Line #58 Main/JustifiedTitle


1	->'''Superman:''' The only way for me to solve this crisis is to be ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''.\
2	'''Peter Griffin:''' Ah, so that's why they called it that.
3	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''
4
5	A strange title naming trope where a title that obviously refers to one thing -- the general idea of a work, or something about its format -- is contrived so as to refer to something specific in the story.
6
7	This means more than just that the title refers to something in the work -- it means that the title so obviously refers to something ''else'' that the fact that it does mean something in the work comes across as pretty farfetched. It's as if ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars: Episode IV]]'' had taken place on the fourth moon around a gas giant named "Episode", and the viewers were supposed to believe that that's what "Episode IV" really refers to.
8
9	Compare TitleDrop and EpunymousTitle. IAmNotShazam is what happens when the title has one meaning but fans assume a different meaning. If the title refers to more than one concept ''within'' the work, it's a DoubleMeaningTitle. See also SelfReferentialTrackPlacement.
10
11	----
12	!!Examples:
13
14	[[foldercontrol]]
15
16	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
17	* The voiceover for the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' anime doesn't claim it has anything to do with a video game; rather, it says that the main character Akira is ''named'' the Virtua Fighter. Needless to say, this is referenced nowhere else. The Latin American Dub [[CulturalTranslation tried to make up]] by translating "Virtua" as "Virtuous".
18	* The ''[[Anime/WildArmsTwilightVenom Wild ARMs: TV]]'' series claims that the TV stands for "Twilight Venom", not "television".
19	* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' is something of a fake-out. "Tengen Toppa" means approximately "Heaven Breakthrough", and "Gurren Lagann" is the name of the main HumongousMecha used throughout the series, so you might think it's a typical "descriptive-phrase main-vehicle-name" title such as ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''... but no. There's actually a machine used near the end called, in full, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. And it's even more impressive than the name implies.
20	* SD has been known for some time to stand for ''SuperDeformed'' especially in the Gundam franchise; but ''Anime/SDGundamForce'' has it stand for ''Superior Defender'', referring to the heroic Gundam protectors.
21	* The title of the Natsume Ono manga ''Manga/NotSimple'' is not only fitting due to the complex method of {{anachronic order}} that the story is told in, but also references the title of an in-universe novel written by a freelance journalist which is used as a {{framing device}} for the story overall.
22	* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'''s title features a few puns. The "arc" not only refers to this show being the fifth Yugioh story arc (as in, it's the fifth anime series.) "Arc" is also a reference to a pendulum arc, and the V looks like a kind of pendulum arc. "ARC-V" as a term is also relevant in the final season of the show, as [[BigBad the Professor's]] [[PoweredByAForsakenChild machine]] that he wants to use to fuse the four dimensions.
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Comic Books]]
26	* The Creator/DCComics mini-series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' was 52 issues long, one per week for a year; within the story, the title refers to the characters' discovery of 52 [[spoiler:universes in TheMultiverse]]. Additionally, the number "52" appeared [[ArcNumber whenever it was even remotely possible to do so]] -- everything from numbers on football players to clocks set to "5:02". Plus, the final issue of the series came out on 5/2/2007, though DC comics says this was a coincidence.
27	* ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis: Superman Beyond 3D'' is a 3D comic that involves Comicbook/{{Superman}} entering the "Bleed" between universes; going "beyond" three-dimensional space.
28	* ''Marvel Team-Up'' Vol 3 #19 (June 2006) is a FlashBack story teaming-up the [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks early '90s versions]] of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/{{Cable}}. It's called "1991", because that's the identification number of the HYDRA base they're raiding.
29	* ''Comicbook/{{Grandville}}'' is titled after the 19th century French artist J.J. Grandville, whose FunnyAnimal lithographs were one of the book's inspirations. In universe, Grandville is a nickname for Paris, literally the "great city".
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Film]]
33	* In ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'', the title is obviously a reference to the [[RaygunGothic retro-futuristic nature of the movie]], but "Sky Captain" is the nickname of the main character, and the villain calls his little plan [[spoiler: (intending to leaving the earth on a rocketship with two of every animal, destroying the Earth)]] the "World of Tomorrow".
34	%% * The ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' [[TheMovie movie]] introduced a new group of adversaries actually named the "Martian Successors".
35	* ''Film/RoboCop2'' actually involves an evil cyborg known as, you guessed it, [=RoboCop=] 2.
36	* The masks in ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'' come in exactly three styles, and are subsequently called the "Halloween three."
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Literature]]
40	* ''The Burglar in the Rye'' by Lawrence Block is so named because it concerns the theft of the personal correspondence of a [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed disguised]] J. D. Salinger, author of ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye''. Since the story renames the author and the book respectively as Gulliver Fairborn and ''Nobody's Baby'', there's a subplot involving Bernie starting a trend of drinking rye whiskey.
41	* The novel ''Series/TwentyFour: Deadline'' is set just after season 8. Its title is time-related, since ''24'' is depicted in RealTime, but it features a town named Deadline in the story.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
45	* The [[MilestoneCelebration 200th episode]] of ''Series/StargateSG1'' is titled "[[Recap/StargateSG1S10E6200 200]]". In an obvious bit of LeaningOnTheFourthWall, Mitchell makes a big deal about it being his 200th trip through the gate.
46	* The TV show ''Series/OneTreeHill'' is named after a U2 song, which in turn is named after a hill in New Zealand. The fictional town the show is set in is called Tree Hill, and the season one finale has Karen remind Lucas that 'there is only one Tree Hill'.
47	* ''[[Franchise/{{Quatermass}} Quatermass II]]'' is obviously named that because it's a sequel to ''The Quatermass Experiment'', but essential to the plot is a rocket ship actually called the "Quatermass II".
48	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
49	** "[[Recap/DoctorWho2011CSTheDoctorTheWidowAndTheWardrobe The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe]]" is an obvious riff on ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia''. However, there's still a scene where the Doctor claims his TARDIS is actually a wardrobe, to give an in-universe justification for the title.
50	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor The Name of the Doctor]]" involves an attempt to get the Doctor to reveal his real name. He doesn't end up saying it, but then comes the final reveal:
51	--->'''[[spoiler:War Doctor]]:''' What I did, I did without choice.\
52	'''11th Doctor:''' I know.\
53	'''[[spoiler:War Doctor]]:''' In the name of peace and sanity.\
54	'''11th Doctor:''' But not in the name of the Doctor.
55	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': The pilot episode (called simply "Pilot"), involves the main characters searching for (and finding) the missing pilot of the crashed airliner.
56	* ''Series/MidnightCaller'': The title of the GrandFinale, "City of Lost Souls," sounds like it refers to San Francisco. It's actually the name of a homeless camp.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Video Games]]
60	* Many Platform/NintendoDS games justify the usage of SuperTitle64Advance by making the DS mean something other than the name of the system:
61	** ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Dual Strike'' (a double example, given that there's a "Dual Strike" ability in the game)
62	** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow''
63	** ''VideoGame/DigDug: Digging Strike''
64	** ''Anime/{{Fullmetal Alchemist\|2003}}: Dual Sympathy''
65	** ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear: Dust Strikers''
66	** ''VideoGame/{{Lunar}}: Dragon Song''
67	** ''VideoGame/MrDriller: Drill Spirits''
68	** ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden: Dragon Sword''
69	** ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil\|1}}: Deadly Silence''
70	** OlderThanTheyThink -- The Platform/GameBoyColor version of ''Metal Gear Solid'' was titled ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'' in Japan. The subtitle, aside for conveniently sharing the same initials as the Platform/GameBoy, is also a reference to "Project Babel", [[MacGuffin a black op central to the plot]].
71	*** It's also a more accurate description of the game, since it is not an adaptation of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' for the Platform/GameBoyColor.
72	** ''VideoGame/TheIdolmasterDearlyStars''
73	** ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} 4'' is called ''Contra: Dual Spirits'' in Japan.
74	** With the Platform/Nintendo3DS, we've got ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', or ''Kingdom Hearts 3D'', and ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe''.
75	* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
76	** The "Prime" in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' is meant to denote it as a side series to the main ''Metroid'' games. The final boss is called the Metroid Prime even though its relationship with Metroids is rather vague.
77	** There is also an actual "Super Metroid" in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.
78	* The ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series takes its name from how the game was expected to either sink or save the floundering company TECMO, thus the "Dead or Alive Tournament" is an attempt to justify the title. This makes sense when one considers that "Dead or Alive" is a rather strange name for a tournament in which nobody dies.
79	* The original ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' game was so named early on because the creators pictured the player running a "Marathon" of endless fighting throughout the game. The title is justified fairly well in-game by calling the colony ship The Marathon, which is ostensibly running a "marathon" from Earth to Tau Ceti, however the making-of book confirms that the project was named first, and the colony ship is therefore a justification.
80	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' is named for the fact that it takes place between the [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI numbered]] [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII games]], and one week shy of a year (358 days) is the amount of time that elapses between them, and, hence, is the period in which Roxas was part of [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad Organization XIII]]. (For those curious, [[spoiler:the remaining seven days of that year comprise the prologue of ''KHII'', where a mind-wiped Roxas is placed inside a virtual Twilight Town]].) The ''2'' symbolizes [[TomatoInTheMirror his relationship with]] [[TheHero Sora]] and also symbolizes the fact that the 358 days are shared by both Roxas and Xion[[spoiler:, both of whom are part of Sora (in a sense)]].
81	* The original Japanese subtitle for ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'', "And Then, To CODA", fits in with the MusicalThemeNaming of the greater ''VideoGame/LittleTailBronx'' saga-- a ''coda'' represents the end to a piece of music. In-game, however, [[spoiler:"CODA" refers to the "Continent Orientation Defloat Alignment", a protocol the game's BigBad aims to use for their plans to exterminate all sentient life.]]
82	* The ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' series:
83	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': The main character wields a single weapon for the majority of the game: a plot-centric blade that's specialized against the mechanical invaders that come from the ''other'' (xeno) of the two giants that constitute the game world. [[spoiler:It is also a "xeno" blade in the sense that it is responsible for the creation of everything.]]
84	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' does it even more egregiously, especially considering how as a NonLinearSequel it shouldn't really need any justification for the title: In this game, the focus is around the conflict between the military organization Blade and their various encounters with aliens, [[CallARabbitASmeerp which in this universe are referred to as Xenos]]. [[spoiler:Elma, one of the main characters, is secretly a Xeno and also a member of Blade]], which technically justifies the title.
85	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' refers to the [[ProtagonistTitle Aegis]], an atypical Blade. [[spoiler:Said Blade is related to the Monado, meaning that it is literally Xeno Blade 2.]]
86	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' has the protagonist Noah possess a mysterious, unique sword called the Lucky Seven, said to be [[AbsurdlySharpBlade sharp enough to cut anything]]. [[spoiler:It turns out to be made from the metals that comprise the reality-maintaining Origin computer at the center of Aionios.]]
87	%% * The title in each ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' game is justified. ''VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier'' is about the '''X'''Perimental shuttle going [[BlindJump beyond the frontier of the solar system]]. ''X: Tension'' is an [[PunBasedTitle extension]] [[ExpansionPack pack]] to ''X:BTF''. ''X2: The Threat'' refers to the [[BeePeople Kha'ak invasion]] and their tendency to [[AttackAttackAttack shoot anything in sight]]. ''X3: Reunion'' reunites [[LostColony Earth]] with the X-Universe. ''X3: Terran Conflict'' shows rise of the [[SpaceColdwar Terran Conflict]]. ''X3: Albion Prelude'' starts the train-wreck of catastrophes that leads to the [[EndOfAnAge portal network being shut down]], leading to ''Videogame/XRebirth'' which takes place [[TimeSkip a thousand years later]], hence the "prelude"; The ship in ''X: Rebirth'' is the '''Albion''' Skunk.
88	* ''VideoGame/{{Bonk}}'''s original Japanese name was ''PC Genjin'', which sounds like PC Engine aka Platform/TurboGrafx16, the console he originally appeared on. As for the name, "genjin" means "caveman" in Japanese, and PC was his humorous definition ''[[CanisLatinicus Pitecanthropus Computerusus]]''.
89	* ''Metal Gear Solid Δ'': The Delta symbol has the meaning of "change" or "difference" in mathematics, and it also has the meaning of changing an amount without changing the structure, which is why it was chosen for the remake of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' as while the game itself is being changed its story isn't being updated or altered.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
93	%% * ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'' originally seems to be a generic GratuitousEnglish love story title, until at the end it's revealed that [[spoiler: there were two towns all along, also making it a ShoutOut for ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities''.]]
94	* The "[=V3=]" in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' is meant to distinguish it from the anime ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'', and indicate that it's the start of a new StoryArc. According to WordOfGod, the "V" stands for "Victory". However, the final chapter reveals that [[spoiler:[[TrumanShowPlot it's the 53rd season of a]] {{reality show}} [[MetaSequel based on]] ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'', with "V" being the Roman numeral for 5]]. The Japanese subtitle, "'''Everyone's''' New Killing School Semester", refers to [[spoiler:AudienceParticipation in which viewers can influence the Ultimate Robot K1-B0's actions through polls.]]
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Webcomics]]
98	%% * ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' meant the original, handdrawn comic the author intended. When the SpriteComic FillerStrips overtook the main plot, [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/050314c he introduced two new sprites to justify it]].
99	%% * ''Webcomic/CrystalHeart'' The title of the comic, as well as the titles of the individual chapters each have "heart" in the title, and the theme of [[GemHeart (crystal) hearts]] features majorly in the story. In the case of the chapters, the names are proverbs, such as "Heart of Stone" "Wild at Heart", or Heartless" - all refering to something that happens in the chapter, such as a crystal heart that can literally turn people to stone.
100	* The eponymous group in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' (which is a StickFigureComic) is named for a stick which lies on the ground when they name it.
101	%% * ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'' wasn't this initially, as the title came from the universe's FasterThanLightTravel technology. But by the end of the first series, all spacetrawler drives were both outlawed and replaced by newer, faster tech. So with no spacetrawlers in the sequel series, the protagonists' spaceship ''I.A. Starbanger'' abruptly gets renamed to ''G.O.B. Spacetrawler''.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Western Animation]]
105	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' obviously refers to how it's about [[LegacyCharacter a Batman]] both beyond the time of the previous series and Bruce's use of the title. Years after the show ended, its FullyAbsorbedFinale in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' gives a literal meaning to "Batman Beyond": [[spoiler:it's the name of the project Amanda Waller instituted [[TykeBomb to make sure]] there would ''be'' a new Batman.]]
106	* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' with a cutaway montage of Peter hearing [[TitleDrop title drops in movies]] and finishing with an example that could go on this page if only it were true:
107	-->'''Superman''': If I'm going to solve this, I'm going to have to be ''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace''.\
108	'''Peter Griffin''': Ah, so that's why they called it that.
109	* The main character of Disney's ''[[WesternAnimation/MiscellaneousDisneyShorts Goliath II]]'' is actually an elephant. Goliath I is actually his father.
110	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'' has this title because it's a SpinOff of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' featuring Patrick Star as the main character. But he also has a ShowWithinAShow to go with this.
111	[[/folder]]

Context Main / JustifiedTitle