Episode 6: Sakura Trees When They Blossom |
The name of the Episode itself is a parody of the visual novel series "Higurashi When They Cry".
Some of the elements of mystery and supernatural phenomenon seen in this Episode may also have
taken inspiration from the "Higurashi" series.
The connection between the Episode 6 title and "Higurashi When They Cry" becomes even more obvious
when you compare their Japanese names.
Higurashi's Japanese title is ひぐらしのなく頃に (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), while the Japanese name
for Episode 6 is さくら樹の咲く頃に (Sakuraki no Saku Koro ni).
|
In the intro, one of the books on display at the library has the same cover art as the standard version
of the original PS2 release of Lucky Star: Ryouou Gakuen Outousai.
This same cover art was also used for the strategy guide for the PS2 version of the game, so it's possible
that the book is intended to be the strategy guide.
|
In the intro, the book that made Tsukasa cry is a parody of the famous story of Hachikou the dog.
Hachikou was a real Akita dog who was owned by a university professor by the name of Hidesaburou Ueno.
As the story goes, Hachikou would always wait at Shibuya Station in Tokyo for his owner to return home
from work. However, in 1925, Hidesaburou would die of an brain aneurysm while at work. Despite this,
Hachikou would continue to visit Shibuya Station daily until his own death in 1935, waiting for his
owner to return.
This story of great loyalty and waiting for a loved one to return is brought up in this intro scene
since it mirrors Kou's attempts to meet with Yamato seen in this Episode.
Additionally, the name of the dog in the parody version Tsukasa read, Nana, is simply taking the fact
that "hachi" in Japanese means eight, while "nana" means seven to create a different name that is still
connected to the original name of "Hachikou".
As for Miyuki's comment about it having been made into a movie recently, she is likely talking about the
2009 American film "Hachi: A Dog's Tale", which adapts the story using an American setting.
|
The other book shown in the intro, "Run, Melos!" is a real short story by Osamu Dazai.
Like Miyuki says during the scene itself, it is a story that is often used in language classes in Japan.
The story is about the protagonist, Melos, who attempts to kill the tyrannical king Dionysius, who is very distrusting
of other people and kills many people as a result of that distrust. Melos' assassination attempt ultimately fails,
and he is caught. After being caught, Melos is sentenced to be executed. However, Melos manages to convince the
king to postpone the execution by three days so that he can arrange a marriage for his little sister. This agreement
to postpone the execution comes at the cost of putting the life of Melos' friend Selinuntius on the line. Should Melos
return even a moment too late or not return at all, Selinuntius will be killed instead.
While Melos is successful in getting his sister and her fiance to marry, Melos suffers many hardships and challenges
during his return trip and ends up going through a period of apathy about his friend's fate. However, in the end
Melos perseveres and returns back just in time and asks Selinuntius to hit him for almost giving up on him.
Similarly, Selinuntius asks Melos to do the same, as he had doubted whether he would return. In the end, as a result
of the reactions of the onlookers at the trust shown between Melos and Selinuntius, Dionysius ends up letting
Melos and Selinuntius go free.
Similar to the story of Hachikou, this story is brought up in this intro scene to connect the story of "Run, Melos!"
to the promise made between Kou and Yamato and the hardships faced in staying true to that promise seen
in this Episode.
|
In the second intro scene, Kou says this line as she tries to get Yamato to smile for the picture she's
about to take of the two of them.
As discussed in the translator's notes for Episode 3, this is a reference to a notable moment from
episode 38 of "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam", where character Bright Noa expresses frustration over their
barrage being too weak against the enemy sporting several gundam units that are new models.
The moment in question can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edtz6ucE2uE&t=753s
|
In the second intro scene, Kou says a line that remains mostly untranslated from Japanese as she tickles Yamato
to get her to smile, "Yasaka Shinken Secret Technique: Gekishinko!"
The "Yasaka Shinken" part is a play on the ancient martial art known as "Hokuto Shinken" featured in
"Fist of the North Star". It's the martial art used by the series' protagonists and revolves around
defeating one's enemies by channeling energy into 708 different acupressure points on the human body
in order to defeat the enemy from within. "Hokuto Shinken" is translated as "Divine Fist of the North Star",
and "Yasaka Shinken" is formed by simply replacing the "Hokuto" part with Kou's last name.
Hokuto Shinken has many "secret techniques" used by characters from the series, and one of them
is known as "Gekishinko", used in chapter 49 of the "Fist of the North Star" manga. It has the effect
of increasing one's cardiac movements to the point of rupturing their blood vessels. Kou is likely referencing
this secret technique in particular due to the placement of the hands on the upper arms of one's opponent
when using this secret technique, which is a similar location to where Kou's hands would be while
tickling Yamato, that being her armpits.
|
After the protagonist introduces himself to the class on the first day, Konata and Nanako
have the above exchange after Nanako questions how it is that he already is friends with
Konata, Tsukasa, and Miyuki.
Konata's words of having been "connected" as the explanation for how they know each other,
as well as the line "The net is vast and infinite" are in reference to the 1995 animated film,
"Ghost in the Shell".
Specifically, it's in reference to the film's ending, in which protagonist Motoko Kusanagi,
who is a cyborg with a fully robotic body but a human brain, has her mind merged with a
consciousness born out of a program wandering computer networks known as the "Puppet Master".
Moments after this merger, her robot body is almost entirely destroyed by military snipers seeking
to destroy the "Puppet Master", leading to Motoko's work partner, Batou, placing her in a new robot body
in order to save her.
When Motoko awakens in her new body and merged consciouness, she states that the consciouness inhabiting
the body is neither her nor the Puppet Master. This merged consciouness then decides to set out on her own
and the film ends with the merged consciouness saying the line "The net is vast and infinite" as she ponders
where to go, in reference to the network the concsciouness previously known as Motoko now has access to
due to the merger.
The idea here is that Konata is suggesting that the reason why she, Tsukasa, Miyuki, and the protagonist
all know each other is possibly due to them having a merged consciousness, similar to what happened to
Motoko and the "Puppet Master" in "Ghost in the Shell". The use of "The net is vast and infinite" is merely
used in order to make the connection to "Ghost in the Shell" explicit, due to it being a very famous line
tied to the film.
The ending scene from "Ghost in the Shell", showing the combined consciousness of Motoko and the "Puppet Master"
awakening to her new body can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9vvqLXqHaE
|
If the protagonist decides to look over at Tsukasa during class on the first day, she'll cheerfully
say "balsamic vinegar" to herself as she doodles while sat at her desk.
This is of course in reference to "balsamic vinegar" becoming a popular catchphrase
associated with Tsukasa due to the Lucky Star anime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Lb0JoIqms
Though Lucky Star: Ryouou Gakuen Outousai was developed largely independently of the Lucky Star anime,
the above scene from the anime managed to gain popularity so quickly that it was able to make
its way into the game, as seen with MADs such as this, releasing months before
Ryouou Gakuen Outousai's original release date:
https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm679403
|
If the protagonist decides to look over at Tsukasa during class on the first day, she'll have
a drawing of a puppy she made confiscated.
This puppy drawing, as well as Tsukasa's remark that the drawing turned out cuter than she expected
are taken directly from the comic "my precious" from volume 5 of the Lucky Star manga,
in which Tsukasa draws the same puppy on one of the pages of a test.
|
If the protagonist tells Kou to try asking a teacher for help in meeting with Yamato,
the above interaction between Konata and Nanako will occur after a misunderstanding where she thought
the protagonist was saying that she was "the worst", which spirals into her complaining about the fact
that she's still single.
The above lines all come from the series "Fist of the North Star". Specifically, in the battle between
Kenshiro and Souther, which can be seen in episodes 67 and 68 of the "Fist of the North Star" anime adaptation.
Konata's line is from a line said by Kenshiro, while Nanako's lines are from Souther.
The first line from Nanako in which she says that she "never retreats, never begs, and never looks back"
comes from a line Souther says near the end of the fight before performing a last-ditch effort to attack Kenshiro.
Nanako's other line of how she doesn't need love if it's something so painful and distressing
comes from a flashback in which it's shown how Souther used to have a teacher and adoptive father named
Ohgai, who trained Souther to be the successor to the martial art "Nantou Seiken". However, as there can only
be one successor, and successorship is passed down by having the former successor be killed by the new successor,
Ohgai tricks Souther into killing him. Upon realizing what he had done and due to the great love he had for Ohgai,
Souther finds himself completely broken and shouts the lines in question (aside from the part about marriage).
From then on, Souther acts in opposition to love as a concept, believing it to only be a means of bringing about
future suffering.
Lastly, as for Konata's line, this comes from after Kenshiro defeats Souther with a merciful attack that will allow
Souther to die in a less painful way. Accepting his defeat, Souther decides to spend his final moments beside the
grave of his adoptive father, renouncing his opposition to love and embracing his love for Ohgai. At the sight of this,
Kenshiro says the line in question, showing sympathy for Souther, as he recognizes that his opposition to love after
Ohgai's death was simply a consequence of the fact that Souther's love for him was greater than any other.
|
Following the above "Fist of the North Star" reference, Konata says this line before the scene transitions away.
While I couldn't find any direct connection to a line from "Fist of the North Star", I do believe this is also meant
to tie in to the previous references to the Souther fight from that series.
Since Souther dies after his fight with Kenshiro, and given that Souther was the successor to the martial art of
"Nantou Seiken", which translates to "Sacred Fist of the South Star", Konata's line is closing off the Souther
references by referencing Souther's death as being the fall of a great star (i.e. the South Star).
Additionally, there is an element of this line that is unfortunately lost in translation from Japanese to English.
In Japanese, there is the expression 巨星墜つ (kyosei otsu) which literally means "the fall of a great star" but can also
mean the death of a great person. One way to transcribe the "kyosei otsuka" that Konata says in the voice acting for
this line is this expression being used as a question with the addition of "ka" at the end. In that context, it ties
into the previous Souther references in the way just described. However, the writers decided to create a
double meaning by instead having the line transcribed as 虚勢、乙か (kyosei otsuka). While it is pronounced the same,
it means "nice bluff", referencing how Nanako putting on a front of having no need for love is just that,
and that in reality she desperately wishes she could be married.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a good way to include this double meaning in the English, so I ultimately chose
to preserve the "fall of a great star" interpretation of the line as it ties better with the scene overall.
|
The name of the Unlucky★Sisters segment found in this Episode's version of Episode 0,
"Friend Instrumentality Project", is in reference to the "Human Instrumentality Project"
from the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion".
One of the key parts of the "Human Instrumentality Project" is that it would result in all
of humanity merging into one existence, allowing for the flaws in one person to be complemented
by the strengths of other people to create an ultimate being. This is why Hinata goes on to suggest
that one possible solution to the challenge of getting along with others is for all to become one.
|
During break period on the first day of "Sakura Trees when they Blossom", if the protagonist decides to ask the others
for ideas on where Yamato might be, Tsukasa will perform the "Mimizu Method" that was previously seen in Episode 3.
As mentioned in the notes for that Episode, what Tsukasa is actually performing is "water divination" as seen in
the series "Hunter x Hunter", in which a person takes a glass of water with a leaf sitting on top of the water,
then focuses their aura on the water. Depending on the change that takes place in the water, it determines the affinity
of that person's aura.
In this case, the connection to "Hunter x Hunter" is made even more explicit with Konata's statements of Tsukasa
possibly being an Enhancer, and then later a Transmuter, which are both categories of aura affinity seen in that
series. In the water divinination test, an Enhancer will cause the water in the glass to overflow, while a Transmuter
will cause the water to gain a sweet taste. As Tsukasa made the water taste sweet, that makes Tsukasa a Transmuter.
Konata's initial guess that Tsukasa would be an Enhancer due to her being "simple minded" is also in reference
to the fact that Enhancers have that reputation in the world of "Hunter x Hunter".
Additionally, the name "Mimizu Method" is derived from what "water divination" is called in Japanese,
which is "mizumi-shiki". In the original Japanese script of Ryouou Gakuen Outousai, Tsukasa calls it
"mimizu-shiki". There is also the additional reference in that the kanji used to write the "Mimizu"
in "Mimizu Method" is "美水", which can also be read as "Yoshimizu", and is the way you write the
last name of Lucky Star's creator, Kagami Yoshimizu.
A clip from Hunter x Hunter explaining water divination in more detail can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9wrptWktIw
|
Upon returning to class after break period ends on the first day of the route, after the protagonist
gets yelled at for trying to talk to Yamato after the bell has rung, Konata says the above line.
The "And that will end my turn" is a reference to the terminology used in the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" anime
during a duel to indicate a player's turn is over. Though the exact words used can vary somewhat,
it's always some variation of "end my turn".
An example of this phrase being used can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vbNIm13W24I
|
During lunch on the first day of the route, if the protagonist says that the reason for the string of coincidences
preventing him from meeting with Yamato is the work of a jinx, Konata will say the above line.
As mentioned in the notes for Episode 4, the line "All the mysteries have been solved" is the catchphrase of the
protagonist of the mystery series "The Kindaichi Case Files", Hajime Kindaichi, whenever he solves a case.
|
During lunch on the first day of the route, if the protagonist says that the reason for the string of coincidences
preventing him from meeting with Yamato is the result of someone trying to stop him, Konata will say the above line
when Kagami wonders who that "someone" could be. This then leads to Kagami getting particularly annoyed and telling
Konata to stop making references to a certain thing.
That certain thing is, of course, the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series. Espers, aliens, and time travelers are the three
types of being that the titular character Haruhi states she is interested in during her self-introduction on the first
day of high school near the start of the first book in the series. Additionally, one of each end up becoming members
of the "SOS Brigade" that Haruhi ends up forming, though she is totally unaware of this.
Additionally, a clip of the moment from the "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" anime
where this line appears can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjbwgy-MBWk
The reason for Kagami's particular impatience for Konata making Haruhi references could possibly be due to the fact
that at the time of Ryouou Gakuen Outousai's release, the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series was one of the series that got
referenced especially frequently in Lucky Star content, particularly in the anime. This was due to the well-known
fact that the Lucky Star anime was made by the same animation studio as the "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"
anime, Kyoto Animation, and preceded Lucky Star's anime by only one year. There is also the well-known fact that
Konata Izumi's voice actress, Aya Hirano, also voices Haruhi Suzumiya, which likely contributed to this as well.
|
During lunch on the first day of the route, when Kagami decides to stand outside of the classroom in order to
ambush Yamato so she won't be able to avoid her, Konata says the above line when it's discovered that
Kagami forgot to take her bento with her.
As mentioned in previous notes, the specific thing Konata says in Japanese that got translated to
"what a terrifying girl you are" is "osoroshii ko", which means "terrifying child/girl", is a famous
line from the girl's manga "Glass Mask".
Upon seeing 13 year old protagonist Maya Kitajima act out a three hour long play from memory without making
any mistakes, veteran actress Chigusa Tsukikage shouts this line, shocked by such an incredible display of ability
for someone so young.
|
During lunch on the first day of the route, when Kagami mysteriously goes missing after going to stand
outside of the classroom in order to ambush Yamato, Konata says the above line in response to the protagonist
wondering if Kagami might've been kidnapped.
Both "You idiot!" and "There is always only one truth" are both references to catchphrases said by the
protagonist of "Case Closed" (known as "Great Detective Conan" in Japan), Shinichi Kudo, who goes by the
alias Conan Edogawa throughout the series. The "You idiot!" catchphrase is unfortunately a bit lost in
translation, as the particular Japanese word this was translated from, "バーロー" (baarou), a simplification of
"馬鹿野郎" (baka yarou) ended up becoming embedded in Japanese otaku culture and strongly associated
with "Great Detective Conan" specifically. However, no such thing happened in English, and no attempt
was made to adapt "baarou" into some unique English catchphrase, instead just being translated as various things
based on what the translation needed for each particular instance, with "You idiot!" being a common choice.
On the other hand, "There is always only one truth" and slight variations of it is a catchphrase that
did translate over to English properly.
|
Immediately following the previous "Case Closed" reference, a sequence of letters is shown on screen
in a typewriter font which spells out "KAGAMIN" before revealing the full message of "KAGAMIN THE INTERRED".
This is a reference to the series "Lupin the Third", specifically the title cards used in Part 2 of the
anime series, which follow the same format. Additionally, "Kagamin the Interred" is in reference to
the title of episode 32 of Part 2 of "Lupin the Third", which is called "Lupin the Interred". In that
episode, protagonist Lupin is thought to have been killed by an assassin, but it ends up being an elaborate ruse.
Thus, it appears the implication is that Konata is suspecting that Kagami is missing because she is faking
her death.
An example of the title cards used in Part 2 of "Lupin the Third" can be seen here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwxvy8WIUzw
Now, for completeness, I'd like to explain some things that were changed when adapting this moment for the
English patch. First is the full message that appears at the end of the sequence, "Kagamin the Interred".
In the original Japanese version of this moment, it was "柊かがみは２度死ぬ", which translates to
"Kagami Hiiragi Dies Twice". This was based on the Japanese title of that same "Lupin the Third" episode.
What was "Lupin the Interred" in the English dub of the show was originally "Lupin Dies Twice".
The reason for going with the English dub title instead of the Japanese title for the reference was because
"Lupin the Interred", being a pun based on the series' title, makes the moment more easily recognizable
as being a "Lupin the Third" reference. Both titles refer to the idea of Lupin dying, so the implication
that Konata thinks Kagami is faking her death like in the "Lupin the Third" episode remains intact.
Additionally, the change was also made in order to accomodate a second change that ended up being made
for this moment.
The second change has to do with the sequence of letters that appears prior to the full message being shown.
In the original Japanese version of this moment, the sequence of characters actually formed an entirely
different sentence, that being "柊かがみは双子", which translates to "Kagami Hiiragi is a twin".
Miyuki's comment immediately following this moment about the title not being quite right was originally
something closer to "Also, the title seems to have been slightly different", pointing out this discrepancy.
However, for many reasons, in the English patch, this was changed to just be the first 7 letters of the full title,
forming "Kagamin", and Miyuki's comment was slightly adjusted to imply her issue with it is that the actual title
is "Lupin the Interred", not "Kagamin the Interred".
The primary reason for the change has to do with a fundamental difference between Japanese and English,
that being the different writing systems. A lot of information can be encoded in a single character in Japanese
compared to English. Often what would be an entire word with several letters in English can be expressed with
just one or two characters in Japanese. Consequently, even when showing just one letter at a time, the Japanese
was able to represent the entire sentence of "Kagami Hiiragi is a twin" with just 7 images, which just wouldn't
have been possible in English. Furthermore, doing something like showing multiple letters or entire words
all at once in the English patch for this sequence would have significantly compromised the "Lupin the Third"
reference, as the letters being shown one at a time is intended to represent someone typing out the title on a
typewriter, pressing one key at a time. Showing several letters or whole words at a time simply wouldn't have
made any sense.
So I ultimately decided that since Konata sometimes calls Kagami "Kagamin", and since "Kagamin" happens to be
seven letters, the same number used in the Japanese version, there would be no need to show multiple characters
at a time, keeping the integrity of the reference intact. Additionally, even though it's not what was intended in
the Japanese, having the character sequence match with what is actually shown in the full message does make this
moment more closely match the "Lupin the Third" title cards. Lastly, the addition of the "n" at the end of Kagami's
name to form "Kagamin" does make it more closely resemble "Lupin", which ended up making "Kagamin the Interred"
an even better play on words when it comes to it resembling "Lupin the Third". This is that other reason I mentioned
previously as to why the English dub title of "Lupin the Third" Part 2 Episode 32 was used rather than its
Japanese title.
Finally, you might be wondering whether the "Kagami Hiiragi is a twin" that was cut from the English patch
has any significance. As far as I know, the answer to that is no. It was simply different for the sake of
the writers thinking it would be funny to do so. This is another reason why I feel it was an acceptable
compromise to cut this frankly rather confusing element in favor of making the rest of the moment work
better in English.
|
Shortly after the above "Lupin the Third" reference, Konata continues her string of references
with the above line, talking about a "KONA Brigade".
This is in reference to the "SOS Brigade" seen in the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series, a club formed
by the titular character Haruhi Suzumiya in order to carry out the various antics she and the
other characters get up to throughout the series.
The logo of the "SOS Brigade", known as the "SOS団" (SOS Dan) in Japanese.
|
Following the previous "Haruhi Suzumiya" reference, Konata continues her string of references
by narrating a next episode preview for a pretend show, with the above line being how it starts.
"Kagami Shakedown" is a reference to the Japanese police drama show "Bayside Shakedown",
which primarily focuses on the bureaucracy of police departments and how it can get in the way
of stopping crime.
|
Immediately following the previous "Bayside Shakedown" reference, Konata continues her string
of references and pretend next episode narration with the above line and title card. As is
explained in the following lines within the scene itself, what Konata says and what is shown
in the title card are completely different and is done that way on purpose as a joke.
As discussed in the translator's note for the "Lupin the Third" reference, a similar joke
was done in the original Japanese version of that reference, but was cut from the English patch
for various pragmatic reasons.
Anyway, as for the references present in this moment, we'll start with the references
in what Konata is saying. As was seen previously, we have Conan Edogawa's catchphrase of
"There is always only one truth!" from "Case Closed". Additionally,
"The Time Bombed Akihabara" is in reference to the name of the 1997 "Case Closed" movie,
"The Time Bombed Skyscraper".
Also, as for the "Great Detective Konata--N", this is of course referring to the Japanese
title of "Case Closed", "Great Detective Conan". Just in case it's unclear, the idea behind
the "Konata--N" is that Konata's voice line starts with her just saying "Great Detective Konata",
but then at the last second she adds a "N" sound in order to make it fit closer to "Conan".
Moving on to the title card portion of this reference, the "Super Detective Konatan" is once again
referencing "Great Detective Conan". However, the main graphic of the Konata silhouette and the text
"The Konata Izumi Case Fails" is in reference to the logo of the anime series for "The Kindaichi Case Files".
As for the next episode title of "The Laughing Woman Murder Case", I'm not aware of this being
in reference to anything, as I couldn't find any similarly titled episode of either "Case Closed"
or "The Kindaichi Case Files".
|
After school on the first day of the route, after it's shown what happened to Kagami,
the protagonist remarks on how he's glad she's alright, but that he knew she wasn't in any real danger
and that he knew the KONA Brigade stuff from earlier was just jokes. This then leads to Konata
telling the protagonist that he's made a lot of enemies by saying that, which then is followed
by Minami appearing out of nowhere and saying the above line.
"Data organisms" are a type of existence in the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series, created by a conglomerate
known as the "Data Integration Thought Entity". Notably, one category of data organism is the "Humanoid Interface",
which as the name suggests has a humanoid appearance. Multiple characters in the "Haruhi Suzumiya"
series are Humanoid Interfaces, which includes the character "Yuki Nagato". As has been discussed
previously in these notes, the voice actress for Minami Iwasaki is also the voice of Yuki Nagato,
which is why Minami is the one delivering these lines and why this reference is even being made
in the first place.
Furthermore, upon being asked why she suddenly appeared, Minami responds with this line.
As has also been discussed previously, "...That is classified information" is in reference
to the charater "Mikuru Asahina" from the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series. Being a time traveler
from the future, she often uses this line as an excuse to not provide explanations or clarify
certain statements she makes, as she is not supposed to disclose information that reveals too much
about how things are in the future.
|
On the night of the first day of the route, during the scene where we see Nanako and Fuyuki
staying overnight at the school on night duty, Nanako describes the event class 3-B and 3-C
are working on for the festival in the above way.
Of course, we know that the play that they are putting on is based on the visual novel
"Fate/Stay Night", but the everyone fighting over a cup aspect is in reference to the
main conflict of the story, that being the fifth "Holy Grail War".
Getting into all the details of what the Holy Grail Wars are is beyond the scope of these
notes, but all that needs to be understood is that it's a war between seven "Masters" and
seven "Servants", whom make up the majority of the main cast of "Fate/Stay Night".
The winner of the war receives the "Holy Grail", a chalice-like cup that grants any wish.
|
On the morning of the second day of the route, when the protagonist tells Konata that she has to hurry
or else she'll be late for school, she responds by saying that she has "three more minutes still remaining"
and then asks him if he "knows what that means".
Konata is referencing a line said by the villain "Frieza" from "Dragon Ball Z".
During his fight against the character Piccolo, Frieza reveals one of his most famous abilities:
his multiple transformations, each one being more powerful than the last. Additionally, at the time
of him saying this, he still had "two more transformations still remaining", suggesting that he still
wasn't fighting at anywhere near his maximum power.
|
Following the above "Dragon Ball Z" reference, a short cutscene plays of Konata saying
"Acceleration Mode!" before running away at high speed.
This is in reference to an ability in the series "Cyborg 009" known as "kasoku souchi".
While it literally means "accelerator", it is often translated as "Acceleration Mode".
When one of the series' cyborgs activates this mode, they gain the ability to move at
speeds so incredibly quick that it's as if time is moving much more slowly than usual.
A compilation of moments from "Cyborg 009" where "Acceleration Mode" is used can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lBpTY5mJKU
|
In the morning on the second day of the route, the name of the event that the protagonist's class
is suddenly doing for the school festival, "Maid & Net Cafe Rozen", is likely a nod to the series
"Rozen Maiden", a manga series about sentient porcelain doll girls.
|
After school on the second day of the route, as everyone is working on preparations for the
"Maid & Net Cafe Rozen" event, the above exchange occurs between Misao, Ayano, and Konata.
This is all a reference to the 2007 anime "Den-noh Coil", specifically the fact that Ayano's voice actress,
Mai Aizawa, also voiced the character "Kanna Ashihara" from that anime.
Kanna Ashihara is a character who goes unseen and only ever heard in the anime, but was the childhood friend
of another character, Kenichi Harakawa. Dying in a mysterious traffic accident a year prior, one of the
major plot points of the anime revolves around getting to the bottom of what really caused her death.
In this endeavor, Kanna's "Den-noh glasses" are investigated.
Den-noh glasses are a special kind of smart glasses that allow one to view an augmented, digital version
of reality and also serve many of the roles we nowadays would associate with smart phones, except to an even
more technologically advanced degree. As for Kanna's Den-noh glasses, it's found that she kept a digital diary
stored within them, which ends up giving some insights into what her thoughts were prior to her death.
This is why when Ayano thinks Misao is asking for her Den-noh glasses, she responds by saying she still needs
to write in her diary.
As for Ayano saying that her confusion was a "force of habit", this is likely because, due to the airing of
Den-noh Coil and the Lucky Star anime, as well as the development of Ryouou Gakuen Outousai all overlapping with
each other, it's likely that Mai Aizawa recorded lines for Kanna Ashihara and Ayano Minegishi around the same time.
And so, this is a bit of a fourth wall break playing with the idea that Ayano's getting herself mixed up with Kanna
due to both of them sharing a voice actress.
Lastly, you may be wondering what a "Den-doh" drill is. Simply put, "Den-doh" is just one way to romanize
the Japanese word 電動, which means "electrically powered". That is, Misao's just asking for an electric drill.
However, the reason for writing it this way in the translation is to help make the reference more understandable
in English, since it's a pun that doesn't have any good conversion into English. Additionally, the words for
"drill" and "coil" in Japanese, ドリル "doriru" and コイル "koiru", are a bit closer in pronunciation than they are
in English, which is ultimately what leads Ayano to mishear "Den-doh doriru" as "Den-noh koiru". From there,
presumably Ayano is assuming that Misao asking for a "Den-noh Coil" is a roundabout way of asking for
"Den-noh glasses", since the concept of a "den-noh coil" actually refers to something different within the context
of the "Den-noh Coil" anime. Furthermore, in the original Japanese version of this scene, Ayano doesn't actually say
"Den-noh glasses" and instead indirectly refers to them as the "network-connected glasses", but this was another
change made for the English patch in order to reduce the confusion that's introduced from the change in language.
|
If the protagonist tries asking Tsukasa about the situation being strange during the after school preparations
on the second day of the route, she'll at first think he's referring to their use of balsamic vinegar, presumably
as an ingredient in their menu for the cafe.
As has already been discussed in these notes, this is in reference to "balsamic vinegar" being a popular catchphrase
associated with Tsukasa due to the Lucky Star anime, but I am including this note here for the sake of completeness.
|
During the night of the second day of the route, Hikaru tells Fuyuki her theory as to the cause of the
recent earthquakes, and says the above sentences when Fuyuki expresses some doubt over whether the theory
is really true or not.
Both expressions are responses to those who may doubt, in two different contexts.
The first, "cogito ergo sum", comes from French philosopher René Descartes and translates to
"I think, therefore I am". It serves as a rebuttal to those who may doubt whether we are capable of knowing
whether or not we exist, claiming that the fact that we can even consider such a question is proof of our existence.
The second, "those who believe will be saved", is in reference to the Bible. While this phrase often has some
additional qualifiers when it appears, such as having to be baptized as well, the concept of belief in God
leading to salvation is a common feature of Christian apologetics to those who may doubt God's existence,
such as the argument made by Blaise Pascal, known as "Pascal's wager".
Obviously, neither of these statements are actually relevant to Fuyuki's doubts, since her doubts neither
concern belief in her own existence nor belief in God. Instead, this is just Hikaru giving an obtuse response
to avoid having to actually justify her argument.
|
During lunch on the third day of the route, as part of a conversation about other things the protagonist
could cosplay as rather than Raymond, Miyuki suggests that he could be a "robot cat". This is in reference
to the popular anime character "Doraemon", a robot cat from the future.
|
Immediately following the previous "Doraemon" reference, it's followed up by Konata suggesting that
the protagonist could cosplay as a "young robot boy".
This "young robot boy" being referenced is "Astro Boy", the titular character of the "Astro Boy" series,
considered one of the foundational works that inspired Japanese anime as we know it today, which is why
Konata describes him as "a source of Japanese pride".
As for his seven secret powers, they are as follows:
- Rocket flight
- Translation between 60 different languages
- A high IQ that can immediately determine whether someone is good or evil
- Super hearing that can amplify sounds by up to a factor of 1000
- Powerful lights in his eyes that can be used as search lights
- Strength equivalent to 100,000 horsepower
- Machine guns that come out of his butt
As you can see, the list does include the butt machine guns Konata mentions, though newer Astro Boy series
largely replaced them for lasers that come out of his fingers.
|
On the night before the school festival, when Yui arrives at the school in response to the fire alarm going off,
she appears while wearing a strange outfit that she calls a "plugsuit", resulting in the above exchange.
The outfit Yui is wearing is in fact the Evangelion plugsuit worn by Rei Ayanami in "Neon Genesis Evangelion",
known as "Plugsuit 00".
As Nanako says, plugsuits are worn specifically by those piloting an Evangelion. Furthermore, Evangelion pilots
are specifically chosen to be 14-year-olds, and so are known as "Children". Even if you are only talking about
a single pilot, the intended way to refer to them in English is as "Children". For example, Rei Ayanami is the
"First Children". This is why Nanako asks Yui what "Children" she thinks she is.
|
Following the above Evangelion reference, Nanako says the above line as she tries to convince Yui to help
clean up the mess made in the school building as a result of the earthquake that just occured.
"Lilin" is an alternative title for the human species in Evangelion, and so Nanako really just means
"human culture", but is doing so in a way that continues the stream of Evangelion references.
|
This exclamation from Nanako and Yui when they discover that the stage has collapsed after the second earthquake
on the night before the school festival is a reference that is unfortunately lost in translation.
Near the start of the second episode of the original "Yu-Gi-Oh" anime series, Katsuya Jonouchi shows protagonist
Yugi Mutou his Duel Monsters card deck while asking for advice on how he can play better. Yugi then looks at the deck
and after flipping through the cards says "nanikore" ("What is this?") as he notices that all of Katsuya's cards
are monster cards, which explains his poor Duel Monsters performance.
While in isolation this line would seem entirely unremarkable, for whatever reason, Japanese viewers found Yugi's
line delivery of the "nanikore" to be rather humorous due to it having a strange inflection and turned it into
an internet meme. Since "nanikore" (なにこれ) is an extremely common Japanese expression, Japanese people
will refer to this meme by writing it in ways that try to imitate the specific inflection found in the Yu-Gi-Oh
episode, such as "なぁにこれぇ".
Since the particular line delivery given for this line in Ryouou Gakuen Outousai has a similar inflection
to the meme, and is written as "なぁにこれーっ！" in the original Japanese version, which implies a similar
inflection to the meme as well, it is believed that it was intended as a reference to this moment from "Yu-Gi-Oh".
The moment from "Yu-Gi-Oh" can be seen here, with the "nanikore" line occuring at 0:15:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xufKfQtntjk
|
|
