Discussion References in Manga/Anime

[Organizized]

This is a thread for those moments in manga/anime which salute some other series or other form of media. I mean, everyone loves to see a reference to something they like while reading through something else they like, right? In this thread, let's see some of the ones you've spotted!

I'll kick this off with a list of references I recognized in Beck chapter covers. Beware: it's kinda long.

Chapter #, what it references and side-by-side comparisons.

Spoiler: BECK Chapter Cover References

#4 - "Vs." album cover by Pearl Jam

#5 - "Acoustic" album cover by John Lennon

#6 - "Help" DVD cover by The Beatles

#10 - "Led Zeppelin IV" album cover by Led Zeppelin

#16 - "Nevermind" album cover by Nirvana

#19 - "PUMP" album cover by Aerosmith

#25 - "The Bends" album cover by Radiohead

#28 - "Definitely Maybe" album cover by Oasis

#30 - "Back in Black" album cover by AC/DC

#34 - "White Riot" single cover by The Clash

#35 - "License to Ill" album cover by Beastie Boys

#36 - "Californication" album cover by Red Hot Chili Peppers

#40 - "Axis: Bold As Love" album cover by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

#41 - "The Chronic" album cover by Dr. Dre

#44 - "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album cover by Bob Dylan

#46 - "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#47 - "Goo" album cover by Sonic Youth

#48 - "...And Out Came the Wolves" album cover by Rancid

#49 - "Maggot Brain" album cover by Funkadelic

#51 - "Elephant" album cover by The White Stripes

#53 - "Smell the Glove" fictional album cover from the movie This is Spinal Tap

#54 - "Ramones" album cover by The Ramones

#57 - "Strange Days" album cover by The Doors

#61 - "Horses" album cover by Patti Smith

#64 - "Atom Heart Mother" album cover by Pink Floyd

#65 - "Blonde on Blonde" album cover by Bob Dylan

#67 - "Black and Blue" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#69 - "Master of Puppets" album cover by Metallica

#70 - "Elton John" album cover by Elton John

#86 - "The Rolling Stones" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#88 - "Raw Power" album cover by Iggy and the Stooges

#91 - Koyuki dressed as Angus Young from AC/DC

[Sizept="4"]I never want to see another captcha code ever again..[/SIZept]

So yeah, please share any you can think of. Don't be thrown off by the list above; it doesn't have to be anything as big as that. Be it something as small as a character using a line made famous by another series, or a character appearing in the background of another manga/anime, please share it!

 

[destiny4ever]

Awesome thread, Organizized! I like it a lot!

And wow, it was so cool to see all those references in Beck, it almost makes me want to check out that series. It must be a great one.

Here’s my first contribution to this thread:

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi – Episode 8

Otsuu saying Mahoro’s infamous “I think perverted thoughts are bad” line. “Ecchi nano wa Ikenai to Omoimasu!” ("I think that dirty thoughts are bad") which is Mahoro’s catchphrase. Also, Otsuu and Mahoro are voiced by the same seiyu, Kawasumi Ayako. In addition, there was a cameofest in this episode, girls from Toradora, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun and other J.C. Staff series appeared in this episode.

 

[Asarii]

Bakuman referenced quite a lot of current JUMP titles for obvious reasons. Shujin and Mashiro mentioned ONE PIECE, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Gintama, and Star of the Giants... all in a single chapter! (Chapter 3) You can also find little Easter eggs of real life JUMP covers and posters throughout.

Sket Dance, like Gintama, also references its co-series! In one chapter (forgot which one it was), Shinzou cosplayed as Eiji from Bakuman.

A lot of the names of Katekyo Hitman Reborn characters derive from Italian vehicles: Lambo (from Lamborghini), Dino (from a Ferrari model), Moretti, Shamal etc. Gokudera and Yamamoto's first name derive from the two protagonists from Project ARMS: Shingu Hayato and Tomoe Takeshi.

 

[Akiyama]

Gantz - A character holds up the cover of WSJ from 2010 issue #3-4 http://read.mangashare.com/Gantz/chapter-313/page017.html

Beelzebub - Psyren and Sket Dance cosplay http://keishou.net/manga/Beelzebub/69/3

Bleach - Love Aikawa reading WSJ http://manga.animea.net/bleach-chapter-217-page-8.html

20th Century Boys - using the hand arrow ☜ talking about Shonen Sunday.

 

[Organizized]

Nice to see some contributions! Bakuman sure does reference a lot of Jump manga. The whole series is practically one big reference/salutation to Jump.

Rurouni Kenshin - Watsuki sneaked in a little tribute to his former assistant Eiichiro Oda by putting the Straw Hat pirate symbol in his manga.

One Piece - Oda references classic "beam attacks" from series like Ultraman and Dragonball.

 

[R4n]

Chapter #, what it references and side-by-side comparisons.

Spoiler: BECK Chapter Cover References

#4 - "Vs." album cover by Pearl Jam

#5 - "Acoustic" album cover by John Lennon

#6 - "Help" DVD cover by The Beatles

#10 - "Led Zeppelin IV" album cover by Led Zeppelin

#16 - "Nevermind" album cover by Nirvana

#19 - "PUMP" album cover by Aerosmith

#25 - "The Bends" album cover by Radiohead

#28 - "Definitely Maybe" album cover by Oasis

#30 - "Back in Black" album cover by AC/DC

#34 - "White Riot" single cover by The Clash

#35 - "License to Ill" album cover by Beastie Boys

#36 - "Californication" album cover by Red Hot Chili Peppers

#40 - "Axis: Bold As Love" album cover by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

#41 - "The Chronic" album cover by Dr. Dre

#44 - "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album cover by Bob Dylan

#46 - "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#47 - "Goo" album cover by Sonic Youth

#48 - "...And Out Came the Wolves" album cover by Rancid

#49 - "Maggot Brain" album cover by Funkadelic

#51 - "Elephant" album cover by The White Stripes

#53 - "Smell the Glove" fictional album cover from the movie This is Spinal Tap

#54 - "Ramones" album cover by The Ramones

#57 - "Strange Days" album cover by The Doors

#61 - "Horses" album cover by Patti Smith

#64 - "Atom Heart Mother" album cover by Pink Floyd

#65 - "Blonde on Blonde" album cover by Bob Dylan

#67 - "Black and Blue" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#69 - "Master of Puppets" album cover by Metallica

#70 - "Elton John" album cover by Elton John

#86 - "The Rolling Stones" album cover by The Rolling Stones

#88 - "Raw Power" album cover by Iggy and the Stooges

#91 - Koyuki dressed as Angus Young from AC/DC

[Sizept="4"]I never want to see another captcha code ever again..[/SIZept]

Those comparison make me think about the thin line between 'tribute'/'parody' and 'plagiarism' ^__^;
I don't read BECK, but i watched the anime and i like it. Does Harold Sakuishi credit the originals?

-----------------------
- There is a hilarious deathnote reference in Saint Young men.
- There are Psyren and Sket Dance cosplayers in one or two panels in Beelzebub manga.

 

[<.Haruka.>]

In Pandora Hearts, Chains uses name of characters from Alice in Wonderland. Examples are the Rabbit, Raven, MadHatter, Eques (Unicorn), March Hare, Jabberwock, Bandersnatch, Dormouse, Cheshire, The Queen of Hearts, etc..

In Until Death Do Us Part, the members of the Wall uses code names of International(NATO) Phonetic Alphabet like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, India, Juliet, Kilo, Sierra etc..

In xxxHolic anime episode 7, Yuko compared Watanuki to Nobita when Amewarashi was bullying Watanuki. Even Himawari-chan compared him to Nobita too.
Nobita is the main male protagonist in Doraemon series.
In contrast (or maybe just coincidence ), Doumeki's real name is Shizuka.
Shizuka is the female heroine in Doraemon.

 

[R4n]

In xxxHolic anime episode 7, Yuko compared Watanuki to Nobita when Amewarashi was bullying Watanuki. Even Himawari-chan compared him to Nobita too.
Nobita is the main male protagonist in Doraemon series.
In contrast (or maybe just coincidence ), Doumeki's real name is Shizuka.
Shizuka is the female heroine in Doraemon.

... I am not a DoumekixWatanuki shipper, but i find it very amusing.

- Meitantei's Conan current arc has all of the non-recurring characters named after Roman and Greek gods : Hestia, Minerva, Juno, Ares, Hades, Diana.
- Meitantei Conan contains plenty of references to Sherlock Holmes and other mystery novels as well.

 

[Asarii]

^ That's really interesting! I only follow Meitantei Conan through the anime so I can't wait until that arc is animated.

On the topic of Conan, the Black Organization members' code names are alocholic drinks. The professor, Hiroshi Agasa, is a homage to Agatha Christie.

Rurouni Kenshin - Watsuki sneaked in a little tribute to his former assistant Eiichiro Oda by putting the Straw Hat pirate symbol in his manga.

That's really sweet of Watsuki-sensei! Now I feel embarrassed that I didn't catch on to that reference. XD

 

[arsene.lupin]

Gantz - Kurono is watching Hard Gay (Masaki Sumitani) show.

http://www.mangareader.net/97-1395-16/gantz/chapter-233.html

Kimi No Iru Machi - Mishima is reading A-bout (series on Shonen Magazine)

http://www.mangareader.net/225-56921-5/kimi-no-iru-machi/chapter-102.html

Good Ending - poster Scarface in Utsumi's room. but it's written Barack Obama lol.

http://www.mangareader.net/738-53780-4/ge-good-ending/chapter-38.html

 

[Akiyama]

Speaking of Barack Obama, he appears in Air Gear. Well not exactly, they change his name to John Omaha and he is a presidential candidate.

 

[Organizized]

In Durarara!!, the director throws in a few nods towards one of his other anime Baccano!. Examples being characters from Baccano! showing up (technically a cameo, but worth mentioning), computer passwords being "BACCANO", etc.

Oh, and there's a somewhat spoken-of cameo in Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid of L, Light and Misa from Death Note.

 

[destiny4ever]

Pizza Hut. "This restaurant has been advertised in anime such as Code Geass, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Darker Than Black and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, though in the translated versions of Code Geass the logo was removed, leaving only the red roof logo."

I personally think it is a good business strategy; the guys at Pizza Hut were smart enough to know how popular anime is so they decided to take advantage of it and advertised their product in some anime series. While I have seen references to other restaurants in other series (they change the name but one can easily recognize what restaurant they are referring to), I don’t know if other restaurants have decided to also advertise their businesses in anime as Pizza Hut did.

 

[Akiyama]

Started watching/reading K-On! and there's a Detroit Metal City character cameo in ch.1 http://www.mangareader.net/325-22544-4/k-on/chapter-1.html

Ane Comi has another DMC reference http://www.mangareader.net/897-39003-16/ane-comi/chapter-2.html

 

[Organizized]

Another one in Durarara!!. Episode 22, a van drives in front of the camera with a decal looking like this.

Spoiler: Decal

Image is of Nogizaka Haruka from Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu. To be more specific, it's off of the cover for the Playstation 2 game Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Cosplay Hajimemashita.

Spoiler: Game cover

 

[predsfan]

I don't really know much about Inoue, but I'm pretty sure he was a big Jordan fan.

The jerseys Shohoku wears are pretty much the Bulls' jersey at the time Slam Dunk was out:
Slam Dunk: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51672YY24HL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Bulls circa 1991: http://www.mjauthentic.com/90-91roadgamejersey.jpg

And of course Air Jordan:
Slam Dunk: http://static.bleachexile.com/manga/slam-dunk/Slam Dunk vol 25/SDv25ch220-p094-095.jpg
Jordan: http://www.health-fitness.com.au/images/michael-jordan-slam-dunk-free-throw-line1.jpg

I guess these are little obvious though.

 

[Kaiten]

He has been accused of tracing over NBA photo's for some of his game scenes.

 

[M3J]

In a chapter where Naruto and Jiraiya go to a village to get information about Tsunade's whereabouts, and before the Rock chuunin gets pissed off at Naruto, we see a mask of Chaozu from Dragon Ball hanging with rows of masks.

Luffy's love for fighting reminds me of Yusuke and Goku. PLus, his refusal to give up for his friends also remind me of both of them especially Yusuke. Naruto's refusal to give up no matter what also reminds me of Goku and Yusuke to the point that I always look forward to seeing those four save the day cuz I know they can. Plus, their stupidity (at least kid Goku's) know no bounds, yet they're great in battles.

Kakashi's badassedness reminds me of Kurama. Smart, deadly, funny, enjoyable to be around, and scary as fuck when angry.

I dunno who came first, Hiei or Vegeta... but both remind me of one another. Both started out evil but became good, though Vegeta's closer to the main characters than Hiei.

Naruto so reminds me of Luke Skywalker... starts out idealistic but slowly learns the reality of the world, and it changes him profoundly. Yet despite that, some idealism is never lost. Both were even in same situation; Luke was close to killing his father and Naruto close to killing Nagato, but both refused to do so. Both are part of the destiny that will bring peace (though they haven't, if you read extended universe of Star Wars).

Sasuke reminds me of Michael Corleone, just without the epicness of Michael/Al Pacino. Both at the beginning (not the manga/movie anyway) were good people. The circumstances forced them to be cruel/evil. Sasuke realizing the real story behind the Massacre caused him to be evil, which changed from just revenge on Itachi. Having to take lead of Corleone family made Michael ruthless since he had to ensure the survival of his family.

Team Medical Dragon: Asada reminds me of House, minus any kind of selfishness House has. Both are willing to do anyhting to save the patients, and both defy authority to do so, for the patients. However, House's another purpose is to solve problems and to satisfy his curiosity, as well as his ego, I guess. Asada just does it to save lives.


Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. They may not be as accurate, or I may not really agree with what I said, but hell if I care. :>

 

[Roflkopt3r]

Puck of Berserk is a walking reference as he changes his style all the time to referr to other stories. I myself didn't recognize most of them, but here's a nice detailled list (language is italian, but it provides enough images to understand it without knowledge in italian).
http://web.tiscali.it/aviciani/berserk/puck/puck.htm

I guess everyone recognizes this one though

 

[<.Haruka.>]

Arakawa under the bridge...

on episode 9 of the anime, when Stella grows big and loof extremely masculine, I think it was referenced to the Fist of the North Star (this was mentioned by destiny4ever also before).

on manga, Stella was also named after a model for helicopter (Sister was choosing between Cobra, Hind & Stella).

When Ric was teaching the metal brothers how to swim he mentioned something about 'asking a cat-shaped robot' to answer the brothers inquiry. Ric was referring to Doraemon.