Location: Kansai Dialect Self-study Site / Ch7. Other Resources /

関西弁の映画 Kansai-ben Films


As you notice from the list on this page, there are quite a few Japanese live action films in which Kansai-ben is used. This list is incomplete, but we will keep adding to it as we view more films.

As it is the case with anime and manga, some of the films are set in the Kansai region and thus most characters speak Kansai-ben. In others, however, Kansai-ben is used to define certain characteristics of particular roles, such as laid-back, easy-going, etc.

However, there are films in which Kansai-ben seems to be preferred to standard Japanese. For example, Kansai-ben is often used in yakuza (Japanese gangster) films such as Cops vs. Thugs (『県警対組織暴力(けいんけいたいそしきぼうりょく)』)directed by Kinji Fukasaku in 1975. The story takes place in an imaginary location somewhere in Japan but most cast members speak Kansai-ben or Hiroshima-ben. As a ‘non-native’ speaker of Kansai-ben, it sounds more suitable for a yakuza to say ‘Dare ni kuchi kiiton nya?’(「誰に口きいとんにゃ?」
, 'who do you think you are talking to?' )rather than ‘Dare ni mukatte hanashite iru to omotte iru n da?’(「誰に向かって話していると思っているんだ?」
)in standard Japanese. The Kansai-ben version sounds much more forceful, and thus more suitable in this particular situation.

It may be interesting to observe what kind of characters and in what situations Kansai-ben is spoken in Japanese films.
 (by  "Tokyoite" Mayumi Ishida, Dartmouth College)

Japanese Title
English Title
Year
Director
Information
河内(かわち)カルメン
Carmen from Kawachi
1966
Seijun Suzuki

県警対組織暴力(けいんけいたいそしきぼうりょく) Cops vs. Thugs
1975
Kinji Fukasaku
(Yakuza movie)
ガキ帝国(ていこく)
Empire of Kids
1981
Kazuyuki Izutsu

じゃりん子チエ
Chie the Brat 1981 Isao Takahata

(どろ)(か わ) Muddy River 1981 Kohei Oguri

道頓堀川(どうとんぼりがわ)
Dohtonbori River 1982
Kinji Fukasaku

細雪(ささめゆき) 
The Fine Snow/The Makioka Sisters 1983 Kon Ichikawa

極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち
Gokudo Wives :  Wives of The Yakuza
1986
Hideo Gosha
(Yakuza Movie)
極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち 2
Gokudo Wives 2
1987
Toru Dobashi
(Yakuza Movie)
火垂(ほた)るの(はか)
The Grave of Fireflies 1988
Isao Takahata
どついたるねん
Knockout
1989 Junji Sakamoto

極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち  三代目姐(さんだいめあね)
Gokudo Wives 3: The third Generation Ane
1989
Yasuo Furuhata
(Yakuza Movie)
極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち 最後(さいご)(た たか)
Gokudo Wives 4: Last War
1990
Kosaku Yamashita
(Yakuza Movie)
王手(おうて) Checkmate
1991 Junji Sakamoto

(しん)極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち
1991
Sadao Nakajima
(Yakuza Movie)
(しん)極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち 覚悟(かく ご)しいや

1993
Kosaku Yamashita
(Yakuza Movie)
(しん)極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち ()れら れたら地獄(じごく)
1994
Yasuo Furuhata
(Yakuza Movie)
極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち (あか)(きず な)

1995
Ikuo Sekimoto
(Yakuza Movie)
(まぼろし)(ひかり)
Illusion / Maboroshi
1995
Hirokazu Koreeda

ビリケン
Billiken
1996
Junji Sakamoto

岸和田少年愚連隊(きしわだしょうねんぐれんたい)
Young Thugs/Innocent Blood 1996
Kazuyuki Izutsu

極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち 危険(きけん)()
1996
Sadao Nakajima
(Yakuza Movie)
(もえ)朱雀(すざく)
The God Suzaku
1997
Naomi Kawase
in Nara-ben
ヒロイン!なにわボンバーズ

1998
Mitsuhiro Mihara

極道(ごくどう)(おんな)たち 決着(けじめ)
Gang Wives: Decision
1998
Sadao Nakajima
(Yakuza Movie)
大阪物語(おおさかものがたり) 
Osaka Story 1999
Jun Ichikawa

 (かお) Face 2000
Junji Sakamoto

あしたはきっと・・・
2001
Mitsuhiro Mihara
桃源郷(とうげんきょう)人々(ひとびと)
Shangri-La
2002
Takashi Miike

きょうのできごと
A day on the planet 2003
Isao Yukisada

ゲロッパ
Get up!
2003
Kazuyuki Izutsu

ジョゼと虎と魚たち
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
2003
Isshin Inudou
Josee ( the main character, played by Chizuru Ikewaki) speaks Kansai-ben
カナリア
Canary
2004
Akihiko Shiota
Yuki Niina (the main character, played by Mitsuki Tanimura) speaks Kansai-ben
(とう)さ んのバックドロップ
My Father’s Backdrop 2004
Toshio Lee

パッチギ!
Break Through! 2004 Kazuyuki Izutsu
in Kyoto-ben and Korean
(わら)大天使(ミカエル)
Arch Angel
2005
Issei Oda
Fumio Shijo ( the main character, played by Juri Ueno) speaks Kansai-ben
酒井家(さかいけ)(しあわ)
Sakai’s Happiness 2006
Mipo Oh

(しあわ)せのスイッチ
Switch of Happiness 2006
Mana Yasuda
in Wakayama-ben
ラブ★コン
Lovely Complex 2006
Kitaji Ishikawa

手紙(てがみ)  Letters 2006
Jiro Shono
Main character uses ese (fake) Kansai-ben ...
舞妓(まいこ) Haaaan!!! 
Maiko Haaaan!!
2007 Nobuo Mizuta
in Kyoto-ben
イヌゴエ
Voice of Dog 2007
Kenji Yokoi
The voice of French bulldog is somehow dubbed in Kansai-ben.
(もがり)(も り)  The Forrest of Mogari /The Mourning Forrest 2007
Naomi Kawase
in Nara-ben
オリオン()からの招待状(しょうたい じょう)
The Invitation from Cinema Orion 2007
Kenki Saegusa
in Kyoto-ben
しゃべれども しゃべれども 
Talk Talk Talk 2007
Hideyuki Hirayama
Yuu Murabayashi, the youngest of the rakugo class in the movie, speaks Kansai-ben. He moved from Kansai to Tokyo, and was made fun of by his classmates due to his accents. His parents decided to made him learn rakugo so he can become popular at school...
天使(てんし)がくれたもの
The Gift from Heaven
2007
Shinichiro Nakata

ホームレス中学生(ちゅうがくせい)
The Homeless Student
2008
Tomoyuki Furumaya

大阪(おおさか)ハムレット Osaka Hamlet 2008
Fujio Mitsuishi
おと・な・り

2009
Naoto Kumazawa
One of the characters (by Mitsuki Tanimura) speaks Kansai-ben



EXTRA: 外国映画・ドラマ・ゲームの関西弁での吹き替え Foreign Films, TV Dramas & Video Games Dubbed in Kansai-ben



Title
Category
Year
Information
Shrek the Third CG Animation
2007
Shrek is dubbed by Osaka comedian Masatoshi Hamada.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown CG Animation
2006
Opossums are dubbed by Osaka female comedians.
Without a Trace TV drama series 2002
Danny came to NYC from Miami, and that is possibly why he speaks Kansai-ben.
Destroy All Humans!
Video game
2005
All creatures from outer space speak Kansai-ben.

*If you have more information, please contact Shingu at ikue@mit.edu. Your input would be greatly appreciated!