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Learn Japanese from Famous Manga Quotes : Vocabulary lists…grammar worksheets…copying those pesky kanji characters over and over… Studying Japanese from textbooks can get a bit boring sometimes, which is why it’s a good idea to spice things up every so often.

Think about what got you interested in Japanese language and culture to begin with. Why, it’s because you’re an avid reader of manga, of course! (Come on, don’t deny it!) Studying Japanese from your favorite manga is a great way to see how all of those vocabulary words, expressions, grammar points, and kanji characters gel together to form a great piece of entertainment! Today, we’ve chosen some great quotes from popular manga to aid in your Japanese study.

Learn Japanese from Famous Manga Quotes

We’ll start with the simple ones and gradually progress to the more complex.

Famous Manga Quotes – Slam Dunk (スラムダンク)

In this basketball drama, a high school team battles for the national championship. The story focuses on the various players and the trials and tribulations of the main character Hanamichi Sakuragi—a juvenile delinquent that turned out to have a real knack for shooting hoops!

At one point in the locker room, Coach Anzai bellows this inspiring quote to the team:

あきらめたら、そこで試合終了ですよ！
Akirametara, soko de shiai shūryō desu yo!
The moment you give up, the game is over!

Akirameru is a Japanese verb meaning, “to give up.” When confronted with life’s challenges, it’s easy to throw your hands up and say “Akirameru!” (“I give up!”). However, according to Coach Anzai, once you’ve given up, the game is over, and you’ve already lost.

It’s important to pursue all of your aspirations to the end. Especially with learning a new language like Japanese!

Akiramenaide!
Never give up!

Famous Manga Quotes – Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン)

In this manga, a junior high school student named Shinji Ikari is summoned by his estranged father to lead a special paramilitary force. Their task is to destroy a sudden raid of monstrous beings called Angels, who want to destroy the world. With no military training, Shinji is forced to pilot the military’s ultimate weapon: a giant bio-mechanical robot known as Evangelion Unit-01. Themes of bravery and believing in yourself pervade this story as the weight of humanity rests on Shinji’s shoulders. Will he be able to dig deep within himself to find that inner power to pull through and save the planet from the Angels?

When Shinji first steps into the Evangelion Unit, he utters this mantra:

逃げちゃダメだ、逃げちゃダメだ、逃げちゃダメだ・・・
Nigecha dame da, nigecha dame da, nigecha dame da…
I mustn’t run away, I mustn’t run away, I mustn’t run away…

The literal translation of “I mustn’t run away” into Japanese is “hashitte iccha dame” (hashiru, means “run,” and combined with iku means “run away”). However, this doesn’t work because hashiru in Japanese means to actually run away. Therefore, the verb used in the original script is nigeru, meaning “to escape.” The nuance with nigeru is more akin to escaping one’s fears and doubts and less about physically getting up and running away.

Famous Manga Quotes – Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師)

Here is an example of an English translation taking the original words of a manga and adding a bit more of a punch to them for a non-Japanese audience:

完璧などありえない、
この世界は不完全だ。
だから、美しい

Kanpeki nado arienai,
Kono sekai wa fu-kanzen da.
Dakara, utsukushī.

The world isn’t perfect.
But it’s there for us, doing the best it can…
That’s what makes it so damn beautiful.

The original Japanese literally translates like so:

There’s no way it’s perfect.
This world is imperfect.
Therefore, it’s beautiful.

For the Japanese audience, this quote is simple and, therefore, perfect the way it is. However, for a foreign audience it’s a bit too simple. Almost bland, I would say! Sometimes translators have to take an original text and add to/subtract from it to fit the culture that they’re translating for.

As you can see, the second line in the English translation, “But it’s there for us, doing the best it can…” isn’t even in the original Japanese!

Famous Manga Quotes – Bleach (ブリーチ)

Here’s a more poetic quote from Hitsugaya Toshiro in Bleach:

俺たちは 花火のようだ
昇り輝き そして必ず
散り散りになって離れてゆく
ならば せめてその時が来ても
俺達は花火のように消えることなく
輝いていよう いつまでも

Ore-tachi wa hanabi no yō da
Nobori kagayaki, soshite kanarazu
Chiri-chiri ni natte hanarete yuku
Naraba, semete sono toki ga kite mo
Ore-tachi wa hanabi no yō ni kieru koto naku
Kagayaite iyō, itsumade mo.

We are all like fireworks:
We climb, we shine and always
Go our separate ways and become further apart.
But even when that time comes,
Let’s not disappear like a firework
And continue to shine… Forever.

In the third line, we have “chiri-chiri ni natte hanarete yuku.” In this sentence, two words with similar meanings appear: Chiri-chiri and hanareru. Chiri-chiri ni naru means “to become separated” (like sparks in a firework), whereas the use of the word hanareru (to separate) has a different function. Hanareru puts those chiri-chiri sparks in motion and gives us a more concrete image of the sparks separating and blowing away. The word yuku at the end is a colloquial way of saying iku (to go), and tacking it onto the end of “hanarete” even further emphasizes the image of separating and floating far away.

Famous Manga Quotes – Fairy Tale (フェアリーテイル)

Here we have an example for more advanced Japanese learners. This quote uses the archaic onore (oneself) in the second line instead of the more common jibun to fit with the fairy tale vibe of the manga.

恐怖は”悪”では無い
それは己の弱さを知るという事だ
弱さを知れば人は
強くも優しくも
なれる
–ギルダーツ・クライヴ

Kyōfu wa “aku” dewa nai.
.Sore wa onore no yowasa wo shiru to iu koto da.
Yowasa wo shireba hito wa
Tsuyoku mo yasashiku mo nareru.
–Girudātsu Kuraiv

Fear is not evil.
It tells you what weakness is.
And once you know your weakness,
You can become stronger as well as kinder.
–Gildarts Clive

Studying Japanese from textbooks can get tiring after a while. That’s why it’s a good idea to break away every so often and pick up a manga. You can admire the cool drawings while getting a dose of what real Japanese people read. It’s an informative as well as entertaining way to learn the language, so pick up a manga in the original Japanese and give it a try!

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