Interest

Business Shellfish Characters Reference Gintama to Celebrate Honey Day

Did you celebrate Pants (Underwear) Day on August 2? If so, you're probably hip to Japan's trend of inventing special days related to alternate pronunciations of numbers in dates. TOHO CINEMAS and DLE Inc.'s Kaishain ("Clamployees") characters got in on the action to mark another contrived holiday on Thursday.

The number eight is usually pronounced "hachi" in Japanese, and the the number three may be pronounced "mitsu." Because the word "hachimitsu" means "honey," someone in Japan decided that August 3 would be known as "Honey Day" forevermore.

In the above image, the Kaishain Haikai (a blood cockle) is covering the Kaishain's section chief in honey. Fellow Kaishain Asari (Manila clam) and Kamokai (bumpy limpet) stumble across the disturbing scene of the "Section Chief Fairy" and decide they saw nothing.

The image is a reference to a scene in the 65th episode of the Gintama anime in which Kondō covers himself in honey to try to catch a rhinoceros beetle. In the anime Gintoki and friends happen to see Kondō as they are also bug hunting. The scenario earns Kondō the nickname "Gorilla Fairy" because he was already known as "Gorilla" and he resembled a forest spirit in the honey scene.

Gintama's popular Kondō honey scene also appears in the live-action film adaptation of Hideaki Sorachi's manga that premiered in Japan on July 17. The honey-covered version of Kondō previously appeared as a statue in Tokyo Dome City's Jump Shop in January.

DLE Publishing released an illustrated reference book of real sea creatures that features the Kaishain business shellfish on Wednesday. Prominent voice actor Takuya Eguchi voices the character Higai (volva habei sea snail) in the franchise.

[Via Nijimen]