Now, I am not saying that Japanese charaters need to speak English, but I find it baffling why there was no English subtitles for Japanese conversations. Who can explain this was done like this?
Everything is either narrated or you can figure it out just from their body language. They use very formal Japanese as well so it's pretty easy to understand if you have a little knowledge. I found it strange at first but honestly I think subtitles would take away from the series. It's just too epic to change in any way!
I agree with below regarding subtitles, it would spoil the effect of bewilderment. However, I really think it should a DVD feature so it can be a bonus during a rewatch.
Why add subtitles when they purposely were not used in the original telecast? As you said their use would spoil the effect the filmmakers wanted- the audience as perplexed as Blackthorne as he navigates his way in a strange foreign culture. There is closed captioning available on the DVD box set.
If you read the novel, you'll find that at many points (especially earlier in the story) the Japanese characters are speaking and the reader gets no explanation other than their body movements and the tones of their voices. This is one of the best book-to-film(miniseries) that I have ever seen
Except this choice does not work and is also not being followed anyway.
Because ONE: They also don't subtitle scenes where Blackthorne is not present. He's nothing to do with the scene, so why no subtitles? Japanese can understand other Japanese after all...and Japanese are the only people in these scenes.
And TWO, Blackthorne, in the series, is also taking extensive, first hand, Japanese lessons and gets to know the language LATER. The audience of course is not taking extensive Japanese lessons during the show! And also IF we are meant to be like Blackthorne....why don't subtitles appear later when Blackthorne can understand the language? If he can at this point..WE should also. You can't have it both ways. Either we are like Blackthorne, or we are not. If we are we should get subtitles later on when he can understand what they are saying.
Exactly. It is funny how so many people blindly accept an "official" explanation, giving it no critical thought whatsoever (even repeating it with endorsement).
There should have been subtitles for every scene featuring Japanese dialog in which:
a. Blackthorne wasn't present. b. Blackthorne was present and understood what was being said.
And there were quite a few scenes like that.
Obviously there shouldn't be subtitles for scenes in which Blackthorne is present and doesn't understand what is being said.
Also, they should have hired a Japanese actress who could speak better English, especially considering her character's role as a "translator" in many scenes. I had to turn on the subtitles quite a few times just to understand what she was saying when she was speaking a language which vaguely resembled English.
I don't dance, tell jokes or wear my pants too tight, but I do know about a thousand songs.
They explained that in the DVD extras. First Blackthorne doesn't speak Japanese at first so he's lost and then when the Japanese characters speak to him they use one of the other characters to translate. Why have subtitles when the character tells Blackthorne what was said? I believe that was also in the book as well. Mariko tells Blackthorne what the other Japanese characters are saying or asking and then translates his replies so subtitles would be redundant as we learn what they are talking about via Mariko.
I'm watching it now and the no subtitle thing doesn't seem to be a problem. It forces you to focus on facial expressions and body movement to figure out what is being implied.
I understand the effect they were going for with the Blackburn scenes not having subtitles but the scenes with no Blackburn really did need subtitles and it was silly to exclude them.
I remember watching a version where the Japanese DID have subtitles... I remember the only thing noteworthy was when anjin first met toranaga's son, right before he drew a map in the sand. The kid said he was ugly. Yeah, that's about all I got from it. Everything else is obvious... from the first Jesuit "mistranslating" to yabu making small talk and stabbing an ally in the back.
And YES, it does add to the viewing experience not knowing what was said but having to draw conclusions.
I think the idea behind is to feel what John B. feels in the way that at the beginning he could only understand the Japanese when Marico and/oder Rodrigues were with him, when not he could only use his imagination in order to try to guess what was happening