Sentai Filmworks Localizers Inserts Cancel Culture Into ‘Oshi No Ko’ Anime Localization
Despite the threat of AI localizations slowly becoming a reality, Japanese to English localizers continue to overwrite the Japanese creative vision in favor of social media buzzwords. This latest case consists of the Sentai Filmworks localization team forcing cancel culture into the latest season of the Oshi no Ko anime.
Based on the popular psychological slice of life manga written by Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama – Love is War) and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish), Oshi no Ko explores the darker aspects of the modern Japanese Entertainment Industry while trying – with the third season covering V-tubers, the increasing influence of social media, and the classic casting couch.
Unfortunately, Sentai Filmworks localizers could not resist to jump at the opportunity to insert their political agenda into the latest installment of Doga Kobo’s animated take of Oshi no Ko. The first incident of Sentai Filmworks localizers inserting cancel culture into Oshi no Ko is in Season 3 Episode 4 Blind.
Following the resolution to the Dig Deep controversy in which online cosplayer Meiya exposing television Director Urushibara asking her inappropriate questions during an interview about cosplayers, aspiring idol Ruby Hoshino (CV: Yurie Igoma –Kokona Mikasa in Marika’s Love Meter Malfunction) admitted to her brother Aqua (CV: Takeo Ootsuka – Tsukasa Akeuraji in Medalist) to being the mastermind behind the director’s potentially career ending sexual harassment controversy to help advance her career.
Ruby then proceeds to elaborate on how delusional online keyboard warriors believe they are using leaks to shine light or exposing scandals to make the world a better place, when in reality, the majority of them are using them to launch personal attacks.
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In the manga, Akasaka describes the online lynch mobs as “these internet users throw stones at people who are being burned at the stake from a safe distance and consumed them as entertainment.”
Sentai Filmworks, however, decided to completely forego the burned at the stake metaphor in favor of cancel culture “And then you have online mobs dogpiling on whoever’s getting canceled for fun.”
Cancel culture raises its ugly head once again in the following episode Casting. Dig Deep Assistant Director Shun Yoshizumi’s cosplaying/Vtuber littler sister Mimi Yoshizumi (CV: Sae Hiratsuka – Meico in Me & Roboco) is facing a major scandal as a less flattering video from her pre-Vtubing days surfaced forcing her to indefinitely suspend her v-tubing activities.
In Akasaka’s manga, Shun states “She was obviously butchered online, so she had no choice but to suspend her activities.”
The Sentai Filmworks localizers, however, had other plans for Shun’s dialogue “Naturally, she got mega-cancelled and has to stop streaming for a while!”
