Alright it's time again... I'll post any cultural references that's not part of the otaku world which I found myself or around the net, and I'll probably skip things that's already posted in this thread. Saa, hajimaru yo!
RINGU
The title of this episode is "Ringu", which is also the name for probably the most famous Japanese horror film of the last 10 years, both in Japan and internationally. I'm pretty sure everyone here's either heard of or has seen the original or the Americanized remake of the film. I'm not sure why the episode is called that, since there are no pale girls with long black hair crawling out of any TV sets, but perhaps it's a reference to many of the minor charas who were either introduced or touched upon in this episode? This is good topic for discussion... why what is the relationship between EP16 and a creepy movie about the ghost of an ESPer girl?
How did she fit in there again?
FOMA SH903iTV Black
The Ultra cool Japan-only Docomo phone made by Sharp which Kotana used to show off her l33t Haruhi rington and background. It can receive digital broadcast TV signal, and there's little doubt she will use it to watch anime. Sharp phones has the best screens because Sharp is one of the few LCD glass makers in the world.
Suge!
Kagami the Orc
The very beginning of the EP we ran into the middle of a conversation where Kona decided that Kagami is an OUKU. And Kagami promptly objected to her appointment as the only monster. It seemed that they're talking about the Orc from the LOTR, which was a monster hit in Japan as well. I think they were talking about which race they each belong to in the LOTR universe.. Kona is OBVIOUSLY a hobbit, Miyuki, beautiful and smart, is very Elfish. Tsukasa is most human of them all, and that leaves poor Kagami to be the Orc. Hey, there's a whole interesting story behind TWO LINES in this anime!
Female Orc from Lineage II - they no got female Orcs in LOTR...
Sukiyaki Da!
The dish Hiiragi family was enjoying is the famous Japanese nabe dish
すき焼き (Sukiyaki). It's just a lot of good stuff in a pot cooking in a special soy-sauce-based soup. Most nabes has clear broth as its base, but Sukiyaki is special in that the soup itself is very flavorful (some would say a bit savory...). The trick to nabe dinners is "more grabbing, less talking". You talk, you starve... and those whose chopstick and jaw moved the fastest wins. This is clearly a lesson to all who has never enjoyed dishes like nabe or Chinese/Korean firepots. Don't chat until you're full. Another thing about Sukiyaki... you can keep the left over soup and cook it until it becomes a sauce, and eat it over rice the next day!
Oishisou!
Horse Crap Seafood
Konata was having issue with the Japanese name for a type of sea urchin called "green sea urchin". The name is "
バフンウニ" or "Horse Crap sea urchin". As you can see below, it's an apt name.
Oh Crap!
Family in a Bento
After the Microwave Drink episode, Konata said Miyuki and her mom are like "The parent/child in a bento". In Japan, many dishes have the name "Oyako", or "Parent/Child" in them. This is usually referring to a dish with the main ingredient of egg and chicken, hence the play on word "Parent/Child." For example, one of the best donburi dishes is Oyako-don, a rice bowl covered with egg and chicken. Kona uses this expression to describe how similar or close they are.
Mou Oishiisou!
LittlePSX
This is very otaku but I want to mention it. The cafe Kona worked for was the earliest version of one of the first Cosplay/Maido cafe around,
LittlePSX. I read about LittlePSX when maido cafe first came about a few years ago. This version was when it was a "Cheap Sweet" cafe, where you pay a set fee and get to eat all sort of cheap snacks and drinks. Now appearantly it's now a "maido darts bar". I don't know what you're supposed to do in a maido darts bar... some one care of fill this in? You shoot darts at maids while drunk?
the original LittlePSX... the anime was pretty close wasn't it?
Reunions and Golden Week
Just want talk a little about these school topics. First of all, reunions. A school reunion starts the year you graduate from a school. Since this is Japan, you have 3 schools - grade, middle, and high school. These reunions are going to last a long time, if you are a close knit class. People in their 30's and 40's regularly attend middle and high school reunions; most of the time annually. Kona was asking about Middle School reunions there. If you grew up in the West, this is hard to imagine. But in Japan, the friend you've made when you're 13 will usually remain your friend for the rest of your friggin life, whether you like it or not.
About
Golden Week... I think it's a required knowledge for gaijin otakus now. It's a great stretch of time, and a lot of people visit foreign countries. In the place I used to live, we have to prepare for Golden Week since the influx of Japanese tourist will usually overwhelm everyone.
Decorations for Children's Day, originally Boy's Day.
MAIU!
When Misao said Ayano's cookies were "MAIU!" she meant it was more delicious than just "umai"). This is a popular slang word which originated in a foody variety show hosted by two fat comedians called "
元祖！でぶや" (Ganso! Debuya). The shows' premise was these two fat guys looking for foods to make them fatter, and when they find it, they would say "MAIU!" to indicate how utterly delicious the food was. It's now a popular catch phrase used by teenage girls alike.
When the Debuya Boys visited Akiba maido cafes...MAIU! (It's printed in that yellow circle on the screen)
Final Warning! Beat Takeshi's SCARY diseases!
When Kona-jiji's little lolicon family was eating dinner and watching TV together, the TV show they were watching was one of the highest rated show in Japan called "
最終警告! たけしの本当は怖い家庭の医学" (Final Warning! Takeshi's Really Scary Family Medical Knowledge). Hosted by the world-famous Beat Takeshi, the show basically features a disease a week and it's supposed to be scary you into a healthier life style. The show is watched weekly by millions of middle age and older adults. It's sometimes funny and sometimes disgusting. They even have segments where they ACT OUT the horror stories of people such as the poor smoker who didn't know he has lung cancer until he started to COUGH BLOOD! ARG!!! It's pretty interesting but I can never get into it. Maybe when I'm older.
Beat-sama's gonna scare you into good health!
Hell Girl's English Serifu
Alright most of you have gotten the English phrase the elder Hiiragi sisters tried to translate is one of Jikoku Shoujo's standard lines, so I'm just going to cut and paste the English and the Japanese here:
Quote:
Curses, like chickens, come home to roost,
人を呪わば穴二つ
when you make the contract,
あなたが契約を結んだ時
you will absolutely go to hell, too.
あなたも必ず地獄へと流される。
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Bird Rests
Just in case you don't know what a 鳥居 (Torii) looks like, it's this gate thing in front of every Shinto shrine
Body-carrying bird rests here!
ENKA!!!
AKIRA-sama sang a beautiful traditional pop song of Japan in a style called
演歌 (Enka, or "Performance Songs"). There's a lot of history behind Enka, tracing its root from the middle 1800's. It's now a declining art form; enjoyed only by people older than 40 years of age. Many people think Enka's going to die, but I don't think so. Here's the reason - if you're even in Karaoke with your boss, and you're over 30 years old, you should only order and sing Enka to entertain your boss. It's a mature person's music; if you start to sing J-POP songs, you can kiss that promotion good bye as you're seen as immature. If you start to sing otaku songs, you'll probably get fired.
I personally enjoy Enka a lot, maybe because I am getting older. Enka is THE original Asian pop music and I'm so glad it's still around today, although the only time you'll get to see it live is probably on New Year's Kohaku singing competition special. Enka, with the help of Akira and Shiraishi, will live forever. In a few week, a miracle will happen in Japan, as an Enka single will reach top 5 of the Oricon chart. Everyone will be stunned and major newsmedia will put be talking about it. Let's just wait and behold the spectacle.
As I have said before, Akira's got MAD enka skillz. Enka is all about the facial expression when you sing.. most Enka songs are sad songs about lost love or the cheating man, and you're not really singing unless you can emote the pain through your voice, your face, and your hand gestures. A very difficult part of Enka is how you vibrate your voice through your abs when you hit the trailing notes or the all important Zabi (climax). In fact the word Zabi came from Enka. Many of these aspects were animated on Akira. The ED from Hiromi-chan was especially good because it was a really well made Enka Karaoke... with the beautiful scenery, the singer in impeccable long sleeve kimono (formal, mature woman) and looked as serious as hell... only thing missing is the falling sakura. (actually they ALL looked like this). Listen to this song carefully... see how Hiromi's trying to vibrate her voice deeply during the Zabi, but Akira-sama came out instead. It's so friggin awesome I'm actually in tears.
Here's a REAL Enka MV by the probably the most senior and famous of all female Enka singer,
Misora Hibari. Compare her to Hiromi-chan; if she wants to copy anyone this is it:
Bonus: The last thing Kyon said before she show ended was "Jan Ken Po", which is the paper-rock-scissor game to us gaijin, and according to bayaob, it was a reference to the end of Sazae-san anime.
ADDEDUM: I missed what Kyon ordered in the LittlePSX cafe: He ordered 3 things:
うな重 (Unagi-Jou): Broiled eel over rice. Excellent dish:
エビピラフ (Ebi-Pilafu): Shrimp Pilaf; not found outside of Japan:
ミートスパ (Meeto-Supa): Meat Spaghetti. No, this is NOT the spaghetti you know and love:
It takes 15 minutes to make a MeetoSupa? What kind of cafe is this? But they actually have Unagi-Juu? Probably never had them in the first place.. Unagi-Juu is notoriously hard to make, and only specialty-places can do them well.