I was watching Twin Angels and I have some questions.
1)Is Onimaru (the kid with the horn on his head based on Susano, the thunder god?
2)Who is the figure that appears when Mai and Ai transforms? Is it Kannon (she was mentioned in Samuri from Outer Space)?
Not sure what “maru” means, but “Oni” means “deamon” or “oger” or “monster”. Basically it’s a term used for evil spirits. And, evil spirits tend to have horns (which is why they seem to have long hair or hats… to cover the horn, and be able to trick humans.)
So, it might be a compound name, but I’m not sure what “Maru” means.
Mike
“Maru” is, um, round. A circle. A ball, or at least ball-shaped. No, really, that’s what the kanji means literally.
(Which tickled some of my friends to death when they tried transliterating “Haohmaru”)
quote:
Originally posted by Jeffrey:
"Maru" is, um, round. A circle. A ball, or at least ball-shaped. No, really, that's what the kanji means literally.(Which tickled some of my friends to death when they tried transliterating "Haohmaru")
Yeah, if you've ever played Mark of the Millenium: SNK Vs. Capcom 2, the stage where there's two floating boats have the name of the characters fighting behind them, 'Haohmaru' kind of means 'Powerful' for 'Ha', 'King' for 'Oh', and 'Ball' for 'Maru'. So, what's in a name?
As far as I know, most Japanese registry boats have names that end with “maru”. Like the now famous Ehime Maru, and several of the ships in port that I’ve seen have “maru”. (Or even the old Star Trek “Kobayashi Maru” scenario. Hmm, what is it with me and Star Trek references today?) Though I’m not entirely sure why that is. Anybody understand the reference?
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:
Well, could be Kannon... she is one of the great deities of Japanese mythos. You see her mentioned quite often in anime and manga, especially works focused on girls, it seems, [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]Don't know about Onimaru... oni in general have horns, though.
[This message has been edited by Kumiko Kamiyama (edited 02-25-2002).]
I was probably mistaken about the Susano thing, because I was thinking about some really old anime about Susano and Onimaru reminded me a little of him.
I also have one observation on the magical/fighting girl genre.
In most hero anime, males get their powers from technology. The hero almost always has a robot or powered suit. When a hero anime has a female lead, she uses magic. Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, the Twin Angels, Miko Mido, and others rely on magical weapons or tailsmans. So are these characters just super hero versions of Shinto priestesses?
“maru” (suffix)
Middle Ages language “maro” changes.
1. Person’s name, it uses for the especially juvenile. “Ushiwaka -”
2. It uses for the name of sword,instrument and ceramic ware. "Onikiri -"
3. It uses for the name of the boat. "Rinkai -"
4. It uses for the name of the person’s favorite one.
5. It uses for the person whose status is humble.
It is #5 in this case.
I don’t think the most of Japanese would remember the exact origin regarding the “maru” of their name. But it’s often they use certain words in their name. “Ko”, “Ro”, and “Ta” are common ones, as the first born gets “Ichi(1)ro”, second “Ji(younger bro)ro”, third “San(3)ro”, or strong “Tetsu(iron)ro”, or even something as simple as “Yamada-Yamata” (moutain farm, reference of his birth place ^^; ) hope this helps.
BTW I don’t think Twin Angels have any visible reference to Susanno-oh besides the name… Actual myth of Susanno-oh reads much closer to a Robert E Howard’s novel. Personally I liked the story of Takeru and Yamata no Orochi better.
This site is useful if you want to examine the character of the Japanese myth.
But, you can’t refer to kannon(Goddess of Mercy). Because she belongs to Buddhism.
[This message has been edited by Hokusai (edited 02-26-2002).]
[This message has been edited by Hokusai (edited 02-26-2002).]
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:
The comment that was made in that page (and that is pretty accurate) is that men must create a machine to help them fly... girls just fly, they don't need any machine to help them. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Heh, I'm remembering the scene in "The Dark Crystal" when the gelflings are falling. The female gelfling spreads her wings to lower them down. The male gelfling then goes something like "You have wings? How come I don't have wings?" Her reply? "Cause you're a boy!" [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
Of course, a friendly look and a bright smile from a pretty girl is enough to make a boy feel like he can fly.
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:
Not exactly. However, Japanese's philosophy revolves around nature spirits and forces, and that the female is especially in tune with them. Girls have shamanic powers because it is simply natural for girls to have them and use them in one way or another. This is what we might call "magic" in the West... but it's not unknown in Western cultures by any means.There was a nice little paper someplace online where someone was making the same observation. Keep in mind that this is even in a mecha show like Macross. Hikaru is powered by technology, while Minmei doesn't need technology to use her power - it's simply a part of nature, a part of her spirit, and comes out in the form of her voice and performance.
The comment that was made in that page (and that is pretty accurate) is that men must create a machine to help them fly... girls just fly, they don't need any machine to help them. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Ah, so that why. I forgot that Japan's first ruler (Himiko) was a shamaness. Nausicaa (the anime/manga character not the mythological figure) could also be a shamaness.
quote:
Originally posted by ekylo:
Heh, I'm remembering the scene in "The Dark Crystal" when the gelflings are falling. The female gelfling spreads her wings to lower them down. The male gelfling then goes something like "You have wings? How come I don't have wings?" Her reply? "Cause you're a boy!" [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
I remember "The Dark Crystal". The female gelfling could commicate with animals too, right?
quote:
Originally posted by Mecha00:
I remember "The Dark Crystal". The female gelfling could commicate with animals too, right?
Heh, yup. *Grins and points up a few posts* Kumiko-san mentioned this. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]