In our last post, we looked at giant sweat drops, nosebleeds and blue lines down the face: the visual symbols called manpu that show feelings without dialogue.
But pictures aren't the only way anime shows how characters feel. Japanese anime is also full of words that stand for sounds and states.
The giant "ゴゴゴゴ" floating on screen. Anya squealing "waku waku". Watch with subtitles alone, and you'll miss most of what makes them fun.
Here's what these words are, plus a few more manpu we didn't get to last time.
Japanese has words for things that make no sound
English has words that imitate sounds too, like bang or knock. Almost all of them stand for a sound that actually happens.
Japanese has plenty of those sound words as well. They're called giongo. But what makes Japanese special is a second kind: gitaigo, words for states and feelings that make no sound at all.
- Kira kira: something sparkling and shining
- Doki doki: a heart pounding from nerves or love
- Waku waku: a feeling of excited anticipation
- Shīn: a place falling completely silent
That last one, shīn, is especially interesting. There's a word for the absence of sound. In Japanese, even silence has a "sound".
In anime, you'll often hear shīn right after someone tells a joke that falls flat and the whole room freezes.
Words on screen: JoJo's "gogogogo"
The anime that puts gitaigo on screen most memorably is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
When characters face a powerful enemy, or the tension climbs, huge katakana letters reading "ゴゴゴゴ" (gogogogo) float around them.
The key point is that this is not a sound the characters can hear. It isn't the rumble of an earthquake. It's a gitaigo for the feeling itself: something ominous is in the air.
In the anime, too, you don't hear anything. Only the letters appear on screen. The show carries the original manga's style straight into the animation.
English-speaking fans translate "ゴゴゴゴ" as "menacing", and it has become a well-known meme. Add the letters to an ordinary photo, and suddenly it looks like something dramatic is about to happen. That's how strongly those few characters can convey an atmosphere.
The JoJo anime continues this season with Steel Ball Run. For more of the series' wordplay, see our post on JoJo's Stand names and the music behind them.
Words you hear: Anya's "waku waku" in SPY×FAMILY
On the other hand, some gitaigo only become fun when you hear them out loud.
In SPY×FAMILY, when something exciting is coming, Anya says "waku waku" out loud. She says the word for her bubbling excitement straight out, and that's part of what makes her such a little kid.
In the English versions, though, her "waku waku" has been translated as "so cool!!" or "I'm so excited!" The meaning gets across. But the cuteness of the sound waku waku disappears in translation.
Doki doki is the same. In subtitles it turns into ordinary English like "my heart is pounding". Listen in Japanese, and the racing heart reaches your ears as the sound doki doki.
Gitaigo are feelings turned into sound. That's why hearing them in the Japanese audio makes a character's emotions come alive.
A few more manpu
Finally, three manpu we didn't have room for last time.
- The anger mark (💢): a stylised throbbing vein on the forehead. It appears on the forehead or temple when someone is irritated, or holding back their anger
- The snot bubble: if a big bubble is swelling out of a character's nose, they're dozing off. When the bubble pops, they wake up
- The light bulb over the head: it flashes on the moment someone has an idea. Comics and cartoons in English use this one too, so it may already feel familiar
Look and listen beyond the subtitles
Anime uses both visual symbols and words for sounds and states to show how its characters feel.
The "ゴゴゴゴ" floating on screen, the "waku waku" you hear, the anger mark on a forehead: hardly any of these show up in the subtitles.
Next time you watch anime, turn your eyes and ears a little beyond the subtitles. You'll get one step closer to what the characters are really feeling.
More on reading anime beyond the subtitles: sweat drops, nosebleeds and blue faces, tsukkomi, boke and why yelling is funny, youth slang like maji and oshi.
Sources and notes
- "ゴゴゴゴ" as gitaigo, and "menacing": Japanese with Anime
- "ゴゴゴゴ" voted the most popular JoJo sound effect in Japan: Nlab (ITmedia)
- How Anya's "waku waku" is translated: ENGLISH JOURNAL (ALC), ani-glish
Translations can differ between the manga, subtitles and dubs, and between streaming services.