Chances are that if you're an avid anime fan, you've most certainly come across a few examples of mangled English spoken by Japanese voice actors. They can range from passably understandable to the "what the heck did I just hear?" level. Although the overall quality seems to have improved in modern anime, it's still a fact that a lot of voice actors' English speaking skills make for some cringing half a world away.
The following are ten examples of some awkward (and sometimes hilarious) attempts to speak English. The last one will really shock you.
Free! Eternal Summer
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Free! Eternal Summer - Rin Matsuoka
Starting off gently at number one is Rin Matsuoka meeting his homestay parents in Australia. We should all be glad the Aussie pair were played by native English speakers.
Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Squid Girl)
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Squid Girl
Moving on to Squid Girl, who has mastered English to further her own nefarious scheme. Taking over the world, one English speaker at a time!
Manyuu Hikencho
Engrish as a Second Language in AnimeManyuu Hikencho
Meanwhile, desperation leads to this despairing cry...
Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow)
Ichigo Mashimaro - Matsuri Sakuragi and Ana Coppola
If you need to show off your characters' amazing English skills (or lack thereof), throwing in a random, lost foreigner will surely do the trick.
Angel Beats
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Angel Beats - T.K.
Classic English moments from T.K.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Neon Genesis Evangelion - Kaji
Okay, so maybe Kaji's Engrish can be forgiven thanks to that cool sign-off at the end. He still sounds a bit like a speech synthesiser though.
Steins;Gate
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Steins;Gate - Rintarou Okabe
Protip: Don't joke about invading America. Even if you're a mad scientist.
Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider - Saikawa and Shiki
At least a third of this episode was conducted in English, consisting of this interview between Professor Saikawa and Magata Shiki's sister.
Psycho-Pass Movie
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Psycho-Pass Movie - Shinya Kougami
That moment when a book passage recital sounds like a chant for the dead. It's probably meant to be deep and meaningful, but unfortunately, it just sounds garbled.
Detective Conan
Engrish as a Second Language in Anime Detective Conan
Wait... wasn't this supposed to be about bad English speakers?!
Honourable mentions have to be made for those series which don't put up Japanese subtitles during English segments. They put a lot of faith in their audiences' ability to understand the speech - or maybe it's a case of "as long as it sounds foreign and incomprehensible, it's good". Whichever the case, some lines from those brave productions will be forever up in the air to us listeners.
