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Ms. Answerman: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas




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king_micah



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 994
Location: OSU
PostPosted: Fri Nov 19, 2004 3:35 am Reply with quote
Much of the 'search arc' of Naruto and the backstory of the three seinen is based off the Gallant Jiraiya. The play Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari also establishes a character design for him that is quite close to that of Jiraiya in Naruto. More information can be found here http://www.kiseido.com/printss/ji.html
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Rebecca



Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:24 am Reply with quote
Thanks! I'll be adding this to the answer and crediting it to you.
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biliano*



Joined: 11 Feb 2004
Posts: 0
PostPosted: Fri Nov 19, 2004 6:12 pm Reply with quote
There is another Azumanga Daioh game out there, and I played it during the Anime Festival in Lakewood (OH) back in June. It's called Azumanga Daioh Battle He-Cho! (Battle Racing). The game was designed by the fan-based software group LittleSpace, and the gameplay and layout is similar to the GBA game Mario Kart Super Circuit; the only difference is that the Mario characters were replaced with the Azumanga characters. The platform was on the PC; I don't know if this game is available on any other platform. I had a lot of fun playing this game, but like the other GBA game, it probably won't be released here in the US.
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Andromeda



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 119
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Fri Nov 19, 2004 8:18 pm Reply with quote
Wow! This was a particularly interesting and informative column! :D I loved the answer to that Naruto question (though I'm wondering what the equivlents of the Slug, Frog and Snake are int eh moern Rock Paper Scissors/Jen Ken Pon(sp?) game now).

Particularly interesting is the fact that the Amaterasu treasures also make an appearance in Sailor Moon (though not mentioned in the column, this is pretty obvious). They're the Talismans that that Outer Senshi carry and that form the Holy Grail (you know, that thing that gave Sailor Moon her "Super" form to begin with?) when put together...

Sailor Uranus has the Sword (Space Sword in the series), Sailor Neptune has the Mirror (I think it's called the Aqua Mirror,though it could be Submarine Mirror, it's been a while... I do know her attack that she uses with the Mirror is called "Submarine Reflection", and the attack that Uranus uses with HER talisman is named after it, so you never know...), and Sailor Pluto has the Jewel (called the Garnet Orb in the series, I believe; it's that thing set into the end of her staff and it detaches when used to form the Holy Grail if memory serves).

Isn't it weird how Naoko Takeuchi meshed so many myths? She uses the "Amaterasu treasures" (Talismans) to form the Holy Grail, which is a reference to Christian lore, and she crossed the Japanese legend of the Moon Princess with Greek mythology about the lunar Titan Selene and her love affair with the shepard Endymion (who Naoko changed to a prince for some reason, possibly to make it more "fairy tale-esque", you think?). This is why I still like SM after all these years... as packed with cliches and occasional "cheese" as it is, it still manages to through in some neat stuff like that :D


-Andromeda

--@~>
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The Starfall Knight



Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 130
Location: Within the hearts of the people
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 9:02 am Reply with quote
There are also a few more fan-made Azumanga Daioh games out there. One is a Battle City-like game in which the girls go at it with snowballs and another is a volleyball game where the girls...well, they play volleyball! There's also a screensaver/simulation game that features Osaka in her room doing various things. I'm sure there are more games to name out there, such as the fighting game, but they're all fan-made, so go hunt them down!
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 10:54 am Reply with quote
Andromeda wrote:
Isn't it weird how Naoko Takeuchi meshed so many myths? She uses the "Amaterasu treasures" (Talismans) to form the Holy Grail, which is a reference to Christian lore,
The "Holy Grail" is the alleged cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. The cup existed. Where it is today is the lore. Wink
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:09 am Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Andromeda wrote:
Isn't it weird how Naoko Takeuchi meshed so many myths? She uses the "Amaterasu treasures" (Talismans) to form the Holy Grail, which is a reference to Christian lore,
The "Holy Grail" is the alleged cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. The cup existed. Where it is today is the lore. Wink


The holy grail has also been enterpreted as a symbol for Mary Magdalene, who has been for a while disputed as the wife of Jesus. *the theories behind Da Vinci code were based off it*.

I'm still not exactly sure why Naoko Takeuchi decided to put it in there, it always confused me.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:57 am Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:
The holy grail has also been enterpreted as a symbol for Mary Magdalene, who has been for a while disputed as the wife of Jesus. *the theories behind Da Vinci code were based off it*.

I'm still not exactly sure why Naoko Takeuchi decided to put it in there, it always confused me.
I would guess it was just another religious icon to use for her there. Mary Magdalene was indeed close to Jesus, whether as his wife or just a "girlfriend" in the sense, remains a theological debate. She was allegedly the adhesive responsible for holding together the "deciples" after the crucifixion and giving them leadership to continue their apostle-ship as instructed by Jesus afterwards. It was only in the later 8th and 9th centuries that her role was relinquished to the cutting room floor during the re-translating of the Bible into Latin, to where today she is just "that whore who washed his feet with her tears". She is also the alleged last person to be in possession of the "cup" before it "vanished".


Last edited by Mohawk52 on Sat Nov 20, 2004 4:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7337
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 4:39 pm Reply with quote
There is a mirror reference in Naruto, in the form of the Sharingan or "Mirror Wheel Eye" (also called the "Copy Wheel Eye"). Orochimaru feels that by obtaining the Sharingan he'll be unstopable. That's the only constant mirror reference in the series (other than a few random mirror techniques like Haku's Ice Mirrors which actually helped Sasuke unlock his Sharingan). Only reference between Jiraiya and a mirror I can come up with is simply his vanity, but it could be that he possesed a mirror at one point that was lost or broken, or even given away to the Fourth just like Tsunade gave Naruto the necklace. Hmmm...

Emerje
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Andromeda



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 119
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:36 am Reply with quote
Quote:
The "Holy Grail" is the alleged cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. The cup existed. Where it is today is the lore.


Actually, any story (I'm told) that is passed from one generation to the next or among many people is "lore"; "urban lore" or "folk lore" or "mythology" or "legend" are the stuff that, while it may attempt to explain certain things or be base in fact, are often just "tall tales". ;)

The reason I chose "lore" was because, while I knew it was based on the cup Jesus used at the Last Supper, I also knew that the idea that it existed to be found still was pure legend. If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Quest For The Holy Grail part of the reasoning behind the Crusades? I think it may also have been in Arthurian legend as well, didn't one of Arthur's knights serach for it (Percival or Galadriel maybe)? I think it's also said to give the person who finds it (asssuming it's a pure-hearted person or maybe pure-hearted Christian) great power or even immortality... that may be why Naoko Takeuchi used it in the story; in SM, it's an item of great power (again, it gives SM her Super Sailor form for the first time). In SMS, it's also definately known by Chibusa, who is of course from the distant future... who knows, maybe possessing the Grail aided in Sailor Moon's achieving physical immortality in some way (I say physical, because in the manga, it says that her essence or soul has always existed and always will, hence, spiritually immortal already. ;) )?

Also, Usagi has been portrayed as a "Christ-like" figure many times during the course of the series; just look at A.) how many times she's died or risked her life to save mankind (first season especially notable, since she literally dies and is RESURECTED by the begining of season 2!), B.) Her advocacy of love, peace, and forgiveness (including the tendency to on occasion "convert" or "bring back" certain villains to the side of good using the power of love and forgiveness), C.) THe fact that at the end of the manga, she sacrifices herself to save the galaxy... and IS REBORN 1000 YEARS LATER (2000 years after the first time she died as Princess Serenity in the series). In which time, she brings a reign of worldwide peace unlike any other in human history. Plus, if you watch the first movie, she's at one point ends up in a "crucified" body position when they're fighting on the asteroid...

So... come to think of it, maybe her weilding the Holy Grail isn't so weird after all! :)


-Andromeda
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:56 pm Reply with quote
Well when Christianity means FA to the Japanese, this isn't surprising. It's just another "foreign" religion to use as a plot base. I can deal with that, but I'm not a fundementalist evangelical Christian, and we all know how they vote. Wink
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