Hiya ... I'm pretty sure this question has been posed, but I couldn't find a thread for it. I managed to snag me the 80's Astroboy series on DVD (YAAAAAY) .... And I decided to watch it in Japanese - because I do love the Japanese language muchly ... But I noticed something I don't quite follow. Now, we know "Oneechan" means big sister, right? "Aniki" means big brother. But Uran refers to Astro as "Oneechan" ... Is it a gender thing? I watched the deleted scenes, and Daddy Walrus does tell Astroboy he is a very BAD Aniki ... But, as I said, Uran calls him Oneechan. So I am wondering. Is it because she is a girl that she refers to him in that way? I know in most Asian cultures, the way you address someone is directly related to your gender and position within the family ... (Living in a Vietnamese family and being completely confused by the whole thing there has taught me that much - but the terms used are very different) So please help me out on this one ... Thankee ... SJ Oh and BTW: The Deleted scenes are a riot!! The one for "Uran's Twin" had me peeing ... It was actually the two of them singing about Uran ... LOL! Anyway - back to work...

Apparently Oniichan/oniisan is masculine, whereas Oneechan/oneesan is feminine. But surely the pronunciation would be incredibly similar.

Meridian - Have I told you lately that I love you? Thank you for clarifying that one for me...I will now cease my chuckling that Uran thinks Astro if a girl ... LOL! SJ