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"Because Christianity is an uncommon religion in Japan, we thought it would be mysterious. None of the staff... are Christians... we just thought the visual symbols of Christianity look cool. If we had known the show would get distributed in the US and Europe, we might have rethought that choice." - Producer Kazuya Tsurumaki, talking about Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Through the Japanese perspective, Christianity can be a way to spice up a story with an exotic religion, similar to how in some Western stories, Hinduism, or at least Hinduism-like aspects, are used for the same purposes. These don't stop at simple metaphors; sometimes whole references exist to events or even specific names to Christian folklore or religious texts. These are sometimes unusual, incorrect, wildly inappropriate, or the simple product of religious syncretism.
The notable exception to this is not making explicit references to Jesus unless it is in a formal context by a religious person or churchworker. Notably, even in works containing a critical portrayal of an organized religion, or one that is outright evil, the requisite Christ Figure generally never is.
See also: Creepy Cool Crosses, No Such Thing As Wizard Jesus
Examples
- During the attack in the Christmas episode of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Minmei takes shelter in a Catholic or Anglican church that's portrayed accurately, down to a priest in a collar, and a number of parishioners, making the sign of the cross.
- In an earlier episode, Max Jenius crosses himself in a quite accurate Catholic manner after his and Hikaru's wingman is killed.
- In an episode of Shaman King, Yoh was set to fight someone in a cemetery. While waiting for his opponent to show up, he asks why some of the graves have marks on them shaped like a lowercase t. His diminutive buddy, Manta, has to explain to him that the mark is actually a cross and that those people were Christians.
- In at least the manga, Yoh lightly freaks out, as the idea of physical burial is in stark contrast to the tradition of cremation that he's grown up with. It also gives his opponent for that fight, a necromancer, a lot more ammo to work with. Thanks a lot, Christianity.
- Also in the manga, when learning about the Shaman King tradition, Manta for a moment muses on whether Buddha and Jesus were Shaman Kings - best buddies with the Great Spirit, able to change the world, etc.
- As noted above, Neon Genesis Evangelion draws on Judeo-Christian tradition more for its mythic symbology than for any relevant plot points. The name "Jesus Christ" is never actually spoken anywhere in the series (although a few redshirts did exclaim "Oh Jesus!" in the English dub of The End of Evangelion right before being shot). Then again, it did focus almost exclusively on the "Judeo" side of the equation, except for the occasional cross-shaped explosion.
- And, y'know, the name. ("Evangelion" is Greek for "Good News" or "Gospel".)
- Of course, it also just means "good angel," which is exactly what the EVAs were intended to be.
- It means "Good Angel" only when half-translated; "Angel" itself means "messenger."
- That said, Kaworu Nagisa is kind of a Christ figure in that he's a higher being who willingly dies for the sake of humanity.
- Zakuro Fujiwara/Mew Zakuro from Tokyo Mew Mew is some sect of Protestant in the anime, apparently one that has little problem with Schoolgirl Lesbians. She wears a cross, prays and goes to church, but never during actual scheduled mass times. Her weapon, the Zakuross, is a whip with a cross-shaped handle. The Macekred English dub "censored" this by removing the sides from all the crosses, prompting a joke in the fanbase that Renee venerates toothpicks.
- It is important to note that it is technically possible (though not advisable) to invent your own Protestant sect; it's All There In The Manual. And while the manual does not equivocate on the matter of lesbians of any sort, a lot of people have a tendency to ignore the parts that they don't like.
- You're looking for the United Churches of Christ, though many would argue that they're Christians In Name Only.
- Taken to a rather funny extent in Metal Gear Solid 3. When leading lady EVA makes a joke to main man Snake (What Do You Mean It's Not Symbolic?!) about him being there to tempt her, Snake can then radio back to base where he is given a seemingly patronising lecture about the Adam and Eve story. Naturally, this is added purely for the original (Japanese) audience's benefit.
- It's also a little sad that Western players never got the "Kuwabara, Kuwabara" reference explained but that was left in.
- Once you have seen the scene in Xenogears in which Chu-Chu is crucified, you will never be able to un-see it.
- Xenosaga was likewise also rife with religious (primarily Gnostic) imagery, complete with references to Jesus's contemporaries. Fans were surprised after learning one enigmatic character's true name is Yeshua (a common synonym for the name of Jesus) in what seemed like an unusually bold subversion of the trope. However, in the final game we see the character in soundless flashback seemingly attending a sermon by a man tactifully out of shot, presumably the real Jesus.
- However, it was subtley implied that while there was a "Jesus", Yeshua was the "man behind the curtain" so to speak, being the one who actually performed all the miracles.
- Jesus is a form of a common contemporary name. The thief who was saved by popular vote was originally named 'Jesus Bar-abbas,' which reads 'Jesus son of Father,' just to be confusing. Latter translations omitted that unnecessary detail. Jesus himself had regularly used the noun 'abbas' for God.
- Black Lagoon features a church which is also a front for an arms smuggling operation, known affectionately as "the Church of Violence". One of the characters, Sister Eda, often makes disparaging remarks about her own religion which can be construed as deeply offensive to a devout Christian. For example she speaks in reference to herself as a nun when she says "she serves the ultimate trickster; the man who walked across the Sea of Galilee".
- Also a case of Did Not Do The Research; Jesus is at no point said to have walked across the whole Sea of Galilee, only from the shore to a fishing boat.
- Across is across.
- Half-wrong is still wrong.
- Across:
 1. from one side to the other of...3. into contact with; into the presence of...um.
- In Sailor Moon S Usagi (or, at least, Sailor Moon) is known as The Messiah, and uses The Holy Grail... or at least an item called The Holy Grail (seihai) to become Super Sailor Moon. The villainess Mistress 9 gets the name The Messiah of Silence. In the dub these terms are changed to The Sovereign, The Purity Chalice, and The Sovereign of Silence. However, there were times that the dub threw out its production bible out the window and went with whatever term it felt like.
- My favorite was the time they used "Ambassador of Good", instead of "The Sovereign". I really wish I was making that up.
- Fate/stay night is about a battle royale between mages to acquire the Holy Grail. Which is in Japan for some reason.
- The author goes out of his way to point out that this has absolutely nothing to do with "the cup that received the blood of god" and is being used as a generic term for "powerful artifact capable of granting wishes." Also, it's in Japan because in the Nasuverse Japan is a little island country that's mostly ignored by the Holy Church and the Magic Association and is thus perfect for doing secret and dangerous rituals (the first time anyway). This fact itself is probably a Lampshade Hanging on Japan Is The Center Of The Universe.
- D.Gray-Man makes an early reference to the biblical flood of Noah as an early attempt to destroy the world caused by the Forces of Evil getting their hands on one Plot Coupon too many. Additionally, the villains are all gray-skinned, powerful humans that are part of Noah's family. It would appear that the manga's author is under the impression that Noah caused the flood.
- This troper thought that the Noah were the incarnations of the various feelings Noah had after the flood when humanity started becoming just as decadent and corrupt as the ones washed away in the flood.
- Cain's family would make more sense, since Noah's family is supposed to be a genetic bottleneck where everyone went down to one family again, like in the beginning, so everyone is, in theory, descended from Noah. Noah's son Ham's lineage was supposed to be cursed for Ham's rudeness in looking at his father while drunk and naked, but this was interpreted for so many centuries as referring to the entire population of Africa that making the villains the descendants of Ham probably wouldn't go too well.
- Well... looking at the actual curse, it was Ham's son Canaan who was cursed, not Put, Mizraim, and Cush. (Some commentaries say that since the sons were blessed, they could not then be cursed; others say that Ham was involved but not mentioned in the above incident.) Anyway, despite what people who merely glance at the pages of their Bibles have read, Ham was not named as the curse's target.
- Later chapters reveal that not all is as it appears, This Troper interpreted Cross Marion's last message to Allen before he died as hinting that the Noah may not be the bad guys in this fight after all, considering it was most likely the Vatican that assassinated Cross. Also when in human form, none of the Noah seem malicious, including the Millennium Earl
- Also, the organization the main characters belong to is subordinate to the Pope. He's come up several times, in a name-dropping sort of way on the part of some nasty fellows from central headquarters, which appear to be in Rome. God's had a name-drop or two, as well. But the Asia branch had a guardian god in their headquarters. And no Jesus.
- Despite all of the main characters being angels and demon (or evils, whatever those are), and generally bastardizing Christian mythology, the closest Angel Sanctuary ever comes to mentioning Jesus is a few shots of the crucifix in a flashback.
- Let us not forget the hopefully apocryphal tale of a Japanese department store that decided to put a Christmas display in its window... which consisted of a figure of Santa Claus nailed to a cross. snopes.com finds no evidence for this actually having happened.
- Trinity Blood is chock full of Christians, with most of the protagonists being Catholic priests or "nuns", and there are three characters named Abel, Cain and Seth (originally the three sons of Adam and Eve). Despite this, there are almost no references to Christian beliefs or mythology. The name "God" is mentioned a few times, but never Jesus. (In the anime, at least.)
- Parodied in Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Gee Whiz", where Standards And Practices prohibits the cast from using Jesus' name, leading to the nickname which doubles as the episode's title. He's also described as looking like Ted Nugent, who actually appears in the episode as a guest star.
- In Fullmetal Alchemist, despite the occasional subtle Christianity parallel, the religion itself is briefly mentioned only once, with Edward remarking that it is a dead religion. Christ himself, however, is never mentioned.
- Note that this applies only to the anime. The manga's religious subtext is much more extensive and subtle. The villain has an overwhelming god complex which includes the idea of the homunculi as all of his 'sins' removed from his soul. He even crucifies Greed. Calls him 'my son,' and when he won't come back to the fold, kills and subsumes him. God is discussed by numerous characters from several perspectives. No Jesus, though. Hohenheim has some potential as a somewhat pathetic Jesus expy, but since he's also a sort of Cain things get confusing. Devil/God-the-Father and Jesus/Cain-the-accursed. It's very strange.
- Trigun's gun-slinging priest, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, carries a huge cross-shaped gun, said to be extremely heavy "because it's full of mercy." He also has a portable confessional, which fits over the confessant's head. In the anime, after sacrificing himself to protect Vash by taking on Chapel and getting shot, he stumbles to a church, makes his peace with his God, and dies. But neither Jesus nor Christianity are explicitly mentioned. The "thou shalt not kill" commandment does come up at one point. Vash speaking to Wolfwood, of course.
Exceptions
- Always My Santa's lead character makes an offhand reference to Christmas being Christ's birthday when asked what Christmas is about. Incidentally, Christmas happens to be his birthday, causing his parents to playfully name him Santa (and giving his Christmas cake double meaning as a birthday cake.). Needless to say, he has a few issues with this.
- Stellvia: one person (the woman who always quoted Shakespeare) gives a more or less proper prayer during the Christmas episode.
- Amidst all the biblical paintings shown in the match between Akagi and Washizu, Akagi is linked several times to the crucifixion of Jesus. Not only that, but in the manga, which continues from where the anime ended, there is even an entire death and resurrection scene parallel.
- Which is kind of bizarre, given Akagi's explicit devotion to an ultimate polished form of evil.
- The name isn't said outright, but at the end of the "Heaven's Day" episode of The Big O, Alexander Rosewater turns to his aide and asks if he knows why they celebrate on the day in question. When he receives a negative, Alexander notes, "It's the day God's son was born." Since nobody in the world can remember anything from 40 years ago back, this also counts as Foreshadowing. More subtle examples abound, such as hero Roger Smith being imprisoned in a cross-shaped vise, ancient robots named after Biblical monsters, Scwarzwald handing out Gnostic engravings, references to fallen angels, description of pilots as "instruments of God", basement floor 666 containing " forbidden knowledge " and spawning a robot named after Lucifer, ancient robots depicted similarly to the Holy Trinity, angelic names (Michael, Gabriel, Angel), etc. etc.
- An episode of Samurai Champloo explicitly depicts the persecution of the "hidden Christians" of real-world 17th-century Japan while simultaneously skewering modern American megachurches, and doesn't shy away from mentioning Jesus by name. In fact, the events surrounding the cryptic Christians turned out to be a focal point within the series' Myth Arc.
- In the Japanese and subtitled versions of the hentai anime Bible Black, the 'Black Magic Club' used Jesus as the subject of their sinister sacrificial chant. For obvious reasons, this was replaced with 'Satan' in the dub version.
- In Hellsing, Alexander Anderson gains superpowers by stabbing himself in the heart with one of the nails from Jesus' cross.
- Hellsing never being one to shy away from religion, being one of the only Japanese shows to feature a Protestant church and featuring such things as "Jesus Christ is in Heaven" stenciled across Hermetic gloves, not to mention Anderson's constant praying.
- In the Suzumiya Haruhi novels, during a Christmas party, Haruhi and Kyon discuss how it's "unfair" that they celebrate Jesus's birthday, but not Buddha, Zarathushtra, Moses, Mohammed, and a number of other founders of religions. Kyon just figures (accurately) that Haruhi wants an excuse for more parties.
- Similar to the above Bible Black entry, in the JP dialogue for the Lower World campaign in Generation of Chaos: Aedis Eclipse, the trait of descent from the legendary hero is called the "Jesus Memory"... and was changed to the "Lilian Memory" for the English. To be fair, as far as this editor can tell, it doesn't have anything to do with Jesus, just God and a legendary hero named Lilian - hence the English name.
- In the Excel Saga manga, Ilpalazzo comments at length about his (universally negative) feelings towards Jesus. In the anime version of the scene, Excel bangs up against the fourth wall to remind Ilpalazzo that that subject matter might be considered a tad controversial and that it might be better for all involved if he just drops it.
- In the omake of the Death Note manga, Ryuk asks Light for a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Light brushes him off by asking "Since when do shinigami celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ?"
- "Winter in the human world is so cold...."
- In One Piece, Blackbeard's helmsman is named Jesus Burgess, tactfully renamed "G. Zass Burgess" in the dub. However, given the character's luchador-like outfit it may actually be Jesús, a common Spanish name.
- Though worth noting is that "jiizasu" is the katakana for "Jesus," suggesting that "Jesus" is the intended pronunciation.
- According to The Other Wiki(Japanese version), the katakana for Jesus (Christ) is イエス・キリスト (iesu kirisuto).
- Saint Young Men has Jesus and Buddha as main characters. Jesus often gets mistaken for Johnny Depp.
- Axis Powers Hetalia has Jesus appear on occasion - once, he was shown to be frustraded with Prussia
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