The YouTube video under the language microscope today belongs to Kamiki Ryunosuke, a Japanese actor, voice actor, and more recently, YouTuber. I have chosen the following video because, in it, Kamiki reflects on a list of fellow YouTubers’ catchphrases/greetings, along with a slew of questions prepared by his mini film crew to guide him in his search for an original aisatsu (catchphrase or greeting) that fits him and his style. The thumbnail can be translated as a rough approximation of “Hey Kamiki, make a greeting already!” and “Apparently Kamiki is making a YouTube greeting.” I too, am on a quest for an opening greeting of some kind, so I’m hoping that this video will be a wellspring of inspiration. Because he introduces so many different versions of an opening greeting in his video I will focus my analysis on those and save excavating for answers to the rest of my six all-important questions in a separate post.
At the beginning of his video Kamiki also covers quite a number of different YouTubers’ greeting styles (or lack thereof), but I won’t be covering them in this post. I would be doing those YouTubers a disservice by just referencing them through Kamiki’s video. Their videos are rich with other important content besides their greetings, so they deserve to each get their own posts. Besides, this post would get ridiculously long if I went into detail for all of them. Instead I’ll focus on the eleven different aisatsu (greetings) Kamiki brainstormed using the those aforementioned Youtubers’ versions as inspiration.
As you’ll quickly begin to see, the English understanding of the word “greeting” doesn’t quite fit how the word aisatsu is actually used in Japanese. So, for the purposes of this blog, I will be using the Japanese word aisatsu instead.
Let the Aisatsu Brainstorming Begin!
1) the aisatsu before the aisatsus
In this video Kamiki explores multiple YouTubers’ opening aisatsu (greeting) styles as a template for making his own. But before settling on a catchphrase of his own though he still has to open this video. The way that he ends up doing so comes across as very casual and breezy without being impolite.
はい、どうも。神木 隆之介です！(hai, doumo. Kamiki Ryunosuke desu!) . This translates to “Hey! I’m Kamiki Ryunosuke!” He doesn’t actually add the subject word “I,” which makes it feel casual, but he does use the formal desu ending to keep it from feeling impolite or cocky.
He’s also tagged a bow at the end as a silent way of adding the polite youroshiku onegaishimasu! , which literally translates as “I’m thanking you in advance for your care!” but occupies the same conversational space as the English “Nice to meet you” or “I look forward to working with you.” It’s a piece of Japanese language that is super abstract but very specific to a feeling and mindset unique to Japan. Not including it in some way in your “conversation” with your audience via YouTube would likely be considered pretty rude.
2) the singsong aisatsu
Doumo ~ *clucking sound* Kamiki Ryunosuke desu!
[Hey~! *clucking sound* It’s Kamiki Ryunosuke!]
This simple little greeting came with a two finger salute and a clucking sound. You could tell that he was a bit embarrassed about the cheesiness of the sound. It’s a slightly more singsong version of the one he used to open the beginning of this video, so I’ll not analyze much further than that.
3) The dragon Quest aisatsu: Also known as the elaborate gesture aisatsu
Itsudemo dokodemo parupunte
[Anytime anywhere parupunte!]
This particular greeting comes with a fishing gesture followed by the grand spell casting gesture shown in the screen capture that follow along to the rhythm of his words. If you have no idea what parupunte means, never fear, apparently the Japanese audience might not either, so he immediately clarifies. Parupunte is the pronunciation of an unpredictable spell in the video game series Dragon Quest. He jokes that when you cast it in the game, you never know what is going to happen so the spell would actually be a pretty accurate opening for his videos.
I don’t really play any video games, nor do I aspire to be a wizard, so perhaps when forging my own aisatsu I’ll leave the wand wielding gestures to the professionals. Let’s be real. I am relegating them to the indefinitely postponed vault. That being said, it’s becoming increasingly evident to me that gestures are an important component of the Japanese YouTube aisatsu, and I’ll likely need to find one that I can comfortable using over and over again.
4) the Keyboard tongue twister aisatsu
Aojiku akajiku kirojiku. Kyou no kibun ha chajiku!
[Blue axis, red axis, yellow axis. Today’s mood is brown axis!]
So the first thing you should know is that the axis he is referring to is a keyboard axis. They apparently come in multiple colours. The second thing you should know is that the colour references are borrowed from the famous Japanese tongue twister: 赤パジャマ青パジャマ姫パジャマ (aka pajama, ao pajama, ki pajama), which means “red pajamas, blue pajamas, yellow pajamas.
If you feel like practicing it click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh9mWKOjXS8
He wasn’t too fond of it. His film crew just suggested using the keyboard axis thing because he had once made a fairly popular video testing out different colour axis keyboards.
I suppose this means that I should probably have a look at some Japanese tongue twisters to see if any of them match my name or can be altered to fit the theme of my videos.
5) the punny onomatopoeia aisatsu
*joki joki joki*
*sound of scissors cutting*
This aisatsu takes off with three lively scissor cutting gestures complete with their requisite sound effects. It is then followed up with a really punny rendition of his name.
Kimi kiru Kamiki Ryunosuke desu!
[I’m the hair cutting Kamiki Ryunosuke!]
The first two syllables, Kami, of his family name Kami-ki, sounds like the word hair in Japanese. The last syllable of his family name ~ki blends with the first syllable Ryu~ of his given name Ryu~nosuke, to sound very much like the Japanese verb kiru, meaning “to cut”. Together they sound like the phrase “kami kiru”, meaning “to cut hair.” Combined with the previous scissor gesturing, this aisatsu makes him seem like a high-tension, hair stylist YouTuber. It’s probably why he didn’t go with it. It really is too bad that he isn’t a hairdresser. It’s definitely a missed opportunity considering his name’s punning potential.
My name, on the other hand, is a veritable treasure trove of punny nicknames in English (McDonalds, Michealangelo, Mikilob, Miki-D, Micky Mouse, etc, etc). I have no idea what sort of puns I could make with my name in Japanese, but it would be fun if I could include one in my aisatsu. If you have any suggestions for me, drop a few of them into the comments below!
6) the care bear aisatsu
yaruki, genki, da~isuki!
[motivation, energetic happiness/health, loooooovvve!]
They all end in ~ki and they all sound like the qualifications for becoming a care bear. Or they’re the three ingredients for a new PowerPuff girl. Whichever. I think the idea is to give off the feelings you want your viewers to receive. Transfer your energy through the screen, so to speak.
7) It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no… it’s wordplay! aisatsu
kami… kame…kamu… kamo…un un…. Kamiki Ryunosuke desu!
[it’s hair…. it’s a turtle… it’s a cam corder… maybe…. nope!…. It’s Kamiki Ryunosuke!
This aisatsu continues the trend of word and sound play. He basically changes one vowel sound to change the meaning of the word. Though to be honest, I’m not even sure they are meant to be words. The random sounds coincidentally have real word correspondences, but as you can see from my translation, using them turns the phrase into jumbled nonsense. If anyone knows what he’s actually trying to do, let me know in the comments below!
8) The breath of fresh air Aisatsu
*blows on the camera* anata ni ageru… sawayakana toiki, Kamiki Ryunosuke desu.
*blows on camera* [I am the one to give to you… a refreshing sigh! Kamiki Ryunosuke!]
Even Kamiki doesn’t quite know what to do with himself after this rendition. The film crew laughs in the background while he just sits and lets the cringe settle in.
9) The peter Pan syndrome aisatsu
心はいつでも十四歳、神木隆之介です！
kokoro ha itsudemo juu yon sai Kamiki Ryunosuke desu!
[I’m the guy who’s heart is forever 14 years old, Kamiki Ryunosuke!]
This aisatsu seems the most true for him but, he smirks, his generation would probably lambast him for it. I find it fascinating because it confirms a pattern I’m seeing of Japanese YouTubers using a descriptive sentence as an adjective to describe their name. It would be the equivalent of me saying something like “I’m the I’m from Vancouver Island, Mykaila!”
10) The never in a million years aisatsu
Orecchi~ Kamkicchi~
[I’m Kamiki!] * insert cheesy folk song vibes*
This one actually evolved. It started off as Doumo! Orecchi Kamki Ryunosuke desu! Ore is actually the masculine iteration of “I” in Japanese. Sticking ~chi at the end of it is essentially injecting it with hyper cute and chaotic energy.
I don’t know if sticking ~chi at the end of a female’s name would be any different. It might seem less out of place than if a guy does it. I wonder if I could get away with using it? It might come across just as chaotic as it does on Kamiki, or it might not. I’m honestly not too sure.
Then the aisatsu morphed into the two thumbs up, Orechi! Kamikicchi! 
Double the ~chi, double the “Waaaaaaa!!!” factor.
Then somehow it devolved into the folk song version.
Either way, this is one style of aisatsu he wouldn’t be caught dead using. Just look at that head hanging in embarrassment!
11) The goldilocks Aisatsu
Otsu desu. Ari desu. Yoroshiku desu. Kamkiki Ryunosuke desu.
[You’ve had a long day/ worked hard. Thanks. Thanks in advance for your care!]
As in the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears, this aisatsu was juuuust right, for Kamiki at least. It’s a string of truncated daily greetings with a formal ~desu ending.
Otsu comes from the greeting Otsukare sama desu, which translated literally is “Oh tired one!” Though actually means something along the lines of “thanks for your hard work.” It’s a phrase you say to your coworkers as you pass them in the halls, to the general staff at the end of the work day, to your friends when you meet them after they’ve gotten off work or school, and again after you finish hanging out. Essentially, it’s a polite and friendly way of recognizing the effort that others around you are putting in.
Ari~ is short for arigatou, which, as everyone who can spout off the “doumo arigatou Mr. Roboto” lyrics will know, means thank you.
Yoroshiku~ is short for yoroshiku onegaishimasu, whose meaning I already explained way back at the beginning.
Linking the shortened versions of these daily greetings together in an opening aisatsu feels like casually flying through all the niceties you would get in a face to face conversation, even if you’re only linked through a screen. It’s warm, and spunky without being rude, and it welcomes you into the conversation. It’s a good reminder that I don’t have to use anything too overtly gimmicky. I can rely on the tried and true daily greetings and still retain a bit of originality.
Kamiki ultimately felt that this aistatsu was the version most original, yet true to his character that he had created yet. He reflects that, more than having something flashy, it is important for him to have something that feels natural when he says it, and feels good when he, or others, hear it. It’s good advice, and I think I’ll take it.
Take away points:
After analyzing all the different iterations of “hey, this is Kamiki Ryunosuke” I’ve come away with a checklist of characteristics and techniques that are common in Japanese YouTube aisatsu :
- Alliteration
- Puns! All of the Puns!
- Onomatopoeia
- Giving feelings of various kinds to the audience
- Stylized versions of daily greetings
- Elaborate gestures
- Using a flowery sentence before your name as a descriptive adjective phrase.
- Polite, yet casual language
- Using doumo! instead of konnichiwa
These are all elements I am going to look for in other YouTubers’ videos and will likely include in the creation of my own aisatsu. It will be interesting figuring out how to walk that line between adding just enough cheese (I’ll probably need some kind of gesture) and wallowing in several layers of cringe (Orecchi! ).
