The answer, if you're actually wondering, is that he is variably referred to as ビッグ・ブラザー biggu burazâ, i.e. just the English name untranslated, and 偉大な兄弟 idai na kyôdai, written with the characters for "great", "big", (particle for na-type adjectives), "elder brother", and "younger brother", in order. Don't ask me how or why Big Brother is simultaneously an older brother and a younger brother, that's just how it is. Something something doublethink.
50
LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them] - 3w
Isn't 兄弟 "brother" in the more general sense? It's always 兄弟 or 兄貴 that Yakuza are calling each other in media lol
28
Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem] - 3w
As far as I understand, yeah presumably. The thing is that translation dictionaries always translate 兄弟 as plural "brothers" rather than as "singular brother but only when you don't want to specify the relative age of the brother in question" — so while Japanese doesn't have grammatical number, I still just find it striking that this term with a sort of implied plurality is being used to refer to a singular person, especially in this case when the relative age of the brother is just Known.
Of course, I'm just a weeb and I am not fluent in Japanese. For all I know 兄弟 is used to refer to a singular brother all the time and I just don't consume enough Yakuza-related media to notice.
23
TowardsTheFuture @lemmy.zip - 3w
The royal brother
19
Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem] - 3w
The Royal Bruh
19
CloutAtlas [he/him] - 3w
In Chinese, at the very least, you can use 兄弟 to refer to a singular brother.
For example, "{他是你的兄弟吗|Tā shì nǐ de xiōngdì ma}?" is asking "Is he your brother?"
9
Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem] - 3w
I think this is also the case in Korean.
3
EveningCicada [he/him, they/them] - 3w
To my understanding, 兄弟 can be used in a gender neutral way to mean "sibling(s)" in spite of the characters being "big brother + little brother".
I'm no native speaker but I think it would be considered strange if a person kept referring to their singular sibling as きょうだい without specifying gender and who's older/younger. Like how it would be unusual in English to keep saying "my sibling" without specifying brother/sister.
5
Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem] - 3w
Yup, siblings is another meaning listed by translation dictionaries, though it's often in hiragana in that case.
3
KuroXppi [they/them] - 3w
You're telling me big brother isn't an allegory for communism it's an allegory for {兄貴|anarchy}
::: spoiler spoiler
Please feel free to rewrite this pun it's an attempted play on anarchy/aniki (which are near homophones in my dialect if you squint)
:::
17
Meltyheartlove [love/loves, comrade/them] - 3w
Aniki is watching
27
KobaCumTribute [she/her] - 3w
::: spoiler That just gives me the very cursed thought:
1984 but it's Oniichan wa Oshimai! and the plot is Winston gets forcefemmed and immediately realizes the world is vibrant and brightly colored instead of monochrome and dull, starts healthily socializing instead of bitterly malding alone, and becomes a well-adjusted, happy person. But also pisses "him"self a lot, to the point that it's offputting and starts to replace any actual plot after a while in a very uncomfortable way.
:::
24
MusicOwl [comrade/them, sie/hir] - 3w
i liked where the first half of this was going and then fell into abject horror in the second half
17
KuroXppi [they/them] - 3w
If you want to imagine the future, picture an umamusume pissing herself, forever
14
MusicOwl [comrade/them, sie/hir] - 3w
14
KobaCumTribute [she/her] - 3w
Context: I'm riffing on an actual manga/anime series there, where that unfortunately is what it descends into after awhile. That series (Onimai) would be genuinely good if not for that problem, and if it had kept up the character growth and self-realization of the earlier chapters to the point of actually having Mahiro accept that she's a girl instead of just doing this "well sure I'm happier, less anxious, literally see the world as more vibrant, am more comfortable, and have actively, willfully chosen to keep this state going on repeatedly, buuuuuut..." shit forever.
13
MusicOwl [comrade/them, sie/hir] - 3w
11
BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them] - 3w
Senpai is noticing you.
21
SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them] - 3w
Going to guess knowing no Japanese it's probably "Big Brother" in English right?
17
CliffordBigRedDog [he/him] - 3w
Its "Biggu Buraza" apparently
27
SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them] - 3w
That makes sense, given I've watched a lot of anime/jp movies, jp dubbed games over the years and english words are often just pronounced with the accent.
19
MemesAreTheory [he/him, any] - 3w
It's not a racist impression, it's just the way the language is
2
ShinkanTrain @lemmy.ml - 3w
Biggu Dicku
9
Riffraffintheroom [none/use name] - 3w
Big brother is watching UwU
15
CriticalOtaku [he/him] - 3w
Oh goodie I get to wheel this (google doc link, be careful about clicking it) out again
His eyes re-focused on the page. He discovered that while he sat helplessly
musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action. And it was
no longer the same cramped, awkward handwriting as before. His pen had slid
voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals
CliffordBigRedDog in anime
Onii Chan is watching
The answer, if you're actually wondering, is that he is variably referred to as ビッグ・ブラザー biggu burazâ, i.e. just the English name untranslated, and 偉大な兄弟 idai na kyôdai, written with the characters for "great", "big", (particle for na-type adjectives), "elder brother", and "younger brother", in order. Don't ask me how or why Big Brother is simultaneously an older brother and a younger brother, that's just how it is. Something something doublethink.
Isn't 兄弟 "brother" in the more general sense? It's always 兄弟 or 兄貴 that Yakuza are calling each other in media lol
As far as I understand, yeah presumably. The thing is that translation dictionaries always translate 兄弟 as plural "brothers" rather than as "singular brother but only when you don't want to specify the relative age of the brother in question" — so while Japanese doesn't have grammatical number, I still just find it striking that this term with a sort of implied plurality is being used to refer to a singular person, especially in this case when the relative age of the brother is just Known.
Of course, I'm just a weeb and I am not fluent in Japanese. For all I know 兄弟 is used to refer to a singular brother all the time and I just don't consume enough Yakuza-related media to notice.
The royal brother
The Royal Bruh
In Chinese, at the very least, you can use 兄弟 to refer to a singular brother.
For example, "{他是你的兄弟吗|Tā shì nǐ de xiōngdì ma}?" is asking "Is he your brother?"
I think this is also the case in Korean.
To my understanding, 兄弟 can be used in a gender neutral way to mean "sibling(s)" in spite of the characters being "big brother + little brother".
I'm no native speaker but I think it would be considered strange if a person kept referring to their singular sibling as きょうだい without specifying gender and who's older/younger. Like how it would be unusual in English to keep saying "my sibling" without specifying brother/sister.
Yup, siblings is another meaning listed by translation dictionaries, though it's often in hiragana in that case.
You're telling me big brother isn't an allegory for communism it's an allegory for {兄貴|anarchy}
::: spoiler spoiler
Please feel free to rewrite this pun it's an attempted play on anarchy/aniki (which are near homophones in my dialect if you squint)
:::
Aniki is watching
::: spoiler That just gives me the very cursed thought: 1984 but it's Oniichan wa Oshimai! and the plot is Winston gets forcefemmed and immediately realizes the world is vibrant and brightly colored instead of monochrome and dull, starts healthily socializing instead of bitterly malding alone, and becomes a well-adjusted, happy person. But also pisses "him"self a lot, to the point that it's offputting and starts to replace any actual plot after a while in a very uncomfortable way. :::
i liked where the first half of this was going and then fell into abject horror in the second half
If you want to imagine the future, picture an umamusume pissing herself, forever
Context: I'm riffing on an actual manga/anime series there, where that unfortunately is what it descends into after awhile. That series (Onimai) would be genuinely good if not for that problem, and if it had kept up the character growth and self-realization of the earlier chapters to the point of actually having Mahiro accept that she's a girl instead of just doing this "well sure I'm happier, less anxious, literally see the world as more vibrant, am more comfortable, and have actively, willfully chosen to keep this state going on repeatedly, buuuuuut..." shit forever.
Senpai is noticing you.
Going to guess knowing no Japanese it's probably "Big Brother" in English right?
Its "Biggu Buraza" apparently
That makes sense, given I've watched a lot of anime/jp movies, jp dubbed games over the years and english words are often just pronounced with the accent.
It's not a racist impression, it's just the way the language is
Biggu Dicku
Big brother is watching UwU
Oh goodie I get to wheel this (google doc link, be careful about clicking it) out again
That’s Rafa Benitez, I’m certain
He's Onii-san for you, have respect.