The Use of Japanese Language in Gundam Wing Fanfiction

All right, I can almost understand why someone would use Japanese in a fanfiction for something like Rurouni Kenshin, or Marmalade Boy, or Slam Dunk--all of them take place in Japan, with Japanese people, right? (the argument against that being that the entire story should be seen as “in translation” – but that’s beside the point.)  Well, I started reading Gundam Wing fanfiction and I saw Heero saying "omae o korosu" and I thought, "okay, that makes sense, since he's Japanese."  Then I kept on reading, and Trowa was telling Quatre "ai shiteru"—what the heck's up with that?!  According to producers, Trowa's Latin.  So that means he'd be speaking a Latin language—you know, Italian, French, Spanish, Romansch, Belgian, Portuguese, or Romanian.  More specifically, the producers said he's from Latin America.  Okay, so Trowa would more likely speak Spanish or Portuguese, right?  But no, more often than not, if Trowa's not speaking in English, it's Japanese or French. (For the record, I think using French for a romantic scene is just cheesy.)  To make matters worse, though, in this Trowa/Quatre fic, after Trowa confessed his love in Japanese, Quatre replied in Japanese.  Call me crazy, but I could've sworn he'd be speaking in Arabic, or Turkish, or something like that. 

Now, my biggest complaint is that, while watching the anime and reading Blind Target and Episode Zero, I noticed that almost everything written in Gundam Wing is in English.  The letter Quatre leaves his father when he runs away?  English.  Heero's "Happy Birthday" card for Relena from the end of the series?  English.  The writing on the purple MS?  “Peace and Freedom”—in English.  Heck—even when Heero's in the Epyon, everything's written in English.  I got a distinct feeling that the author and animators were making an English-speaking world.  (As sad as that is . . . )

But I do think each pilot would maintain aspects of their own culture.  I think Heero would know Japanese, but would the others?  I don't think I've ever seen a fanfic where Quatre says something like "la ilaha ella Allah" (There is no god but Allah, one of the pillars of Islam.)  And you'd think with so many Spanish programs in high schools and colleges, a few more writers could give a "Te amo" to Quatre from Trowa.  Or WuFei could whisper sweet Chinese nothings to Duo (or Sally, or Treize, etc.).  Isn't "wo ai ni" Chinese? 

I think it's fun to flaunt knowledge of foreign languages—especially when a lot of your audience studies the same language, or has some knowledge of it.  But personally, I think the language should be called for within the text and plot.  For example, there was one story where Heero gave his little "I'll kill you" line in Japanese, and Duo chastised him because they were on an American colony, and the person wouldn't understand.  I thought that was really cute. 

I encourage people to explore languages.  I'm fluent in only one, but I was raised in a bilingual family.  I have a deep respect for philology and linguistics—personally, I think it's great to put foreign language in a story if it's well done, because it might encourage others to study something new.  But please, use it wisely.  And I think it's especially important to translate it within the story or in an author's note.  Otherwise it's incredibly frustrating for people who don't know as much.  (I only know a little Japanese, and once I read a fanfic where nearly all of Trowa's lines were in Japanese, and none were translated.  Ach!  I only understood about three fourths of them!) I'm a little less worked up about things like honorifics, and little words that have no definite translation (like "aa" or "ne"—you can translate it, but it's not nearly as effective in certain situations). 

But please, I beg all fanfic writers, consider the characters and the medium and the plot to determine any lingual variations!