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Forum - View topicLiterary Allusions in Anime
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Darknight55
 Posts: 53 |
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Hi, I was just wondering if anyone knows of an anime that has strong literary allusions. I like these types of things because I tend to read up on them later and expand my knowledge. I read Nausea by Sartre after hearing a quote by him in Black Lagoon ( Although of course that is not really an allusion but just a philosophical quip), read the play version of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead after a passing reference in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and read up on the tale of Puss and Boots after the episode of FLCL Maquis de Carabas. Are there any other anime that have pertinent literary allusions in them? Just please, no Ergo Proxy. Descartes is not really my thing. I’m not sure if this would be counted as a recommendation thread though so if its locked I fully understand.
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I don't see a problem with this thread -- in fact, I think it's an interesting subject.
Setting aside those anime (e.g. Gankutsuou, RomeoXJuliet, etc.) which are directly based upon famous literary works, and therefore cannot really be said to be allusions, but rather adaptations, there are certainly a number of such allusions to be found in anime. I've searched my memory, and the one that immediately comes to mind is Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex, which repeatedly makes reference to The Catcher in the Rye -- and to the mythos surrounding the book, as well (I'm referring, of course, to the way the book is perceived as the preferred reading of "lone gunman"-type killers). Then there is Castle in the Sky, which alludes (with some vagueness) to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Literary works, in general, show up as incidental matter in a number of anime, although they are seldom given much attention. For instance, in one episode of the recent Maria-sama ga miteru OVAs, Yumi is doing a little summer reading for relaxation, and we see that she is reading some of Natsume Soseki's works. Sometimes, the literary works are only mentioned in passing, as a camera pans across a bookshelf. It is fairly rare to have them worked into the actual dialogue. Then again, there is Read Or Die, which is a curious series. On the one hand, it abounds with allusions to literature in general, but on the other, it is strangely sparing in direct literary references. Even so, it manages to mention a perennial favourite in Japan, Anne of Green Gables (which in Japan is known as Akage no Anne, "Red-headed Anne"). I'm sure there are many more allusions than these, and we'll have a fine time exploring the subject. - abunai |
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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In Magnetic Rose, the first short film in the three-part Memories, there is a passing allusion to Frank R. Stockton's short story The Lady, or the Tiger?. When Heinz and Miguel first board a mysterious space station, one of them mutters "Will we get the lady or the tiger?" before opening the doors that lead inside. As for the answer, well, you'll have to watch for yourself.
There's also a very strange reference to William S. Burroughs' infamous novel Naked Lunch in one of the Kino's Journey previews. I can't remember which episode preview it's in, but Hermes (or Kino?) mentions something about a typewriter that's also a giant bug (in all fairness, the reference may have been intended for David Cronenberg's film adaptation rather than the original novel).
Similarly, Yukino is (supposedly) seen reading aforementioned The Catcher in the Rye in an episode of Kare Kano (she's actually reading some money magazine with The Catcher in the Rye cover slipped over the top to impress her male classmates). |
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Ryvius213
Posts: 291 |
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Rahxephon has an allusion to James Churchward's works about a lost race of people known as the Mu in episode 5. This includes The Children of Mu, The Lost Continent Mu, and The Sacred Symbols of Mu.
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Amethyst Alchemist
Former ANN Editor
 Posts: 313 Location: where it's always a good morning |
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Part of the text from the letter the fuhrer gives to Ed (the same text appears around a transmutation circle) in Fullmetal Alchemist is paraphrased from a remote alchemy text. That's not really an allusion, I guess, so much as a actual inclusion of a piece.
Dewey in Eureka 7 reads The Golden Bough. I think it might also appear in an intro, if I remember right. If you count biblical references, you could probably make a book out of that list. I'm sure I've seen other references too, but those come to mind right away. |
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jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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Demonbane has a lot of Cthulhu Mythos references in it. I'm not quite sure, but I think that term has something to do with HP Lovecraft's works. Most of the episode titles are named after Cthulhu Mythos stories, and some of the characters' names are also based on literary characters.
And if you do consider the bible as a literary work then you can look into Chrono Crusade. A lot of bible passages were recited by Aion and the other characters. |
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Iwatch2muchanime
 Posts: 1291 |
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Demonbane takes from many mythos and literary works, not just the Cthulhu ones. And with minor things to do with this, here's Cutethulhu A funny flash concerning our little bugger. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Being a huge fan of SF I loved all of the Geneshaft references. I believe the Geneshaft titles all refer to SF novels.
1. Inherit of the Stars Name is from a classic James P Hogan novel from 1981, 2. The Ship Who Sang This is one of the more popular books refered here. This is by Anne McCaffrey of Pern fame. Although I read the first dozen Pern novels, I never read this series. 3. Rendezvous in Space Not sure about this one. It does remind me of the third Gundam film's title as well as Clarke's famous Rendezvous with Rama. 4. The Sentinel This is the famous Arthur C Clarke short story which was expanded into 2001. 5. Angels and Spaceships This one is by Frederic Brown of What Mad Universe fame. I'm not very versed in 50's SF and have yet to read this one. 6. Hotline from the Past I'm stumped on this one. It could be a mistranslation, or a Japanese novel. Anyone have any ideas here? 7. Ring World This one is referring to Larry Niven's famous novel. This might be the most known book listed here. 8.The Moon is a Harsh Lord of the Darkness I assume this is a play on The Moon is a Harsh Mistress which is one of my favorite Robert Heinlein novels. 9. Less Than Human This also is a play on the title More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. 10. The Men Women Don’t See This one is a rather obscure short story by James Tiptree from the early 70. 11. Ceremony For Growth I'm also stumped by this title. 12. A Gentle Man In Ganymede This has to be a reference to James Hogan's Gentle Giants of Ganymede, which is the sequel to Inherit the Stars which is the first episode. Much like the first episodes slightly off translation I believe that this is actually a mis(re)translation of the title 13. The Beginning of Childhood I assume we go back to Clarke once again with his creepy novel Childhood's End. |
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Trip_83
Posts: 15 Location: Italy |
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One explicit literary allusion can be found in the 25th episode of Cowboy BeBop, when Jet tells Spike a tale about a wounded man who is about to die: the tale is actually a novel by Ernest Hemingway, named "The Snows of Kilimagiaro".
I'm sure there are more, much more, but right now I can rememeber this one. P.S. My English is not perfect, please tell me if I make mistakes |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I'm not. It's Alexei Panshin's Rite of Passage. I'm an oldschool SF fan, myself, and I have read most of those books. - abunai |
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undeadben
 Posts: 1212 Location: West Texas |
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Your English is better than many who grew up speaking the language. You're doing fine. And I also remember that part from Cowboy Bebop, but I think it was in the last episode though. It was a pretty important scene if I remember correctly. I'm also a fan of Hemingway short stories and The Snows of Kilimanjaro is one of the better ones from the collection of the same title, although my personal favorite in that collection is A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. No mentions of that in any anime though. 
There is one title that is only briefly mentioned that I always remember, as any aspiring Galactic Hitchhiker should, from Full Metal Panic episode 1, when the teacher is checking Kaname's bags she has a copy of So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, which is of course the fourth of five titles in the inaccurately named Hitchhiker "trilogy" by Douglas Adams. The appearance of the book probably would have meant a tad more in Fumoffu, but I keep remembering that because when I first started to watch that series I was still a bit skeptical about it and when I saw that Kaname was a Hitchhiker fan I decided instantly that I couldn't possibly dislike her. 
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Darknight55
Posts: 53 |
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Hmm... that's interesting.. I didn't know that kilimanjaro story was hemingway.. and I've seen that episode like 10 times....
and I haven't seen full metal panic... but Hitchhikers Guide?? All right! |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 19151 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Neon Genesis Evangelion sported a few literary allusions. The one I can remember off the top of my head is that the NERV logo in that series, "God's In His Heaven/All's Right With The World," is taken directly from Pippa Passes, a dramatic piece by 19th century English poet Robert Browning.
And while it isn't exactly a literary allusion, Princess Tutu borrows heavily from the plots of many famous operas. |
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Nom_Anor
 Posts: 246 |
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Fummofu!? also has a few in the fanser...I mean beach episode.
The student council president is reading a number of books(I can't remember most of them), of which I remember The Prince being one of. The prince is by Machiavelli, and is about, well, Machiavellian government(gets a bit of irony as it is the student council president reading this). I think part of the lack of literary works is not the fact they don't exist, but that they will allude to Japanese literature, which most of us are not well versed in. SHnY has a few literature references that might be noticed, but it has references to just about everything. |
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Ah that makes sense! I actually own the gold gilded leather edition as part of my Easton Press Masterpieces of Science Fiction collection. This is that book following a teenaged girl living aboard a spaceship. Do you think that Hotline from the Past is Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline? THis was his first novel, and I've always wanted to read it but never got around to it. I actually went to a book signing by Varley last year. This book just slipped my mind sice I have yet to read it. I think we figured out all 13, thank you Abunai. |
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