Have you ever seen this gesture in a video game?
As we’ve covered in previous videos, this gesture has had a troubled past, often getting
edited out of the international releases of Japanese video games.
One example can be found with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
In the original Japanese version of the game Bowser would use this gesture as his victory
pose at the end of every battle.
However, upon being released in the west, Bowser’s victory pose was changed to two
clenched fists instead.
Another example lies in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald.
Like most other games in the franchise, a trainer class that you can battle within the
games are the Sailors.
The sailors have been featured in the series ever since the original game and commonly
appear in water-themed areas and utilize water-based pokémon.
Differing from their appearance in all of the other games, though, Ruby, Sapphire, and
Emerald had them donning this same bicep polishing gesture.
This can only be seen in the Japanese versions however!
If you look closely, the western releases changed the sailor’s sprite to move his
left arm underneath his right arm rather than on top of it.
Most recently this happened in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where the Inkling Girl originally
used this gesture upon hitting other racers.
But this was quickly revised in the game’s first update removing her left arm from the
animation entirely.
This prompted all major news outlets to report on the removal, questioning that if it was
such an issue, how did it manage to be left in the game in the first place.
Some of our viewers may wonder what exactly is the issue with this particular gesture
and why does it keep on getting included in Japanese games before being subsequently removed?
Well, the reason for this lies in its radically different meanings depending on where you’re
from.
You see, over in Japan, it is seen as a display of confident determination and energy.
Lucy Moffat of Fluent U writes, “If a Japanese person wants to show that they’re ready
to accept a challenge or work hard at something, they’ll place one hand on the opposite bicep
and flex their arm.
This gesture expresses strength and resilience, showing that the person is prepared for whatever
may be in store.”
This interpretation could be compared to the famous American “We Can Do It” World War
II propaganda poster.
On the other hand, throughout various of parts of Europe and Latin America this can be seen
as an obscene gesture known by many names, such as Iberian slap, Italian salute, and
more.
While the specifics vary from culture to culture, it is largely very offensive, equivalent to
giving someone the middle finger.
Thus, it’s easy to see why localizers would choose to remove instances of this gesture
to avoid unintentionally offending people from different cultures.
In the Mega Man Official Complete Works art book, illustrator Shinsuke Komaki reflected
on having to redraw Guts Man’s art from Mega Man: Battle & Chase by saying,
“This Guts Man was done for the overseas versions after we found out his original pose
was not acceptable over there.
Up to this point, my process involved line drawings, tracing paper, and my Rotring, so
having to redraw this was kind of a pain.
(laughs)"
Nevertheless, there have been cases where this gesture remained intact internationally,
such as in the intro of Mischief Makers as seen here.
Or in Persona 4 as Kanji’s victory.
And perhaps most prolifically by Dan in Street Fighter IV.
While it’s unknown why these instances weren’t changed, they could have possibly been left
untouched to preserve the cultural spirit of the original games, especially in the case
of Persona 4 which is set and heavily steeped in Japanese culture.
Then again, they could have just as easily slipped by the localizers unaware to the gesture’s
dual nature, which isn’t nearly as widely known in the United States of America.
However, this is not an unusual phenomenon as there exist many gestures that have radically
different meanings in differing parts of the world.
For example, the coalition forces in Iraq have had to use caution giving others a thumbs
up, as the gesture essentially translates to, “up yours!”in traditional Iraqi culture.
Likewise, in an article for a popular Vietnamese newspaper entitled “Vietnamese Body Language
and What it Means,” author Angela Schonberg writes,
“One time I told one of my Vietnamese friends to ‘wish me luck’ as I had to cross downtown
during rush hour.
Subconsciously, I simultaneously, crossed my fingers when saying this.
My friend stopped me and asked, ‘Why did you cross your fingers?’
I explained to her that in America crossing your fingers is a sign of good luck.
We sometimes even cross our fingers for luck when we’re waiting for good news or the
results of a test.”
“After repeating this to her, she laughed and continued to explain to me that in Vietnam,
this is not the case.
She told me that crossing your fingers is considered a rude, and disrespectful gesture
that refers to part of the female anatomy.”
Meanwhile in the UK giving someone a two fingered V-sign with your palm faced inwards actually
means the same as sticking just your middle finger up - with both gestures being commonly
used.
However, elsewhere this gesture is practically synonymous with either the peace sign, the
“V for Victory” sign, or even just the number 2.This infamously caused a misunderstanding
in 1992 during the then US President George Bush Sr.’s visit to Australia where he flashed
what he intended to be backhand victory signs to passing crowds from his limousine.
Back in the world of video games, this difference of interpretations caused Valve to flip the
zombie hand on the cover of Left 4 Dead 2 in the UK to avoid any similar misconceptions.
It’s not just gestures that can be interpreted differently in other parts of the world either.
For instance, while the majority of PlayStation games released in the west use the “X”
button on the controller to confirm and the “O” button to cancel, the opposite is
true in Japan.
This is because in Japan circles represent “marujirushi,” a symbol used as an affirmation
or to say yes.
On the flip side, Xs serve to as a denial or a way to say no.
Meanwhile, games such as Crash Bandicoot have had their art altered to give characters five
fingers instead of four upon being released in Japan.
As we’ve covered in a previous video, this is done to avoid cultural taboo connotations
with the historically outcasted social class of “Burakumin,” which included butchers
and slaughterhouse laborers among whom missing fingers caused by work related accidents were
not uncommon.
As well as with the ritual known as “Yubitsume,” in which a member will amputate their own
finger as a means of punishment or as a serious apology, most notably committed among the
yakuza, a major Japanese crime syndicate.
However, these are but a handful of examples amid many more from across the globe.
Suffice to say, just as each culture has its own language, they can also have their own
gestures, whose meanings can vastly differ across the globe.
Have you noticed any other examples of this gesture in video games?
Know of any other gestures that can have wildly different meanings depending on where you
are from?
Let us know in the comment below and until next time, thanks for watching!