Episode Eight Point Five: ALL THE PRONOUNS ALL OF THEM

Mmkay so apparently last episode was number hachi and and one before that was seven. So, sorry about that, blame sleep deprivation etc etc etc.

Now!

So even though-- or perhaps, because of the fact-- Japanese is a language that has the opportunity to omit pronouns, there are a whole metric crapton of them. And they all mean different things, the nuances etc. so it's very different if someone uses one pronoun over another/etc. Note that I'm not covering all of them, just the more important ones you see often. Heavily inspired/etc from TV Tropes' article on Japanese Pronouns.

Pronouns for "I"

Watashi- the standard word used for "I". In more formal situations, both males and females can use it. It's also alright for girls to use it in more informal contexts, but if a guy does he'll come off as aloof, serious business, or even effeminate. Young girls can use it, but never young boys.

Atashi- informal and quite feminine version of "watashi". Generally used by girls in a casual situation. Not used by guys unless it's funny or just plain creepy. 

Jibun- Most of the time it's like a reflexive pronoun, "myself". In rare moments it will be used as a very detached "I".

Boku- Usually used by guys in a casual, informal context, not trying to come off as aggressive or rude. It's also used by young boys. If this is used when a more assertive pronoun is accepted, like "ore", the guy can appear childish. In anime, girls using "boku" are tomboyish, but it would be quite peculiar if a girl used "boku" in real life. It's also fine in music for, you know, lyrical flow and stuff. Cosmo, for example, has Miku use "boku", but I think that's just because it sounds a bit like "Voc" as in "Vocaloid" so...

Ore- This is a more aggressive male pronoun for a casual situation, usually by young men from like... teenager to middle age? Or something. Note that in the Rin and Len's original "Revolution" and Meiko and Kaito's cover of it, Len and Kaito use "ore" to affirm their masculinity. No, seriously. They do. 

Ore-sama- ... ok so this is pretty much one of the most assertive, overconfident pronouns ever for "I". If this is used either the user is incredibly smug and full of themselves or they're using it in a tongue-in-cheek manner. So it's fitting that the hot-blooded, crazy-awesome Prussia (from Hetalia) refers to himself as "the awesome me". 

Pronouns for "You"

So in real-life, usually the speaker will just use whoever's name. However, since in music it's unusual to have them named...

Anata- this is standard "you". However it can also translate to "dear" or something if a wife uses it with her husband/ any kind of that relationship. 

Anta- this is a familiar/condescending form of the above

Kimi- somewhat informal, however it's still kind of polite. Men use it when addressing people on the same social level they are, also younger men and women use this too. It's also a usual pronoun with couples. So, it turns up a lot in music. The kanji can also be pronounced "kun" so apparently that's also the honorific. 

Omae- Generally used by guys when they're talking to their kohai (underclassmen), close friends, or children. This has an air of self-confidence and it's pretty informal. Girls can use it too but that doesn't really happen that much. It's also used between couples as "dear".

Onore- A really insulting way of saying "you". Like, Hero defeats Villain, Villain yells "Onore!" while blasting off again... 

Temē- A really really insulting way of saying "you". This is pretty restricted to "rough-talking" kind of guys. Pretty much translates to "You (expletive)!"

SUDDENLY--