Osaka Dreams: 9 Anime With Kansai Dialect

Japan has a lot of dialects, but two that are most often explored in the media are Hyojungo, which is a standard Japanese that is taught in school, specifically the version called Tokyo-ben, one that is spoken in Tokyo, and Kansai-ben that is used in Kansai prefecture. The latter is usually used for comedic purposes: it sounds a bit harsher and louder and fits comedic delivery perfectly.

There are anime series that use both of these accents, with Kansai-ben being quite prominent. We've got a little list of shows like that.

Lovely Complex

The series is set in Kansai, so all the characters in this quirky and fun romantic story talk in Kansai-ben. It's centered around two high school friends — a very tall girl and a very short boy, who after some time start catching feelings towards each other. There are a lot of insecurities explored, a lot of dreams shared, a lot of things said. Overall, it's a very wholesome show that deals with how society views people with specific parameters, what it expects from them, and how it affects us.

My Master Has No Tail (Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga Nai)

This mix of comedy, supernatural, and slice-of-life story in a historical setting has tanuki as their main characters: young Mameda is a tanuki who tries to deceive people in Osaka, because that's what tanuki do. As she interacts with the locals, she hears a lot of Kansai-ben, and ends up as an apprentice to a rakugoka — a master of traditional Japanese theater. With that skill, Mameda believes she will finally be able to deceive people, as a proper tanuki.

Kanon

A story that combines supernatural events with drama, it feels at first like your regular tear-jerking harem show, which is understandable, because it's based on a visual novel. But as it progresses, it explores the individual arcs of the girls that our protagonist meets upon returning to his hometown after being away for seven years, unraveling the mystery of his lost memories. And they all talk in Kansai-ben. This is understandable: Kyoto Animation, the studio that adapted the novel, is located in Kansai.

Clannad

Another show by Kyoto Animation, and another one fully embracing Kansai-ben. This one is also an anime adaptation of a visual novel, in which Tomoya Okazaki, a delinquent and bored student, encounters and befriends a bunch of different girls, and as he helps them deal with their problems, he realizes that life is not as dull as he thought it is. One of these girls is Nagisa, the one who started it all — and the one who is very ill.

Chie the Brat (Jarinko Chie)

10-year-old Chie is the most unfortunate girl in the world who has to manage her father's diner in Osaka at such a tender age, because her yakuza father and her mother are unemployed and separated. The premise sounds sad, but the show itself is hilarious, and the Osaka setting helps it get even funnier. Despite featuring a young girl as a protagonist, it's geared towards a more mature, seinen audience: the jokes in this one are pretty harsh.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai)

The story is set in the Abenobashi neighborhood of Osaka, where childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi end up transported to multiple alternate worlds after an accident. Their adventures get more and more surreal, but this surrealism starts to make sense as the story unravels. And all the characters here use Kansai-ben when they're talking to each other, even in the alternate worlds.

Teppen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A comedy series that focuses on a comedy competition — Teppen Grand Prix. Three girls, fans of this particular type of stand-up comedy, form the trio to participate in the competition. There are a lot of shenanigans, as all the contestants who are qualified for the competition live in the dorm together. A funny and heartwarming show, but geared towards those who are at least a little familiar with the manzai comedy that has a lot of puns.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi)

One of the main characters of this romantic story, Josee, talks in Kansai-ben. The poster promises a sad story, and in one way it does deliver, because there are some melodramatic moments, but overall the movie is pretty lighthearted and generic. It's not a bad thing, and a lot of that is heightened by good animation and sound which includes the specific ways the characters talk in.

Haikyuu!! Season 4

This volleyball-focused sports anime that brought the fans of the genre so much joy over the years even now offers movies and plays. And the season 4 is centered around the match between Karasuno, the the school that our main characters go to, and Inarizaki, the team that speaks exclusively Kansai-ben, aside from one person.