Mind Your Manners, Sasuke-kun!

 To anime fans, Naruto is one of the top most popular (and longest!) running series. It follows the story of an aspiring ninja boy with the curse of a nine-tailed fox beast trapped inside of him. He's loud and obnoxious, and usually only thinks of his actions after-the-matter. He has a couple of companions that are assigned to his team. His teacher, Kakashi ("Kaka-sensei"), Sakura ("Sakura-chan"), and Sasuke ("Sasuke-kun").
In the parenthesis, I have included what these characters are usually referred to when watching the show with the Japanese audio. This suffixes are called "honorifics". These are usually used in all Japanese normal society. The only time an honorific is usually not used with a name, is when you have a personal or intimate relationship with that person (i.e. close friend, younger sibling, significant others). It's a common courtesy that the Japanese teach and are taught to expect from others. Often times, students in junior high and high schools will refer to each other by their last names with the honorific "san". Once two students have become good friends, they may allow the other to finally address them by their first name with another honorific (generally "-chan" for girls, and "-kun" for boys). This is so saturated within Japanese culture that animes can often revolve around the climactic moment when the boy she likes tells her to call him by his first name! This can also serve as a stepping stone to the next step in a relationship, and can often be somewhat embarrassing for the Japanese. It is another step towards vulnerability.

(from Kimi ni Todoke)

HONORIFICS:

Suffixes--

-san

•  gender neutral
• used with last and first name
• can be used with occuption
• Example: 
• surname | Yamada-san | 山田さん | Mr. Yamada
  given name | Yoko-san | 陽子さん | Miss. Yoko
  occupation | honya-san | 本屋さん | bookseller
  title | oisha-san | お医者さん | Doctor

 -kun

• less formal than -san
• used with men who are younger or same age as speaker
• usually used at schools or companies
• applies to first and last names
• not used between women or when addressing a superior 

-chan

• often attatched to children's first names
• used to identify a close relationship in childish terms
• used with babies, young children, teenage girls, lovers, close friends, or youthful women
• Example:
• Mika-chan | 美香ちゃん | Mika
  obaa-chan | おばあちゃん | grandma
  oji-chan | おじちゃん | uncle

-sama

• significantly more formal than -san
• used with someone who is of a much superior rank, a customer, or someone you admire tremendously
• in older times, related to "m'lord"
• used for royalty

No one ever uses an honorific with their own name. This comes across as extremely arrogant or strange, ESPECIALLY if you used "-sama" (ore-sama: "my esteemed self").

Non-Suffixes--

There are also other honorifics that are not suffixes, but rather general terms one assigns to different age or gender groups:

In Naruto, however, I recently discovered that the directors made an interesting decision. The character Sasuke Uchiha never uses honorifics.

His parents are dead, by the way. In this culture, although this is considered tremendously rude, it provides an intriguing commentary/insight on Sasukes priorities and views/attitude toward society. He's an angsty character with a dark past, and a single objective. He has a problem with finding value in others due to his hurtful past, and wants to estrange himself from those around him. The lack of Japanese honorifics in his speech patterns is just another way to develop his character in a more subtle and layered manner. In English, we don't get this secondary nuance of attitude from him. But to Japanese viewers, his solidarity and coldness may come across much earlier in the season.

On the flip side, if a character uses honorifics too much, or for the inappropriate person (calling a guy "-chan"), it can give similar commentary to their attitudes or perspectives. This can be humorous, but enlightening as well. So next time you're watching anime, try to pick up on the "friendliness" level of the characters. Did you notice any subtle differences or hidden messages? Happy hunting!


My sources:

Japanese Honorifics