The Controversy Surrounding the Korean Characters in The Dangers in My Heart Anime Adaptation

2023-05-04 17:05:25

We have already commented previously that, despite the popularity of the original manga, it can be safely said that the anime adaptation of Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu (The Dangers in My Heart) is going unnoticed this season, perhaps due to the fact that there are so many great series out there competing for attention.

However, it seems that the series caught the attention of South Korean fans, who were “upset” at something that was omitted from one of the most recent episodes. It turns out that the names of the stations in Japan have a peculiarity: they appear both in romaji (that is, the pronunciation of Japanese characters with the Roman alphabet), as well as in Chinese and Korean.

However, when in one of the most recent episodes of the series they showed one of these signs, specifically from Meguro Station, in the Shinagawa District of Tokyo, viewers noticed that both Chinese and Korean characters had been removed. Let’s review the comparison, where the sign in real life appears on the left and the sign placed in the anime on the right:

We’re more than sure you didn’t realize that, especially since they’re not things viewers in the West are familiar with. But it seems that fans in South Korea did notice, and boy did they have something to say:

«I thought something was off, and it turned out that I was right. The sign that appears in that scene from the anime should be written in multiple languages, but strangely only Korean was left out. Strangely they didn’t even care about the design, because we can notice that the placement of the characters looks “uncomfortably unbalanced”» wrote one user.

In fact, they even went to the original manga panel from which this scene was taken, and the lyrics in question actually appear there!

So why don’t they appear in the anime adaptation of The Dangers in My Heart? There really isn’t a possible technical explanation, but it seems that the South Koreans complaining about this sparked a discussion with the Japanese again. And it is that we remember that both countries “have been wanting” for many years, considering that Japan occupied the lands of South Korea for several years in the past. Finally, let’s review the comments:

«No matter how you look at it, they didn’t even bother to adjust the layout so that it was centered. I do not understand what happened».
«Koreans also start editing Japanese anime, as happened with Detective Conan. They can do it but we can’t, what a nerve!».
«Leaving this aside, I don’t understand why this series is not popular. Maybe it’s because of the contrast that exists between the girl and the boy? It looks like a rom-com manga for men, but when you look at it in detail, it turns out to be a story for girls! And how come YOASOBI in Oshi no Ko is more successful than Yorushika in this series? I really don’t get it».
«Wow, wow, it looks like we have some ultranationalist animators infiltrated this production.».
«It seems that there is a Japanese nationalist among the entertainers. It’s a good series, but these kinds of details, no matter how small, end up affecting».
«As a Japanese, this saddens me. Clearly it was done on purpose».
«In the original manga the sign appears without any modification. It is evident that the animator in charge of this scene is ultra-nationalist».
«Well, it’s an anime aimed at Japanese, not Korean!».
«Well, Koreans have nothing to worry about, right? After all most of you hate Japan, why should we care?».
«And what happened to his Korean nationalism? I thought they didn’t watch series produced in Japan, but now it turns out they did. We want nothing to do with a tiny country that feels like the center of the world».
«It’s because we don’t have keyboards to write your fucking language!».