Ayumu Kasuga

Ayumu Kasuga, better known as Osaka, is a transfer student from the city of Osaka and one of the main characters in the Azumanga Daioh series. In the original English translation of the manga, her Kansai dialect was rendered as a Brooklyn accent, which has sometimes been done for other anime characters with Osaka accents, such as Naru/Molly from Sailor Moon. The English dub of the anime, which was done later, gives her the Southern accent from around ADV Films headquarters in Houston, Texas. She also has a Southern accent in the Yen Press translation of the manga. ADV Films said on this choice "In the English dub, [her Kansai dialect] has been equated to a Southern accent from around the Houston area, which shares the business-oriented attitude with Osaka as well as the country image that color both the Southern and Osakan accents" while Yen Press states the following: "Out of [the dialects differing from standard Tokyo Japanese], the dialect family of the Kansai (Western Japan) area — particularly the Osaka dialect — is the most widely recognized and understood nationwide, thanks in part to the comedy industry. To speakers of standard Japanese, Osakan speech sounds faster, rougher, and livelier. /.../ In translation, we opted to have Osaka speak with something of a Southern accent, which is the largest accent group in the United States." Nonetheless, fans still derided the decision, sometimes likening Osaka (in the English Dub) to a redneck.