I found [these YouTube videos] (https://www.youtube.com/@ferumi/videos), and they’re great. Each one is a summary of a popular nonfiction how-to book. The two characters speak quickly (for me), but since the content is highly structured, it’s pretty good for hearing new words in a stream of words I already know. I have questions that might be obvious, but better to ask you all and learn. There are two characters, a young woman and a young man. She’s the teacher, she wears an official white coat, she’s in the superior role, and she uses “da” and “zo.” He’s subordinate, and he uses “desu/masu” speech. And when she makes a point, there’s a sound effect like a whip coming down for emphasis. Is it, in fact, a whip? Is that a thing, like something that would appear in other instructional videos? And is it a running joke that she’s ordering him around and telling him he’d better learn this or that concept, and that he’s obediently saying, “Yes ma’am!” Related to this, is there any real-life context where this would occur? How transgressive does it sound? Is it just, like, “oh, that’s cute,” or is it really eyebrow-raising?
by innergeorge