Kojima Productions’ Marketing and Communications Director Aki Saito made headlines earlier this month when he said Death Stranding was nothing like he thought it was. However, if you haven’t been following his social media account, you are missing out on premium Japanese lessons, straight from the recording set of Death Stranding.
The latest Tweet from Saito-san focuses on his Death Stranding tshirt. Pointing to the shirt, he gives the Japanese phrasing for “Where did you get it?” どこで手に入れたの？
英語で遊ぼう010 Where did you get it?#kojimaproductions pic.twitter.com/McagXV1Odi
— 齊藤昭義(Aki Saito) (@akisaitokojipro) December 26, 2018
Though, you may notice that Saito-san is far from the only face in this. Behind him, you hear Hideo Kojima himself providing assistance with a Kasai dialect while other voice actors wave at the camera:
Annnd Yes! The Kansai dialect voice in the background is Hideo! You can use this dialect if you’re in the Osaka area! You can also hear him in 006! Check it out. https://t.co/30o4wJ4iCZ
— 齊藤昭義(Aki Saito) (@akisaitokojipro) December 26, 2018
Oh, and in case you wanted to grab yourself one of those Death Stranding shirts, it is currently on sale from Village Vanguard.
But now you may be asking… why should I care, especially if I’m not interested in learning Japanese? Saito-san’s language posts may seem innocuous, but they are also an interesting glimpse into the day-to-day of the secretive Kojima Productions and are almost like a brief dev blog.
For example, the post above is showcasing the end of the year recording of the Japanese voiceovers for Death Stranding. If you missed who will be a part of that production, you can check out the previous updates from members of the team as well as Kojima-san Tweet from earlier today:
年末ですが、本日もDSの日本語音声収録中です。ノーマン・リーダス(サム)役の津田健次郎さん、レア・セドゥさん(役名未公表)役の水樹奈々さん、そして我らがギレルモ・デル・トロ監督(役名未公表)役の石住昭彦さん。お疲れ様です
pic.twitter.com/2Oy0gZc3zW
— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) December 26, 2018
However, other videos of him have had similar updates within them. For instance, Saito-san let everyone know where they could find Kojima Productions merchandise in a Japanese physical store:
Need to Know 008 Kojipro goods doko desu-ka?#kojimaproductions pic.twitter.com/noNxFaYq7b
— 齊藤昭義(Aki Saito) (@akisaitokojipro) December 21, 2018
Or, when teaching “I want to go here” or “ここ いき たい,” Saito-san displayed the entrance to the building (with Ludens) letting everyone know they were free to stop by and take a picture with their character:
Need to Know 007 Koko iki tai#kojimaproductions pic.twitter.com/Vxtrpd0Rfx
— 齊藤昭義(Aki Saito) (@akisaitokojipro) December 20, 2018
In short, even if you aren’t interested in Japanese phraseology, any Death Stranding fan should be looking through Saito-san’s language instructions for some fun notes on the development cycle. While it isn’t much, it is certainly more than the faux Death Stranding ARG that petered out last week.
Death Stranding currently doesn’t have a release window, but it is planning on coming to PS4. If you want to show your early support for the developer, feel free to pre-order the game on Amazon.
The post Aki Saito is Helping You Learn Japanese From the Set of Death Stranding by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.