This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Duneflower: Tôno Shiki in the Tsukihime franchise (video-games, anime, etc.) fits this mould as far as the Tôno family is concerned, though I don't quite feel confident enough to add him to the list myself as I don't know enough of the details. Anyone here seen Shingetsutan Tsukihime?
- An old man in the anime of Rozen Maiden convinced himself the boyish doll Souseiseki was his child, Kazuki, and went so far as to dress her in boy's clothing.
fhqwhgads: Was it really the old man that made her dress like that? I remember seeing Souseiseki in the same outfit in a flashback from before she started living with the old man.
drone5: Surprised Shaw's Pygmalion (progenitor of My Fair Lady) isn't mentioned here, as it's the prototypical Replacement Goldfish story. BTW the fact the trope is called "Replacement Goldfish", does this relate to Catcher in the Rye where Holden is thinking about his favorite story written by his older brother, "The Secret Goldfish"? Kinda glaring, as it's mentioned on the second page of the novel.
CA Lieber: Pygmalion has nothing to do with this that I can think of. The origin of the name is right there in the description; it's not from Catcher In The Rye'
drone5: OK, got it. Must have been confusing the Pygmalion myth with the Shaw play. The examples from the films Metropolis and A.I. reminded me of it. But in the myth IIRC he didn't create the statue as an ideal partner; he only falls in love with it after creating it. Tangential thinking. As for the description: no arguing with its clarity, but the word "goldfish" seems obscure unless one reads the stuff about Astro Boy.
CA Lieber: If you take it as a metaphorical goldfish, maybe. I got it and I never watched Astro Boy. Though I do vaguely recall the Malcolm In The Middle episode
