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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup
Changed line(s) 179,180 (click to see context) from:
Apart from their PhenotypeStereotype appearances, Fecchan could be short for Fernanda/Ferdinanda, Federica or Felicia/Félicie (and Japanese has no "feh" syllable), while Annaka could be a Japanized version of Annika, a Nordic diminutive for Anna that was the 85th most popular name for girls in [[Main/CanadaEh British Columbia]] during 2011.
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Apart from their PhenotypeStereotype appearances, Fecchan could be short for Fernanda/Ferdinanda, Federica or Felicia/Félicie (and Japanese has no "feh" syllable), while Annaka could be a Japanized version of Annika, a Nordic diminutive for Anna that was the 85th most popular name for girls in [[Main/CanadaEh British Columbia]] Columbia during 2011.
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Changed line(s) 214 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: As much as everything happens as we see it, Doublecheeseburgirl’s face is StylisedForTheViewer.]]
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[[WMG: As much as everything happens as we see it, Doublecheeseburgirl’s face is StylisedForTheViewer.StylizedForTheViewer.]]
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Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
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* Further proof that Mai actually likes Yuuko is chapter 134, where Mai seems to be processing her thoughts after mentioning Yuuko’s name.
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Changed line(s) 211 (click to see context) from:
So Nano is a robot, and Nakamura is obsessed with trying to prove this. But does she actually know it? Because she has a lot of mad scientist stuff already prepared for a student who just showed up. And some of Yuuko and Mio's comments about her "getting sick" a lot imply that she has been trying to experiment on or catch other students besides Nano. Maybe she thinks that all the students are aliens/robots/cryptids etc and we only know about her attempts to catch Nano because she's the only one that happens to actually be a robot.
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So Nano is a robot, and Nakamura is obsessed with trying to prove this. But does she actually know it? Because she has a lot of mad scientist stuff already prepared for a student who just showed up. And some of Yuuko and Mio's comments about her "getting sick" a lot imply that she has been trying to experiment on or catch other students besides Nano. Maybe she thinks that all the students are aliens/robots/cryptids etc and we only know about her attempts to catch Nano because she's the only one that happens to actually be a robot.robot.
[[WMG: As much as everything happens as we see it, Doublecheeseburgirl’s face is StylisedForTheViewer.]]
How else can the two girls confuse Yuuko for Doublecheeseburgirl, Mio and Annako the other way round, and for Mrs Aioi to not notice she’s screaming at and hitting the wrong person? Other than RuleOfFunny this is the only in universe explanation.
[[WMG: As much as everything happens as we see it, Doublecheeseburgirl’s face is StylisedForTheViewer.]]
How else can the two girls confuse Yuuko for Doublecheeseburgirl, Mio and Annako the other way round, and for Mrs Aioi to not notice she’s screaming at and hitting the wrong person? Other than RuleOfFunny this is the only in universe explanation.
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Changed line(s) 132 (click to see context) from:
* [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Which]] [[Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub Haruhi]]? (But I think we all know [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya which]].)
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* [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya Which]] [[Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub Haruhi]]? (But I think we all know [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya which]].)
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*** With all the trolling Mai does, wouldn't there be some Tomo in there as well?
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theory that nakamura is only accidentally right about nano being a robot.
Changed line(s) 207 (click to see context) from:
The Fey Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that used magic at some distant point in the past, but underwent some disaster at some point that wiped most of it out. As a result, the Fey Kingdom is now reduced to a few giant flying airships. When the kingdom was destroyed, so were their artifacts and knowledge, and the only artifacts left are the Wood Cubes, which no one remembers how to use. Unbeknownst to the King, Princess, and the mooks, the ancient weapon that the Wood Cubes summon is, in fact, Mio. When the guy dropped the Wood Cubes out of the ship, they activated upon hitting the ground. After retrieval, they both came together and summoned Mio, who destroyed part of the ship and jumped off. Upon hitting the ground, she lost her memory and went to live an ordinary life. She doesn't remember any of her powers, but is still incredibly strong. Meanwhile, the Fey Kingdom is still drifting along, looking for the Wood Cubes. And Yuuko, falling asleep behind Mio in class, dreams about Mio (or the Wood Cubes') memories through a psychic connection.
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The Fey Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that used magic at some distant point in the past, but underwent some disaster at some point that wiped most of it out. As a result, the Fey Kingdom is now reduced to a few giant flying airships. When the kingdom was destroyed, so were their artifacts and knowledge, and the only artifacts left are the Wood Cubes, which no one remembers how to use. Unbeknownst to the King, Princess, and the mooks, the ancient weapon that the Wood Cubes summon is, in fact, Mio. When the guy dropped the Wood Cubes out of the ship, they activated upon hitting the ground. After retrieval, they both came together and summoned Mio, who destroyed part of the ship and jumped off. Upon hitting the ground, she lost her memory and went to live an ordinary life. She doesn't remember any of her powers, but is still incredibly strong. Meanwhile, the Fey Kingdom is still drifting along, looking for the Wood Cubes. And Yuuko, falling asleep behind Mio in class, dreams about Mio (or the Wood Cubes') memories through a psychic connection.connection.
[[WMG: Does Miss Nakamura actually know that Nano is a robot or is she just crazy?]]
So Nano is a robot, and Nakamura is obsessed with trying to prove this. But does she actually know it? Because she has a lot of mad scientist stuff already prepared for a student who just showed up. And some of Yuuko and Mio's comments about her "getting sick" a lot imply that she has been trying to experiment on or catch other students besides Nano. Maybe she thinks that all the students are aliens/robots/cryptids etc and we only know about her attempts to catch Nano because she's the only one that happens to actually be a robot.
[[WMG: Does Miss Nakamura actually know that Nano is a robot or is she just crazy?]]
So Nano is a robot, and Nakamura is obsessed with trying to prove this. But does she actually know it? Because she has a lot of mad scientist stuff already prepared for a student who just showed up. And some of Yuuko and Mio's comments about her "getting sick" a lot imply that she has been trying to experiment on or catch other students besides Nano. Maybe she thinks that all the students are aliens/robots/cryptids etc and we only know about her attempts to catch Nano because she's the only one that happens to actually be a robot.
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Added my own WMG.
Changed line(s) 204 (click to see context) from:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
to:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.homework.
[[WMG: What the Fey Kingdom and the Wood Cubes are.]]
The Fey Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that used magic at some distant point in the past, but underwent some disaster at some point that wiped most of it out. As a result, the Fey Kingdom is now reduced to a few giant flying airships. When the kingdom was destroyed, so were their artifacts and knowledge, and the only artifacts left are the Wood Cubes, which no one remembers how to use. Unbeknownst to the King, Princess, and the mooks, the ancient weapon that the Wood Cubes summon is, in fact, Mio. When the guy dropped the Wood Cubes out of the ship, they activated upon hitting the ground. After retrieval, they both came together and summoned Mio, who destroyed part of the ship and jumped off. Upon hitting the ground, she lost her memory and went to live an ordinary life. She doesn't remember any of her powers, but is still incredibly strong. Meanwhile, the Fey Kingdom is still drifting along, looking for the Wood Cubes. And Yuuko, falling asleep behind Mio in class, dreams about Mio (or the Wood Cubes') memories through a psychic connection.
[[WMG: What the Fey Kingdom and the Wood Cubes are.]]
The Fey Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that used magic at some distant point in the past, but underwent some disaster at some point that wiped most of it out. As a result, the Fey Kingdom is now reduced to a few giant flying airships. When the kingdom was destroyed, so were their artifacts and knowledge, and the only artifacts left are the Wood Cubes, which no one remembers how to use. Unbeknownst to the King, Princess, and the mooks, the ancient weapon that the Wood Cubes summon is, in fact, Mio. When the guy dropped the Wood Cubes out of the ship, they activated upon hitting the ground. After retrieval, they both came together and summoned Mio, who destroyed part of the ship and jumped off. Upon hitting the ground, she lost her memory and went to live an ordinary life. She doesn't remember any of her powers, but is still incredibly strong. Meanwhile, the Fey Kingdom is still drifting along, looking for the Wood Cubes. And Yuuko, falling asleep behind Mio in class, dreams about Mio (or the Wood Cubes') memories through a psychic connection.
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Fixed defunct You Tube link and grammar errors
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: The teacher in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHhcgXke490 this clip]] is older Yukko.]]
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[[WMG: The teacher in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHhcgXke490 com/watch?v=MWaaAaL5PTQ this clip]] is older Yukko.Yukko in the future.]]
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Contradictory subtitles on whether the Sakamoto's scarf is Hakase's work, so deleting for now.
Changed line(s) 204,205 (click to see context) from:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and a (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and a (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
to:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and a (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.homework.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and a (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
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Changed line(s) 205 (click to see context) from:
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
to:
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and a (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
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Some support for the idea that Hakase didn't create Nano: it seems to be canon that she (also?) didn't make Sakamoto's scarf
Changed line(s) 204 (click to see context) from:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
to:
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.homework.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
* There's some support for this theory in the fact that Sakamoto's scarf, like Nano an obviously well-built and (comparatively) sensible and useful bit of super-tech, was evidently not made by Hakase either. When Hakase introduces the scarf she only says that she has brought it, and that the name 'Sakamoto' is something that she found written on the box.
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Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
* The same play on words occurs in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' with the character Hakase Satomi (葉加瀬 聡美), who ''also'' is an expert in robotics. Coincidence?
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* The same play on words occurs in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' with the character Hakase Satomi (葉加瀬 聡美), who ''also'' is an expert in robotics. Coincidence?
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Changed line(s) 91 (click to see context) from:
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* That kind of thing ''can't'' be a coincidence in fiction unless the writer's lost track of the characters. Either they're related or it's a very strange RedHerring.
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Changed line(s) 106 (click to see context) from:
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** So assuming this was true, what relation, in reality, does Nano have to the Professor? Older sister?
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Changed line(s) 90 (click to see context) from:
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* I mean, given the age gap, her being the Principal's granddaughter would probably fit.
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Changed line(s) 95 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: The Professor is the granddaughter of [[DragonBall Dr. Gero]].]]
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[[WMG: The Professor is the granddaughter of [[DragonBall [[Anime/DragonBallZ Dr. Gero]].]]
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Changed line(s) 110,111 (click to see context) from:
And the world has an over 9000% divergence from ''Steins;Gate''. No, seriously. Blue eyes, red hair, scientific achievements at a young age...
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And the world has an over 9000% Over9000% divergence from ''Steins;Gate''. No, seriously. Blue eyes, red hair, scientific achievements at a young age...
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Changed line(s) 147 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: Professor is [[{{Narbonic}} a child of Helen Narbon Sr.]]]]
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[[WMG: Professor is [[{{Narbonic}} [[{{Webcomic/Narbonic}} a child of Helen Narbon Sr.]]]]
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Changed line(s) 109,111 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: The Professor's real name is [[SteinsGate Kurisu Makise]] ]]
And the world has an over 9000% divergence from Steins Gate. No, seriously. Blue eyes, red hair, scientific achievements at a young age...
And the world has an over 9000% divergence from Steins Gate. No, seriously. Blue eyes, red hair, scientific achievements at a young age...
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[[WMG: The Professor's real name is [[SteinsGate [[VisualNovel/SteinsGate Kurisu Makise]] ]]
And the world has an over 9000% divergence fromSteins Gate.''Steins;Gate''. No, seriously. Blue eyes, red hair, scientific achievements at a young age...
And the world has an over 9000% divergence from
Changed line(s) 145,146 (click to see context) from:
She wasn't trying to say "The principal is dead" but "The principal is [[{{Badass}} DEATH INCARNATE]]".
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She wasn't trying to say "The principal is dead" but "The principal is [[{{Badass}} DEATH INCARNATE]]".
INCARNATE".
Changed line(s) 148,149 (click to see context) from:
Professor is the child of Helen Sr. and some Japanese dude. This one pregnancy was enough for Helen Sr. and she decided to clone herself to have children to study the [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder genetic causes of mad science]] on. In the future, Professor will go mad, remove the restraining bolt/key from her gynoid Nano, give her deadly weapons, a will to fight, recruit [[SteinsGate Okabe Rintarou and his Future Gadget Lab (he surely wouldn't resist the chance to work with a real mad scientist and become her apprentice. Kuris-tina would become their agent and sexy female minion of Okabe. EVERY mad scientist needs a sexy minion. Professor's will be Nano, after a few upgrades)]] and take over Japan.
to:
Professor is the child of Helen Sr. and some Japanese dude. This one pregnancy was enough for Helen Sr. and she decided to clone herself to have children to study the [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder genetic causes of mad science]] on. In the future, Professor will go mad, remove the restraining bolt/key from her gynoid Nano, give her deadly weapons, a will to fight, recruit [[SteinsGate [[VisualNovel/SteinsGate Okabe Rintarou and his Future Gadget Lab (he surely wouldn't resist the chance to work with a real mad scientist and become her apprentice. Kuris-tina would become their agent and sexy female minion of Okabe. EVERY mad scientist needs a sexy minion. Professor's will be Nano, after a few upgrades)]] and take over Japan.
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Changed line(s) 198 (click to see context) from:
Seriously, think about it.
to:
Seriously, think about it.it.
[[WMG: Hakase is not yet the master of robotics she presents herself as, but a prodigy student.]]
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
[[WMG: Hakase is not yet the master of robotics she presents herself as, but a prodigy student.]]
As several have already guessed, she isn't actually Nano's creator, as evidenced by the fact that Nano is a RidiculouslyHumanRobot while the newer Biscuits are much more primitive. Nano was created by Hakase's teacher to act as both caretaker and study subject; the modifications Hakase does on her are literally homework.
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None
Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
* The same play on words occurs in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' with the character Hakase Satomi (葉加瀬 聡美), who ''also'' is an expert in robotics. Coincidence?
to:
* The same play on words occurs in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' with the character Hakase Satomi (葉加瀬 聡美), who ''also'' is an expert in robotics. Coincidence?
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Changed line(s) 195 (click to see context) from:
The soap bubble scene is great. Yuuko has said several times that Mai-chan "must be favored by the gods", and in a fair number of scenes she exhibits a power I would call "superconductivity" that is characteristic of enlightened people. That is to say, there is no friction or wavering in her actions --- she does what she does without any sense of anxiety or misgivings. She catches the flying piece of wood without looking and begins carving it immediately, she wins the stair game with the resurrection mantra, etc. That scene is a similar sort of occurrence. Grabbing a soap bubble like that has a 99% chance of popping it before you could grab it, let alone move it into your mouth. An action such as eating a soap bubble is a spur-of-the-moment kind of idea, and Mai-chan is a spontaneous creature who goes with the flow. You could say that it was possible for her to do such an incredible feat because there was no doubt or trembling in her hands. The fact that the soap was bitter to her afterwards is funny. Of course soap would be bitter, anyone knows that. She wasn't thinking about that though, she was just flowing with the universe, which is at heart a playful phenomenon. It reminds me of the zen character Unsui who suddenly felt the urge to growl at a tiger carpet (one with the head still on) and a female monk came into the room and saw this occur. He was immediately embarrassed and said for her to tell no one about it.
to:
The soap bubble scene is great. Yuuko has said several times that Mai-chan "must be favored by the gods", and in a fair number of scenes she exhibits a power I would call "superconductivity" that is characteristic of enlightened people. That is to say, there is no friction or wavering in her actions --- she does what she does without any sense of anxiety or misgivings. She catches the flying piece of wood without looking and begins carving it immediately, she wins the stair game with the resurrection mantra, etc. That scene is a similar sort of occurrence. Grabbing a soap bubble like that has a 99% chance of popping it before you could grab it, let alone move it into your mouth. An action such as eating a soap bubble is a spur-of-the-moment kind of idea, and Mai-chan is a spontaneous creature who goes with the flow. You could say that it was possible for her to do such an incredible feat because there was no doubt or trembling in her hands. The fact that the soap was bitter to her afterwards is funny. Of course soap would be bitter, anyone knows that. She wasn't thinking about that though, she was just flowing with the universe, which is at heart a playful phenomenon. It reminds me of the zen character Unsui who suddenly felt the urge to growl at a tiger carpet (one with the head still on) and a female monk came into the room and saw this occur. He was immediately embarrassed and said for her to tell no one about it.
[[WMG: Sakamoto is somehow related to [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch Salem Saberhagen]]. ]]
Seriously, think about it.
[[WMG: Sakamoto is somehow related to [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch Salem Saberhagen]]. ]]
Seriously, think about it.
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Changed line(s) 183,184 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: Mai is related to [[Manga/TonariNoSekiKun Seki]].]]
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[[WMG: Mai is related to [[Manga/TonariNoSekiKun [[Manga/MyNeighborSeki Seki]].]]
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[[WMG: Nichijou is an allegory for Zen Buddhism.]]
From various internet comments:
Some of the sketches are akin to Buddhist koans, in that they present a deeper truth in an extremely compact, seemingly non-sensical form. Others are jokes about Buddhist concepts, and others are anime in-jokes. Many of the jokes, for those who get it, are about how un-Buddhist-like the characters are, and how they just don’t get it. Every character is, in this prism, ignorant. Later in the series they subtly make fun of how the viewers don’t get it either.
For example, there’s a sketch where the Mohawk-guy goes to denounce the Buddhist monk for believing in demons. He pretends to be ill, so the monk gives him a box with medicine; Mohawk-guy was expecting an exorcism, and light-hearted exaggerated reactions ensue. The in-joke is that almost all Buddhist monks don’t believe in demons, and that Mohawk-guy, who is presented as an aspiring scientist with an interest to disprove religion, doesn’t understand science or Buddhism.
In one scene, Mai plays the Zen Master who is trying to get her student to become her most natural and spontaneous self by "shocking" her into it, which she eventually does, and even SHE, the ZEN MASTER is startled. You see, it takes another Zen master to startle a Zen master. When two beings are both liberated into spontaneity and are friends, then life gets real groovy and fun. As I think Mark Twain put it, "The loss of a teddy bear to a child is as great as the loss of a kingdom to its king." In other words, the psychological weight and significance of Yukko's desire to live a normal life was just as intense as a king losing his country. She in all earnest really had to resist with her utmost being. And finally it is revealed that living life that way, constantly conforming to the social norms and cultural programming around you, isn't as fun as being your most true, natural self.
The soap bubble scene is great. Yuuko has said several times that Mai-chan "must be favored by the gods", and in a fair number of scenes she exhibits a power I would call "superconductivity" that is characteristic of enlightened people. That is to say, there is no friction or wavering in her actions --- she does what she does without any sense of anxiety or misgivings. She catches the flying piece of wood without looking and begins carving it immediately, she wins the stair game with the resurrection mantra, etc. That scene is a similar sort of occurrence. Grabbing a soap bubble like that has a 99% chance of popping it before you could grab it, let alone move it into your mouth. An action such as eating a soap bubble is a spur-of-the-moment kind of idea, and Mai-chan is a spontaneous creature who goes with the flow. You could say that it was possible for her to do such an incredible feat because there was no doubt or trembling in her hands. The fact that the soap was bitter to her afterwards is funny. Of course soap would be bitter, anyone knows that. She wasn't thinking about that though, she was just flowing with the universe, which is at heart a playful phenomenon. It reminds me of the zen character Unsui who suddenly felt the urge to growl at a tiger carpet (one with the head still on) and a female monk came into the room and saw this occur. He was immediately embarrassed and said for her to tell no one about it.
From various internet comments:
Some of the sketches are akin to Buddhist koans, in that they present a deeper truth in an extremely compact, seemingly non-sensical form. Others are jokes about Buddhist concepts, and others are anime in-jokes. Many of the jokes, for those who get it, are about how un-Buddhist-like the characters are, and how they just don’t get it. Every character is, in this prism, ignorant. Later in the series they subtly make fun of how the viewers don’t get it either.
For example, there’s a sketch where the Mohawk-guy goes to denounce the Buddhist monk for believing in demons. He pretends to be ill, so the monk gives him a box with medicine; Mohawk-guy was expecting an exorcism, and light-hearted exaggerated reactions ensue. The in-joke is that almost all Buddhist monks don’t believe in demons, and that Mohawk-guy, who is presented as an aspiring scientist with an interest to disprove religion, doesn’t understand science or Buddhism.
In one scene, Mai plays the Zen Master who is trying to get her student to become her most natural and spontaneous self by "shocking" her into it, which she eventually does, and even SHE, the ZEN MASTER is startled. You see, it takes another Zen master to startle a Zen master. When two beings are both liberated into spontaneity and are friends, then life gets real groovy and fun. As I think Mark Twain put it, "The loss of a teddy bear to a child is as great as the loss of a kingdom to its king." In other words, the psychological weight and significance of Yukko's desire to live a normal life was just as intense as a king losing his country. She in all earnest really had to resist with her utmost being. And finally it is revealed that living life that way, constantly conforming to the social norms and cultural programming around you, isn't as fun as being your most true, natural self.
The soap bubble scene is great. Yuuko has said several times that Mai-chan "must be favored by the gods", and in a fair number of scenes she exhibits a power I would call "superconductivity" that is characteristic of enlightened people. That is to say, there is no friction or wavering in her actions --- she does what she does without any sense of anxiety or misgivings. She catches the flying piece of wood without looking and begins carving it immediately, she wins the stair game with the resurrection mantra, etc. That scene is a similar sort of occurrence. Grabbing a soap bubble like that has a 99% chance of popping it before you could grab it, let alone move it into your mouth. An action such as eating a soap bubble is a spur-of-the-moment kind of idea, and Mai-chan is a spontaneous creature who goes with the flow. You could say that it was possible for her to do such an incredible feat because there was no doubt or trembling in her hands. The fact that the soap was bitter to her afterwards is funny. Of course soap would be bitter, anyone knows that. She wasn't thinking about that though, she was just flowing with the universe, which is at heart a playful phenomenon. It reminds me of the zen character Unsui who suddenly felt the urge to growl at a tiger carpet (one with the head still on) and a female monk came into the room and saw this occur. He was immediately embarrassed and said for her to tell no one about it.
