History UsefulNotes / Tanabata

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* The anime and the manga versions of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' have two different {{filler}} stories based around Tanabata. In the manga, a variant of the habit of writing wishes on leaves is used as the basis for a RedStringOfFate effect, with Ranma having to struggle to keep his and Akane's leaves together and avoid their leaves being tied to those of other people. The anime episode is a tale where Akane falls off of a roof and then meets Princess Orihime (referred to in the dub simply as "Princess Ori") in person, who has descended from the Milky Way to seek out Hikoboshi ("Kengyu the Cowherd" in the dub), her fiance, who has gone missing. As she explains over the course of the episode, the two of them are intended to wed and carry on the Milky Way School of Martial Arts, but she got into a fight with Hikoboshi over his lackadaisical manner and laid-back attitude, so now he's come to Earth in a huff to challenge and defeat earthly dojos to prove he is a strong fighter after all... but the Princess's father will make her marry another man if he hasn't returned to the Milky Way by the end of the festival. The episode ends with Akane waking up to discover she apparently was having a dream while concussed after falling off of the roof at the episode's beginning, though there is an OrWasItADream twist.

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!!Examples:

* A comedic side story in the ''Manga/SailorMoon'' manga centered around the Tanabata festival, [[spoiler: with Orihime as a LaughablyEvil PunchClockVillain. When she's defeated by Sailor Chibi-Moon she sobs and says that Hikoboshi hasn't showed up and she's afraid to see him because she [[FatGirl got fat from overeating]], but then he shows up and reassures her that he still loves her.]]

* [[HoYay Kaworu and Shinji]] are depicted as Orihime and Hikoboshi in ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion''. Both Sadamoto�s [[http://17th-angel.tumblr.com/post/39361279568/cake-slice-tanabata-the-meeting-of-the-deities poster]] for Q and Honda�s artwork have set Shinji and Kaworu in a sky full of stars with each under Vega and Altair and with the Milkyway running between them. A direct allusion to the star crossed lovers from the legend and the stars associated with them. Furthermore the official theater booklet for 3.0 held interviews by the Khara staff including Megui Ogata and Akira Ishida that described Kaworu and Shinji as having been linked through �past cycles� and only being able to be around each other for a brief time.

Tanabata (七夕) is the UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese version of the [[UsefulNotes/{{China}} Chinese]] Qi Xi (七夕) festival, aka "the Night of Sevens". It was exported to Japan about a millennium ago during the time of The Empire of The ('Northern' as we posthumously call them) Song, or what is known in Japan as the 'Heian' period. We're calling it ''Tanabata'' and not ''Qixi'' because [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Japan was a NATO-ally throughout the Cold War whereas Communist China did not align with NATO until the 1970s]], meaning that [[FirstGirlWins the Anglosphere's first mass-exposure to the festival was through the Japanese]].

In China, Japan, and Korea (where it's called Chilseok) the festival is a cultural equivalent of European Christianity's 'Day of Saint Valentine'. In China's south (of the Yanzi river), they celebrate the day by eating mooncakes (among other things), but the Japanese generally celebrate this day by writing wishes on ''tanzaku'' paper and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival (around midnight or on the next day).

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Warioware}} Warioware Gold]]'', some of the microgames from previous installments about bringing couples together (Hookin' Up, Tearful Reunion) are remade to be about Orihime and Hikoboshi.

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* Two of the original characters in the ''TabletopGame/StreetFighter'' Storyteller RPG are enamored Japanese fighters who chose to fight under the names of Hikoboshi (misspelt as "Hikodoshi" in reference material) and Orihime, although this is mainly due to Hikoboshi's PatrioticFervor - the two are actually very close to each other.

* Chapter nineteen of ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi'' takes place on a Tanabata ten years before the present day, when Shouta, Ichigo, and Morei are six years old. The flashback is shown to be a ForgottenFirstMeeting between Ichigo and Shouta, who hangs up Ichigo's wish for her after she gets embarrassed about it and throws it in the trash. The second half of the chapter, usually a PerspectiveFlip focusing on the other girls in the harem, instead focuses on Orihime-sama. Unfortunately for all involved, Orihime-sama is a {{Jerkass God|s}} who, rather than grant Ichigo's wish to make her bedwetting stop, makes Ichigo's wetting problems ''worse'' because Shouta's wish, to see Ichigo again, triggered her bitterness at being separated from Hikoboshi-sama. Little Morei's wish, "Allways wanna bee wit Shoota", makes Orihime-sama so angry she causes Morei's to wet herself on the spot. Then she heads home to play video games.

* Inoue Orihime of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' had a running Tanabata theme given her name. This was lampshaded a couple of times in color-spreads: One by strategically giving her a 7/7 (the seventh day of the seventh month) as her symbolic number and another by having her [[MeaningfulName alternate name]] translated as Vega Highwell (Vega being the star pertaining to Tanabata's Orihime). In the [[http://www.mangachapter.me/1193/bleach/0and1.html Bleach pilot chapter]], the parallels to the Tanabata story are even more prominent, with Ichigo and Orihime paralleling Hikoboshi and Orihime, as well as Orihime's dead father paralleling the Sky King in the legend who separates the two.

The festival is based on the legend of two StarCrossedLovers, Orihime (Zhinü) the weaver and Hikoboshi (Niulang) the cowherd, symbolized respectively by the stars Vega and Altair (both only visible in the northern hemisphere). Throughout the year they are separated by the river of the Milky Way, but for a single night each year - the seventh day of the seventh month of the most of the Chinese lunisolar calendars - one of them is said to be able to cross the void and they can be together. The method of crossing varies depending on the storyteller, but the most popular and romantic way is by a bridge of birds who serve them out of sympathy for their plight - often magpies, which are lucky birds in Chinese mythology.

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* ''MegaManUponAStar'': Dr. Wily uses the theme of the holiday to attack Japan with asteroids.

* [[HoYay Kaworu and Shinji]] are depicted as Orihime and Hikoboshi in ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion''. Both Sadamoto’s [[http://17th-angel.tumblr.com/post/39361279568/cake-slice-tanabata-the-meeting-of-the-deities poster]] for Q and Honda’s artwork have set Shinji and Kaworu in a sky full of stars with each under Vega and Altair and with the Milkyway running between them. A direct allusion to the star crossed lovers from the legend and the stars associated with them. Furthermore the official theater booklet for 3.0 held interviews by the Khara staff including Megui Ogata and Akira Ishida that described Kaworu and Shinji as having been linked through “past cycles” and only being able to be around each other for a brief time.

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* In the 2010 version of ''Film/TheKarateKid'', Mei Ying invites Dre on a date the night of the Qi Xi festival. They watch a shadow puppet play about the tale of Zhinü and Niulang.

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* The anime version of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' had an episode where Kaoru expected Kenshin to treat her to something special for the holiday but Kenshin, who forgot about the holiday, mistook her hints for reminders of her birthday (which was months away). To make matters complicated, Kenshin found a ring inside a fish he caught and, not only forgetting about Tanabata but also not knowing about the Western tradition of engagement rings (which Kaoru and Tae were familiar with), gave her the ring... [[AccidentalMarriage so Kaoru was now believing Kenshin proposed to her.]] Later on, by chance, Sanosuke meets the man who lost the ring (and is [[SpurnedIntoSuicide about to commit suicide]] because he threw the ring away in the middle of a fight with his girlfriend and fell into depression when he realized what he did) and learn about the tradition. Seeing Kenshin's face when he understood the mess he got himself into, it was hard to remember he's a feared assassin. [[spoiler: It all ended more or less well: the ring was retrieved from Kaoru and then given back to the dude (who handed it to his girl), and Kenshin gave Kaoru a flower bouquet to make up for it. (And Tsubame and Megumi also got flowers from Yahiko and Sano).]]

* A comedic side story in the ''Manga/SailorMoon'' manga centered around the Tanabata festival.

* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', Yamaku High School has a festival organized around Tanabata. You only get to see it in Shizune's route, though. In Lilly's route, [[spoiler: Tanabata is heavily discussed, as Hisao promises to take her to the festival. Appropriately, that does not happen because Lilly and Hisao have their own StarCrossedLovers situation. Whether this is permanent depends on the player's actions. If the player manages to get Lilly's Good Ending, Hisao promises to take Lilly to the following Tanabata to make up for missing the previous one, something which Lilly is surprised that Hisao remembered.]]

* Referenced in ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' with Stellaknight Bridge. "Satellaknight Altair" and "Satellaknight Vega" appear in the artwork.

'''Examples:'''

* Referenced in ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh TCG'' with Stellaknight Bridge. "Satellaknight Altair and "Satellaknight Vega" appear in the artwork.

Tanabata (七夕) is the UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese version of the [[UsefulNotes/{{China}} Chinese]] Qi Xi (七夕) festival, aka "the Night of Sevens". It was exported to Japan about a millennia ago during the time of The Empire of The ('Northern' as we posthumously call them) Song, or what is known in Japan as the 'Heian' period. We're calling it ''Tanabata'' and not ''Qixi'' because [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Japan was a NATO-ally throughout the Cold War whereas Communist China did not align with NATO until the 1970s]], meaning that [[FirstGirlWins the Anglosphere's first mass-exposure to the festival was through the Japanese]].

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', there is a side-story called "The Witches' Tanabata", in which the audience learns about the witches' philosophies when it comes to granting Tanabata wishes.

* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', Yamaku High School has a festival organized around Tanabata. You only get to see it in Shizune's route, though.
** [[spoiler: Tanabata is heavily discussed in Lilly's route as Hisao promises to take her to the festival. Appropriately, that does not happen because Lilly and Hisao have their own StarCrossedLovers situation. Whether this is permanent depends on the player's actions.]]
*** [[spoiler: If the player manages to get Lilly's Good Ending, Hisao promises to take Lilly to the following Tanabata to make up for missing the previous one, something which Lilly is surprised that Hisao remembered.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', the heroine gets to see the wishes of the [[InterspeciesRomance birds]] she's the closest to at Tanabata and make a wish herself to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world by force]], [[TheManBehindTheMan rule the world from the shadows]], gain the MadLove of a FallenAngel, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking become a famous artist]].

* In ''[[GaiaOnline zOMG!]]'', ShrineMaiden Katsumi asks you to deliver an off-season wish to a Wish Tree in Zen Gardens (she is wishing for the safety of others in the Animated attacks). [[spoiler: The wishes in the Wish Tree turn out to be Animated themselves-- but they were created almost completely in goodwill, so [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch they're mostly neutral/benevolent towards humans]].]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' has two mechas named after the stars of {{Tanabata}}: ''Altair''lion and ''Vega''lion. Their pilots, Ibis Douglas and Sleigh Presty, aren't exactly [[LesYay lovers]], they're more like best friends, but they went through hardships and misunderstandings a lot (especially on Sleigh's side) until they finally understand each other and eventually unite their mecha into Hyperion. This is referenced in ''Second Original Generation'' where the resident mecha {{Otaku}} Ryusei Date noticed the theme naming and asked why Hyperion isn't instead called ''Tanabata''lion, in which his idea gets shot down.