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.

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
泥(どろ)の河(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)の妻(おんな)たち	Gokudo Wives :  Wives of The Yakuza	1986	Hideo Gosha	(Yakuza Movie)
極道(ごくどう)の妻(おんな)たち 2	Gokudo Wives 2	1987	Toru Dobashi	(Yakuza Movie)
火垂(ほた)るの墓(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)の妻(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)の妻(おんな)たち　最後(さいご)の戦(た たか)い	Gokudo Wives 4: Last War	1990	Kosaku Yamashita	(Yakuza Movie)
王手(おうて)	Checkmate	1991	Junji Sakamoto
新(しん)極道(ごくどう)の妻(おんな)たち		1991	Sadao Nakajima	(Yakuza Movie)
新(しん)極道(ごくどう)の妻(おんな)たち　覚悟(かく ご)しいや		1993	Kosaku Yamashita	(Yakuza Movie)
新(しん)極道(ごくどう)の妻(おんな)たち　惚(ほ)れら れたら地獄(じごく)		1994	Yasuo Furuhata	(Yakuza Movie)
極道(ごくどう)の妻(おんな)たち　赤(あか)い絆(きず な)		1995	Ikuo Sekimoto	(Yakuza Movie)
幻(まぼろし)の光(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)の妻(おんな)たち　危険(きけん)な賭( か)け		1996	Sadao Nakajima	(Yakuza Movie)
萌(もえ)の朱雀(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)の妻(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
顔(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)の人々(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
お父(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
笑(わら)う 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)の幸(しあわ)せ	Sakai’s Happiness	2006	Mipo Oh
幸(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.
殯(もがり)の森(も り)	The Forrest of Mogari /The Mourning Forrest	2007	Naomi Kawase	in Nara-ben
オリオン座(ざ)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!