2016/01/03

"Gozaru" as a role language (2) - Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken(I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying), Hidan no Aria AA(Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA), and Rupan Sansei(Lupin III)

A typical usage of  "gozaru" as a role language for otaku can be seen in "Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken"("I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying"). Mayotama, Hajime's cross-dressing younger brother and a Boys Love manga artist, uses "gozaru" in front of otaku friends. Mayotama used "gozaru" when he visited his brother's apartment, as he misunderstood Kaoru, Hajime's wife, was also an otaku. Mayotama stopped using otaku language including "gozaru" once he knew Kaoru was not an otaku. In this scene, "gozaru" is used as one of the typical role languages for otaku.

I tried to find another "gozaru" example in the animes broadcasted from October to December 2015. I found only one case in "Hidan no Aria AA"("Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA"). Fuma Hina who is rumored to be a descendant of a ninja lineage uses "gozaru," which is very natural as a ninja (of course it is not natural in a real world even if she is really a descendant of a ninja).

I expected Goemon in the new television series of "Rupan Sansei"("Lupin III") would use "gozaru," but he didn't. Goemon is a descendant of a samurai beginning with Goemon Ishikawa, a legendary outlaw. In the past Lupin III animes, he sometimes used "gozaru." I checked the first television series of Lupin III. Goemon's first appearance is in episode 5. His first line is "Donata ka zonzenu ga, kore wa kyokugei dewa gozaran. Hakushu nado meiwakushigoku"("I don't know who you are, but, as this is not an acrobatic performance, your clapping is really annoying"). So he clearly used "gozaru" in his first sentence! ("gozaran" is a negative form of "gozaru") Goemon's discourses in the Lupin III series are not consistent. This may be because the expected role for him has not been necessarily consistent.
By the way, the episode 9 of the new TV series featuring Goemon is very good.



Back to the topic of otaku language, I have not heard an otaku says "gozaru" in a real world, though...