff really nailed this.

I watched the first episode and it was cute and amusing, but I was bored for parts of it, maybe because I totally missed some some of the humor. But, seriously, I do not need to watch 5 girls discuss what constitutes casual dress. I'd probably laugh a lot more if I understood Japanese to get the puns, humor,etc., but the parts I did get were great.

How does whoever translate the manga (Im assuming youre reading this in English) deal with all the puns and wordplays? TL notes everywhere?

Ill stick with this for at least another episode since it was fairly amusing and the girls are cute (I'd drop it if the show were five dudes unless I was fluent in Japanese).


And an interesting note; apparently the ED is by Momoiro Clover Z (Mouretsu Pirates OP) and Hyadain? (Nichijou OP1/2) Not too sure on the accuracy of this but apparently they're credited under an alias, and it sure does sound like Momoiro Clover Z.

Both the OP and ED were really cute. Probably my favorites for this season.

[MelancholicMariya]

This was amazing. The worst wordplay, puns and jokes ever made. It's amazing. Probably my favourite show of the season and the season hasn't even started. It's incredibly Japanese as you'd come to expect from a Kumeta series, so for some the jokes may go way over your head, but it's still really funny. JC Staff really nailed this.

I watched the first episode and it was cute and amusing, but I was bored for parts of it, maybe because I totally missed some some of the humor. But, seriously, I do not need to watch 5 girls discuss what constitutes casual dress. I'd probably laugh a lot more if I understood Japanese to get the puns, humor,etc., but the parts I did get were great.

How does whoever translate the manga (Im assuming youre reading this in English) deal with all the puns and wordplays? TL notes everywhere?


The first segment of the episode was anime original, the second segment with the cats and dogs was explained through the dialogue so there weren't any need for translation notes. The segment for swearing into the ocean didn't have any translation notes either, where I think it really should've because they're swearing at the countries and not everyone would know why they're shouting "Give us back our people!" into Korea's direction.

I guess the scanlations aren't great in that regard. Like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Katte ni Kaizo you're going to naturally need some jokes explained as most not-Japanese people aren't going to get it.


Ill stick with this for at least another episode since it was fairly amusing and the girls are cute (I'd drop it if the show were five dudes unless I was fluent in Japanese).

That's understandable, and I assume Yasu's art (Toradora) goes a long way, too. They certainly are nice designs.

[superdry]

The first segment of the episode was anime original, the second segment with the cats and dogs was explained through the dialogue so there weren't any need for translation notes. The segment for swearing into the ocean didn't have any translation notes either, where I think it really should've because they're swearing at the countries and not everyone would know why they're shouting "Give us back our people!" into Korea's direction.

So, practically the whole first half was anime original, then? The cats and dogs thing I didn't find funny (was it suppose to be funny?) until they got to the kanji humor.

This is definitely a show where you need to listen to the characters speaking sometimes to catch the wordplay instead of reading the subs.

Reading the TL notes has helped with some of the humor in the show especially the names of all the characters which I didn't catch when watching the episode at like 3AM. And, the whole dogs are only good for practicing when Gan was playing the shamisen - oh, that makes sense now and the segue from dogs and cats to the shamisen thing makes even more sense now after reading the wikipedia article on the shamisen (had no clue what was used for the skin). That's a joke that's definitely hard to catch unless you know about the shamisen besides it being a musical instrument.


That's understandable, and I assume Yasu's art (Toradora) goes a long way, too. They certainly are nice designs.

I like that the show kept Yasu's designs for the show - it's clean, simple and cute.

[MelancholicMariya]

The first segment of the episode was anime original, the second segment with the cats and dogs was explained through the dialogue so there weren't any need for translation notes. The segment for swearing into the ocean didn't have any translation notes either, where I think it really should've because they're swearing at the countries and not everyone would know why they're shouting "Give us back our people!" into Korea's direction.

So, practically the whole first half was anime original, then? The cats and dogs thing I didn't find funny (was it suppose to be funny?) until they got to the kanji humor.

The first half was completely original for the anime, and the cats and dog, the kanji jokes and the swearing into the ocean were all from the first two chapters of the manga.


This is definitely a show where you need to listen to the characters speaking sometimes to catch the wordplay instead of reading the subs.

That certainly does help in some cases. I found myself doing that with Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei in a few instances.


Reading the TL notes has helped with some of the humor in the show especially the names of all the characters which I didn't catch when watching the episode at like 3AM. And, the whole dogs are only good for practicing when Gan was playing the shamisen - oh, that makes sense now and the segue from dogs and cats to the shamisen thing makes even more sense now after reading the wikipedia article on the shamisen (had no clue what was used for the skin). That's a joke that's definitely hard to catch unless you know about the shamisen besides it being a musical instrument.


The character names can be really difficult to remember at first, but you'll notice them getting called nicknames so you'll be all good if you decide to stick with it. And again, if you're not Japanese or already pretty knowledgeable in Japanese culture some of this stuff can fly right over your head. I'm not saying I'm particularly knowledgeable in all things Japanese culture, but I did find myself when first reading Joshiraku going to wikipedia and other sites to read up on a thing or two, such as the Shamisen.

That said, Joshiraku is the only Kumeta series in which I have had to actively research a damn joke, but I thoroughly enjoy doing that. Sure, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is still pretty damn Japanese, but whoever does SZS tends to give translation notes. With Joshiraku I had to learn by myself. Though I can see people not enjoying Joshiraku for that exact reason, it being way too Japanese.

[superdry]

The first half was completely original for the anime, and the cats and dog, the kanji jokes and the swearing into the ocean were all from the first two chapters of the manga.


Okay. I'll have to read the manga and see what was suppose to be funny or whatever with the cats and dogs besides being one massive wordplay conversation and some cultural references - unless it wasn't suppose to be funny, but something you just appreciate.


The character names can be really difficult to remember at first, but you'll notice them getting called nicknames so you'll be all good if you decide to stick with it. And again, if you're not Japanese or already pretty knowledgeable in Japanese culture some of this stuff can fly right over your head. I'm not saying I'm particularly knowledgeable in all things Japanese culture, but I did find myself when first reading Joshiraku going to wikipedia and other sites to read up on a thing or two, such as the Shamisen.

That said, Joshiraku is the only Kumeta series in which I have had to actively research a damn joke, but I thoroughly enjoy doing that. Sure, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is still pretty damn Japanese, but whoever does SZS tends to give translation notes. With Joshiraku I had to learn by myself. Though I can see people not enjoying Joshiraku for that exact reason, it being way too Japanese.

The nice thing for people watching the show and keeping with it is looking up the references and possibly learning a little more about Japanese culture no matter how esoteric it might. I don't particularly care what material a shamisen is made out of, but now I know (and knowing is half the battle). The puns I would say are harder to get unless you're studying Japanese - especially if it's something that's easily lost in translation.

Regarding the names, the ponytail girl - really cute reference with her given name written in kanji which no one would get unless you can read the kanji. It's little things like that add to the show, but most people wouldn't get - like the whole Apache *** Force reference.

I did get a good chuckle when they were talking about hot or cold baths and shows the girls going into a tub of water on stage only because I watched too many late-night variety shows that had idols as guests back in the day.

[ndm]

I went into episode 1 expecting most of the humour to go straight over my head - I've never been able to understand Japanese stand up comedy - and expecting to drop this show right away, but since it was mainly back room chatter I could actually follow it and foud it very amusing. Some of my favourite comedies use the approach of just locking a group in a room and seeing what falls out in conversation. I also had no idea that this was written by the author of Zetsubou Sensei. I'm now definitely looking forward to episode 2.

[HitokiriShadow]

Well, that didn't crack me up but it was pretty amusing. Though at times I wasn't sure why conversations took the turns they did or something about the joke went over my head. I'll certainly come back for more.

The characters have very unusual names. Considering the kind of show this is, I assume they are all puns or some other sort of wordplay.

And the ED is very cute.

[HitokiriShadow]

This is definitely a show where you need to listen to the characters speaking sometimes to catch the wordplay instead of reading the subs.

Knowing some Japanese certainly helped me a few times. But my Japanese is pretty low so its of minimal help. And that doesn't help with cultural stuff like the shouting at the sea stuff. I figured they were yelling at the countries when it started doing the arrow stuff, but I was clueless why they were yelling each one.

[HitokiriShadow]

That said, Joshiraku is the only Kumeta series in which I have had to actively research a damn joke, but I thoroughly enjoy doing that. Sure, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is still pretty damn Japanese, but whoever does SZS tends to give translation notes. With Joshiraku I had to learn by myself. Though I can see people not enjoying Joshiraku for that exact reason, it being way too Japanese.

Most of the Zetsubou Sensei jokes don't require you to really know what the fuck they were talking about. At least from what I remember, there were only a few segments across all of it that fell flat or didn't work well without understanding the cultural element being made fun of or used as a jumping off point. Most of the "you need to know what they're talking about to get the joke" stuff was just the long lists in the background that you had to pause to read anyway.

[superdry]

The characters have very unusual names. Considering the kind of show this is, I assume they are all puns or some other sort of wordplay.

The names are all puns same goes when the episode shows a boatload of signs that weren't translated. Anywho' the person who is translating it did put up some TL notes on his blog that helps explain some things.

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive

I'm going to keep with the show unless it starts to be more obscure with its references and jokes.

[HitokiriShadow]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

[MelancholicMariya]

If anyone who is going to watch this is interested, and this is probably what Superdry found, but the person subbing this (who apparently is the only person not to drop this series) has written up some notes and a little essay as to why Joshiraku hardly works when translated.

Joshiraku 01 translation notes (https://notredreviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/joshiraku-01-notes-and-the-like/)

Joshiraku "not meant to be subbed" (https://notredreviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/re-joshiraku-not-meant-to-be-subbed/)

I think the second blog post is fairly obvious, of course it's not going to work as well in English than Japanese, but it's an interesting to see what a fansubber thinks about the material and how they'll handle it even if some liberties are taken.

The first blog post is good because some of these "jokes" are pretty well hidden, you might not of even noticed the joke and this guy writes down a lot of it.

[William K]

And an interesting note; apparently the ED is by Momoiro Clover Z (Mouretsu Pirates OP) and Hyadain? (Nichijou OP1/2) Not too sure on the accuracy of this but apparently they're credited under an alias, and it sure does sound like Momoiro Clover Z.

Yeah it does sound like them, and the Momokuro in Momokuro Teiichimon is basically the same as MomoClo in Momoiro Clover Z.

Love both the song and the animation. Cute chibi dancing FTW!

[tadakichi]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

The "give us back our people" was aimed at North Korea, though; I'm guessing it refers to the kidnapping of Japanese citizens from Japan in the late 70s and early 80s which came to light a few years ago.

[MelancholicMariya]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

The "give us back our people" was aimed at North Korea, though; I'm guessing it refers to the kidnapping of Japanese citizens from Japan in the late 70s and early 80s which came to light a few years ago.

Yeah that's what it means.

[TheGreenMan]

Wow...this gives Bakemono a run for its money.
Forth wall? Meet HAMMER.
"Although, some will watch it for free." .......OH SNAP.
Why do the characters look so familiar? Ah...the ToraDora artist.
The ED is fantastic. Up there with my other favorite ED of the season, Rinne no Lagrange.

[superdry]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

The "give us back our people" was aimed at North Korea, though; I'm guessing it refers to the kidnapping of Japanese citizens from Japan in the late 70s and early 80s which came to light a few years ago.

Yeah that's what it means.

Supposedly the "give us back our technology" was aimed at South (comment I read). I didn't exactly get that unless its another old reference from decades ago when South Korea started to make their own electronics.

[MelancholicMariya]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

The "give us back our people" was aimed at North Korea, though; I'm guessing it refers to the kidnapping of Japanese citizens from Japan in the late 70s and early 80s which came to light a few years ago.

Yeah that's what it means.

Supposedly the "give us back our technology" was aimed at South (comment I read). I didn't exactly get that unless its another old reference from decades ago when South Korea started to make their own electronics.

That's a jab at South Korea and China for stealing Japanese technology over the years.

[superdry]

Regarding the shouting at the countries - that was very political and not unoffensive


Yeaaah, I kinda figured, especially with something like "Give us back our people", which seems like doing a joke in a U.S. show with someone shouting "give us back our jobs" to Mexico. And I'm aware that Japan and South Korea aren't exactly best buddis and that South Koreans are not particularly liked in Japan.

The "give us back our people" was aimed at North Korea, though; I'm guessing it refers to the kidnapping of Japanese citizens from Japan in the late 70s and early 80s which came to light a few years ago.

Yeah that's what it means.

Supposedly the "give us back our technology" was aimed at South (comment I read). I didn't exactly get that unless its another old reference from decades ago when South Korea started to make their own electronics.

That's a jab at South Korea and China for stealing Japanese technology over the years.

I got the feeling they were also yelling at China, but the South Korea thing didn't fully click when I read the reference earlier in the week. Okay, so everything makes sense.

[superdry]

This episode was pretty damn enjoyable - seemed to be less wordplays to not understand and cultural references this time around. Overall...the three segments essentially broke down into the girls talking about nothing. It was fun overall.

I love how Kigu continues to meet the other girls expectations by giving them the answers theta expect, but then thinks otherwise.

I didn't understand the Kojirou reference with the 634 and Musashi thing (that part I got). Also I didn't get the whole peko and poko thing either.

Last segment - Besides the obvious one, I didn't get the doctors names that were censored. The 6th character wearing the luchador mask the whole time was bizarre and the girls didn't even really notice it.

[William K]

I probably missed many of the jokes but there was more than enough hilarious parts to keep me entertained. I liked the part about winning the lottery, and I hope Kigurumi pretending to be cute to meet the other girls' expectations be a running joke.

[tytan88]

Just finished watching 11 and 12. episode 11 was especially funny, with the cast trying to cool off in a heat wave and getting into various bathing suit antics. I will just say that I have never seen that many girls fit into 1 bathing suit at once!

This was a different sort of anime.......but I liked it, even if I didn't understand half the jokes. It had a good rhythm to it.

[superdry]

This was a different sort of anime.......but I liked it, even if I didn't understand half the jokes. It had a good rhythm to it.

You should the TL notes at http://notredreviews.wordpress.com

They are extremely helpful for explaining some of the jokes or the way jokes were translated into English. Vale did an excellent job with the show.