Tezuka In English Discussion Forums

Hi there. I'm new here. I'm a fan of both comics and animation, which certainly includes Tezuka's work. Anyway, I signed up for the forums because I have a question I hope you guys can help to answer. I got my husband the Vertical releases of Black Jack for Christmas and he's getting around to reading them. We have the previous English editions of Black Jack published by Viz and my husband has been noticing some differences, particularly with Pinoko's dialogue In the Viz translations, she talks with a lisp. He didn't mention whether or not that's the case in the Vertical translations, but he did notice that she refers to herself in the third person, which she didn't do in the Viz version. So we've been wondering which version - if either - is closer to the original. What are Pinoko's speech quirks in Japanese? Does she have a lisp? Does she talk about herself in the third person? Is there anything else particular about how she talks, maybe something that wouldn't translate well into English?

Thanks in advance.

I also have both the Vertical & VIZ book, & also a few DVDs; as such, I can say that she does have a speech impediment, as is indicated by the subtitles. I do not recall anything about the 3rd person, though.


I am not a BJ expert, but there is a page on Pinoko: ; However, this question is not answered there.


Also found is a page about secondary BJ characters; Pinoko is prominantly featured:

I have not even scanned this one, though, as it is quite large.

Pinoko is so sweet. I think her speech patterns are designed to enhance her attraction appeal.

She is after all a sweet innocent little child perpetually. She will never grow up. Though she does try to mentally mature at least. The dear thing.

She says "acchonburike" which really has no meaning.

Yes, in the original Japanese version, she basically has a light lisp and speaks in cutesy third-person.

In the official manga translations, I notice she also has a speech impediment, but it seems to be closer to a sort of baby-talk than a simple lisp. Lots of letters get pronounced oddly.

So the closest is a mash-up of the two!

She speaks with both a lisp and in the third-person, although not at all times with the second (Pinoko rarely drops it, but it happens)... so perhaps Vis' adaption is best in this regard?