The Melanin Ajumma

*Disclaimer- parts of this article briefly mentions thoughts of or attempts at suicide. If this may be triggering, please proceed with caution. *

Since getting into anime a few years ago the biggest debate I have seen on nerd spaces is this long and drawn-out discussion about watching anime through subtitles (Subs) or through English language voice Dubbing (Dubs). The “purest” of anime fans state that any real and “true fan” of the genre should always op for subs over dubs. Their reasoning is to give respect to the Japanese voice actors that put in the time and effort on the original work. However, my argument has always been multiple layered as for the use of Dubs in watching anime. First, for some fans or people wanting to explore the genre, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, may make it difficult to keep up with the often-fast pace of reading subtitles. Second, when I was in graduate school, I would spend hours reading multiple journal articles upwards of 20-30 pages a day, including being on a computer for at least 10 hours a day at work. Therefore, when I wanted to relax and watch a bit of anime the dubs were a fantastic way to give my eyes a break from reading yet still enjoy the content and amazing graphics. Third, the English voice actors or any voice actor providing spoken language dubs put in just as much work and dedication to the craft as the original Japanese voice actors.

Now, do not get me wrong, there are some dubs that are outright atrocious. Sometimes I have to wonder if the voiceover director and production team even put thought into making sure the nuance of the character and the subject matter are even being properly conveyed. For me, I can only watch English dubbed foreign language media with anime. Primarily, it allows me to focus on the wonderful artwork of the animation itself. When it comes to live action storytelling such as in television series and movies, I can not enjoy the content while listening to the dubs. My brain will not concede to connect the voiceover with the live action visuals on screen. It’s like my brain knows these real-life actors are speaking in another language and the voice does not match to that actor. I hear a presumably Caucasian voiceover with an Asian face knowing the dialog is in another language (usually Korean) and it just does not allow me to enjoy the content. I also know there is a certain nuance, texture and emphasize that is missing with some of these voiceovers as well, that may or may not connect the cultural context of the dialogue. One of those instances would be the character of Thanos in the second season of the Netflix drama Squid Games.

Life Imitating Art or Perception of the Artist

For those that have not yet seen season two of Squid Games, Thanos is described as an antihero, a drug addicted rapper who gained fame from being a contestant on a television competition show named Rap Battlegrounds. Because he forgot his lyrics during the finale he was awarded runner-up. He lost all his money, including his prize money, after investing in crypto currency promoted by YouTuber “MG Coin” aka Lee Myung-gi. It turned out to be a scam. Thanos was found by “The Recruiter” on a bridge preparing to kill himself, when “The Recruiter” presented him a chance to take part the Squid Games. Now both Thanos and Myung-Gi are in the games.

https://squid-game.fandom.com/wiki/Choi_Su-bong

Although Thanos is a fictional South Korean Rapper the actor playing him is indeed a famous Korean rapper in his own right.

Real life rapper and K-Pop icon, Choi Seung Hyun aka T.O.P of the legendary Korean idol group BigBang was one of the groups main rappers including solo works under his moniker. He started his rap career as a teen through underground stages at hip hop clubs and established a reputation as an underground rapper with the stage name Tempo. In 2003 under the name of Tempo, he was the winner of KBS Radio’s Rap Battle. His start already parallels that of his Squid Game character.

He auditioned to become an idol trainee at the insistence of his childhood friend and future bandmate Kwon Ji Yong aka G-Dragon, who was already a trainee at entertainment label YG Entertainment. These two would become the main rapper alum with vocalist Daesung, Taeyang, and Seungri to become BigBang debuting in 2007. After years of success as a part of a band, soloist, and budding acting career, T.O.P began his mandatory military service as a conscripted police officer in 2017.

However, all of his success was derailed on June 5, 2017, as he was investigated for using marijuana following a tip from someone know in the Korean entertainment community for cooperating with the police. He was transferred to a different police division and suspended from duty while awaiting prosecution. The following day, T.O.P was found unconscious in his police barracks after overdosing on anti-anxiety medication, leading to his hospitalization. The character of Thanos was found by “The Recruiter” on a bridge apparently in the process of a suicide attempt.

After pleading guilty to previous marijuana use, T.O.P was given a two-year probation sentence. He continued his mandatory military service, now as a public service worker, and discharged from military service on July 6, 2019. However, the controversy of these drugs charges tarnished his name and career among some unforgiving Korean citizens and on February 7, 2022, YG Entertainment announced that T.O.P had left the company after his contract ended, and fully leaving the BigBang on May 31, 2023. At this time he was completely void of public appearances and professional activities until 2024 when it w announced he was cast in season two of Squid Games.  https://kpopping.com/profiles/idol/T-O-P

In some online forums I have observed comments, mostly from Korean netizens on the character of Thanos paralleling the perceived real life of rapper Seung-Hyun aka T.O.P. Starting as an underground rapper, to legendary idol rapper, to a disgraced “drug addict” who attempted suicide. For some, they felt uncomfortable watching him play this type of character feeling that he was “portraying himself” therefore not positive for his image. The reverse of these comments were those unfamiliar with Seung-Hyun and his past and saw his portrayal of Thanos for what it was, a character. However, in my opinion, Seung-Hyun and his past provided the perfect foundation for his portrayal of a complicated character.

The English Dubbing, in my opinion, took away the nuance of what made the character complex in both emotions and cultural complexity of the image of rappers in Korea in the past decade. On one forum made up of mostly western self-described nerds, there were comments such as

“I thought that Thanos was wack, and I hated his dialog.”

“Thanos made no sense at all, him in the show wasn’t needed.”

I asked if they had watched with Subs or Dubs and most of these commenters watched with English Language Dubs. One said in response to some of those that found Thanos’ dialog “wack”, “I thought so too, but then I was like his voice over person was maybe just wack.” At this comment I completely agreed.

I asked one of my friends who is a huge fan of Anime and foreign language media for her opinion on the subject. She said, “It [Sub vs Dub discussion] used to be a huge debate. Maybe it still is. I’m Sub all day. Hearing Thanos speak English was a surprise and cool. If all dubbed versions used Korean people who spoke English but with Korean accents, then I would watch it dubbed. The American dubbed voices are cringe.” Her opinion represented, what I feel, is often missing from these Dubs are cultural context and nuance that gives more depth to a character.

Context and Language: The Missing Pieces

Being a K-Pop fan I am well aware of BigBang and T.O.P and what his voice sounds like as compared to what is provided in the English voiceover. Most Koreans are very aware of Choi Seung-Hyun, even if they are not listeners of the music genre solely because of his controversies. Therefore, looking at him as Thanos in Squid Games and hearing the voice of an, again, presumably Caucasian actor, immediately pulls me away from the actor and the dialog.

Listening to the English dubs of a dynamic character like Thanos would not make sense nor provide a proper spotlight on the social commentary being made with his random use of English. There has been a lot of discourse for as long as I have been listening to Korean language pop, R&B and Hip-Hop about how songs would have random English lyrics thrown in that may or may not even be relevant to the song itself. The same goes with Korean Dramas with random English words or dialog inserted into a conversation between two characters that are Korean. At no point is it usually necessary in that scene, except for ascetics. However, I can say it makes for some classic and viral comedic moments whether or not intentional. Perfect example of this is from the K-Drama Business Proposal. This one line from character Jo Yoo Jeoung, “You know I have no chingu” became viral and an instant meme. Much like that one line, many of Thanos’ English lines are also becoming global viral memes on social media.  

The Greatest English Lyrics in K-pop Songs-K-pop Planet gives perfect examples of how English is thrown into K-pop songs, often seeming just for the sake of just putting in English lyrics. Some of these groups don’t even have an English-speaking Korean member or English speaking foreign member that would explain adding the lyrics for representation or to give English speaking foreign fans a sense of connection. More over for a native English speaker, most of these random lyrics provide nothing to the song or the deeper context to the lyrics instead of Korean lyrics.

The best and worst English moments in Kdramas by MyDramaList gives a nice compilation of English use good and bad in K-Dramas. Usually written into the story line of the drama for a character to speak English because the character is written as once living in the Untied States or Canada, or a character is good at English because for their intellectual ability. Often the use of English can be seen as a flex of language ability, or class and status. However, at times the English dialog still feels out of place regardless of the reasoning.

With Squid Games, Thanos’ use of the English language as a rapper is seen as a joke as Korean rappers have been known to add English lyrics as a “flex” or to give “authenticity” to their rap lyrics. On the YouTube channel, Still Watching Netflix T.O.P Reacts to Thanos Best Scenes, T.O.P describes his thoughts and process to creating season 2 most memorable scenes. At 0:40-1:25 he describes how he intentionally developed his character to appear cringe-worthy than was originally written.

“…he uses many phrases that are old-fashioned for his age…Thanos the rapper is stuck in the past. He worked actively in the 2000’s before his career fell apart. I talked with the director to find ways for Thanos to come off as more cringey. A true legend wouldn’t call himself a legend.”

I must say, based on the constant comments from viewers on various social media accounts and on chat rooms that I participate in. T.O.P without a doubt accomplished his goal. Numerous comments describe how cringey and annoying they felt with the character especially his poor and random speaking of English. Again, thanks to T.O.P and the director, it was completely intentional as described at 3:46-4:25.

“I figured that sort of thing would be funny for foreign viewers, so I used my imagination to make the details stand out.” The random addition of one or two English words inserted into fully Korean dialog, such as English slang to greet another person or using it to emphasize a point to be made were indeed comical and cringy highlights of Thanos. However, T.O.P’s intentions are only, fully realized, if you watched the series in its original Korean language using English subtitles. Listening using English voice dubbing would take away from the nuisance of the character as intended, which would be out of touch, old-fashioned, annoying, and utterly ridiculous.

What Have I Learned

Everyone has an opinion, and we need to respect that not everyone will agree. When it comes to the best way to enjoy foreign language media, it is left up to the individual. For some, that may mean being true to the original and learning the language to better connect with the content. In the meantime, the use of subtitles or dubbing is a great way to explore, enjoy and engage in foreign language television series and movies. For some, that means using only subs to give respect to the original actors and the work they have put into their craft. While also giving the viewer a chance to engage in the cultural context and nuance provided by the actor. However, if your choice is to enjoy this form of media using dubs, then I would hope people would realistically understand that there could be just a little something missing from the enjoyment of what they are watching.

What some watch just for entertainment sometimes has cultural significance laced into all the productions we enjoy. No, I do not expect everyone to became cultural scholars of all the various countries that produce the media they enjoy. However, I do hope that people would take the time to maybe do a little research in between episodes to look up the history and culture of that particular country and the people to gain better understanding of a character. This is something a number of Black Americans ask of international fans of western media to do to get to authentically understand and get to know the Black American culture beyond what is shown in media. But, that’s a conversation for another day. To me the best way t enjoy foreign media is to listen to the original voices of an actor instead of using dubs. Then, maybe rewatch season 2 of Squid Games and see if you still think Thanos’ dialog is “wack.”  

Until next time…….

For more information on actor/idol Choi Seung Hyun aka T.O.P or the videos mentioned in this article , please click on the hyperlinks throughout the article)