Viewer perception of visual nonverbal cues in subtitled TV Anime¹

The article discusses the results of a questionnaire into viewer perception of subtitled culturally marked visual nonverbal cues in TV anime using the series (Doki-doki School Hours). Two groups of students were used for the study, one Japanese learner group, and one non-Japanese speaker group. A smaller study was also carried out using an eye-tracking monitor to gain insights into non-Japanese speakers' visual attention to visual nonverbal cues. The anime genre is one of the few forms of animation that is as often, if not more often, subtitled as dubbed. Online surveys have shown a preference among anime fans for subtitling over dubbing (Igarashi, 2007 Igarashi, Ru. 2007. “‘Ru's Ninth Annual Anime Fan Questionnaire, 2006.’”. Vol. 22, <http://www.geocities.com/ruigarashi/Surveys/fans/fan0611/results.html> [Google Scholar]). The abundance of on-screen information adds to this genre's suitability for study into viewer perception of nonverbal cues and the effectiveness of the translation strategies used to tackle them.