| 1 | "Honorific", in linguistic lingo, refers to the little prefixes, suffixes, or titles that are added to a name in most languages, like "Mr.", "Mrs.", "Dr.", "[[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Sir]]" and the like. Japanese, naturally, has them. One interesting feature, however, is that there are far more of them with far more nuances of meaning than there are in other languages. They can be either attached to the end of a name, or in some cases (such as "sensei", much like the English "Professor" or "Doctor") can be used as standalone substitutes for names. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[JapanesePoliteness Etiquette is a critical part of Japanese language and culture]], and honorifics play a key element in that. In general, they are expressions of respect or endearment, but as with many terms in many languages, delivery -- tone and emphasis -- can change a title of utmost honor into a sarcastic insult. [[HeyYou Using the wrong honorific,]] or the right honorific in the wrong way, can result in anything from simple disdain to (in feudal times, at least) [[SillyReasonForWar clan warfare]]. |
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| 5 | Nowadays, they are often used without explanation in English translations in subtitles or translations of manga. This makes sense in context; [[SignificantNameShift the use of a particular honorific carries a lot of weight for the relationship between characters and how it develops]], and trying to explain why Character A dropped the "-san" for "-chan" when talking to character B, or stopped using honorifics at all, would probably take an entire paragraph in English, when simply keeping them is a better solution. It's expected that the consumer has a level of familiarity with the cultural context behind the honorific choices. |
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| 7 | Of course, while keeping most of these definitions in mind, when one is speaking [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic actual Japanese]] to actual Japanese people and is unsure which honorific to use, it is always best to just ask, and then use what they tell you. Even if he's 6'6" (~200 cm) and captain of the soccer team, if he wants you to call him "Dai-chan"...''[[NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat you call him]] [[MachoCamp "Dai-chan".]]'' |
| 8 | |
| 9 | See also UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns, UsefulNotes/JapaneseLanguage, UsefulNotes/KoreanHonorifics. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | !!Honorifics used only as suffixes |
| 13 | |
| 14 | * ''-san'' (さん): The most common honorific, and the one most familiar to non-Japanese speakers. Roughly equivalent to most everyday English honorifics, it is generally employed with someone of the same or similar social standing as oneself, but it's become the default honorific to use when one needs to be generically polite. This is most commonly equated to the English "Mr." or "Ms." However, it's often dropped entirely in translations, since it's often used in Japanese contexts where any honorific at all would seem excessively formal in English. (Example: It is common for Japan high school students to address each other with "-san", whereas addressing each other with "Mr." or "Ms." would come across as overly formal in an English-speaking setting.). |
| 15 | |
| 16 | * ''-han'' (はん): Kansai-ben version of ''-san''. Not used very much if the vowel sound of the last character ends with "i" , "u" or "n". |
| 17 | |
| 18 | * ''-sama'' (様): A term of great respect, one step higher than ''-san''. In fantasy or historical contexts, it's generally translated as Lord/Lady, Master, or a similar term, but since modern English really has no honorific expressing such extreme deference, Mr. or Ms. usually has to do. In situations where there ''isn't'' a massive gap in social status between the speaker and the person being addressed, the use of ''-sama'' can border on grovelling. However, it has some standard uses in modern society: it's a flattering way for a business/company to address its customers and clients. It's also used when addressing letters to friends, and a young woman may playfully use it for a guy she has a massive crush on. |
| 19 | ** In rare cases, ''-sama'' can also be used sarcastically to indicate extreme ''dis''respect. The pejorative [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns second-person pronoun]] ''kisama'' is written with kanji that means something like "honored sir," but today the real meaning of the term is more along the lines of "you bastard." (In military parlance, it keeps its old respectful sense, which is an endless source of jokes among civilians.) Men who want to express over-the-top arrogance can attach ''-sama'' to the macho and aggressive first person pronoun ''ore'' and refer to themselves as ''ore-sama'', something along the lines of "my magnificent self". This is often {{Woolsey|ism}}ed into ThirdPersonPerson. |
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| 21 | * ''-dono'' (殿): Originally "Lord" in the feudal sense, once denoting a higher level of respect than ''-sama''. However, while ''-dono'' denotes high status on the part of the person being addressed, it does not necessarily imply lower status on the part of the speaker, unlike ''-sama''. It thus serves as a face-saving way for high-ranking ''JidaiGeki'' characters to address others of high rank. Today, it's considered slightly less respectful than ''-sama'' due to the lack of self-humbling. However, it's [[AntiquatedLinguistics rather archaic to use at all these days]]. In anime, it's sometimes used as an anachronism to indicate the speaker's age (Cologne in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Washu in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', etc.), or in feudal/historical settings. The only place it's still more or less widely used is the military, cf. "kisama". |
| 22 | |
| 23 | * ''-kun'' (君): Used with boys' names to denote familiarity or endearment. Also used between peers by men, or when addressing someone younger or of a lower social standing. Despite its predominant usage with males, it can be used with females as well, such as when addressing a female coworker of a lower rank. In particular, teachers will often use ''-kun'' for older female students. This is a way of preserving the difference in social standing, while avoiding the intimacy of an honorific such as ''-chan'', which might be considered inappropriate between teacher and student. Also typically used with a {{Bokukko}} character, for obvious reasons. It often appears in titles of lighthearted works starring SuperDeformed characters, particularly spinoffs/spoofs such as ''[[Manga/SuperMarioBrosMangaMania Super Mario-kun]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KidDracula Boku Dracula-kun]]''. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | * ''-chan'' (ちゃん): A general, informal term of endearment with overtones of intense cuteness, most frequently used for (and between) girls, but also applicable to pets, small children of any gender, friends, or lovers. Making it part of a nickname is even more so, and is done primarily for little kids, {{Kawaiiko}} teen girls, close friends (regardless of gender), or lovers (for whom it is especially intimate). Sometimes translated as 'little'; for example, "[[Anime/WitchHunterRobin Robin-chan]]" becoming "little Robin", sometimes translated as "-baby" (as in [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Kunō-baby]]). Literally speaking, it's the diminutive -- a cultural equivalent to calling your friend "Jimmy" instead of just plain Jim. Technically speaking, it's what would properly be termed the ''affectionate'' diminutive. However, as the "Kunō-baby" example shows, it can also be used as a ''derisive'' diminutive, depending upon context and tone. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | * ''-chin'' (ちん): An even more diminutive variant of ''-chan''. Most commonly used by young girls who are very close friends. This is often contracted to make it easier to roll off the tongue, for instance Yukari-chin would become Yukarin. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | * ''-bō'' (坊): Another endearment suffix, used exclusively for male babies or young boys. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | * ''-tan'' (たん): A young child's slurred mispronunciation of ''-chan.'' If it is used by an adult at all, unless [[CutenessProximity speaking to an infant or toddler,]] the person is most likely either being sarcastic, or a poser {{Kawaiiko}}. A non-anime example of this is a certain fast food fried chicken chain's mascot in Japanese advertising, an adorable little girl, [[http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/78822/bisuke-tan-kfc_-company-object_on_head "Bisuke-tan",]] who carries an enormous biscuit on top of her head. Her name can probably best be translated as "Widdle Biscuit". This is also how the name for the WebOriginal/OSTan[=s=], the SuperDeformed mascots representing operating systems and software programs, was derived -- and by extension, any [[MoeAnthropomorphism young female anthropomorphization]]. The deliberate misspelling ''-taso'' (based on the visual similarity between the katakana characters for ''n'' and ''so'') is often used in Japanese internet communities when referring to certain (almost exclusively female) characters ([[Manga/KOn Mugi]]-taso, [[Literature/{{Hyouka}} Eru]]-taso) and real people ([[Creator/MaayaUchida Ma]][[AlternateCharacterReading rei]]-taso, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Lipnitskaya Ripu]]-taso). |
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| 33 | * ''-tama'' (たま), ''-chama'' (ちゃま): Similarly, these are baby-talk versions of ''-sama'', with the exception of "obocchama" which is used to address the son of someone who is of higher social standing, roughly equivalent to "young master". |
| 34 | |
| 35 | * ''-pyon'' (ぴょん): A slang honorific, indicating that the speaker is being very cutesy/sweet/lovey-dovey with the person he is addressing. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | * ''-pi'' (ぴ): A cutesy honorific for small pets. (example of redundancy: [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf P-Chan]]) |
| 38 | |
| 39 | * ''-me'' (奴): A derogatory honorific, used when you refer to people, things, or concepts you're a) pissed at, b) deem despicable/inferior. Not as common in real life as anime and manga would have you believe, and it's usually used jokingly or sarcastically. Adding "-me" to your own name or a first-person pronoun has a self-humbling effect. |
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| 41 | * ''-senshu'' (選手): An honorific used to address and refer to professional athletes or any participants in some sort of competitive activity (usually physical). It's normally attached to the end of a person's name, though it can be used standalone when referring to a generic group of athletes (Ex. "The senshu are ready to begin the game"). |
| 42 | |
| 43 | !!Honorifics that can also be used as standalone forms of address |
| 44 | |
| 45 | * ''-senpai/-sempai'' (先輩): A term used to address an individual who is in a higher standing than oneself in a particular environment or context. It is most commonly used to refer to "upperclassmen" in stories set in academic contexts, but it more precisely means "mentor" or "senior", depending on context. It is also used in workplaces, clubs, and organizations for employees/members with seniority in relevance to the speaker. It does not take into account the ages of the speaker or the addressee; the employee who has been with the company longer will always still be the "senpai" to an employee who was recently hired, no matter their ages. Due to differences between [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseRomanization romanization]] systems, it can be spelled in Western languages as either "se''n''pai" {Kunrei} or "se''m''pai" {Hepburn}. (Both spellings are technically correct; the former is a closer transliteration of the Japanese spelling, but the latter better reflects the actual pronunciation.) Senpai/sempai can be attached to the end of someone's name, or be used on its own. |
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| 47 | * ''-kouhai'' (後輩): The inverse of ''-senpai/-sempai'', meaning someone of a lower class year or lower seniority than the speaker in a particular environment/context. Strictly speaking, it's not an honorific since it's not normally attached to a name, and it's considered rude to use to a person's face. It's mostly used when referring to a person, rather than when addressing them. Ex. "He's my kouhai". |
| 48 | |
| 49 | * ''-sensei'' (先生): Literally means "one who has come before". Usually heard in English referring to martial arts masters. However, it can also apply to doctors, teachers, mentors, authors, and generally any masters of any profession or art. It is also standard for professional writers to carry this title. In short, the rule of thumb runs thus: doctors, teachers, lawyers, writers, and scientists who got their doctorates are called "sensei" automatically; with the others it's debatable. In recent years this has become an all-purpose suck-up word, and is now more often used sarcastically than as a genuinely respectful term. This has brought complaints of DudeWheresMyRespect from real masters and artists. Those who routinely read the liner notes of manga will notice that this is still used as a term of respect for - and between - prominent manga artists (e.g. "Akamatsu''-sensei''" for Creator/KenAkamatsu). Can be attached to a name, or be used standalone. |
| 50 | |
| 51 | * ''-shishou'' (師匠): Similar to ''-sensei'', but limited to certain traditional Japanese arts and crafts, including martial arts. When used as a stand-alone word, it's usually translated as "master". It also denotes ''extreme'' respect from the speaker to their target, and is commonly seen as the next level up from "sensei" in terms of respect. This is {{lampshaded}} in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. It is commonly used by a disciple in a master-apprentice relationship. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | * ''-hakase'' (博士): Used when addressing an academic with a very HIGH amount of expertise. Technically this means "Doctor", but in practice, it's actually reserved for even higher ranks and is more or less equivalent to addressing someone as "''Professor''" in English. On the other hand, there are few hard and fast rules in this area and the correct usage depends more on the personal preferences of the addressee. |
| 54 | |
| 55 | * ''-bouzu'' (坊主): One level below ''-kun'' on the formality ladder. It's an affectionate masculine diminutive, how one might address a particularly young niece or nephew. Roughly equivalent to addressing someone with a nickname like "squirt" or "lad", or in a friendly tone calling them "twerp", ''or'' to express mild irritation/annoyance. The kanji means "bald man" and has its roots in Buddhist monasteries, where it is used as a suffix for monks. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | * ''-shi'' (氏): A very generic and very polite suffix used in formal writing and speech to refer to someone whom the speaker or writer has never met but knows about through writing and hearsay. Most often used by news presenters and writers of legal documents. If there is only one person addressed as ''shi'' in a document, it is permissible to use "shi" as a standalone pronoun. Fun fact: those who study Korean and [[UsefulNotes/KoreanHonorifics its honorifics]] will recognize this right away, because the most common Korean honorific, ''-ssi'', is etymologically related and has the same Chinese character as ''-shi'' (it's basically their equivalent of ''-san'') |
| 58 | |
| 59 | !!!Familial honorifics |
| 60 | The following is the set of honorifics used to address or refer to family members. These are used as both a term of address, as well as a term of reference (i.e. when you are talking about the person in question), though note that there is a specific set of terms used to refer to one's own family members. These can be used standalone or attached to names (except for ''Otoosan / Okaasan'', see below). The "O" at the beginning is called a beautifying prefix, used to honor the addressee, and can be dropped off if the speaker wish so or if the honorific is used as a suffix to names. |
| 61 | |
| 62 | * ''Oniisan'' (お兄さん) / ''Oneesan'' (お姉さん)[[note]] As the Japanese "e" is pronounced similarly to the French "é", the pronunciation of these two apparently-similar honorifics is quite different.[[/note]]: Literally means one's older brother or sister, respectively, but can also be used to mean a relative within your generation that happens to be older than you (e.g. an older cousin). Its usage is not restricted to relatives either, as it can be used for any close friends that you consider to be ''like'' an older brother or older sister, similar to ''-senpai''. Siblings trying to be cute will sometimes address their older counterparts as ''Onii-chan'' or ''Onee-chan''. An alternate way of being very casual, typically seen more in fiction than reality, is to drop the ''san''. To refer to your own older brother/sister, use ''Ani'' or ''Ane'', respectively. |
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| 64 | * ''Otoosan'' (お父さん) / ''Okaasan'' (お母さん): Literally means one's father or mother respectively. It is strictly used as a standalone term and never attached to a name (obviously, you don't address your parent with their given name, unless you are estranged). ''Otoochan'' or ''Okaachan'' is like saying Daddy or Mommy, while ''Otoosama'' or ''Okaasama'' would be like Father or Mother. Unlike other familial honorifics, it can only be used for people they consider as their parent, whether biological or adopted. To refer to your own father or mother, use ''Chichi'' or ''Haha'', respectively. |
| 65 | |
| 66 | * ''Ojisan'' (お父さん) / ''Obasan'' (お母さん): Literally means one's uncle or aunt respectively, but can also be used to address any middle-aged adults. Changing it to ''Ojichan'' or ''Obachan'' denotes familiarity and is like saying Aunty. It's not seen as insulting, unless the addressee happens to be sensitive about their age. ([[MaamShock A woman under 30 is likely to be insulted, though.]]) To refer to your own uncle or aunt, use ''Oji'' or ''Oba'', respectively. Note that the kanji used to write ''Oji'' and ''Oba'' differ based on whether they are older or younger than their sibling (i.e. your parent)[[note]]Older uncles/aunts are 伯父 and 伯母, while younger ones are 叔父 and 叔母[[/note]], though they are pronounced the same. Be careful with how long you draw out the ''i'' and ''a'' sounds, lest this suffix become... |
| 67 | |
| 68 | * ''Ojiisan'' (お爺さん) / ''Obaasan'' (お婆さん): Literally means one's grandfather and grandmother, but can also be used to address much older adults. Changing it to ''Ojiichan'' or ''Obaachan'' is like saying Gramps or Granny. It's not seen as insulting, unless the addressee happens to be sensitive about their age. To refer to your own grandfather or grandmother, use ''Sofu'' (祖父) or ''Sobo'' (祖母), respectively. |
| 69 | |
| 70 | !!!Official titles |
| 71 | |
| 72 | * ''-kakka'' (閣下): "Your Excellency". Used to address non-royal heads of state and government and other high-ranking government officials. The Prime Minister of Japan is addressed with this. |
| 73 | * ''-heika'' (陛下): "Your Majesty". Commonly associated with the Japanese Emperor, who is addressed in the country as ''Tennou Heika'', "His Majesty the Emperor" (calling him by his name is not only rude, it's borderline sacrilegious). It can also refer to reigning monarchs of other countries. |
| 74 | * ''-denka'' (殿下): "Your Highness". Used for non-sovereign royalty. In Japan, it's used for every male member (except for the Emperor) and every unmarried female member of the royal family. |
| 75 | * ''-hidenka'' (妃殿下): "Consort of Your Highness". Used for wives of ''-denka''. [[DoubleStandard There is no male counterpart]], since princesses who want to marry outside the royal family have to forgo royalty. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | !!Obsolete honorifics |
| 78 | |
| 79 | * ''O-'' (お) / ''Go-'' (御): The so-called beautifying prefix, though commonly used for keigo, used to be a common honorific for people's names as well. ''O-'' is still encountered today as part of the familial honorifics (see above). |
| 80 | * ''-ue'' (上): Indicated a high level of respect for the addressee, it literally means "above". May be attached to familial terms, such as ''Chichiue'', ''Hahaue'', ''Aniue'', ''Aneue'', etc. |
| 81 | * ''-gozen'' (御前): Indicated nobility; most commonly applied to women. Fell out of usage after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. |
| 82 | * ''-kimi/gimi'' (君) / ''-no kimi'' (の君): A ''very'' archaic suffix used to address courtly lords and ladies. |
| 83 | |
| 84 | !!Other things |
| 85 | |
| 86 | As noted above, ''-dono'' comes from the word ''tono'', meaning "lord". Several other terms for social rank seem to be used as honorifics as well, most notably ''-oujo'' and ''-hime'', both of which mean "princess". ''[[{{Ojou}} "-ojou" or "-ojousama"]]'' is regularly used for girls from very well-to-do families. |
| 87 | |
| 88 | Likewise, which version of a person's name to use will also convey varying degrees of formality; the Japanese generally tend to be on a LastNameBasis except for family or intimate friends, so addressing a coworker, neighbor or casual acquaintance using their given name instead of their family name in cases where a full name would be too formal would usually be considered quite forward regardless of the honorific attached to it. As with any such distribution things tend to towards the center rather than the extremes; attaching formal honorifics to informal names and vice-versa tends to either connote sarcasm or just sound silly so "Family Name -san" is most likely to be the most acceptable form for most people on most occasions. This provides yet another subtle shading of formality: "Ranma-san" is less formal than "Saotome-san" even though the same honorific is used. It's not uncommon for Japanese people to be on first name basis with peers of their own gender, and last name basis with those of the opposite gender, as being on a first name basis with someone of the opposite gender who is not a relative implies a higher degree of intimacy than an acquaintance, classmate, or coworker would supply. |
| 89 | |
| 90 | Using no honorific at all (called ''yobisute'') is also an honorific -- it's a "null honorific", and it means the speaker is addressing the person to whom he is speaking in an intimate and familiar manner usually restricted to family, spouses, or one's closest friends. Usually, this is only done when FirstNameBasis permission is granted by the addressee. Using no honorific without such permission is a grave insult; this is a subtlety lost on many foreign visitors, who may offend people with no idea that they're doing so (although nowadays this is generally not the case for most foreigners since most Japanese understand that many languages do not use honorifics, and many foreigners, particularly business travelers, brush up on Japanese etiquette before visiting). Addressing someone in ''yobisute'' for the first time frequently marks a significant point of advancement in a RomanceArc or friendship. Somewhat counter-intuitively, you are ''not'' supposed to use honorifics on your "in group" when talking to outsiders, such as when mentioning a coworker in a conversation with a business client. |
| 91 | |
| 92 | ---- |
| 93 | !!Examples |
| 94 | %% Since honorifics are an OmnipresentTrope in Japanese-language works, please only include examples where: a) the characters use Japanese-language honorifics while speaking some other language, b) the honorifics are translated in some interesting way, or c) the honorifics have some unusual usage. Thanks! |
| 95 | |
| 96 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 99 | * The many different honorifics used in ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'' are an important part of characterization. For instance, each member of Kaoru's UnwantedHarem addresses him differently. [[YamatoNadeshiko Aoi]] says "Kaoru-sama"; formal [[HaremNanny Miyabi]] says "Kaoru-dono" (rendered in English as "Sir Kaoru"); easygoing American [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Tina]] says "Kaoru"; younger student [[CuteClumsyGirl Taeko]] says "Hanabishi-sempai"; and rich girl [[{{Ojou}} Mayu]] says "Hanabishi-sama". In fact, the respectful honorifics that Aoi and Miyabi use should really be a problem for their cover story -- clearly Kaoru is more than just a tenant to them. |
| 100 | * ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'': |
| 101 | ** Misa, the protagonist Mira's older sister, calls Mira's old friend Ao "Ao-kun," despite Ao being a girl. Since Mira initially thought Ao was a boy, and only realized the truth when they met again at the start of the series, it's possible that Misa was operating under the same assumption. |
| 102 | ** On the other hand, Mira and Ao call each other without honorifics for the entire length of the series. It is one of the things that show how close they are--their relationship is most accurately described as PseudoRomanticFriendship. |
| 103 | * ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'': |
| 104 | ** Tomo calls her ''[[SenseiChan teacher]]'' "Yukari-chan" -- an informality so outrageous that the older print of the manga translates it as "Yukari baby". She likewise calls her gym teacher Minamo "Nyamo-chan", Nyamo being Yukari's nickname for her. After [[InVinoVeritas Nyamo gets drunk]] and provides some [[TheTalk "extracurricular education"]], Tomo immediately switches back to the ultra-formal "Kurosawa-sensei". |
| 105 | ** Everyone calls ten-year-old GradeSkipper Chiyo "Chiyo-chan". This is kept even in the English dub of the anime, which otherwise translates honorifics as appropriate (for example, "Sakaki-san" to "Miss Sakaki"). The very end, when she's announced valedictorian at graduation, is the only time she's referred to as "Chiyo-san". |
| 106 | *** Chiyo at one point becomes insecure about the idea that other students don't respect her because of her age, and insists to a rather bewildered underclassman that he should be addressing her as "Mihama-sempai" rather than "Chiyo-chan." |
| 107 | *** At another point, Osaka tells Chiyo not to worry about getting bigger, because a big Chiyo-chan wouldn't be Chiyo-chan at all -- she'd be "just plain Chiyo!" |
| 108 | ** Oddly enough, Chiyo uses "-chan" on Tomo despite addressing all her other classmates as "-san" (due to them being older); this most likely implies that while Chiyo sees Tomo as a friend, she also has a lack of respect for her, what with Tomo typically being a {{jerkass}}. |
| 109 | *** Sometimes Tomo even refers to ''herself'' as "Tomo-chan". This may either be a result of everybody else calling her "Tomo-chan" for her relative immaturity, or a demonstration of her [[SmallNameBigEgo self-attributed]] {{UsefulNotes/Kawaisa}}. |
| 110 | ** When trying to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I8IFIlzLpY lure Yomi into a "trap"]], Tomo addresses her quite unusually as "Koyomi-kun". For some reason that does not alert her. |
| 111 | ** [[{{Tomboy}} Kagura]] habitually refers to everyone besides Chiyo without honorifics, indicating her brash and straightforward personality. |
| 112 | * ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'': |
| 113 | ** Fukuda finds it odd that Nakai is calling Nizuma, the author for whom they both work as assistants, “-sensei”, even though he's 17 years older than Nizuma is; Fukuda tends to use "-shisho" on Nizuma. Mashiro also finds it a bit strange that Takahama, one of his assistants, uses “-sensei” on him, and Takahama starts calling him "Mashiro-san" instead. The main characters are surprised to see that one of their assistants is female (despite having told Miyoshi that they would be male) because Miura used "-kun" on their last names. |
| 114 | ** Akito and Kaya initially call each other by their last names without honorifics, but around the time they get married, Akito calls Kaya "Kaya-chan," while Kaya, oddly enough, starts using "-san" on Akito's first name. |
| 115 | ** While most characters use "-san" on their editors (although Fukuda has a bad habit of forgetting the honorific on Yujiro), Hiramaru uses "-shi" on Yoshida. |
| 116 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': |
| 117 | ** In the pilot, Rukia demands that Ichigo address her as "Rukia-sama" before she returns him to his body. In the actual manga, she asks that Hanataro ''[[DontCallMeSir not]]'' call her that, and he instead calls her "Rukia-san". |
| 118 | ** Ichigo also has a tendency to refer to both Toshiro and Byakuya by their given names instead of using honorifics when addressing them, annoying them both. ("It's Captain Hitsugaya!") |
| 119 | ** Rukia uses the highly respectful "-dono" on Kaien, which is a sign of how much she idolizes him, as well as his wife Miyako. Filler episodes have her use the honorific on Yoruichi (a fellow member of the Four Great Houses), and on Lurichiyo (an anime-only character from a high-ranked noble family), which could indicate that it's out of respect for his similar status. |
| 120 | ** Momo refers to Hitsugaya as "Hitsugaya-kun", which doesn't exactly please him either but isn't as upsetting as her calling him by the childhood nickname "Shiro-chan". On the other hand, she's more often than not referred to as "Hinamori" by him, Renji and Kira (her closest friends among the Shinigami), while others call her "Hinamori-kun" like Aizen. Pretty much the only one who refers to her as simply "Momo" is [[spoiler:Shinji Hirako]], and this only happens after [[spoiler:he retakes his place as the fifth Division Captain; it's relatively common for captains to refer to their lieutenants by their first name.]] |
| 121 | ** Ichigo, Rukia and Chad refer to Orihime as "Inoue" (a rather rough way to refer to a girl), while Ishida uses the more polite "Inoue-san" and Tatsuki calls her "Orihime" to mark their close friendship. In return, Orihime calls the boys "(insert name)-kun", Rukia is "Kuchiki-san", and Tatsuki is "Tatsuki-chan". (Similarly, Riruka is "Riruka-chan" for her, and Riruka simply calls her "Orihime".) |
| 122 | *** Also, Shinji and Loly refer to Orihime as "Orihime-chan". This is a good way [[PlayingWithATrope to lay some parallels]] about the use of such an honorific: Shinji uses -chan to express a desire to be friends with Orihime due to finding her cute [[spoiler:and to blend better among the Karakura schoolers]], while Loly does so to show her ''lack'' of respect for her. |
| 123 | ** Soi Fong refers to Yoruichi as "Yoruichi-sama", which is most often translated as "Lady Yoruichi" in the dub. Yoruichi tried to make her drop it in favor of "Yoruichi-san", to no avail. Soi Fong used no honorifics at all on Yoruichi's name during the 100 years they were separated after Yoruichi helped Urahara escape. Soi Fong started using "-sama" again when, after being defeated by Yoruichi, asking why she wasn't taken along. |
| 124 | ** Rukia refers to Byakuya as "nii-sama", emphasizing her [[BigBrotherWorship respect]] for him and the [[AloofBigBrother distance between them]]. In contrast, Karin and Yuzu refer to Ichigo with much more affectionate terms: "Ichi-nii" and "Onii-chan", respectively. |
| 125 | ** The Fullbringers are a rather interesting case, as they tend to refer to each other and others in ''yobisute'' aka '''not''' using any pronouns. It's more understandable with Jackie Tristan (foreigner) and Yukio Hans Voralberna ([[ButNotTooForeign half-foreigner]], most likely has Scandinavian heritage). Pretty much the only one who uses pronouns regularly is Shukuro Tsukishima, who is rather polite speaker [[SmugSnake to get under the others's skins]] -- and he doesn't use them with ''everyone'', either. (I.e., he calls Moe "Shishigawara-kun", but refers to [[spoiler:Ginjou]] with ''yobisute'') |
| 126 | ** Yamamoto refers to his lieutenant simply as "Choujirou". In return, Sasakibe calls him "Genryusai-dono". [[spoiler:In the past, Sasakibe called him "Eijisai-dono", due to his EmbarrassingNickname.]] |
| 127 | ** Shunsui tends to refer to his fellow captains and lieutenants by their given names plus honorifics, but manages to get away with it because he's hundreds of years older than most of them. He calls his own subcaptain, Nanao Ise (a young adult among Shinigamis), "Nanao-chan"; it's more understandable when you recall that [[spoiler:Nanao has been a member of the Eight Division ever since she was a pre-teen Shinigami girl, thus Shunsui ''has'' known her from forever... and it turns out that she's actually his niece.]] |
| 128 | ** [[spoiler:Hikifune from the Zero Squad]] refers to Ichigo and [[spoiler:Renji]] as "Ichigo-chan" and "[[spoiler:Renji]]-chan". Made even funnier because the ones she refers to as such are an older teenager and a young adult in Shinigami years ''and'' they're very rough speakers. |
| 129 | ** To give a sense of how much social information forms of address can carry, take a look at Isshin and Ryuuken talking in chapter 241. Isshin has a very warm and informal speech style, so his use of ''yobisute''--"Ishida"--just indicates that they've known each for a long time. It's far more revealing when Ryuuken, whose style is formal to the point of frigidity, replies in kind: he doesn't feel the need to put up a front for Isshin. [[spoiler:He also uses "Kurosaki"--Masaki's Quincy last name--to refer to Isshin, instead of "Shiba", a sign that he's finally accepted Isshin as an in-law.]] |
| 130 | * ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'': |
| 131 | ** Yuu refers to her friends by their first names without honorifics, calls the boys on the student council (who are her yearmates) by their last names and "-kun", and uses last names and "-senpai" on Touko and Sayaka. [[spoiler:After Yuu and Touko have a RelationshipUpgrade, Yuu agrees to start calling Touko "Touko-senpai", but it takes until just after TheirFirstTime for Yuu to drop the "-senpai"]]. |
| 132 | ** Touko initially calls Yuu "Koito-san" most of the time, but switches to "Yuu" when being playful or flirty. Eventually, she asks to call Yuu by her first name, and Yuu nonchalantly agrees. |
| 133 | ** Surprisingly enough, Yuu forgoes UsefulNotes/JapaneseSiblingTerminology for her older sister, Rei, calling her "Rei-chan" and her boyfriend "Hiro-kun," even though the two are four years older than her. While discussing them, Touko accidentally calls Hiro "Hiro-kun", too, before correcting herself and adding "-san" to his name. |
| 134 | ** In the light novel spinoff, ''Regarding Sayaka Saeki'', Sayaka, who gets into a relationship with her senpai, Chie Yuzuki, midway through the novel, generally refers to her as "Sempai" or "[[LastNameBasis Yuzuki]]-sempai," and only learns Chie's first name some time after they start going out. She briefly wonders what to call Chie, dismissing "Chie" as inappropriate considering that Chie is older, and not liking how "Chie-san" or "Chie-sempai" sound, so she settles on "Sempai." |
| 135 | ** Chie generally calls Sayaka "Sayaka-chan," and is one of the few who gets to call Sayaka by her first name. In one scene in the novel, when Sayaka gets a call from Chie at home, Sayaka's grandmother, who typically uses yobisute on her granddaughter, surprises Sayaka by calling her "Sayaka-chan" instead before handing Sayaka the phone, implying that she knows about Sayaka and Chie being a couple. |
| 136 | ** Haru, a schoolmate and kohai of Sayaka's at university [[spoiler:who eventually becomes Sayaka's girlfriend]], generally calls Sayaka "Sayaka-senpai." [[spoiler:Sayaka asks Haru to drop the "-senpai" after switching from "Edamoto-san" to "Haru," but Haru can't quite manage it]]. Yuu, who goes to the same school as Haru and Sayaka, uses "-chan" on Haru, who replies in kind, and Sayaka notices that this is slightly unusual for Yuu. |
| 137 | * ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'': |
| 138 | ** When Koyemshi appears before several military and government officials who want information on [[HumongousMecha Zearth]], he gets annoyed when Sasami calls him "Koyemshi-kun," then without honorifics, demanding that he be called "-sama." He's actually a bit tickled when Tanaka calls him "Koyemshi-san"- that, and a bit of PolitenessJudo on her part convinces him to grant her and the other officers access to Zearth. |
| 139 | ** Due to her young age and closeness with the group, most people use yobisute or "-chan" on Kana. When Tanaka speaks with Kana's father, however, she calls his daughter "Kana-san" for the sake of politeness. |
| 140 | * ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' gives rather interesting spins on the trope, depending heavily on who is talking. On one hand we have NiceGuy Tsubasa, Misaki and PrincelyYoungMan Misugi, who are rather soft-spoken and refer to their fellow sport boys as "-kun". On the other side of the spectre there's low-class SelfMadeMan Kojiro Hyuuga, who uses ''yobisute'' aka no honorifics with people his age. In the middle there's Genzo Wakabayashi, who also is a PrincelyYoungMan but, unlike Misugi, tends to use ''yobisute'' with others. |
| 141 | * ''Manga/{{Change 123}}'' offers three interesting examples of the use of honorifics: |
| 142 | ** For Motoko's three {{Split Personalit|y}}ies, three different honorifics are (usually) used: Hibiki-kun (due to Hibiki being a {{Bokukko}}), Fujiko-san (sometimes Fujiko-[[OneeSama neesan]] when her maturity is to be accentuated) and Mikiri-chan (due to Mikiri being more child-like). |
| 143 | ** Since Mikiri-chan is such a CheerfulChild, she uses the "-chan" honorific with all people, regardless of the appropriateness. |
| 144 | ** The [[InsufferableGenius insufferable teen genius]] Kannami uses the "-kun" honorific with all the high-schoolers, even girls. |
| 145 | * ''Manga/{{Citrus}}'': |
| 146 | ** Mei used "-chan" on Himeko when they were young, but switched to yobisute by high school. |
| 147 | ** After Sara addresses Yuzu, whom she's just met, as "Yuzu-san," Yuzu insists that the "-san" isn't necessary. |
| 148 | * In ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'', honorifics are important in a variety of situations: |
| 149 | ** Tomoya's father starts calling him "Tomoya-kun" instead of just "Tomoya" after they got in a bad fight. It made Tomoya feel like a stranger to his father, and the relationship only went downhill for the next several years. |
| 150 | ** Kotomi Ichinose insists on being called "Kotomi-chan", and literally does not respond to anything else. This very familiar form of address is pretty awkward for most people meeting her for the first time, which may be one reason why she doesn't have any friends. This goes along with her childish nature in general. [[spoiler:This is also a plot point when it's Tomoya who she asks to call her "Kotomi-chan", as it turns out that Kotomi was his childhood friend.]] |
| 151 | ** Sanae generally refers to her husband as "Akio-san", and Akio himself lampshades this at one point. However, this probably indicates more playfulness than coldness in their relationship, as they are quite HappilyMarried. |
| 152 | * In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Zero refers to Jeremiah as "Orange-kun" in public to imply a preexisting relationship; the dub translates this as "Orange-boy." Eventually, he becomes just "Orange." |
| 153 | ** Also of note, the English dub uses honorifics for the TranslationConvention, having scenes where Japanese characters use honorifics which implies that they're speaking Japanese to each other (and presumably English the rest of the time). |
| 154 | ** In ''[[Manga/CodeGeassNightmareOfNunnally Nightmare of Nunnally]]'', Nunnally initially uses "-san" on Alice (as she does for most older people of no special status) when meeting her in a flashback, but uses "-chan" on her in the present after they become friends. |
| 155 | * Because his Li persona is so seemingly harmless and cute, Black Shinigami Hei of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' is generally addressed as "Li-kun" by HeroAntagonist Kirihara when interacting with him in that identity. |
| 156 | * ''Yobisute'' as a romantic turning point -- or not: In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' anime, Misa Amane horrifies Light Yagami by beginning to refer to him ''yobisute'' only moments after their mutually manipulative relationship is established. He comments, but is forced to acquiesce when she proposes a ridiculous nickname as the alternative. The English-dub rendition became, "Light, darling?" followed by an incredulous, "Did you just call me 'darling'?" He later grits his teeth and addresses her as ''Misa-chan,'' eliciting a wheeze from Ryuk. |
| 157 | ** The English translation of the manga initially includes honorifics, but they drop off in the second half of the manga. |
| 158 | * The English title of ''Manga/DesertPunk'' is a translation of Suna''bōzu''. |
| 159 | * ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': |
| 160 | ** Two notable examples in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and the sequel series ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'': Tentomon and Wormmon. Tentomon will always address Koshiro/Izzy as "Koshiro-han", and adds "-han" when talking about practically any of the other human characters. Meanwhile, Wormmon refers to Ken exclusively as "Ken-chan", ''even when he's the Digimon Emperor.'' |
| 161 | ** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' the twins, Ai and Makoto, refer to each other without honorifics both pre and post CharacterDevelopment. It seems to be a sign of closeness for them. |
| 162 | ** -me is dropped left and right in ''Anime/DigimonFusion''. Even Akari, the resident TeamMom, does not abstain. Blastmon also calls Tactimon "Tac-chan". The implications of this are still unclear. |
| 163 | * In ''Manga/TheDisappearanceOfNagatoYukiChan'', Yuki is very respectful toward others due to her ShrinkingViolet personality, referring to even her best friend Ryoko as "[[LastNameBasis Asakura]]-san" (dubbed as "Miss Asakura"). |
| 164 | * ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': |
| 165 | ** Doraemon is called by his first name without honorifics by male characters, and "Dora-chan" by Shizuka, Nobita's mom, and other female characters. |
| 166 | ** Nobita is always called "Nobita-kun" by his RobotBuddy Doraemon in the anime (in the manga, Doraemon starts calling him just "Nobita" in later chapters), "Nobita-san" by the polite Shizuka, and is often called "Nobi-chan" by his mom. Gian and Suneo don't use honorifics on him, which is a sign of their lack of respect. His dad doesn't use honorifics either. Both his teacher and the studious classmate Dekisugi address him as "Nobi-kun". |
| 167 | ** Shizuka, the polite NiceGirl, uses "-san" on all her human friends, but uses "-chan" on Doraemon, probably because Doraemon is the TeamPet. Shizuka herself is called "Shizuka-chan" by everyone, but in the second anime adaptation, [[GentlemanAndAScholar Dekisugi]] starts using "-kun" on her just like he does on the boys. |
| 168 | * The Latin Spanish dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' left the usage of the "-sama" with Kami and King Kai, and thus they're referred to as "Kami-sama" and "Kaio-sama" by most characters. |
| 169 | * In the dub for one of the sequels to ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'', Nanami runs around a castle calling for "Makoto-chan". |
| 170 | * In the English translation of ''Manga/ExcelSaga'', Hyatt almost always refers to Excel as "Senior Excel" or just "Senior" -- a reasonable, if not exactly standard, usage that reflects the Japanese "Excel-sempai". Il Palazzo, their immediate superior, addresses Excel (as an example of its use in a context other than schoolboys) as "Excel-kun". |
| 171 | * In ''Manga/FailedPrincesses'', Kanade Kurokawa uses appropriate honorifics on most people, while Nanaki Fujishiro generally forgoes honorifics. Early on, after the two start spending time together, Fujishiro gets a bit annoyed with how Kurokawa calls her "Fujishiro-san," and convinces her to just call her "Fujishiro". |
| 172 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'': |
| 173 | ** Juvia uses "-san" on most people who are around her age or older, which is why Lucy is surprised that she uses "-kun" on Gajeel, Juvia's former guildmate from Phantom Lord. After Lucy and Juvia defeat Vidaldus together, Lucy, noticing that Juvia once called out her name without honorifics, suggests that she doesn't have to call her "-san" anymore, since they're friends. Juvia uses "-sama" on Gray as an exaggerated display of affection. |
| 174 | ** Lyon is relatively rude and doesn't use honorifics at most people, so when Jura, a member of his guild and one of the strongest wizards in Ishgar, hands down a CurbStompBattle against [[ArcVillain Brain]], Gray realizes that's why Lyon respects Jura enough to use "-san" on him. |
| 175 | ** Yukino uses "-sama" on virtually everyone, even on people polite characters would be relatively familiar towards, such as young children. |
| 176 | ** Wendy uses "-san" on most people except for Carla, her long-time Exceed companion, and Sherria, who specifically asked her not to be so formal with her. |
| 177 | * ''Manga/FoodWars'': |
| 178 | ** One example that carried over to the English translation was Terunori's insistence on referring to the main character as Yukihira-chin, because it highlights Terunori's lack of respect and childishness very well. |
| 179 | ** Soma himself, on the other end, refers to Koujirou Shinomiya as "Shinomiya-shishou" after completing his tenure as a trainee in Shinomiya's restaurant. Soma is perfectly sincere in his usage, but that doesn't stop Shinomiya's friends from ribbing him about the sheer unbridled pretentiousness of it all, and ignoring Shinomiya's protestations that it was Soma's idea. |
| 180 | * ''Manga/FrierenBeyondJourneysEnd'': Fern is extremely formal with others and tends to address almost everyone, even those close to her, with the "-sama" honorific. Stark asks her not to do so, but is taken aback when she forgoes honorifics entirely, and she soon goes back to using "-sama" on him. |
| 181 | * ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': |
| 182 | ** Tohru Honda is called "Tohru-kun" by almost everyone else, despite being a very [[AllLovingHero loving]] girly girl; according to the series' creator Creator/NatsukiTakaya, she chose to have other characters use the "-kun" honorific for her since she considered it "a more dignified form of address" (and it also goes well with [[GenderBlenderName her masculine name]]). Anyone who calls her "Tohru-chan" instead is always portrayed negatively, like her {{Jerkass}} paternal relatives, for example. Tohru herself has very polite speech patterns and usually uses "-san" or "-kun" for other people, only using "-chan" for her two best friends Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima (whom she calls [[AffectionateNickname "Uo-chan" and "Hana-chan"]]). She also nearly always refers to people exclusively how she was first introduced to them, followed by "-san", resulting in Ritsu becoming "Ritchan-san", Mitsuru as "Mitchan-san", and Kazuma "Shishou-san." |
| 183 | ** Ultra-rude Kyo Sohma never uses honorifics (and more often than not, doesn't use names, relying on "you"). |
| 184 | ** There's also Shigure bargining with Haru to let Yuki live with him. What Shigure wants is for Haru to call him Sensei, as he is a writer after all (but no one respects him enough to call him sensei he says, except for Mitsuru). Hatori also gets referred to as sensei occasionally (normally not by the rest of the zodiac though, he's a doctor). Same goes to Kazuma until Kyo decides he's "shishou"; that's is the honorific most people call him now, the older ones tend to use sensei or dono though. |
| 185 | *** Kazuma is also called 'Shihan' by his young martial arts charges (except Kyo). The translator's note says that Shihan = Shishou. |
| 186 | * ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': The Homunculi refer to their Father (creator, actually) as "Otou-''sama''". |
| 187 | * In ''Manga/FutariEcchi'' the young HappilyMarried couple Makoto and Yura keep calling each other using the honorific "-san". (Oh, yes, even while having sex!) In one episode Makoto's colleagues at work laugh at this fact, considering it too old-fashioned and possibly a sign of Makoto's submissiveness towards Yura. This makes him try to behave towards Yura like a typical dominant macho Japanese husband, but comically fails at this. |
| 188 | * ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'': |
| 189 | ** Major Motoko Kusanagi is almost universally addressed as [[MajorlyAwesome "Shousa"]], a reflection of her prior JGSDF rank (she also wears a JGSDF uniform in lieu of police dress uniform), rather than any part of her name. The lone exception is Batou'S thorough mocked [[SayMyName "MOTOKOOOO!!!"]] moment, and the Major's girlfriends, who also use the name. |
| 190 | ** Members of her [[BadassCrew team]], however, are referred to with "-san" rather than any sort of rank (even though at least three others were previously in the military before Section 9). |
| 191 | * ''Manga/GAGeijutsukaArtDesignClass'': |
| 192 | ** Miyabi calls even her friends "-dono". |
| 193 | ** When Miki is affecting a Kyoto accent, she uses "-han" with Namiko's name. |
| 194 | * In ''Manga/GirlFriends2006'', the first chapter depicts Akko, a fellow classmate Mari had never really interacted with, suddenly talking to Mari out of nowhere and whisking her away to go hang out with her...and referring to her as 'Mari-chin'. Mari expresses much confusion mentally, but is so overwhelmed by everything Akko is doing, and is just pretty shy in general, so she doesn't say anything outwardly, and eventually starts calling Akko by her first name. That said, Akko can be polite when necessary, calling Mari "Mariko-san" when talking to Mari's mother, or "Kumakura-san" when asking their teacher about her. |
| 195 | * ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'': |
| 196 | ** Yukari tends to address most of her friends by their [[LastNameBasis last name]] and "-dono", which is noted as being strange and overly formal in-universe. This is partly because Yukari didn't have many friends due to her obsessive interest in tankery, and partly out of her extreme respect for Miho, the main person she addresses this way. |
| 197 | *** In the manga, Saori calls her "Yukarin" (see '''-chin''' in the description), which is her first nickname. This spaces her out such that she can't tell she's leaving the others behind. |
| 198 | ** Interestingly enough, Hana's mother, who speaks very formally, uses "-san" on her own daughter's first name. |
| 199 | ** Chihatan, which is based off of Japan during World War II, tends to use "-dono" on most people who are superiors, often in fairly odd ways. For example, the Type 89's crew is called "Duck-dono," and Fukuda addresses one of her seniors as "Senpai-dono." |
| 200 | * ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'': |
| 201 | ** In ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', Domon used to refer to Master Asia as Shishou since he was his mentor and martial arts teacher, but stopped doing so after Asia's FaceHeelTurn. Since Domon has ''very'' rough speech patterns (he uses ''ore'' and ''omae'' to refer to himself and others, and almost never uses honorifics on people unless they're highly-ranked), he calls Master Asia by full name from then on, which is seen as Domon losing '''all''' of his respect for Asia. [[spoiler:When Domon calls him ''shishou'' again, it's when the old man is actually ''dying'', and Asia himself is very surprised at that fact. [[TearJerker "After all I've done to you... do you still respect me and call me 'master'?]]"]]) |
| 202 | ** In a classic example from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', {{Ojou}} Sayla Mass is disgusted by cowardly punk Kai Shiden at first meeting (...AFTER slapping him) for, among other things, yobisute/"how dare you speak to me so casually!" ''"You, you're, S..Sayla, right?"'' Nope, she is ''"Sayla-san"'' to him from that point on through all Gundam series, forevermore. |
| 203 | ** During ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', AcePilot Mwu La Flaga addresses newbie Kira Yamato as "Bozu" in the Japanese dub. Kira refers to him as "-sempai". |
| 204 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': |
| 205 | *** Dorothy always refers to Relena with ''-sama''. At their first meeting Relena specifically asked her not do this, despite the fact that it's appropriate since she's a princess, but Dorothy refuses to since "how else would I call you?". On the other hand, she doesn't mind when Noin or Quatre call her that, so it might be that she knows Dorothy (who is TheMole) is using it facetiously. The English dub renders all instances of this as "Miss Relena". |
| 206 | *** In an earlier episode, Duo greet Relena as ''Jouou-san'', a respectful term for a young woman of high social standing[[note]]at the time, he didn't know she was royalty, just the daughter of a government official[[/note]]; the dub changed this to "Hey, good-lookin'!", presumably more in line with how they were trying to portray Duo. |
| 207 | * Yachi from ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' is very polite and always uses honorifics (''kun'' for boys her age, ''san'' for older people and ''senpai'' for her female upperclassman Shimizu). She thus takes a while to talk to the easygoing protagonist Hinata without honorifics, which he requests from her after they befriend each other (he himself still calls her Yachi-san). |
| 208 | * In ''Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl'', Ookuma using "-kun" on Kanda seems to be because Ookuma is under the mistaken belief that Kanda is a guy. After Kanda finally admits that she's a girl, Ookuma wonders if she should call her "Kanda-san" instead, but Kanda insists that she stick with "Kanda-kun." |
| 209 | * In ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', title character Hayate uses the -san title for everyone, in keeping with their high-class standing, including Nishizawa who sees herself as lower in stature, except Nagi and Sakuya, who he calls 'Oujo-sama'. Nagi is his master, but there seems to be no forthcoming explanation for why Sakuya is included. When he gave Athena the childhood nickname of 'A-Tan', it was pointed out how the nickname made her name longer to write out. |
| 210 | * The western fandom of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' tends to suffix the "-tan" to the [[MoeAnthropomorphism anthropomorphic incarnation of nations]] (as in "Country-tan"), partly as a way to accentuate the separation between the [[RealLife real country]] and the representation of it, and partly to remark the extremely {{Moe}} nature of the series. |
| 211 | ** Prussia's CD is called "Ore-sama no CD" (translated as "The CD of the Awesome Me"). It combines this with UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns. |
| 212 | *** [[BloodKnight Prussia]] uses this ''a lot'' to refer to himself, including "Ore-sama no Blog" ("The Blog of the Awesome Me"), and just generally referring to himself as "The Awesome Me" (Ore-Sama). |
| 213 | * ''Manga/HidamariSketch X365'': |
| 214 | ** When Miyako calls Yuno "Yuno-chan", Yuno tells her she doesn't need to add the "-chan", so Miyako tries out her name with various honorifics and suffixes, of which only "-pi" (the "cutesy for small pets" one) is currently listed here. Then Yuno addresses Miyako, who responds "Nani, Yuno'''cchi'''?" This causes a light show which expresses approval of this honorific. |
| 215 | ** When the main characters go to a bathhouse (in both the anime and the manga) they see "masa no yu" written in kanji on the chimney outside. But then they see it written on curtains in hiragana, intended to be read as columns of one letter each (right to left). Yuno and Miyako mistakenly read it as though it were intended to be read horizontally (left to right), i.e. "Yuno-'''sama'''" Yuno is shocked, and Miyako wonders why she's a VIP there. |
| 216 | ** Yuno's "-cchi" is sometimes left off when her hair decorations aren't on. One time, Miyako put them in her ''own'' hair, prompting Yuno to call her "Miyacchi?!" |
| 217 | ** When Yuno and Miyako are looking for dried squid to bring Sae, Yuno finds a package calling the contents "Ika-kun". In the manga, Miyako says she doesn't think it's an honorific in this case; in the anime, she explains that it probably means "jerky". |
| 218 | ** When the girls are watching the ShowWithinAShow ''Lovely Detective Chocolat'', the girls muse that Chocoyama is getting too old to be called "-kun". |
| 219 | ** Miyako sometimes switches up when referring to Nori ("Noripe", "Norisuke"), throwing her off a bit. |
| 220 | * In ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'', the regulars at the Go salon refer to 12-year-old Akira as "Akira-sensei." This isn't sarcastic; he's really that good. |
| 221 | * In ''Manga/HitoribocchiNoOOSeikatsu'', Bocchi usually uses "-chan" on her friends, but uses "-san" on Sotoka (her self-proclaimed ninja disciple) despite using her first name. Sotoka is shocked when Bocchi uses "-chan" on two of her groupmates from a cooking assignment, whom Bocchi met more recently and isn't as close with, and wants to be called "Sotoka-chan." |
| 222 | * ''Manga/IMarriedMyFemaleFriend'': Ruriko is rather polite by nature, and uses honorifics on most people, including addressing Kurumi, her long-time best friend whom she marries as part of an agreement, as "Kurumi-san." As such, Kurumi notices immediately when Ruriko addresses Rio, a woman she met abroad, by her first name without honorifics, since [[VitriolicBestBuds the two are quite close, even if Ruriko is annoyed by Rio's immaturity and dependence on her]]. Kurumi tries to get Ruriko to stop using "-san" on her, but while Ruriko tries, she adds the honorific at the last second. |
| 223 | * In ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' it depends on who is talking to who, but in general: |
| 224 | ** The first-years like Kabeyama and Tachimukai call their male seniors "[[LastNameBasis Last-Name]]-San", except for Hiroto, who is on a FirstNameBasis. This is discussed at one point, when Endou and Co. first meet Tsunami, they have no idea that he's a third-year and are startled that they adressed him without honorifics. Tsunami doesn't mind that, though. |
| 225 | ** The girls usually call each other as "first name-San", but Aki and Haruna are sometimes called as "last name-San", the latter also calls the former "Kino-Senpai". The managers refer to the boys as "last name-kun", while [[TwoGirlsToATeam Touko and Rika]] usually don't use honorifics with them. |
| 226 | ** Hiroto and Fubuki are some of the few boys who adress their peers with "-kun". |
| 227 | * In ''Manga/InuYasha'', Kagome initially calls Sango "Sango-san" during their first conversation, but Sango suggests that she just call her "Sango." Afterward, the two use "-chan" on each other. Miroku uses "-dono" for pretty much every woman he meets [[FirstNameBasis except for Sango]]. Inuyasha, as the resident JerkWithAHeartOfGold, uses honorifics for no one, but does call Kaede and Myouga "Kaede-baabaa" and "Myouga-jiijii," which in both cases is a rude comment on their age (Kaede lampshades the rudeness); Kagome uses the more affectionate "Kaede-baachan" and "Myouga-jiichan," roughly equivalent to calling them "Grandma Kaede" and "Grandpa Myouga." |
| 228 | * ''Manga/InThisCornerOfTheWorld'': Suzu uses "-san" on most people who don't warrant other titles, including her husband Shusaku and her grade school-aged niece Harumi. One of the few exceptions is her younger sister Sumi, who gets "-chan" instead. |
| 229 | * In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency]]'', Joseph eventually starts calling Caesar "Caesar-chan" ("Caesarino" in the dub and official manga translation), [[HomoeroticSubtext a term with potentially flirty implications]]. |
| 230 | * In the first season of ''Manga/KOn'', Sawako, who was, at the time, the Light Music Club's advisor but not any of the club members' teacher, was referred to by the girls as 'Sawa-chan'. Much to her dismay, however, when she '''did''' end up becoming their homeroom teacher in the second season, the girls continued calling her 'Sawa-chan', prompting the other students to follow suit. Yui sometimes goes to the trouble of calling her 'Sawa-chan-sensei'. |
| 231 | ** When Ui tried to impersonate Yui so she could fill in for her sick sister, one of the things that threw up a flag that something was off was that she called Azusa "Azusa-chan" instead of the nickname "Azu-nyan", and can't guess her nickname when challenged. In the anime, she also adds "-san" to "Ritsu" and "Tsumugi" instead of the more familiar "Rit-chan" and "Mugi-chan". Not the clincher, but it made Sawako's claim that "Yui" was Ui right afterwards ([[IdenticalTwinIDTag Ui's chest is bigger]]) easier to buy. |
| 232 | ** Ui normally calls her older sister's childhood friend "Nodoka-san" around other people who also do so, but she occassionally lets her formality slip and calls her with a "-chan", such as when it's just the three of them, or when she's congratulating Nodoka on getting into the school of her choice. This latter example confirms Azusa's suspicions that they're like sisters. |
| 233 | ** When Nodoka jokingly wonders if Yui and Ui didn't come out in the wrong order, the two briefly play the roles, Yui calling Ui "Onee-chan!", and Ui calling her "wittle Yui-chan". |
| 234 | ** When Ritsu is about to give Megumi a gift[[note]]a picture of Mio eating with a fork[[/note]] for bringing study guides, she calls her "-dono". |
| 235 | ** In ''K-On High School'', Jun calls her brother Atsushi "At-chan". Nao is apparently surprised at this. |
| 236 | * ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': |
| 237 | ** Discussed when Kaguya points out how Kashiwagi's way of addressing her has changed over the course of the series (Kaguya-sama -> Shinomiya-san -> Kaguya-san -> Kaguya-chan) and notes that she's the only one who refers to her with the "chan" honorific, and thus is the only one who views her as [[IJustWantToBeNormal an ordinary classmate]]. |
| 238 | ** This is one of the subtle differences between [[ShadowArchetype Kaguya and Maki]]. Kaguya uses honorifics with just about everyone except [[HeterosexualLifePartners Hayasaka]] ("san", "kun/chan", or "senpai" depending on their age), and almost exclusively refers to people on a LastNameBasis regardless of how close to them she is. Maki on the other hand usually foregoes honorifics altogether (except for her crush Tsubasa, who she uses "kun" for) and just uses peoples' first name if she's close to them. [[spoiler:Kaguya would later switch over to referring to Hayasaka as "Ai-san" once their master-servant relationship was dissolved and they were free to just treat each other as friends.]] |
| 239 | ** Kaguya initially calls Kei "Shirogane-san" and then "little sister ''(imouto-san)''" to not confuse her with her older brother Miyuki Shirogane. Kei insists that she call her by her first name without honorifics, since Kaguya is older. Kaguya attempts to call her "Kei-san" and then "Kei-chan", but Kei corrects her each time. When Kaguya finally calls her just "Kei", she's flustered that she's calling someone by their first name with no honorifics for the first time. |
| 240 | ** Kaguya panics when she realizes (Miyuki) Shirogane choosing not to be re-elected means she'll have to call him by something other than President. When Fujiwara and Ishigami immediately start using his first name, Kaguya wonders if she should call him Miyuki-san or Miyuki-kun but is too embarrassed. She'd rather not call him Shirogane-san since that's what she used to call him during her Ice Queen days, when she was a lot colder to him. |
| 241 | ** Hayasaka always calls Kaguya "Kaguya-sama", since [[HeterosexualLifePartners despite how close the two are]], they are technically master and servant. [[spoiler:She ends up dropping honorifics altogether when she retires as Kaguya's maid, since she's now free to address her surrogate sister with the appropriate level of closeness.]] |
| 242 | ** [[spoiler:[[SchoolIdol Koromo Shiranui]]]] immediately starts referrring to Ishigami as "Yuu-chin" when they first meet on a Discord server, which is especially bizarre because [[INeverToldYouMyName he only introduced himself by his last name]]. |
| 243 | * In ''Manga/KarakuridoujiUltimo'' Kumegawa Hiroshi threatens to take out his doji because Shiina Machi not using an honorific when speaking to him, though this later turns out to be BelligerentSexualTension. |
| 244 | * In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', when Kenichi becomes an ''uchi-deshi'' (a disciple living in the dojo), his masters insist that he begins to call them "shishō" instead of "sensei". At first, he is a little clumsy with using this honorific. Unfortunately, this important change of addressing was lost in some translations of the manga, which can confuse the readers. |
| 245 | * The Elite four in ''Anime/KillLaKill'' address their leader Satsuki Kiryuin as "Satsuki-sama" as a matter of course. However, when Satsuki is in danger, Nonon Jazakure, who is also Satsuki's best friend, drops the "-sama" and just screams her name without honorifics. And when it looks like Satsuki's about to die, Nonon reverts to the "Satsuki-chan" of their kindergarten days. |
| 246 | * ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'': |
| 247 | ** Meta Knight addresses Escargon (and Kirby in earlier episodes) with -dono. |
| 248 | ** He's also called Meta Knight-kyou by nearly everyone, and simply "Kyou" or "Tono" by his subordinates. In general, "-kyou" is the honorific used for knights in the series. |
| 249 | ** Fumu is referred to as Fumu-sama by [[DoggedNiceGuy Kine]] (and sometimes Sword or Blade), and as Fumu-tan by her creepy otaku stalkers. |
| 250 | * As expected in a series revolving around the concept that words are spells, in ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'' honorifics are so important that the English translation of the manga simply decides to keep all of them. |
| 251 | ** To start off, after expecting Ritsuka to know him, Soubi addresses Ritsuka as just 'Ritsuka' upon meeting him. Ritsuka in turn starts immediately addressing him as simply 'Soubi' without any honorifics. |
| 252 | ** Upon meeting, Yuiko addresses herself [[ThirdPersonPerson with her own name]] (indicating her child-like nature [[ShrinkingViolet and her massive insecurities]]), and insists that Ritsuka call her 'Yuiko' too, though she addresses him as 'Ritsuka-kun', (he simply continues addressing her as 'you'.) Later on when they agree to be friends, he begins calling her by 'Yuiko' alone, and only after he breaks her of the habit of referring to herself by her own name. When Ritsuka's friend Osamu shows up, calling him without an honorific, Ritsuka tells her she refer to him as just 'Ritsuka'. She tries this once before going back to referring to him as 'Ritsuka-kun' again. |
| 253 | ** When Shinonome-sensei meets Soubi, whom she starts off calling 'Agatsuma-san', but resolves to start calling him 'Soubi-kun' after he says he doesn't like older women after she becomes flustered around him and generally is a jerkass towards her, which is important on her part because this is how she refers to her male students. |
| 254 | ** Manchild Nagisa refers to Seven, possibly her only friend, as Seven-tan to demonstrate how childish she is, despite the fact that most of the people associated with Seven Moons Academy and Septimal Moon refer to each other without honorifics, with the exception of Ritsu and Soubi who refer to each other as 'Ritsu-sensei' and 'Soubi-kun.' |
| 255 | ** Mei calls Mimuro by just Mimuro, and complains when Mimuro doesn't address her as 'Mei-chan' or 'Mei' (he thinks it's creepy to use their real names), when even Neisei refers to her this way. |
| 256 | ** Mimuro admits to being unable to deny Neisei any requests because when making them he addresses him directly, using "Senpai, please" to ask for favors. |
| 257 | ** Viz's translation omits the honorifics, translating most of them either badly ("Nagisa-sensei" becoming "Miss Nagisa" is particularly glaring) or not at all (and the difference between "'Muro-senpai" and just "'Muro" is huge for characters who rely heavily on the senpai/kouhai dynamic). It's the one thing Viz isn't doing better than Tokyopop. |
| 258 | * ''Anime/LoveLiveSunshine'': The girls of Aquor casually refer to each other with the "-chan" honorific regardless of their year, with the exception of [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Dia Kurosawa]] who is referred to with the more formal "-san". In episode 4 of season 2, Dia is worried that she isn't as connected with the first and second years since they don't refer to her with the casual "-chan" like her fellow third-years Kanan and Mari. At the end of the episode, Chika assures her that while they do find Dia very serious, they also enjoy how she helps keep Aquors on track. Though she and the others start calling her "Dia-chan" to make her feel better. |
| 259 | * Konata from ''Manga/LuckyStar'' at one point wonders why Kagami doesn't have a "-chan" nickname like Miyuki ("Yuki-chan") or Konata herself ("Kona-chan"), even though she often calls her "Kagamin". Then Kagami asks Konata to call her "Kagami-sama". Konata, [[TheGadfly of course]], acknowledges. Then Kagami feels it's really awkward and tells her to drop it. Quite unusually, the English dub actually retains the honorifics. |
| 260 | * ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': |
| 261 | ** Nanoha, Dr. Ishida and Shamal use "-chan" on Vita, who looks like a young girl, despite her being ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. |
| 262 | ** Nanoha has Subaru and Teana call her "Nanoha-san" instead of her rank. |
| 263 | ** Nanoha goes from calling Shamal "Shamal-san" in ''A's'' to calling her "Shamal-sensei" ("Doctor Shamal") in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' after she becomes her doctor. |
| 264 | ** During an argument between Yuuno and Chrono in the third sound stage of the first season, sparked by Chrono calling Yuuno a familiar, Chrono complains about Yuuno not using honorifics on him (although he doesn't seem to use them on anyone), and Yuuno claims he gave him permission to do so. |
| 265 | ** Fate uses "-kaasan" as a suffix in order to clarify whether she's talking about her biological mother ([[spoiler:actually creator]]) Precia or her adoptive mother Lindy. ("Around Lindy-kaasan, it took a lot of time before I could call her 'mom' naturally").. |
| 266 | ** Lindy uses "-san" on Nanoha, Fate and Hayate in the first and second seasons, even though they're young enough that most people use "-chan" on them. She starts using yobisute on Fate around the time Fate accepts Lindy's offer to adopt her, as a way of acknowledging Fate as a daughter. |
| 267 | ** Vivio uses "-mama" when referring to Nanoha or Fate [[spoiler:except for that one time she used "-san" to denote that [[CloneAngst she didn't feel that she was worthy of having parents]].]] |
| 268 | ** Since ''Anime/VividStrike'' prominently features a martial arts tournament, the various participants are usually addressed with the "-senshu" honorific. Jill does this with virtually every character except her own protégé, Rinne, whom she calls by her first name without honorifics. |
| 269 | ** From the moment she learned her name, Nanoha has pretty much exclusively referred to Fate as "Fate-chan", even when they're both on duty. The only times she breaks from this are when the two of them are acting motherly for Vivio, in which case she ''might'' use "-mama" instead, and occasionally using each other's rank. |
| 270 | ** Fate, on the other hand, generally doesn't use honorifics for her closest friends, although she uses "-san" or professional titles for adults. |
| 271 | * Taruruto, the title character of ''Manga/MagicalTarurutoKun'' almost rarely goes by the titled honorific, but is called by others based on their relationship and personality. His best friend and partner Honmaru doesn't give him any and flips between Taruruto and Taru, while many of the other guys like Jabao and Harako just use Taru. Females such as Iyona, Ms. Oaya and [[ParentalSubstitute Honmaru's mother Chizuru]] refer to him as Taru-chan. [[SelfProclaimedLoveInterest Mimora]] always uses "Taru-sama", Harako's grandfather uses "Taruru-kun" and antagonist Rivar and characters that don't know him well are the ones who use "Taruruto-kun". Meanwhile, The only honorific Taru uses if "-chan", exclusively for Iyona and Ijigawa. |
| 272 | ** Iyona always uses honorifics, from her peers to even her own mother, a reflection of her overly polite personality. |
| 273 | * ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'': When they finally meet, [[spoiler:[[PsychoSupporter Yuda]]]] addresses Maria as "Maria-sama", reflecting how [[LikeAGodToMe he has come to see her as a goddess]]. |
| 274 | * Kanna from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' uses "-sama" when referring to Tohru[[note]]"lady" in the english version[[/note]]. From her perspective it would make sense (Tohru's father is one of the leaders of the Chaos faction, and Tohru herself is one of the faction's higher ranking members), but it nearly blows the masquerade wide open when [[MuggleBestFriend Saikawa]] starts wondering why she's addressing the family maid so formally. |
| 275 | * ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': |
| 276 | ** Tsuyu Asui insists her classmates go on a FirstNameBasis with her, with a "-chan" for good measure, since she considers it a sign of friendship. She herself uses "-chan" for all of her classmates for this reason, regardless of what name she refers to them as. |
| 277 | ** Tenya Iida uses "-kun" for all his classmates regardless of gender, instead of referring to girls with the usual "-san". Combined with the above, he refers to Tsuyu with the double honorific "Tsuyu-chan-kun". |
| 278 | ** Momo Yaoyorozu generally calls all her classmates by their last names and "-san," regardless of their gender. |
| 279 | ** Midoriya is generally polite, using "-kun" on boys, "-san" on girls and adults, and "-sensei" on teachers. He does refer to Bakugo, his ChildhoodFriend of sorts as "[[AffectionateNickname Kacchan]]", uses "-chan" on Eri, a young girl. He uses “-senpai” for Mirio and the other two third year characters. He forgoes honorifics on villains, since even [[NiceGuy Midoriya]] doesn't see the need to be polite to them. |
| 280 | ** Long-time best friends Mirio Togata and Tamaki Amajiki use first names without honorifics on each other. Their bosses, the heroes Sir Nighteye and Fat Gum, respectively, also refer to them the same way. |
| 281 | *** Aizawa and Present Mic are the same way as well, just with either last names or first names instead of only first. They’ve been best friends since they went to U.A. as teens. |
| 282 | ** All Might refers to his students and especially Midoriya with the suffix “-shounen” which is equivalent to saying “Young (name)” in English. |
| 283 | ** Shouto Todoroki notably uses a more old fashioned and formal address for Endeavor, using “Oyagi” instead of one of the more friendly or affectionate ones, or even the more formal “Otoosan”. “Oyagi” tends to denote a stern, proper, old fashioned father who puts family honor and reputation above all else, which fits Endeavor’s character and strained relationship with his son very well. |
| 284 | * ''Anime/MyHime'' |
| 285 | ** [[SweetPollyOliver Akira]] is still called "-kun" even after being revealed as a girl. |
| 286 | ** Natsuki is also the only person Shizuru does not use honorifics on, which is a sign of their closeness. |
| 287 | ** Mai uses appropriate honorifics on most people, but forgoes them with Mikoto and Natsuki, who become her closest friends; her younger brother Takumi; and Yuuichi, whom she eventually falls in love with. |
| 288 | * ''Anime/MyOtome'': |
| 289 | ** When Yukino calls out "Haruka-chan!" after Haruka falls off a cliff (having forgotten to get permission to activate her GEM from Yukino), Haruka tells her that she "told (her) not to use -chan in public", as Yukino tends to call Haruka "Meister Haruka" or "Brigadier General" when on official business. Mashiro tends to not use honorifics on anyone, but uses "-me" on Nagi after learning about how horrific his plan really is toward the end. Mashiro is also called "Mashiro-chan" by Arika and Mai, but never complains about this. |
| 290 | ** Shiho uses "-san" on most of her classmates and juniors, regardless of whether she's trying to be polite. However, when Rosalie (a senior Otome with whom she does not get along), laughs at her when she trips during a confrontation with her, Shiho screams Rosalie's name without honorifics. |
| 291 | * In ''Manga/NagasareteAirantou'', Kagami (a 27-year old woman with a very girly mind) insists the teenage Ikuto call her Kagami-chan, actually attacking him when he refers to her as Kagami-san. This is to contrast her with her far more mature eleven-year-old daughter. |
| 292 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 293 | ** Within Team 7 alone, the kids (except Sasuke) use ''-sensei'' with Kakashi; this makes it into the English dub and the Latin-American dub (based off the English one.) |
| 294 | ** Naruto also calls the Fifth Hokage's ''"Tsunade-baachan"''; this is actually affectionate and not as insulting as the translation "Grandma Tsunade" conveys (although he's ''supposed'' to use "-sama" on her, since she's not only a Hokage, but a highly respected Sannin). Sakura, who is Tsunade's apprentice, refers to her as ''shishou'' instead, indicating how she views Tsunade as her master and teacher. |
| 295 | ** Shikamaru uses yobisute on his teacher, Asuma, although since the two are rather close, it doesn't come off as entirely disrespectful. He adds "taichou" to Asuma's name when declaring his plan to take down Hidan and Kakuzu and calls him "sensei" [[spoiler:when visiting his grave before the final battle with Hidan and Kakuzu.]] |
| 296 | ** Sai starts out calling Naruto "-kun" and Sakura "-san", but after becoming friends with them in the Sasuke and Sai arc and reading a book suggesting that continuing to use honorifics makes becoming closer to friends easier, decides to start using yobisute to become closer to them. |
| 297 | ** Hinata and Lee uses it on virtually everyone. Both seem to be pretty polite speakers compared to others. |
| 298 | ** Itachi, Kabuto and Orochimaru at one point address Naruto with "-kun", due to being varying degrees of AffablyEvil. Itachi uses "-san" on the jonin he fights after returning to the village, [[spoiler:possibly because he doesn't actually see them as enemies.]] |
| 299 | ** [[AxCrazy Hidan]] of the Akatsuki addresses Pain "-sama" attached to his name but as a sarcastic insult, since the man was one where the phrase "respect those who can easily kick your ass" did not seem to ring a bell in his thick skull. |
| 300 | *** He also one time referred to [[MadBomber Deidara]] with the suffix "-chan", probably in a teasing sort of way. But then again, [[MadArtist Deidara]] is a pretty blond haired boy... |
| 301 | ** Just before Naruto and Sasuke's fight on the hospital roof begins, as the argument between the two gets increasingly heated, Naruto mockingly calls Sasuke "Sasuke-chan." One exchange of SayMyName later, the battle is joined. |
| 302 | ** "-taichou" is commonly as an honorific to address squad leaders who aren't mentors to their subordinates. Naruto and Sakura use that form of address on Yamato. |
| 303 | ** Jiraiya's [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil former students turned terrorists]], Pain and Konan, still call him "sensei", even when they are actively trying to kill him. |
| 304 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': |
| 305 | ** An example of using 'kun' on females: Takamichi refers to all his students in this manner. Asuna-kun, Konoe-kun etc. |
| 306 | ** Various ways in which Negi's students address Negi ([[FirstNameBasis nobody, of course, ''ever'' using his last name!]]): |
| 307 | *** The polite ones (e.g. Nodoka, Chachamaru) address him with ''-sensei''. |
| 308 | *** More frivolous ones (e.g. Makie) address him with ''-kun''. |
| 309 | *** Some of them (particularly those who have somewhat patronizing attitude towards him, like Kaede or Chao) use the ''-bozu'' suffix, creating both an expression of playful endearment and a PunnyName, since the full name Negi-bozu can also be translated as 'Onion-head'. |
| 310 | ** Negi himself refers to all of the girls as -san, since he's a keigo user; the time he referred to a girl merely by her name ("Anya"), the girls actually were ''worried'' since it was obvious he felt close enough to her to drop honorifics. |
| 311 | ** There was also another incident involving ''yobisute'', but that was almost entirely for the sake of humor. |
| 312 | ** [[CuteGhostGirl Sayo]] uses the ''-san'' honorific for all her colleagues, probably because this was the social norm in the year 1940 when she died. She even adds the ''-san'' honorific to Nodoka's ''affectionate'' nickname "Hon'ya" ("bookstore keeper") with which ''-chan'' naturally goes. |
| 313 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': |
| 314 | ** Shinji never uses anything other than ''san''. Even then, he only uses it to adults and never uses honorifics within his own age group. He in turn receives ''kun'' from everyone else. Even Rei who never uses honorifics to anyone but a simple last name + rank addressing. |
| 315 | ** Gendo never uses honorifics. The only exception is his old professor, Fuyutsuki, whom he calls "Fuyutsuki-sensei". |
| 316 | ** Ritsuko is alternatively called ''hakase'' and ''senpai'' by Maya. The latter is almost never used by anyone else, except Asuka briefly calling Kaji ''senpai'' in episode 8. |
| 317 | *** In the English dub of End of Evangelion, it should be noted that in the [[spoiler:Instrumentality sequence]], Maya does not say "Senpai! Senpai! Senpai!" as in the original, but rather, repeats her superior's name several times. [[spoiler:Notably, she was implied to be secretly love with Ritsuko, so yeah.]] |
| 318 | ** Interestingly, the admiral in episode 8 uses ''kun'' with KAJI, of all people. The "-kun" is not a term of endearment (usually) so in this context it probably refers to the fact that Kaji is both younger than the admiral and a civilian. |
| 319 | ** The only exception to the rule regarding Shinji is [[ClosetKey Kaworu]], whom he calls "Kaworu-kun". |
| 320 | * ''Manga/NewGame'': |
| 321 | ** Hajime once suggests that if she become Ko's boss, she'll stop using "-san" on her. Both Ko and Yun say they'd quit if Hajime ended up in that position, much to Hajime's dismay. |
| 322 | ** Shizuku uses "-kun" on most of her subordinates, even though they, like most of the cast, are women. She simply calls Ko "Yagami," though, and refers to Christina by her first name without honorifics. |
| 323 | ** Hifumi uses "-chan" on Ko and Rin's first names, like with most of her younger coworkers, even though Ko and Rin are both a few years older than Hifumi and have been with the company for longer. When asked by Hajime, Hifumi explains that Ko had asked Hifumi to use her first name while they were practicing talking together, and Rin later did the same, apparently jealous that someone other than her was on a FirstNameBasis with Ko. |
| 324 | * ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'' brings us Sakamoto, a talking cat who [[InsistentTerminology regularly insists that his owners Professor and Nano call him "Sakamoto-san"]]. Unfortunately, whenever he addresses this, the duo call him "Sakamoto" without the "-san" several more times out of ignorance until he flips his shit over it. |
| 325 | * In the second season of ''Manga/NonNonBiyori'', little Renge is very excited when she hears she will be referred to as 'Miyauchi Renge-san' for her school opening ceremony, because she likes how grown-up it sounds. She practices responding to her name with Natsumi, but as ever the two quickly get carried away, until Natsumi yells out, 'MIYAUCHI RENGE-DONO!'. The two then salute one another, bathed in the morning sunlight, as Komari points out that Renge hasn't practiced responding at all. |
| 326 | * ''Anime/OddTaxi'': Supporting characters Kuroda and Donraku Shofutei are a rare depiction of two adult men who use "-chan" for each other -- Kuroda is called "Kuro-chan" and Donraku is "Don-chan". This is meant to signify that the two are ''very'' close friends, which clues the audience into Kuroda's true intentions for wanting to find the missing girl; [[spoiler:she's Donraku's daughter and Kuroda is trying to help his old friend find her]]. |
| 327 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 328 | ** In the setting, "-san" generally seems to be considered somewhat more formal than it is in real life, with few characters doing it unless they're polite by nature or owe the addressee more respect than most people. |
| 329 | ** Kuroobi, one of Arlong's men, is somewhat annoyed that Nami (an unwilling member of the crew who only goes along with them to buy back her village) doesn't use "-san" on Arlong like the rest of the Arlong Pirates do. Arlong doesn't seem to mind, though. |
| 330 | ** Wapol's subordinates typically address him as "Wapol-sama," before and during his return to Drum Island. This causes a slight DubInducedPlothole in the English manga, when they initially address him as "Captain Wapol" when he appears to be a mere pirate, but change to "King Wapol" after he is revealed as the former king, and when he makes landfall to reclaim his throne. |
| 331 | ** Sanji uses "-chan" on most ladies, but uses "-san" on Nami, which is said to be because of Nami's "queenly" nature. When he feels extra lovey-dovey, he'll add a "w" to make them sound cuter, leading to "-swan" or "-chwan". |
| 332 | ** Nami returns the favor by referring to Sanji as Sanji-kun. However, in Chapter 844, she gets upset enough to address him without the "-kun" before slapping him. |
| 333 | ** Sogeking tends to use "Kun" for everyone, including himself (that is, Usopp when he isn't being Sogeking). |
| 334 | ** As part of his polite, formal speech style, Brook uses "-san" on all of his crewmates ("Luffy-san", "Zoro-san", etc.), and also for allies or friends of the crew, sometimes in conjunction with their nicknames (such as "Traffy-san" for Law, "Kin'emon-san", and "Pedro-san"). Likewise, Vivi uses "-san" on all of the Straw Hats save for Chopper, whom she calls "[[AffectionateNickname Tony-kun]]." |
| 335 | ** And in the original Japanese, Trafalgar Law favors "-ya", the equivalent of a sarcastic "mister" when addressing anyone. |
| 336 | ** Camie the mermaid uses "-chin" on everyone, leading to some confusion when she calls Hatchan (the "chan" is an actual part of his name") "Hacchin". |
| 337 | ** Kin'emon uses "dono" when talking to others (mostly the main characters and Law), since he is a {{samurai}}. He also uses "-sama" on Momonosuke, when not trying to hide that Momonosuke is Kin'emon's lord Oden's son, since Momonosuke's cover identity is as Kin'emon's son. |
| 338 | ** Bartolomeo, being a fan of the Straw Hat Pirates, addresses everyone in the crew with "senpai". |
| 339 | ** Shirahoshi is so kind and polite that she refers to everyone by the honorific ''sama'', even though she is a princess. It also leads to confusion when she overhears someone else use another honorific on top of that, leading to ''double'' honorifics like "Nami-chin-sama", "Vivi-chan-sama" or "Mansherry-chan-sama". |
| 340 | ** Vergo insists that Law address him using the "-san" honorific, and [[BeatStillMyHeart crushes his heart]] when he [[BerserkButton doesn't]]. Law eventually does use the honorific... right before he [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cuts Vergo in half]] and leaves him to die in a building that's about to explode. |
| 341 | * ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': |
| 342 | ** Haruhi always uses -senpai when talking to Tamaki, who is in the year above her. When she does the same thing during summer vacation, he shouts at her "I'm not your senpai! I'm just an acquaintance." [[spoiler:She even does this after they've been dating for 2 years.]] |
| 343 | ** The Hitaachin twins often attach "-dono/tono" to [[ShelteredAristocrat Tamaki's]] name, teasing his status as "King" of the HostClub, though by the end of the manga they've come to respect him enough to address him as "tono" entirely without irony. |
| 344 | ** [[DeliberatelyCuteChild Honey]] calls everyone "-chan" except for his cousin, Mori. This is carried over into the English dub. |
| 345 | * In ''Literature/{{Paprika}}'', Atsuko Chiba claims to be annoyed when Tokita addresses her as At-chan. Although one initially assumes that it's because such a form of address is way too intimate between co-workers, it later turns out that [[spoiler:it's because she herself is in love with him.]] |
| 346 | * ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'': |
| 347 | ** Yuri Tokikago refers to her own fiancé as "Tabuki-kun" rather than his first name, even when no one else is around and [[ChildhoodFriends despite them knowing each other since primary school]]. It might at first seem like an extension of her {{Ojou}} persona, but late in the series [[spoiler:it turns out to have been foreshadowing of the fact that their relationship is fake, and Tabuki is TheBeard to her]]. She also refers to Ringo as "Ringo-chan", likely due to Ringo's extreme youth [[spoiler:and because she sees her as a borderline ReplacementGoldfish for Momoka, Ringo's dead sister and Yuri's first love [[TheMourningAfter whom she's still mourning for]].]] |
| 348 | ** Ringo refers to the Takakura boys by name and attaching "-kun", since they're on the same age bracket; she also calls their sister "Himari-chan", since Himari is younger than her. On the other hand, Shouma and Kanba call her "Oginome-san" (likely to be polite [[spoiler:and to keep some distance from her, like they do with almost everyone else]]) and Himari refers to her as "Ringo-chan". |
| 349 | ** Masako is [[{{Ojou}} a high-class girl]] with [[FormalCharactersUseKeigo VERY formal speech patterns]], and she refers to almost ''everyone'' as "-san". Including her maid Renjaku and [[spoiler:her little brother]] Mario. The ''only'' one she doesn't use this with is Kanba, whom she uses ''yobisute'' with [[spoiler:because they're HalfIdenticalTwins.]] |
| 350 | * The dub of ''Anime/Persona5TheAnimation'' retains honorifics, which is relatively unusual for an English dub of an anime. |
| 351 | * ''Anime/APlaceFurtherThanTheUniverse'': |
| 352 | ** While the four main characters call each other by their first names or nicknames, they use different honorifics. Shirase and Hinata use yobisute on the other girls, Kimari uses "-chan" (except for one time when she calls Shirase "[[LastNameBasis Kobuchizawa-san]]" shortly after meeting her), and Yuzuki, who's a year younger than the others, uses "-san" out of respect for them. |
| 353 | ** Since Shirase is the daughter of Takako Kobuchizawa, a member of the previous civilian expedition to Antarctica, some members who knew the family, such as Kanae, call her "Shirase-chan." When Kanae, one such member, introduces Shirase as the latter prepares to address the expedition, Kane calls her "[[FullNameBasis Kobuchizawa Shirase-san]]." |
| 354 | * ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': |
| 355 | ** Madoka, being a NaiveEverygirl, has a habit of addressing virtually every girl she knows as "[[FirstNameBasis first name]]-''chan''" with the exception of Mami, whom she addresses as Mami-''san'' out of respect for Mami, who's a year older than Madoka. On the other hand, she addresses the boys as "[[LastNameBasis last name]]-''kun''", showing that she's more closer to girls than to boys. |
| 356 | ** Sayaka, being a tomboyish girl, calls everyone ([[HeyYou except Homura]]) by their first name and rarely uses honorifics on anyone (except for Mami), the only two occasions are during ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica'', where she addresses herself as Sayaka-''san'', and in the first Drama CD, where she addresses Homura as Akemi-''san'' [[spoiler:in the first timeline]]. |
| 357 | ** Mami always goes for "last name-''san''" due to her age and emotional distance to the others. |
| 358 | ** Kyoko [[HeyYou rarely calls anyone by their name]], even when she does [[spoiler:towards Sayaka]], she does not use any honorifics, this is due to her arrogant, cynical and selfish nature. [[spoiler:In the third drama CD and ''The Different Story'', she, like Sayaka and Madoka, calls Mami "Mami-san" out of respect]]. |
| 359 | ** Homura at one point addresses her friends as "last name-''san''" before switching to FullNameBasis without honorifics to distance herself from the others, with the exception of Madoka, whom she refers by her first name without honorifics [[spoiler:out of Madoka's request]]. This is [[spoiler:an act of her deliberately distancing herself from the others and her shift from a ShrinkingViolet into TheStoic.]] |
| 360 | ** Kyubey never uses honorifics because he [[spoiler:[[BlueAndOrangeMorality may simply not understand the need to be polite]], as opposed to being direct.]] |
| 361 | * ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': The five Nakano sisters refer to male lead Fuutarou Uesugi varying not only on honorifics, but also on FirstNameBasis and LastNameBasis, reflecting how close they are to him as well as their personalities and quirks. Interestingly, the sisters don't use honorifics amongst each other, except for Ichika using "-chan" with Itsuki. In order: |
| 362 | ** [[CoolBigSis Ichika]] is the most flirtatious and teasing out of the five, and refers to him as "Fuutarou-kun". |
| 363 | ** [[{{Tsundere}} Nino]] refers to him by his surname without honorifics, reflecting that she's the most antagonistic towards him. [[spoiler:After she falls in love with him, she switches to the AffectionateNickname "Fuu-kun".]] |
| 364 | ** [[MiddleChildSyndrome Miku]] calls him by his first name without honorifics, at first because she seems uninterested in formalities, but later she continues to call him that way because she likes him. [[spoiler:She's also the one to come up with the aforementioned "Fuu-kun".]] |
| 365 | ** [[GenkiGirl Yotsuba]] calls him "Uesugi-san". [[spoiler:As the later chapters reveal, she used to call him by his first name back when they were children, but tried to distance herself from him despite still being in love with him.]] |
| 366 | ** [[TheBabyOfTheBunch Itsuki]] calls him "Uesugi-kun", partly due to her speaking in keigo and trying to be polite while also keeping some distance from him. |
| 367 | * ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': |
| 368 | ** Teenagers Ranma and Ukyō have pet names for each other using the truncated name + ''-chan'' structure ("Ranchan" and "Ucchan", the latter doubling as a pun on her Kansai dialect). These date back to their initial friendship at age six. At least one background character, upon hearing their use, commented that this was "little kid stuff". These are carried over largely without explanation in the English dub, though Ukyō's habitual "Ran-chan" is often translated as "Ranma-honey" instead. |
| 369 | ** Likewise, Sōun and Genma always refer to each other as "Saotome-kun" and "Tendo-kun", reflecting their status as old friends and fellow students of Happōsai. In their case it's supposed to sound more adolescent than juvenile. |
| 370 | ** Ranma repeatedly refuses to acknowledge the ultra-rich buffoon Tatewaki Kunō's insistence that Ranma show him the respect due an upperclassman by addressing him as "Senpai". The dub translates this mostly literally as demanding to be called "Upperclassman Kuno." Whenever Ranma does use ''-sempai'', he tends to either deliberately mispronounce Kunō's name so it sounds more like "no abilities" than "nine abilities", or (in the manga, naturally) use katakana to denote a mocking pronunciation of the term. |
| 371 | ** Likewise, Nabiki invariably refers to Kunō as Kunō-chan (translated as "Kunō-baby" in the English dub) as a way to mock his excessive formality. It's hard to combine a formal name with the diminutive "-chan" in a way that doesn't imply sarcasm, derision or even contempt. |
| 372 | ** Ranma and Akane consistently address each other using ''yobisute'', and the lack of honorifics underlines both their status as the OfficialCouple and the ambiguous WillTheyOrWontThey nature of their relationship. The reason Kunō first gets mad at Ranma for addressing Akane so casually was because Ranma was using ''yobisute''. |
| 373 | ** Cologne refers to Ranma as "muko-dono" (son-in-law). |
| 374 | ** While this usage may not be entirely linguistically correct, it has long been traditional in Western anime fandom to use "Ranma-kun" and "Ranma-chan" to refer to Ranma when he is in his male and female aspects, respectively. |
| 375 | ** Kodachi will usually refer to Ranma as "Ranma-sama" (Dearest Ranma), which was translated as "Ranma sir" in the early manga and "Ranma Darling" in the dub. |
| 376 | ** Kasumi, as one might expect, uses (and receives) textbook-perfect honorifics (erring on the polite side) underlining her status as the resident YamatoNadeshiko. She always uses "-kun" for the boys. Her sisters, being family, get either "imouto" or ''yobisute'', and Akane and Nabiki refer to her with the affectionate ''oneechan''. It's worth noting that Ranma, who tends to be either sloppy or sarcastic with his honorifics, ''always'' speaks respectfully to Kasumi, and even calls her "Kasumi-oneechan" (beloved big sister Kasumi) on occasion, just like the girls do. Kasumi herself addressed Ranma as "-chan" right after their very first meeting, when the Tendo sisters still thought she was just a girl. |
| 377 | ** When Ranma disguises ''her''self as Akane's cousin "Ranko" in Nodoka's (Ranma's mother) presence, everyone addresses her as "Ranko-chan," even Ranma herself. |
| 378 | ** And at the height of arrogance, the character Saffron from the end of the manga refers to himself as "yo-sama" (''yo'' being an archaic and extremely honorable first-person pronoun.) To take it further, to refer to oneself as "-sama" is considered ''extremely'' arrogant and rude. |
| 379 | * ''Manga/RentAGirlfriend'': |
| 380 | ** Ruka usually calls Kazuya, the guy she likes, "Kazuya-kun," until she asks for a birthday gift- the right to call him by his first name without honorifics. Kazuya nonchalantly agrees, not realizing that Ruka intends to rub it in the face of her rival, Chizuru (who usually calls him "Kazuya-san" when she refers to him by name.) |
| 381 | ** Kazuya's grandmother Nagomi, who's enamored with Kazuya's supposed girlfriend Chizuru, generally calls her "Chizuru-hime" ("Princess Chizuru") or "Chizuru-san." |
| 382 | * ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' has power and hierarchy in relationships as a major theme, so it's no surprise that honorifics are used in all sorts of interesting ways to reveal this. (The dub tries its best to get the idea across, but can't always manage.) There's ''lots'' of examples, but one of the major ones is Anthy's habit of using ''-sama'' for the current winner of the duels. At the beginning of the show, she always addresses Saionji as Saionji-''sama'' (translated here as "Master Saionji"). Then, after Utena defeats him, Anthy emotionally devastates him with one sentence: |
| 383 | -->'''Anthy:''' "Take it easy, Saionji-... ''sempai''." |
| 384 | * ''Manga/ARoomForTwo'' |
| 385 | ** Seri is naturally polite and uses honorifics on just about everyone. An entire chapter is spent with her roommate Shouko trying to get Seri to stop using "-san" on her. |
| 386 | ** Sakurako uses "-chan" on Kasumi, her best friend since the start of high school, despite using yobisute on most of her other friends. She notes that it feels most natural to call her that. |
| 387 | * ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': |
| 388 | ** Yahiko is once teased by a couple of {{Delinquents}} calling him "Yahiko-chan"; the Latin American dub leaves the "chan", implying he hates being called like that. In a side story, he [[BerserkButton gets quite annoyed when a girl calls him that]], but ruefully accepts the title after failing to protect the girl from some thugs. Kanryuu becomes enraged when [[TheDragon Aoshi]] refers to him without honorifics. |
| 389 | *** In Yahiko's case, when the manga was translated for Brazilian audiences, it was shown by having him called "Yahikozinho". The suffix "-zinho" turns his name into "Little Yahiko". In the anime, he was called "Garoto (Boy) Yahiko". He hates being considered a child and/or small. |
| 390 | ** Kenshin consistently uses "Kaoru-dono" to show that he genuinely respects [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids her idealism]]. He also refers to Misao, as well as Toki and Shigure from TheMovie, as "-dono". Again, likely to show his respect to their thoughts and beliefs. For the most part simply a normal way of old-school samurai speech.[[note]]Kenshin technically isn't actually a samurai but a common-born ''kenshi''; however, he was adopted and trained by a swordmaster whose style descends from a daimyo of the Sengoku Period and largely acts by their values.[[/note]] Kenshin as a rule speaks ''very'' politely and old-fashioned, so him using the "-dono" honorific is only to be expected, even if it hasn't yet fallen out of use even among the general population. Notably, during the Udo Jin-e storyline, Kenshin addresses a blowhard politician he's protecting as "Tani-san", and Shishio Makoto, a fellow former revolutionary assassin, takes offense at Kenshin using no honorific at all on their first meeting. |
| 391 | --->'''Kenshin:''' So ''you'' are Shishio Makoto.\ |
| 392 | '''Shishio:''' How rude. "Shishio Makoto-''kun''", at least. |
| 393 | * ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' uses -chan to address all the Inner girls, including Rei. Rei herself, on the other hand, uses ''-chan'' for Usagi once, then stops after Usagi angers her and from then on she refers to her as simply "Usagi". It's stated many times through out the series that Usagi and Rei are actually very close despite their bickering, which is likely why Usagi never complains. On the other hand, she refers to Mamoru as "Mamo-chan" as they become the OfficialCouple, and calls the Outer Senshi "-san" since they're older than them. Mamoru uses the pet name Usa-ko for Usagi. |
| 394 | ** Also, the [[Anime/SailorMoon R movie]] shows just how ingrained in Japanese culture the use of honorifics is. Rei is the only one not to use an honorific when shouting Usagi's name when Usagi briefly dies. (Marmou uses Usa-ko in this scene as well however) |
| 395 | ** In the original Japanese anime, Zoisite refers to his lover Kunzite as "-sama"; the subs would typically translate this as "master". When Viz dubbed the anime, they dropped all honorifics and "master" due to reasons of ValuesDissonance. |
| 396 | * In ''AudioPlay/SaintBeast'', while the god Zeus is called Zeus-sama by most angels, some of the high-rank angels will use -dono for both Zeus and each other to convey (often sarcastic) respect without belittling their own station. When not making subtle digs at each other they almost always drop honorifics altogether, whether friends or enemies. |
| 397 | * ''Manga/{{Saki}}'': |
| 398 | ** Koromo gets annoyed when people treat her like a kid, such as when Saki, who's a year younger than she is, calls her "Koromo-chan". |
| 399 | ** Professional Mahjong players are typically referred to by their last name and "-pro". Amusingly enough, in ''Saki Biyori'', when Sukoya Kokaji and Kouko Fuyuko go to a restaurant and Kouko registers their names, the waitress calls out to Sukoya as "Kokaji-pro-sama", and Sukoya wondered why her name was written down with "pro" on the end. |
| 400 | * ''Anime/SamuraiSeven'' has a very frequent use of -dono, which is preserved in the English dub. One clearly deliberate use of it is that Heihachi will add that to the name of the peasant-born Kikuchiyo when he wants to flatter him. |
| 401 | * In ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', protagonist Nozomu is called Itoshiki-sensei by his class, which creates some confusion when Kafuka meets his identical looking older brother, a doctor, who would also be addressed as "sensei", who she initially confuses for him. The girls address each other as x-chan, and in one instance, when Nozomu's sister is addressed this way by a student who has only met her once, she gives a dirty look. In one episode/chapter, Nozomu "becomes" a high school student again, and is thus addressed as Itoshiki-kun. |
| 402 | * ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'': |
| 403 | ** The protagonist Yuuichiro, aside from getting his name shortened into "Yuu" by most people who know him, also get different honorifics from some people - Yoichi with "Yuu-''kun''" (regarding his NiceGuy and polite nature), Shinoa with "Yuu-''san''" (she's polite, too, but in a somewhat teasing and exaggerated way), and last but not least, Mikaela with "Yuu-''chan''" (they are ChildhoodFriends who see the other as their LivingEmotionalCrutch and [[HoYay/SeraphOfTheEnd maybe more]].) |
| 404 | ** Mika is not the only one to use ''-chan'' on him, though, as Akane and Ferid (occasionally) also use it. However, seeing how Akane is dead and Ferid uses it as a TermsOfEndangerment, Mika's usage is the only one with both plot significance ([[spoiler: a soldier actually told Mika the true whereabouts of Yuu, while giving red herrings to his partners because she thought she could trust someone who called Yuu "Yuu-'''chan'''"]]) and [[HoYay/SeraphOfTheEnd complete endearment.]] |
| 405 | * ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Keroro refers to everyone in the Hinata family by the respectful honorific ''-dono''. Yes, even Natsumi (who constantly abuses him). |
| 406 | * ''Anime/{{Shirobako}}'': |
| 407 | ** Amusingly, the younger members of the anime club, Midori and Misa, use double honorifics. They call Aoi "Oi-chan-senpai", and call Shizuka "Zuka-chan-senpai," while Ema is simply "[[FirstNameBasis Ema]]-senpai" to them. Midori also calls Misa "Mii-chan-senpai"; the former was a first-year and the latter was a second-year when the other three graduated. Some of Aoi's friends call her older sister, Kaori, "Kao-chan-nee-san." The older girls use nicknames on those their age or younger, while Aoi and Shizuka simply call Ema by name without honorifics. |
| 408 | ** Tarou is called by his first name without honorifics by much of the office, as a sign of how little they respect him. |
| 409 | ** When Ogasawara isn't referred to by her surname, she's called "Goth Loli-sama," and occasionaly, "Rinko-han." |
| 410 | ** While Aoi and Ema are close enough to call each other "Ema" and "Oi-chan," at work, Aoi refers to Ema as "Yasuhara-san" when speaking with coworkers, just like how she calls virtually everyone else by their last name and "-san" (even Tarou, whom the majority of the office calls by his first name without honorifics out of disrespect). When speaking with Segawa(a freelance animator who works for [=MusAni=]), Aoi simply calls Ema "Yasuhara," since it wouldn't be appropriate to use an honorific in that situation. |
| 411 | * Toward the end of ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'', Asa makes Rin stop calling her "Asa-senpai" [[spoiler:after they get into a relationship]], and he starts calling her "Asa-san" instead. |
| 412 | * Hanamichi Sakuragi from ''Manga/SlamDunk'' uses honorifics (more exactly, "-san") almost exclusively towards women -- complete with rather polite speech patterns, indicating his GentleGiant side. In regards to his gangster friends, Sakuragi resorts to ''yobisute'' aka referring to them without any pronouns, which exemplifies their TrueCompanions bond. And towards all other dudes... well, he's TheNicknamer, but some of these nicknames ''do'' include honorifics (Kogure is "Megane-kun" and {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}} Miyagi is "Ryou-chin", both ''very'' affectionate by Sakuragi's standards, while OTOH DeadpanSnarker ex-{{Delinquent}} Mitsui is "Micchin" specifically to piss Mitsui off.) And if Sakuragi ''absolutely'' has to use the dude's real name, he'll go for ''yobisute''. |
| 413 | * ''Manga/SPYxFamily'': |
| 414 | ** Yor Forger is so polite that she uses the honorific "-san" with pretty much everyone, ''including'' her own stepdaughter Anya (the subs often translate this as "Miss Anya", a pretty weird way for a parent to call their child). The only exception seems to be her brother Yuri, whom she calls by name alone. |
| 415 | ** Anya actually addresses her parents Loid and Yor as "chichi" and "haha" rather than "otousan" and "okaasan"[[note]]although at her age "touchan" and "kaachan" would be more likely[[/note]], even though this is grammatically incorrect, since those are how you describe your parents when talking to someone else. It's a sign that she was adopted after [[EscapedFromTheLab escaping from the lab]] where she was given her {{Telepathy}} and consequently never even knew her own real parents. |
| 416 | * ''Manga/SquidGirl'': |
| 417 | ** When the title character isn't called straight "Ika Musume", she's called Ika-neechan (dubbed to "Squid Girlie") by Takeru, and "Ika-chan" ("Squiddie") by her #1 fanfin-girl Sanae, and her best friend Kiyomi. |
| 418 | ** Also, when Nagisa is pretending not to be afraid of Ika anymore, she calls her "-senpai". |
| 419 | * During a FlashBack in one of the later episodes of ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi2'', the English dub actually has a child using the ''-tan'' honorific without explanation. |
| 420 | * While ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' doesn't have any particularly unusual uses of honorifics, there is one scene that bears mentioning: during conversation, [[{{Tsundere}} Kurisu]] casually refers to the protagonist by his last name, Okabe, with no honorific. When he [[BerserkButton flies into a rage]], she hastily tries to explain that, despite how ''he'' view their relationship (scientist -> assistant), she doesn't actually have any respect for him. Even though it turns out he's only angry because [[DoNotCallMePaul she called him "Okabe" rather than "Hououin"]] and couldn't care less about honorifics, the fact that she was genuinely afraid he was about to start ''beating her over it'' does illustrate just [[SeriousBusiness how seriously this can be taken over there]]. |
| 421 | * In ''Still Sick'', use of honorifics helps set up the FirstEpisodeTwist. An editor for a manga magazine addresses Maekawa as "Maekawa-sensei," revealing that unbeknownst to the readers and Shimizu, Maekawa was a published manga artist. |
| 422 | * ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': |
| 423 | ** After discovering Tenchi's royal ancestry, Princess Ayeka almost invariably calls him "Tenchi-sama". In the dub this is translated as "Lord" matching the more archaic usage. (She also speaks in an archaic, formal Japanese which [[AccentAdaptation is rendered in English by the device of a British accent]].) |
| 424 | ** Washu (who is 20,000 years old and the galaxy's greatest scientific mind) [[InsistentTerminology insists on being called "Washu-chan"]] ("Little Washu" in the dubbed version) by everyone (except Ryoko, who she insists should call her "Mom" instead), ''especially'' ultra-formal Ayeka. She generally refers to Tenchi as "Tenchi-dono", indicating her age. |
| 425 | ** Ryoko, being extremely informal and not at all interested in other people's concepts of what's polite, doesn't use honorifics. Tenchi, on the other hand, uses standard honorifics for everyone ''except'' Ryoko, who he addresses by name only. |
| 426 | * ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': |
| 427 | ** Lordgenome (yes, one word) is either called this or Genome-sama. However, there's at least one occasion where he's called [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Lordgenome-sama]]... |
| 428 | ** [[LargeHam Kamina]] also refers to himself repeatedly as Kamina-sama. And when he first names Lagann, he uses "Lagann-sama". |
| 429 | ** Then there's Andine's habit of addressing the protagonists with "[[HumansAreBastards ningen-domo]]"[[note]]ningen = human[[/note]]. She also calls Nia [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment hime-sama]]. ("Princess") |
| 430 | *** Nia herself addresses Lordgenome as [[WellDoneSonGuy "otousama"]] ("Lord Father") |
| 431 | *** "Hime" is actually more a normal word than an honorific, and so is itself able to take honorifics. It's indeed almost always used as "hime-sama". |
| 432 | ** In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Simon]] calls the boy ''bozu'' who in turn calls him ''ojiisan''. He's not offended by it since he's in his forties at the time. |
| 433 | * Practically all of Lala's inventions in ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' are referred to with "-kun", despite them being lifeless tools; "Maru-Maru Change-kun", "Go-Go Vacuum-kun", "Suke-Suke Goggle-kun", etc. |
| 434 | * In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', Ichigo's use of honorifics (or lack thereof) can say a great deal about how she gets along with the person in question. She uses first names without honorifics on most of her friends, but uses "-san" on Zakuro out of respect, since Zakuro is older than her. As much as she wants to call Masaya Aoyama, the boy she likes, by his first name without honorifics, she's still a bit too bashful to ask him herself, so she calls him the more formal "Aoyama-kun" for the entire series. She uses "-san" on Akasaka, but deliberately omits honorifics from Shirogane's name out of rudeness, since they don't get along. |
| 435 | * In ''Manga/TonariNoKashiwagiSan'' it's {{discussed|Trope}} by Kazuki and Sayaka once their relationship advances enough. He goes through "Sayaka", "Sayaka-chan", and "Sayaka-san", with various negative responses from her, before settling on simply "Saya", which causes her to blush, when deciding what to call her after they've been dating for a while. |
| 436 | * The manga ''Manga/YamadaKunAndTheSevenWitches'' probably wouldn't have its name if the titular character weren't regularly addressed with the -kun suffix. Of the main cast, it's only Shiraishi and Tamaki who consistently use "-kun" for him, though - Itou, Tsubaki, Odagiri, and Kurosaki use no honorifics for him, Arisugawa uses "senpai", and Miyamura depends on the context. |
| 437 | ** Yamazaki and Tamaki use "-kun" for everyone, boys and girls. |
| 438 | ** Initially, Shiraishi addresses Itou by her last name and "-san", but later uses "Miyabi-chan". Not only to signify that the two of them have become closer friends, but also to show that Shiraishi is opening up more in general. |
| 439 | ** Yamada himself never uses honorifics on others, except for when he has to play another person during a body swap. |
| 440 | ** Asuka has the most polite use of honorifics in the series, using "-sama" for Yamazaki and "-san" for everybody else. |
| 441 | ** Himekawa very indiscriminately uses "-san" for all boys (except her childhood friend Yuri, to whom she uses "-kun") and "-chan" for all girls, not always paying regard to the context. |
| 442 | * In ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Manjyome always corrects anyone who doesn't give him any honorifics when saying his name with "san da" (essentially, "That's ''Mr.'' Manjyome, to you!). For some reason, every other character mistakes him as saying the Japanese pronunciation of the English "thunder", hence his now-longstanding nickname "Manjyome Thunder" (and variants). |
| 443 | ** In the [[Manga/YuGiOhGX manga]], however, he doesn't seem to mind Judai just calling him "Manjoume", or Sho calling in "Manjoume-kun". Makes sense, though, as he's supposed to be more serious and [[AdaptationalBadass badass]] than his more funny anime counterpart. |
| 444 | * ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'': The TrueCompanions are on a FirstNameBasis with each other, with the exception of Mimori Togo. Togo is always called "Togo-san". As it turns out, her best friend Yuna uses it simply because she finds it cool sounding. |
| 445 | * ''Manga/YuriIsMyJob'': |
| 446 | ** The series focuses on Liebe Girls' Academy salon, in which the employees roleplay as students at an all-girls' school, similar to ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs''. In it, underclassmen are expected to address their seniors as "-sama", but instead call their "schwester" (a term for a one half of a pair of girls who exchange their respective kreusz) as "OneeSama". Upperclassmen usually use "-san" on their juniors. |
| 447 | ** Interestingly enough, Sumika is somewhat more formal with her close friends Mai and Nene than she is with Hime, Mitsuki and Kanoko, who are merely acquaintances [[spoiler:although the latter does eventually become Sumika's schwester]]. She uses "-san" on the former group and "-chan" on the latter group due to the former being older. The only person she refuses to use honorifics on is Yoko Goeido, whom she hates with a passion. |
| 448 | * ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'': |
| 449 | ** Sakura uses "-chan" on most of her fellow zombies, apart from Yugiri. This includes Junko, who was not only older than Sakura at the time of their respective deaths, but died long before Sakura was born. While she was alive, she referred to a male classmate ([[spoiler:strongly implied to be Kotaro]]) as "Inui-kun." |
| 450 | ** Lily uses "-chan" on most of the others, but uses yobisute on Kotaro's surname, probably because she doesn't like him. |
| 451 | ** Yugiri, a courtesan from the Meiji period, uses "-han" on most people. |
| 452 | ** Junko's the most formal of the zombies, using "-san" on all the others's surnames. This continues even after Episode 10, when she starts calling Sakura by her first name, and Season 2 also shows she's started calling Ai "Ai-san." |
| 453 | [[/folder]] |
| 454 | |
| 455 | [[folder:FanWorks]] |
| 456 | * In the ''Anime/LoveLive'' doujin ''[[https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/as_our_lives_become_interwoven As Our Lives Become Interwoven]]'', Eli is a bit tickled when Umi's older sister switches from calling her "Eli-san" to "Eli-chan," a change Eli notices immediately. |
| 457 | * ''Don't Call Me Hanamaru-san'', a ''Manga/LoveLiveSunshine'' doujin has this as a plot point. When Dia and Hanamaru were young, Dia called Hanamaru "[[AffectionateNickname Maru-chan]]," while Hanamaru used "chan" on Dia's first name, but they switched to "san" when they got older. Eventually, Hanamaru asks Dia why she stopped using the nickname, and Dia says that when Hanamaru switched to "-san", she also decided to address Hanamaru more formally out of respect for her maturity. Despite that, Dia realizes that [[InnocentlyInsensitive she was making Hanamaru sad by doing so,]] and they switch back to their more informal address by the end of the doujin. |
| 458 | * In ''Manga/ErikaChange'', Erika, who transfers to Oarai in this doujin, generally doesn't use honorifics on her teammates, due to being significantly less polite than Miho. She does, however, seem to respect Hana enough to use "-san" on her. |
| 459 | * ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Japan uses "-kun" for [[LoveInterests Italy]] and Pochi, "-chan" for children, and "-san" for everyone else. The only one who ''doesn't'' get an honorific is [[ArchEnemy Russia]]. |
| 460 | * ''Fanfic/KitsuneNoKenFistOfTheFox'', a ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' HighSchoolAU story, has various uses of honorifics by different characters under different contexts. |
| 461 | ** Ino gets called "Ino-chan" most usually by Hinata, as an indicator of their close friendship, but she's also been addressed with that honorific by Kushina and, at one point, Choji's father Choza, in a parental sort of way in both cases. Ino herself uses "-kun" for Sasuke and Sai as a mark of affection, though she also uses it to Naruto once after he gifts her with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood pudding]]; she also regularly uses "-san" for Kushina. |
| 462 | ** Speaking of Hinata, she frequently uses honorifics with others, in keeping with her canon personality. Of course, there's her use of "-kun" for Naruto, but she's also used the same honorific with Sasuke and a few of the other boys in their age-group. She also regularly addresses Itachi, Yugito, and Kushina with "-san." |
| 463 | ** Lee has also been shown as using honorifics with almost everyone, in keeping with his canon personality. The only two he ''doesn't'' use honorifics with are Neji and Tenten, both of whom are his close personal friends (though Lee does use the "-san" honorific with Neji a couple of times in early chapters, what with Neji being the StudentCouncilPresident). |
| 464 | ** The teachers at Konoha High School, as befitting their roles as educators, usually get addressed as "(name)-sensei" by their students or their peers. Kakashi, the math teacher, is the most frequent recipient of this. |
| 465 | ** The respective household staff of the Hyuga and Uchiha families refer to their employers with "-sama." In the case of Hinata, the Hyuga family servants are especially endearing about it, largely because [[SpoiledSweet she's such a sweetheart]], and head servant Kabuto uses the honorific with all the Hyuga family members as a mark of deference (and also addresses Naruto with "-kun" out of formality). On one occasion, though, gang boss Yagura--who hails from a rough neighborhood in Mist City and is known for being rude--sarcastically addresses Neji as "Neji-''sama''," emphasizing the honorific as a particular token of disrespect. |
| 466 | ** Matsuri also tends to use honorifics with others, most usually "-sama" when addressing or referring to Gaara and his siblings because she's their employee and she holds them in high regard. (Kankuro, in turn, calls her "Matsuri-chan," except on one occasion when he deliberately leaves off the honorific as an indication of displeasure.) She's even been known to use honorifics with people she doesn't particularly hold in high regard, such as Yagura, who she addresses with "-san." The one person she definitely and consistently does not use honorifics with at any time is Hinata, who she hates (and that feeling is mutual). |
| 467 | * As a general rule in ''Fanfic/LiberiFatalisTheTherianthropeChronicles'', foreign honorifics are used as a TranslationConvention when two people speaks in a foreign language, but there's a third or more parties hearing the conversation, in order to indicate that those parties are unable to understand the dialog. |
| 468 | ** This is especially used a lot during the ''ComicBook/{{Katmandu}}'' storyline, since [[OriginalCharacter Akane Araki]], a woman from Japan, speak Japanese a lot with certain persons who understand her language, mainly Liska, the protagonist of the comic, and also [[spoiler:Mother Sanna, Chief Pownetkee, and Mina Shirahama, the former two are the main tribal authorities in the Highland tribe and the latter is Liska's friend who hails from [[{{Wutai}} Hinowa]], the planet Katmandu's equivalent of feudal Japan]]. |
| 469 | * Parodied in ''WebVideo/NarutoTheAbridgedComedyFandubSpoofSeriesShow'', with Naruto himself referring to [[Music/DavidBowie Kakashi]] as David Bowie-sama-sensei-senpai-san-sama...kun. |
| 470 | ** In [[TheMovie the movie]], they refer to the main antagonist as M. Night Shyamamalama-sama-kun. |
| 471 | * In one omake for the ''Manga/{{Saki}}'' doujin ''[[https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/neutral_position#32 Neutral Position]]'' '''(Doujin is not safe for work, but the omake is)''', Mairu asks Himeko (whom she calls by her first name without honorifics) not to call her by her title of ClubPresident. Himeko tries "[[LastNameBasis Shirouzu]]-senpai," but Mairu says that it's too formal, and when Himeko tries "Mairu-san," Mairu tells her not to use "-san." Himeko then stammers out Mairu's name without honorifics, something Mairu finds cute. |
| 472 | * In ''Fanfic/NewHopeUniversityMajorInMurder'', Mackenzie calls Katy, the Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author, "sensei." |
| 473 | * In the ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' doujin, "Don't Use Honorifics," Yuri gets annoyed with Tomoko using "-chan" on her, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and asks her not to use honorifics on her]]. |
| 474 | * In ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'', Mei uses "chan" (and later "kun") as a sort of InsultOfEndearment towards Zabuza. [[BelligerentSexualTension It pisses him off]] but she's so much more powerful than him that he can't really do anything about it. |
| 475 | * ''Fanfic/TalesOfTheUndiscoveredSwords'': Konotegashiwa calls the saniwa ''oyakata-sama'', an archaic way of referring to one's lord. |
| 476 | * ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesOnVacation'': |
| 477 | ** [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter Akira Azuki]], the Ultimate Actress, generally forgoes honorifics for her peers, due to being ruder than Miura, but respects her teacher enough to call her "Nagato-sensei." Himemiya once calls Azuki out on it, but is amused when Azuki defiantly insists on it, and decides to allow her to continue. |
| 478 | ** Kanae Tsukimura, the Ultimate Handmaiden, calls Himeno Himemiya, the Ultimate Archer, "Himeno-sama," since she is a servant of the Himemiya family. Himemiya dislikes the formality but doesn't force the issue, and Tsukimura eventually calls her "Himeno" [[spoiler:shortly before being murdered]]. Both girls also use "-san" on all their classmates, both boys and girls, due to their high-class upbringing, although Tsukimura calls Sasaki "[[FirstNameBasis Sayuri]]-chan" after befriending her. Himemiya eventually uses first names without honorifics on Azuki, Sasaki, Nagato and Tatsuki. [[spoiler:Sasaki also calls Himemiya by her first nam without honorifics after they start going out.]] |
| 479 | ** Chiyuri Nagato uses "-san" on most people, and even continues to do so with Azuki after switching to a FirstNameBasis [[spoiler:until switching to yobisute while saying goodbye to a glitched version of Azuki at the end of Chapter V]]. The only exception is Yuichi Asakura, a {{Jerkass}} who [[JerkassToOne has always been especially cruel to Nagato]]; Nagato dislikes him so strongly that she drops the honorific while talking about him with Azuki, eventually doing so to his face. |
| 480 | * ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesToDie'': |
| 481 | ** Kaori Miura, the main character, like some of the more polite students, addresses most characters [[LastNameBasis by their last names]] and "-san" for girls or "-kun" for guys out of politeness. She calls Sae Edogawa, the Ultimate Mystery Novelist, "Sensei" out of respect for her as a writer, although in some flashbacks to their time at Talent High School, Kaori calls her "[[FirstNameBasis Sae]]" without honorifics, indicating that they were ''very'' close back then; they eventually do become that close in the story proper. [[spoiler:Years after the series end, both of them start using "-san" on each other's first names, a "family tradition" for female Miuras addressing their spouses. The two of them enjoy calling each other that, since it makes them feel like they're married.]] |
| 482 | ** Miura also omits honorifics with [[GreaterScopeVillain Junko Enoshima]], despising Junko for causing the Tragedy and indirectly being responsible for the Talent High School killing game. |
| 483 | ** Ami Yuuki, the Ultimate Cheerleader, uses {{First Name|Basis}}s on everyone, adding "-chan" for girls and "-kun" for guys. |
| 484 | ** In a somewhat unusual case, Momo Iwasawa uses "Mr." and "Miss" on her classmates' names instead of Japanese honorifics, as a sign of her hailing from an unfamiliar setting- an isolated farming community. |
| 485 | * In the ''Anime/MyHime'' fic, ''Fanfic/WindowsOfTheSoul'', Natsuki, while meeting one of Shizuru's maids, asks that the latter not call her "[[LastNameBasis Kuga]]-sama," but is only able to convince her to call her "Kuga-san" as a compromise. |
| 486 | [[/folder]] |
| 487 | |
| 488 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 489 | * "''Sensei''" has been used unadorned in English since the kung-fu craze of the '70s, used as an equivalent for "master". |
| 490 | ** Same goes for "''-san''", especially ever since [[Film/TheKarateKid Miyagi-sensei]] started calling Daniel Larusso "Daniel-san". |
| 491 | * "''Sempai''" and "''Kohai''" were sprinkled liberally throughout the movie of Michael Chrichton's ''Literature/RisingSun'' by Sean Connery (the Sempai) and Wesley Snipes (the Kohai). |
| 492 | * In ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', Tanaka addresses 007 as 'Bond-san'. |
| 493 | [[/folder]] |
| 494 | |
| 495 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 496 | * ''Literature/AccelWorld'': |
| 497 | ** Kuroyukihime tends to use "-kun" on Haru and his friends (who are a year below her in school), including Chiyuri, who's also a girl. |
| 498 | ** Yuniko "Niko" Kozuki, an elementary schooler who's leader of the Red Legion, gets annoyed when Chiyuri "Chiyu" Kurashima, a middle schooler, uses "-chan" on her ([[{{Woolseyism}} "sweetie" in the localization of the novels]]). Surprisingly, Chiyu calls Metatron, a God-class Enemy, "Metacchi." |
| 499 | ** Seiji Noumi, a first-year, mockingly uses "-senpai" on Haru and the others, who end up becoming his enemies in the Dusk Taker arc. [[spoiler:The fact that Wolfram Cerberus III calls Haru that is proof that he has Noumi's personality]]. |
| 500 | * One notable example in ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' is a sequence in which Senjougahara asks Araragi to call her "Senjougahara-sama", and he replies by sarcastically calling her "Senjougahara-chan" and promptly gets poked in his eyes. |
| 501 | * In ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'', Izaya refers to Shizuo as "Shizu-chan" ("Shizzy" in the English dub of the anime adaptation) while Shizuo refers to Izaya as "Izaya-kun." Both cases come from the utter contempt they feel for each other. |
| 502 | * In ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Haruhi refers to Koizumi as "Koizumi-kun" but Kyon just as [[HeyYou "Kyon"]], implying more familiarity with the latter. The uber-polite Koizumi addresses all the girls as "-san" which translates as "miss" in the English dub of the anime adaptation ("Suzumiya-san" becomes "Miss Suzumiya.") Kyon addresses Mikuru as "Asahina-san," yet is on a FirstNameBasis with Haruhi, and doesn't use honorifics when speaking to [[VitriolicBestBuds Koizumi]], nor with Yuki (whom he calls just "Nagato"). |
| 503 | * ''Literature/{{Konosuba}}'': Whenever Aqua uses "-san" on Kazuma (or, conversely, whenever Kazuma bothers to use "-sama" on Aqua), it's usually because [[ButtMonkey something has gone sideways for them]]. |
| 504 | * In ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'', Yuuri, at age 15, is in high school and has therefore outgrown being called '-chan'...but much to his annoyance, his mother doesn't think so, and neither does his KnightTemplarBigBrother. (Their mother also calls said big brother '-chan', and he's ''college-age''.) |
| 505 | * ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' |
| 506 | ** In the setting, the Kingdom of Sorcier, nobles are generally addressed as "-sama" by people of equal or lesser status, while most people who bother to be polite use "-san" on commoners. The localization uses appropriate titles (e.g. Lady Catarina, Prince Geordo and Duke Claes) |
| 507 | ** Katarina, being relatively informal, generally doesn't use honorifics on her friends, although she does use -sama on Geordo and Alan, who are princes whereas she is a duke's daughter. |
| 508 | ** Katarina's past self, "the monkey girl," called her best friend Atsuko Sasaki "Sasaki-san" while they were strangers, but switched to "Acchan" after they became closer. She even uses "Acchan-sama" on her when being especially grateful toward her. |
| 509 | * ''Literature/OthersidePicnic'': |
| 510 | ** Toriko surprises Sorawo by calling her by her first name without honorifics just after they meet. Sorawo responds in kind after her surprise fades, but both of them occasionally use "-san" on the other. |
| 511 | ** Runa Urumi, who's part of a cult who worships Satsuki, calls the latter "Satsuki-sama." She has all of her followers call her "Luna-sama," [[spoiler:including her mother, who would otherwise use yobisute on her daughter, and Sorawo notices how strange it is that Runa makes her mother use "sama" on her.]] |
| 512 | ** Some of Sorawo's classmates call her "Kamikoshi-san," but her professor instead uses "Kamikoshi-kun" on her. |
| 513 | * ''Literature/{{Overlord|2012}}'': While Ainz poses as the adventurer Momon, Narberal insists on addressing him as "Momon-sama" out of habit. When Ainz reproaches her and tells her to drop the formality while they are pretending to be adventurers, Narberal ends up going with "[[LastSecondWordSwap Momon-sa...n]]". It then becomes a RunningGag that she just can't seem to use "-san" properly no matter what, with most people assuming it's just a VerbalTic. |
| 514 | * In ''Literature/RascalDoesNotDreamOfBunnyGirlSenpai'', Mai Sakurajima asks Sakuta Azusagawa to use first names, since their given names are much shorter than their family names, but is adamant that he use "-san" on her. When she drops the "-kun" on him in a later scene, he calls her out on it. |
| 515 | * ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': The Japanese version uses the usual variety of honorifics, but [[TranslationConvention since the cast aren't actually speaking Japanese most of the time]] (it takes place in a FantasyCounterpartCulture to England), the localizations use other options: for example, Oliver refers to his cousin and surrogate big sister Shannon as "nee-san" in the Japanese version and "Sis" in English. |
| 516 | * ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': |
| 517 | ** In the first volume of the light novel, Kirito mentions in passing that he and Klein would have used honorifics if they'd met in real life, but forgo that in-game because it would feel weird to. |
| 518 | ** During the "Warmth of the Heart" story, Kirito's mildly annoyed when Lisbeth immediately starts using yobisute on him after hearing his name, and calls her "Lisbeth" in return. Finally, Lisbeth insists that if he's going to call her that, he might as well use "Lis" instead. |
| 519 | ** In ''Mother's Rosary'', after Asuna agrees to help the Sleeping Knights, she and Yuuki agree to drop the "-san" from each other's names. Similarly, in ''Sister's Prayer'', while Yuuki and her sister initially address [[PosthumousCharacter Merida]] as "Merida-san," Merida says honorifics aren't necessary. |
| 520 | ** At the start of the ''Underworld'' arc, Kirito says Eugeo, whom he's technically just met(long story), doesn't have to use "-kun" on him. Oddly enough, he doesn't seem to mind his girlfriend Asuna calling him "Kirito-kun." |
| 521 | ** Kirito's aunt/adoptive mother, Midori, refers to her husband as "Minetaka-san." |
| 522 | ** In ''Alicization'', Asuna gets very annoyed when Alice uses yobisute when referring to Kirito(whom Asuna still uses "-kun" on). Alice isn't the only one, since Lisbeth and Sinon do the same, but of those girls, Alice is the only one Asuna sees as a rival. |
| 523 | * ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'': |
| 524 | ** M generally doesn't use honorifics (at least not "-chan", which he doesn't find to his taste), although he does call Karen "Karen-san" when he meets her in real life. |
| 525 | ** Karen herself uses "-san" on most people who appear to be older than her, but uses "-chan" on a group of high school girls [[spoiler:who turn out to be Team SHINC]], and doesn't use honorifics on her best friend, Miyu. |
| 526 | * In ''Literature/TheTatamiGalaxy'', the nameless protagonist is always addressed as "sempai" by potential love-interest Akashi, since he's a bit older than her. |
| 527 | * ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' was translated as "Kuma no Pooh-san", which also extends to the Disney adaptation. |
| 528 | [[/folder]] |
| 529 | |
| 530 | [[folder:Live Action TV]] |
| 531 | * In ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Gunn shows off his Japanese skills, addressing a businessman as Morimoto-San. |
| 532 | * In ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'', Ryouga makes a point of calling Doctor Nakadai Mikoto 'Nakadai-sensei'. This demonstrates Ryouga's extreme friendliness and politeness: while Mikoto did save his life in hospital, he's also a sadistic asshole who spends a good chunk of the series trying to kill Ryouga. |
| 533 | * In one of the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' novels, Giles gets "Watcher-San" and "Giles-Sensei". |
| 534 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'': |
| 535 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'', protagonist Gentaro refers to all his friends with ''yobisute'', partly to reflect his image as a ''[[JapaneseDelinquents yanki]]'', partly because he's all about ThePowerOfFriendship, and maybe partly due to the copious American influence on the show. He even does it with people he ''wants'' to befriend, as seen in episode 8 where he calls [[JerkJock Shun Daimonji]] just "Shun", in spite of the fact that Daimonji is actively antagonizing him. In the previous episode, he does this with the detention teacher and is forced to study while doing a handstand as punishment. |
| 536 | *** Of course, when it comes to previous Kamen Riders, Gentaro ''always'' calls them "sempai" out of deep respect and admiration. |
| 537 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'' actually has a literal "walking tank of a dude named Dai-chan" incident. He had lost his memory, was really big, so "dai" (as in great) was as good a nickname for him as any, and "chan" fits a GentleGiant. It's kinda like calling him "Mr. Big" in a friendly way. Of course, once he regains his memory (he's actually an AxCrazy BloodKnight villain they hadn't seen in his civilian guise yet, though the viewer knew who he was) any friendly name was off the table. When Rook of the Checkmate Four shows up, you worry less about what to call him and more about survival. |
| 538 | * Alex calls ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' "''Sensei''" in the revamped version of the show starring Maggie Q as Nikita. |
| 539 | [[/folder]] |
| 540 | |
| 541 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 542 | * In ''VideoGame/{{beatmania}} IIDX 20 tricoro'', the Professor always addresses the player's Q-pro character with "-kun", even if the player has [[VirtualPaperDoll designed]] the character to be female. |
| 543 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea|HourOfDarkness}}'', Laharl start to use yobisute on Flonne after a particular event in the story. |
| 544 | * ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' has a number of significant uses of honorifics given its huge, [[TasteTheRainbow varied]] cast: |
| 545 | ** Souma and Shinobu use '-dono' in place of '-san', due to acting as a samurai and ninja respectively. Souma however makes an exception for Kaoru, with whom he often clashes, instead typically referring to him rudely as 'that man' despite Kaoru being his senior. |
| 546 | ** Kanata uses yobisute with ''everyone'', probably due to his very childlike personality [[spoiler:and possibly also a result of previously considering himself a God who need not consider himself with rules of formality.]] |
| 547 | ** Chiaki on the other hand refers to everyone by their surname only, reflecting a more manly [[ThePollyanna friendliness]], except Kanata, with whom he uses yobisute due to their close friendship. |
| 548 | ** Nazuna likes to refer to friends with '-chin', which fits his cute appearance, but contrasts with his general desire to be treated like an adult, and his resulting usage of the masculine first-person pronoun 'ore'. |
| 549 | ** Eichi always uses yobisute with Chiaki despite them not really being friends and Eichi typically being polite with others; this went unexplained for years before it was confirmed that they were friends briefly while hospitalised together as children. |
| 550 | ** Hajime typically speaks politely, referring to his peers with '-san' (except ChildhoodFriend Tomoya who gets yobisute) and seniors with '-sempai', but as he grows in confidence over the year eventually asks to call the producer 'oneechan' and is encouraged by his Tea Club seniors to call them 'Eichi-oniichan' and 'Ritsu-oniichan'. |
| 551 | ** Mitsuru tends to use nicknames and '-chan' a lot (e.g., 'Ado-chan-sempai' for Adonis) as part of his childish, energetic personality. |
| 552 | ** Arashi always speaks in a very girly way and so uses '-chan' for most people, and insists on being called 'Naru-chan' or [[CoolBigSis 'Naru-nee']]. |
| 553 | ** Mika uses '-kun' for everyone the same age or younger than him (apart from the aforementioned Naru-chan) and uses '-sempai' for those older than him except Shu who is 'Oshi-san' (essentially 'mentor') and Eichi who is rudely referred to as simply 'you' ('anta'). |
| 554 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 555 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Cyan's way of speech in the Japanese version is peppered with the phrase "de gozaru", which is typically used by samurai (his class) in media. This became the basis for his use of medieval terminology like "thou" in the [[{{Woolseyism}} Woolsey-penned script]]. |
| 556 | ** In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' mission "A Bride for Montblanc", Montblanc call Fras (''Furansoa'' in that case) with ''-chan'', while Fras calls Montblanc with ''-sama''. It's possible that Montblanc is older than her, which the Vieras's [[WeAreAsMayflies life expectancy is three times longer]] than the [[HumansByAnyOtherName Hume's]]. |
| 557 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': |
| 558 | ** In the franchise as a whole, "-sama" is the go-to title for people addressing their lieges. It's often translated as "Lord" or "Lady" even when the addressee is royalty. |
| 559 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'': In the original Japanese, all of Celica's companions from the priory at Novis use "-sama" on her, even Mae, her best friend. |
| 560 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' |
| 561 | *** Florina, who's usually polite, uses "-san" on most people besides her older sisters (who get "[[UsefulNotes/JapaneseSiblingTerminology Onee-chan]]") and nobility (who get "-sama"), but uses yobisute on the noticeably younger Nino, and addresses her long-time best friend Lyndis by the AffectionateNickname of "Lyn" without honorifics. After entering Lyn's service as a knight, Florina starts using "-sama" on Lyn, along with her unabbreviated name, which Lyn reluctantly accepts, but switches back to "Lyn" if they get an A support. |
| 562 | *** The ultra-polite Ninian uses "-sama" on most people besides her younger brother Nils. Florina, however, insists that the formality isn't necessary, and gets Ninian to use "-san" on her instead, like Florina does with most people besides her sisters and Lyn. |
| 563 | *** Louise uses "-sama" on her husband Pent despite being less formal with most of the others she interacts with, as a show of respect due to him being high Erturian nobility whereas she is a lesser noble. She also uses a similar level of respect on Archsage Athos, Pent's teacher and one of the Eight Legends. |
| 564 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Elincia uses "-sama" on Ike("my lord Ike" in the localization), despite the fact that she is a princess and he is a commoner mercenary. She uses a similar degree of respect on Greil, who's Ike's father and the head of the Greil Mercenaries at the start of the game, but uses "-chan" on Ike's younger sister Mist instead. |
| 565 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' |
| 566 | *** One of Corrin's voice sets, which was used in the drama [=CDs=] as well as some of her characters in ''Heroes'' ([[https://feheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Corrin:_Child_of_Dusk Child of Dusk]] and [[https://feheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Corrin:_Nightfall_Ninja_Act Nightfall Ninja Act]]), uses "-san" on virtually everyone, even her younger siblings. |
| 567 | *** Also from ''Fates'', Hana usually uses "-sama" on her liege Sakura, but drops it in private(and occasionally slips up and forgets the honorific) due to being long-time friends with her. Amusingly, Sakura, who uses "-san" on Hana and anyone else who isn't part of her family, is actually more formal than Hana when they're alone. |
| 568 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' |
| 569 | *** Rhea, as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, is addressed as "-sama" by most characters("Lady Rhea" in the localization), with some exceptions. Shamir, who's blunt and informal, uses -san on Rhea, who doesn't seem to mind even though Catherine calls Shamir out on it in their supports. Seteth drops titles with Rhea in private given their long history. Edelgard normally addresses Rhea with respect, [[spoiler:but stops after she declares war on the Church of Seiros]]. Byleth also uses yobisute on Rhea when they're paired for a duo unit in Heroes, but in English, Byleth instead calls her "Lady Rhea." |
| 570 | *** In the original Japanese, Hubert uses "-dono" on most of his classmates(with the exception of his liege Edelgard, who gets "-sama" when he isn't referring to her by her royal titles), even when he's criticizing or insulting them. |
| 571 | *** Dorothea uses "-senpai" on Manuela, who was the senior diva in the Mittlefrank Opera Company, a form of address [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]] notices when speaking to Dorothea in Chapter 6. The localization simply has Dorothea call Manuela by name, which has the effect of emphasizing that they're colleagues and old friends before being student and professor. |
| 572 | *** Dorothea, who is TheNicknamer in English, tends to use affectionate honorifics- -kun on guys, -chan on girls- with abbreviations of their names in the Japanese script. |
| 573 | *** Hanneman uses -kun on his junior colleagues and students, both male and female. This includes Edelgard(even after she becomes emperor), and Seteth [[spoiler:who is secretly ''much'' older than Hanneman]]. |
| 574 | *** While Lysithea uses yobisute on her classmates, she's unusually polite with Catherine, a Knight of Seiros, and uses "-sama" on her, unlike how most students use "-san." |
| 575 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' |
| 576 | *** The protagonist, Alear, is typically called "Shinryu-sama" in the original Japanese ("Divine One" or "The Divine Dragon"). Only a handful call them by name without honorifics- their mother Lumera, most of the Emblems (although [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Eirika]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Corrin]] use -san on Alear), and Veyle (although [[spoiler:she switches to "Onii-chan" or "Onee-chan" after learning Alear is her sibling]]). |
| 577 | *** Yunaka, a bubbly GenkiGirl [[spoiler:who actually happens to be a former assassin who's trying to put her old life behind her]], uses "-shi" on other characters for unspecified reasons. This includes Alear, who gets "-shi" rather than "-sama" after their Shinryu title. |
| 578 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' |
| 579 | *** Characters address the player with different honorifics based on their personality and roles. Heroes who are more informal or think the player is beneath them use yobisute, polite Heroes use "-san" and exceptionally polite ones will use "-sama." |
| 580 | *** In Diamant's Forging Bonds events, Alfonse and Sharena offer to pretend to be his retainers, since at the time, Jade and Amber hadn't been added to the game yet. They then address him as "-sama" like his retainers do rather than "-ouji" like people from other countries do. |
| 581 | *** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', Micaiah usually uses "-sama" on Sanaki, empress of Begnion, when she isn't using her title, but uses yobisute when addressing her when they're paired as a duo unit. [[spoiler:It's because Micaiah has realized that Sanaki is her younger sister]]. |
| 582 | *** When Igrene and Louise are paired together as a duo unit, Louise can't help but use "-chan" on [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Igrene]]("Little Igrene" in the localization), whom she's known since the latter was a young girl, but drops the honorific at the request of the adult Igrene. |
| 583 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Among the members of the Angel Wing, Milfeulle, Mint and Vanilla address Tact by the honorific "-san", while Ranpha and Forte address him by name alone (though Forte at first calls him "Shireikan-dono", which the fan translation localizes as "Mr. Commander", and continues to use it sometimes to be formal), reflecting how much they're willing to trust him at the beginning. Among each other, Forte is addressed as "Forte-san" by the others, Milfeulle and Ranpha address everyone else by name alone, while Mint and Vanilla always use the honorific. Lastly, from the second game onwards, Chitose addresses Tact by the honorific "-san" at his request, while she refers to the rest of the Angels as "-senpai". |
| 584 | * ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact:'' Barbara's fan club refers to her as Barbara-sama as a reflection of the pedestal they place her on. Initially this was not part of the English version, but in Barbara's Hangout Event characters that are part of her fan club begin to refer to her as Barbara-sama in that language. Given that this is an {{Animesque}} Chinese game and the lack of Japanese honorifics previously, this is a sudden change. |
| 585 | * In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories'', Toshiko typically calls Toni "Toni-san". |
| 586 | * ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters: Kyo'': |
| 587 | ** We have Kyo Kusanagi referring to his older cousin Souji as "Souji-san". Keep in mind that Kyo is a rather rough speaker and uses ''yobisute'' with almost everyone, so this shall give you an idea of how highly he thinks of [[TheAce Souji]]. |
| 588 | ** Several people call Kyo by his name and with ''yobisute''. Each case lays parallels about FirstNameBasis in Japanese: i.e. Yuki's "Kyo" is affectionate and sweet, Iori's "Kyo" is about him taking their FeudingFamilies and [[TheRival rivalry]] VERY personally, Daimon and Benimaru's "Kyo" comes from their bond as FireForgedFriends and TrueCompanions, Kensou's "Kyo" is playful since they're fellow fighters, etc. |
| 589 | ** Kyo's fanboy and sort-of apprentice Shingo Yabuki refers to him as "Kusanagi-san". |
| 590 | ** Athena, who is quite a polite speaker compared to others, calls Kyo "Kyo-san" since he's older than her and one of the strongest fighters around. Actually she tends to use "-san" on almost everyone (Iori, Kim, Terry, etc.); the closest to exceptions are Bao, Momoko and Kensou, who get ''yobisute'' from her for being her teammates (Kensou consistently, the other two in some games). |
| 591 | * The English translations of the ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' series used honorifics inconsistently. This is largely reflected in Goro Majima, who refers to protagonist Kazuma Kiryu with the affectionate "Kiryu-chan". In the first game's English Dub, Majima calls him "Kazuma-chan", while later games translate Majima's pet name as "Kazzy". ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' features honorifics in its English subs [[spoiler:along with the first instance of "Kiryu-chan" appearing in an English script]]. It is left ambiguous if Majima referring to Kiryu as Kiryu-chan is an instance of InsultOfEndearment, TermsOfEndangerment or [[AmbiguouslyBi if Majima is genuinely flirting with Kiryu]]. |
| 592 | * ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory'' also has the characters show their personalities through their use of honorifics. |
| 593 | ** Iroha uses "-chan" or "-san" depending on the addressee's age and how close she is to them. |
| 594 | ** Yachiyo uses first names and yobisute on the people she's closest with (e.g. Mifuyu, Momoko, Tsuruno), but last names and "-san" on acquaintances (e.g. Iroha, Mami, Sana). Her decision to switch from calling Iroha "[[LastNameBasis Tamaki-san]]" to "[[FirstNameBasis Iroha]]" is a sign of how close they've become. |
| 595 | ** Mifuyu generally uses "-san" on most of her fellow Magical Girls' first names, but calls Yachiyo [[AffectionateNickname "Yacchan"]]. |
| 596 | ** PlayedForDrama when Sakuya and Ryouko have to put a stop to their budding friendship due to being on opposite factions. They then change from yobisute to just last name with "-san" when refering to each other. |
| 597 | * In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', Maeko Matsuo, the chief of security for the corporate stronghold on Noveria, freely uses honorifics in her otherwise straight English speech. She even uses -sama to refer to the Salarian director of the place, as well as [[spoiler:Matriarch Benezia after the geth start springing their attacks.]] Since ''Mass Effect'' is a Canadian-made game, this is either an example of ShownTheirWork or just an indication of otaku on the dev team. Given the presence of universal translators, probably the latter. |
| 598 | * ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': |
| 599 | ** In ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'', Pallette, a newly-recruited {{Bridge Bunn|ies}}y, addresses X with a truncated "Ekku-san". |
| 600 | ** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', most people address X as "X-sama", appropriate for the ruler of Neo Arcadia. This is usually rendered as "master X" in English. [[BigBad Vile-sama]], on the other hand, becomes "Lord Weil". In a [[AllThereInTheManual drama track]], Harpuia realizes that the Eight Gentle Judges are [[NotHimself not themselves]] when they [[SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay refer to Vile this way]]. |
| 601 | ** In the drama tracks of Zero 3, BridgeBunnies Rouge and Jaune address the young Alouette with different honorifics [[EstablishingCharacterMoment to immediately highlight their]] RedOniBlueOni dynamics, with the serious Rouge addressing the little girl with Alouette-san and the more casual Jaune using Alouette-chan. |
| 602 | ** [[https://bobcatmoran.dreamwidth.org/26255.html#cutid1 Here's an analysis]] of the honorifics and pronouns used in the original Japanese version of ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''. The translation did manage to adapt some of them, such as the high formality of Yai's Navi and programs. |
| 603 | ** In the ''Battle Network'' [[Anime/MegaManNTWarrior anime]], Meijin (Mr. Famous) is always called Meijin-san, which he thinks is unnecessary; he always replies "No need for formalities." The English has him insist that "It's just Famous." He has no such objections in the games. |
| 604 | * ''VideoGame/NamuAmidaButsuUtena'': General Sanshi and his ever {{memetic|Mutation}} ''[[UndyingLoyalty Tamon]][[LikeAGodToMe -sama]]''. |
| 605 | * In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', most of the travelers don't use honorifics on each other, with the exception of Ophilia and Tressa, who use "-san" on the others. Some of them call Cyrus, a professor, "sensei." |
| 606 | * ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'': |
| 607 | ** In both ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', all honorifics were left in the English localization, although sometimes, they use Mr., Mrs. Ms. and Miss instead, such as with teachers. |
| 608 | ** One worthy of note: In ''3'', Junpei consistently calls Yukari "Yuka-tan". Aside from showing how little politeness he possesses, it's also a heck of a bad pun. |
| 609 | *** In the Japanese version he instead calls her "Yukaricchi". Presumably this was changed due to "-tan" being rather more familiar to English-speaking fans. |
| 610 | *** Most characters forgo honorifics on [[RobotGirl Aigis]], except for Ken (who uses -san on everyone as a sign of respect for them being older) and a few characters who don't know that she's a robot. |
| 611 | *** In Persona 3 Portable, Hidetoshi uses "-kun" on both male and female protagonists, but switches to "-san" for the female protagonist later on, as a sign of respect and love for her. |
| 612 | *** Similar to Hidetoshi, Ikutsuki refers to all the members of S.E.E.S. by their last names and the -kun honorific in the original Japanese, as well as the localization for ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload''. |
| 613 | *** Similar to Junpei's example, IdolSinger Rise Kujikawa in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is known by her stage name as "Risechi" in the Japanese version, and "Risette" in the English version, the latter of which is a pun on "Reset." |
| 614 | *** Aigis, who speaks extremely formally, uses "-san" on virtually everyone, including Ken(an 11-year-old) and Koromaru(a dog). However, after [[spoiler:Ikutsuki reveals that he's been manipulating S.E.E.S. all along, takes control of Aigis, tries to have her kill the rest of S.E.E.S. and kills Mitsuru's father]], Aigis pointedly announces that she will refer to that individual without honorifics from here on out, just like most of the cast do. |
| 615 | ** ''Persona 4'' |
| 616 | *** Teddie calls the main character "Sensei" for reasons that are never fully explained, uses "-chan" on the girls and doesn't use honorifics on the guys. Yosuke gets annoyed that Teddie doesn't show him respect in spite of calling the main character "Sensei." Despite this, "-sensei" is usually translated into "Mr." or "Ms." when used on the teachers in the game. |
| 617 | *** Yukiko uses appropriate honorifics on most people ("-kun" on boys, "-chan" on girls and "-san" on adults), so the fact that she refers to Chie by her first name without honorifics (a gesture Chie reciprocates) shows how close they are. |
| 618 | *** While Rise generally addresses the MC as "Senpai," she once refers to him without honorifics when talking with her manager, Inoue, since she's trying to convince Inoue that she and the MC are engaged. |
| 619 | *** "-sama" is usually translated into whatever is the closest equivalent; for example, a threatening letter you receive late in the game is addressed to "Mr. [[HelloInsertNameHere Full Name]]". However, Yakushiji, an employee of the Shirogane family, calls his employer's granddaughter "Naoto-sama" as a respectful gender-neutral form of address. |
| 620 | ** ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'': |
| 621 | *** Most of the cast doesn't use honorifics on Labrys, owing to her status as a robot. In a somewhat amusing case of SkewedPriorities, after finding out that Labrys is Aigis' "older sister," Yu wonders if he should start using "-san" on Labrys. |
| 622 | *** In Yosuke's story mode, the Yu that Yosuke perceives[[note]]In the P-1 Grand Prix, both contestants are fooled into hearing the other person saying things to antagonize them and convince them to fight one another [[/note]] is a KnightTemplarBigBrother who complains about Yosuke using "-chan" on Nanako. |
| 623 | *** In ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', Elizabeth, who uses "-sama" on party members in the original Japanese, addresses Rise as "Risecchi-sama" in the originl Japanese, an amusing use of double honorifics. |
| 624 | ** In ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight'', Kanami initially calls Nanako "Nanako-chan," but after seeing how well Nanako dances, switches to "Nanako-san" out of respect. |
| 625 | ** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': |
| 626 | *** This installment is interesting in that compared to any of the previous games, the main characters enact on ''yobisute'' - that is, referring to given names - ''very'' quickly. For example, Ryuji Sakamoto is only referred to by his surname for a very brief period of time. Two days after his and the protagonist's first visit to [[EldritchLocation Kamoshida's Palace]], they're on a first-name basis, and the same goes for when everyone else joins the team. In fact, when two upperclassmen (Makoto and Haru) join them, their juniors are worried about how they should address them, and they insist on dropping formalities outside of school. The only notable exception is [[GreatDetective Goro Akechi]], who's referred to by last name (including on the menus in the localization) by everyone due to distrust in him, although the fairly polite Makoto, Sae and Haru use "-kun" on him [[spoiler:but switch to no honorifics after his treachery is uncovered. While the retail version of the game keeps this even after his HeroicSacrifice, there's DummiedOut dialogue where Morgana refers to him by his first name, indicating that he was originally meant to be redeemed.]] |
| 627 | *** Haru, however, is an exception, but she's fairly informal by Japanese standards, addressing her friends by their first names with "-kun" for guys and "-chan" for girls, as well as using nicknames for Makoto ("Mako-chan") and Morgana ("Mona-chan"). |
| 628 | *** When meeting Hifumi, the Star Confidant for the first time, you have a choice of whether to greet her with the formal "[[LastNameBasis Togo]]-san?" or the very informal "[[FirstNameBasis Hifumi]]-chan?" |
| 629 | *** In ''Royal'', after Kasumi joins the team, she tells Makoto, who's been calling her "Yoshizawa-san" until now, that she feels a bit odd with the older girl using "-san" on her. Makoto then switches to calling her by her first name([[spoiler:or better said, her real first name, Sumire]]), without honorifics, just like Makoto does with all her other friends. Kasumi uses "-senpai" on all the other Phantom Thieves, including when addressing them by their code names. |
| 630 | * The placeholder item in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' is called "Teru-Sama", which means the rather nonsensical "Lord Sunshine". However, this may simply be a misspelling of "Teru-Tama" ("Sunshine Ball"), which makes more sense because it is treated by the game as the GS Ball. |
| 631 | * ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'': Averted for the most part as everyone speaks English even in the Imperial Japan campaign. The Tsunami tank does have "Hai, dono!" as one of its responses, since they're crewed by samurai. |
| 632 | * In ''VideoGame/RedSteel'', the player character is often called "Scott-san", and Tony Tanaka calls Sato "Sato-sama". |
| 633 | * The English version of ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' features the cast using honorifics, but everyone in Ryo's town always refers to him as "Baby-boy Ryo", much to his dismay. |
| 634 | * In ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'', Nova usually address Max as "Max-dono". |
| 635 | * ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': |
| 636 | ** Every minion of Count Bleck calls him "hakushaku-sama" [[note]]''hakushaku'' (伯爵) means Count[[/note]], though there are exception. |
| 637 | ** Nastasia has her moments where she calls him [[spoiler:"Lumiere-sama" [[note]]In the English version, it's Lord Blumiere[[/note]].]] |
| 638 | ** Dimentio has his moments where he drops the "-sama" and just calls his name without honorifics, reflecting his true nature as [[spoiler:TheStarscream]]. |
| 639 | ** Mr. L always just calls his name without honorifics. |
| 640 | * In ''VideoGame/WingCommander'', Mariko "Spirit" Tanaka refers to Christopher "Maverick" Blair as "Blair-san", and the colonel on the ship as "Colonel-sama," even while speaking English. She generally does not do this in ''Wing Commander II'', often calling Maverick "Christopher" and Angel "Jeanette". |
| 641 | [[/folder]] |
| 642 | |
| 643 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 644 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' |
| 645 | ** The members of the Fey Clan's branch families and servants of the clan like Sister Bikini and Iris address members of the main family with the "-sama" honorific in the original Japanese, which is translated as "Mystic" in English. As such, in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', Phoenix finds it odd that Bikini refers to Elise Deauxnim that way, and while Bikini insists that it's a courtesy she and the others of the Hazakura temple extend to all guests, [[spoiler:it's a clue to Elise's identity as Misty Fey, the master of the clan]]. |
| 646 | ** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', Simon Blackquill, a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot prosecutor who's also a convict and something of]] a {{Samurai}}, sometimes refers to the attorneys as "-dono" in the English version, when he's not [[TheNicknamer making up various nicknames for them]]. |
| 647 | ** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', the "-dono" honorfic is used on Marumeru Aatamu and his wife Saara (aka Tahrust and Beh'leeb Inmee), two of the most respected figures in the Khura'inism religion. The fact that the rather bratty Princess Rayfa uses "-dono" on Beh'leeb shows how much she respects the couple. |
| 648 | ** ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' has characters use honorifics to signify that they're speaking Japanese. For example, Ryunosuke calls Susato "Susato-san" while speaking Japanese, but "Miss Susato" while speaking English. |
| 649 | ** In the original Japanese version, Susato uses the extremely formal "-sama" honorific on those she's close enough with to call by their first names- Kazuma, Iris, Gina and Rei. In the English localization, she only does this with Kazuma. She also uses calls Ryunosuke "Naruhodo-sama" in the original Japanese and refers to Bark Van Zieks as "Kenji-sama"(his title as prosecutor), whereas in the localization, she calls Ryunosuke "Naruhodo-san"/"Mr. Naruhodo" and Barok "Lord van Zieks." |
| 650 | ** In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', Hakari Mikagami, a judge, uses "-sama" on virtually everyone. This is LostInTranslation in the fan translation, in which Justine Courtney simply calls most people by the more conventionally polite "Mr." and "Ms." |
| 651 | * ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': |
| 652 | ** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': |
| 653 | *** The {{Otaku}} Hifumi Yamada as a character quirk of referring to pretty much everyone by their [[FullNameBasis full name]] and with the outdated "-dono". In the English version, he simply [[LastNameBasis refers to everyone by Mr. or Mrs. followed by their last name]]. [[spoiler:It's a plot point after his murder.]] |
| 654 | *** Similarly, the Clairvoyant Yasuhiro Hagakure uses "-chi" (diminutive of "-chin") for the others. |
| 655 | *** Toko Fukawa uses "-sama" on Byakuya Togami, since she has a massive crush on him. |
| 656 | *** Some of the more polite students, including Makoto, use "-kun" on boys and "-san" on girls. After Chihiro turns out to be a boy, some of them end up having to switch from calling him "Fujisaki-san" to "Fujisaki-kun." |
| 657 | ** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': |
| 658 | *** The use of "-san" as a gender-neutral equivalent for "Mr." or "Ms." comes up when Nagito (who uses "-kun" on guys and "-san" on girls) leaves a message for the traitor (whose identity he doesn't know) addressing them as "Traitor-san," which had to be translated as "Mr. or Miss Traitor," in the English version. [[spoiler:The traitor turns out to be a girl.]] |
| 659 | *** While Monomi and Chiaki are usually somewhat formal with the other students, and nobody refers to Monomi with honorifics, after [[spoiler:Chiaki is outed as the traitor and Monomi is revealed to be her accomplice]], they start referring to each other as "Chiaki-chan" and "Monomi-chan." |
| 660 | ** In ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'', Komaru inexplicably addresses her brother by his full name with the "-san" honorific after getting in touch with him at the end of Chapter 2, something that confuses Toko. Komaru also starts out calling Toko "Fukawa-san," then switches to "Toko-chan" after they become friends. |
| 661 | ** In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', Tenko Chabashira, despite her hatred for "degenerate males," uses "-san" on boys and girls. |
| 662 | * In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', despite the story being set in Japan, almost nobody uses honorifics. The most blatant case of their use would be Misha, who attaches "-chan" [[TheNicknamer to her close friends's names]]: "Hicchan" for Hisao, "Shicchan" for Shizune, "Yucchan" for Yuuko, etc. |
| 663 | * ''VisualNovel/KindredSpiritsOnTheRoof'' |
| 664 | ** Seina Maki and Miki Aihara's relationship progression is shown by their use of honorifics(or lack thereof). When they're strangers, they call each other "Aihara-senpai" and "Maki-san," a polite form of address between a Upperclassman and Underclassman pair, but after Miki gets Maki's love letter and decides to start out as friends, she switches to "Maki-chan." After Miki accepts Maki's apology for [[DudeShesLikeInAComa kissing her while she's asleep]], Miki asks Maki to call her by her first name, and Maki calls her "Miki-san." When Maki [[spoiler:assaults a yearmate of Miki who is badmouthing the latter]], Miki snaps her out of it by calling her by her first name without honorifics, and the two have a RelationshipUpgrade shortly thereafter. |
| 665 | ** Sachi, the older of the two kindred spirits, uses honorifics- usually -chan or -san- on most people, but uses yobisute on her girlfriend and fellow ghost Megumi. |
| 666 | ** Megumi gets annoyed when Yuna addresses her by her first name without honorifics(Yuna and Sachi use -san on each other's first names), saying that she's Yuna's sempai in life and deserves more respect, but Yuna points out that Megumi was younger than Yuna is now at the time of her death, and even though she's technically older, she doesn't act that way. |
| 667 | ** While Tsukuyo Sonou may be [[SenseiChan a teacher]], she's also [[OlderThanTheyLook rather short and cute-looking, causing her to be mistaken for a younger girl]], so most characters use -chan on her. Tsukuyo uses the -san honorific on her students, but calls [[TeacherStudentRomance her student and girlfriend Kiri]] by her first name without honorifics [[SecretRelationship in private]]. |
| 668 | ** Yuna's a bit surprised that her old classmate Youka Koba would use "-sama" on Aki Ariu, the girl Youka has a crush on. Youka and Aki call each other "Ariu-san" and "Koba-san" at first, but eventually switch to first names without honorifics. |
| 669 | * In ''VisualNovel/{{Morenatsu}}''''s english translation, the honorifics are kept, likely to keep anything from being LostInTranslation. For example, the {{Love Interest|s}} [[BigFun Tatsuki]] is commonly referred to as Tatsunii by the player character, and at the end of [[LonelyRichKid Shin]]'s route, after the RelationshipUpgrade, he asks you to drop the "kun" from Shin-kun and just call him Shin. |
| 670 | * ''VisualNovel/ShinraiBrokenBeyondDespair'': |
| 671 | ** Runa, being a highly polite young lady, uses last names and "-san" on everyone, including her best friend, Rie. |
| 672 | ** After noticing Taiko use "-chan" on Raiko (whom he's implied to have a crush on), Nobara says that she "want(s) to be [[BuffySpeak chan-ified]], too." |
| 673 | ** Kotoba, Taiko's best friend, uses "-chan" on him, despite it being very unusual for boys to use "-chan" on each other. |
| 674 | ** Kamen rudely calls Raiko by her last name without honorifics, due to her dislike of her. [[spoiler:After Raiko clears Kamen's name, and proves that she was the person who helped Kamen in the past, Kamen starts calling her "Raiko-chan"]]. |
| 675 | * This is a gameplay mechanic in some installments of the ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' series; choosing the wrong honorific when addressing a [[DatingSim potential love interest]] may have unfortunate consequences. |
| 676 | ** In particular, a couple of the characters from ''Tokimemo 2'' have an unusual aversion to being called "<name>-chan", and prefer the player to address them in ''yobisute'' even when their relationship isn't that close (the expected progression would be from ''-san'' to ''-chan'' and finally ''yobisute'', although some girls find ''-chan'' a bit too childish for their liking). Examples include [[spoiler:Homura and, unusually, Kaori.]] |
| 677 | [[/folder]] |
| 678 | |
| 679 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 680 | * In ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault'', Nick addresses Ki's Japanese-born father (now Nick's father-in-law) as "Oshiro-sama" (Oshiro being his family name). Mr. Oshiro usually calls Nick "gaijin". |
| 681 | ** He calls him "Nick-san" when apologizing to him. He initially starts out referring to his daughter Ki as "Kyoko-san," having lost a bet to determine whether Ki would get a Japanese or Chinese name, but is eventually persuaded to call her "Ki-chan." |
| 682 | * Another Western example: Nick from ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' appears to have [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/skinhorse/series.php?view=archive&chapter=38967#151893 started]] calling Unity "zombie-chan". |
| 683 | ** In his first appearance, Nick asked Dr Lee if she preferred to be called Lee-san or Lee-sensei. Her reply was an annoyed "Nick, I'm Korean." |
| 684 | [[/folder]] |
| 685 | |
| 686 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 687 | * In ''WebVideo/DanganRonpaAbridgedThing'', Maizono, a frequent user of GratuitousJapanese, often calls Naegi "Naegi-kun," like her canon self does in the original Japanese. During the first trial, Leon tries to insist that Sayaka didn't write the DyingClue implicating him because she'd likely write "Leon-kun" instead, prompting Naegi to ask, "What kind of person uses honorifics on their killer?" |
| 688 | * In the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, Generator (deceased Japanese mother and trying to regain her lost culture) uses Chaka-''sempai'' for her martial arts tutor and ''onee-san'' and ''onee-sama'' for her best friend and roommate Billie whom she loves like a big sister. Billie, who is not Japanese but is an Anime fan (her own CodeName is "Tennyo") humors her and appreciates the honor. |
| 689 | [[/folder]] |
| 690 | |
| 691 | [[folder:WesternAnimation]] |
| 692 | * This is even worse in the Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'' and for a good reason, at least regarding the way how Dracula's minions address him: Almost all Dracula's followers address him in the same way as he is normally addressed in English, in this case, being named by his name exclusively without honorifics, or just being named "Count" (Hanshaku). This is especially relevant here, as in almost all the games of the franchise with Japanese voice acting, Dracula is ''always'' addressed as either "Count Dracula" or "Lord Dracula" (Dracula-sama), but this is not the case here, except in a few episodes, when Isaac did used "Dracula-sama", but not consistently. It's very likely the reduced use of honorifics was done for avoiding LipLock. |
| 693 | * The Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' has Mr. Herriman refer to Frankie as "Ms. Frances" and Bloo as "Mr. Blooregard", instead of "Frances-sama" or "Blooregard-sama". |
| 694 | * Some male Creator/HannaBarbera characters are referred to as "-chan" in Japanese. For example, WesternAnimation/MagillaGorilla becomes Gon-chan, WesternAnimation/PreciousPupp becomes Pup-chan, and WesternAnimation/SquiddlyDiddly becomes Roku-chan. However, [[WesternAnimation/ToucheTurtleAndDumDum Touche Turtle]] is called Tokkan Kame-kun. |
| 695 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'' episode "Welcome Home Balto," Kenji calls Tooey "Tooey-kun" towards the end of the episode. |
| 696 | * The Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' for some bizarre reason, avoids using too many honorifics, even the ones for addressing important people: Both Celestia and Luna are addressed in Japanese as ''Princess Celestia'' and ''Princess Luna'' in English (instead of ''Celestia-hime'' and ''Luna-hime'') and even when they're mentioned, the rest of the cast calls them ''Princess'' instead of ''hime-sama'', ''Celestia-sama'', etc. The same goes to Granny Smith, as she's called as such, instead of ''Smith-obaa-san''. |
| 697 | * The Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is pretty inconsistent about the use of honorifics: The biggest offenders are the [=titular=] family themselves: Lisa sometimes addresses Bart as ''Onii-chan'' (Big Brother) and sometimes addresses him by his name without honorifics. Marge addresses both Bart and Lisa (but not Maggie, oddly enough) as ''Bart-kun'' and ''Lisa-chan'' and sometimes drops the honorifics entirely. |
| 698 | ** For some reason, Barney Gumble is addressed as ''Mr. Gumble'' in English in the dub, rather than ''Gumble-san''. |
| 699 | ** The only character who use honorifics in continuous fashion is Apu, who use keigo to simulate his Indian accent. |
| 700 | * In the Chinpokomon episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', the kids start speaking Japanese, which leads to a frustrated Mr. Garrison shouting "Goddammit children! I am '''not''' 'Garrison-san'! [[HandPuppet This]] is '''not''' 'Hat-san'!" |
| 701 | [[/folder]] |
| 702 | |
| 703 | [[folder:Others]] |
| 704 | * ''Roleplay/DuelAcademyR2'' players uses Japanese Honorifics when appropriate. |
| 705 | * Japanese honorifics are used in Japanese translations of Literature/TheBible, mostly as a {{Woolseyism}}, but, oddly enough, rarely used in Japanese translations of Literature/TheQuran, especially when the prophet Muhammad or Allah are involved. As an example, Muhammad is ''never addressed'' in Japanese as ''Muhammad-sama''[[note]]Except when non-Muslims address him as an important person, but not as a religious leader.[[/note]], but ''Yogensha Muhammad'' instead (literally the Prophet Muhammad). In the same way, Allah is always ''Allah'', never ''Allah-sama.''[[note]]For the record, if you don't want to sound like an idiot, NEVER translate the famous Islamic phrase "Allah Ackbar" (God is Great) as ''Allah-sama, Banzai!'' in Japanese, as some [[GratuitousJapanese fanfic writers do]].[[/note]] |
| 706 | ** On the other hand, Japanese Christians don't have any qualms to address Jesus Christ as ''Jesus/Iesu-sama'' (the same rule applies to any Christian saint and sometimes with his apostles) and God as ''kami-sama'', despite the name is normally used to address any kind of god, regardless the religion involved. |
| 707 | ** If ''Kami-sama'' is mentioned without any qualifiers it is Abrahamic {{God}} (usually Christian, though), no exception. |
| 708 | [[/folder]] |
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FollowingContext UsefulNotes / JapaneseHonorifics
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