応援大成功！！十一！
red (n) a color whose hue resembles that of blood. Often used in boxart to indicate extreme anger or constipation.
応援 【おうえん】 (n,vs) aid; assistance; help; reinforcement; rooting; barracking; support; cheering;
My copy of 押忍! 闘え! 応援団 (”Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan”) arrived in the mail today; I’ve played it through approximately twice and I must say, AV was completely correct in this thread – it’s the best game out for the Nintendo DS by a very large margin. It’s difficult to explain a number of the appealing aspects of this game to people who aren’t really interested in Japan, but there’s a reason that I put that definition at the beginning of the post (I’m talking about ‘応援’ here, not ‘red’ – that’s just there as a poor attempt at humor). I’ve chosen the daunting task of explaining the word, it’s use in Japanese, and why it works so well in the game.
First, I’ll relay a short paragraph from AV’s impressions of the game so you all have some idea of what I’m babbling about:
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (”Hey! Fight! Cheer Squad!”) is a rhythm-action game about a cheer squad that goes around Japan helping people in need. Though they wear high school cheering uniforms (in Japan, cheerleaders wear long black trenchcoats, are usually male, and “cheer” by screaming at the top of their lungs like it’s the end of the world), they don’t seem to be affiliated with any particular high school. There seem to be a lot of people in trouble in Japan, so the Ouendan has their work cut out for them.
It’s very likely that when you read about this game elsewhere that you’re going to get a very vanilla explanation of what an 応援団 (’cheer squad’) is, but I’m hoping to go a bit beyond that. The importance of ‘cheering’ in Japan goes beyond sports events – the term 応援, as noted above, is actually more generally used to mean support or reinforcement (although mostly of the ’sideline encouragement’ rather than the ‘direct involvement’ sort). It’s used by a music fan when explaining that they will still buy new material by their favorite musical artists despite previous disappointments: 『このシングルあまり好きじゃありませんけど、私が三上ちさこの大ファンですから、まだ応援するは。』 (’Although I don’t like this single much, I’ll continue to support Mikami Chisako because I’m such a huge fan’). It’s used by a family where everyone is pitching in to support the daughter in high school student during her College Entrance Exams. It’s used when a manager makes a speech, asking his department to support him in a new business undertaking. It’s kind of the external companion term to the ubiquitous internal phrase がんばる – “to try one’s best, to persist in efforts when meeting resistance”. When you see someone who is trying their hardest in a situation, you support them. Although the most common translation of 応援 you’re going to get when reading about this game is ‘cheer’, ’support’ is really the better choice.
The game takes a group of male cheerleaders – yes, the kind you see at sporting events, and really only at sporting events – and then extends their scope to anyone in need. An OL who wants to get her handsome coworker to notice her. A pottery master in a slump. A kid who wants to get noticed by the cutest girl in school. A racehorse that doesn’t want to be made into glue. The 応援団 is called in by anyone who is in a bad situation. Appearing from nowhere, the 応援団 fires up the rally music and cheers at the top of their lungs, supporting the party in trouble. Bolstered by the energetic support squad (and your energetic tapping to the music via the NDS touch-screen), anyone in trouble can pull through. In Japan, no one is alone: everyone is part of many overlapping social groups. Everyone shoulders the dual tasks of がんばる and 応援. And therein lies one of the most appealing aspects of Japanese culture. 押忍! 闘え! 応援団 does a brilliant job of extending that aspect to truly ridiculous situations, with magnificently appealing results.
2005.08.11 20:32 
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