What is the sidelines reporter Shinichiro Ota saying each time he makes a report?
It’s “Fukui-san”. He is saying the name of the main commentator, Mr. Kenji Fukui. Since Ota has a tendency to speak rather quickly and since the ‘u’ sound is unvoiced in certain situations, Mr. Fukui’s name becomes “fki-san” or “fii-san”. Or “Squeeze-on”, as some have said they hear. The “san” part is the Japanese equivalent of “Mr/Mrs/Ms”. I’m actually quite impressed that the English dubbing of Ota has that same characteristic fast talking and even the same “Fukui-san” sound. Story has it that Ota was originally signed on to do the narration (as heard on the FujiTV/Pony Canyon marketed videos; available only in Japanese). In fact, Ota even wore jeans to the first taping. He was asked to do a post-battle interview and the rest, they say, is history. Ota had to practice to speak as fast as he does now when rattling off a list of ingredients.
