20130601

Battleships are women

I've long been a big fan of anime, and an even longer fan of spoofs.  So when Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko came out, it was pretty much inevitable that I would like it (and I was subscribing to the Japanese NewType at the time, so of course I heard about it).

As a spoof of big-robot anime, with a lot of action and comedy, it was not exactly hard to follow.

The japanese title, which translates roughly as Mobile Battleship Nadeshiko (although it was given an English title as well, which was Martian Successor Nadesico.  I've never really understood that title, even if the Martian part does make sense), was also obviously an homage to Uchuu Senkan Yamato (Galaxy Battleship Yamato, released in the US as Star Blazers, which, although I didn't watch, was something of which I'd heard, growing up).  What I was unaware of until today, was that there was another layer of connection in the titles.

There's a concept of which I hadn't previously heard, called Yamato Nadeshiko which relates to the feminine ideal in Japan.  Yamato is a term I knew; it's an old name for Japan whose chinese characters render as 'Great Peace' (it's an ateji that looks like it would be pronounced Daiwa.  And yes, it seems a particularly ironic name for a battleship, given the kanji).  I wasn't aware that Nadeshiko is a Japanese name for a flower (since the word in the anime title was written in katakana, it didn't even occur to me to look it up).

Anyway, I wonder if the title might have actually been punning on the Yamato title as well, particularly given the female cast of the show.  Actually, it seems unlikely, but it'd be very cool if it was.

Now I need to go watch more of the show; it's been too long.

(As a side note: this was my first time looking at tvtropes.  A friend mentioned it to me this evening.  Really nifty site that I'm quite sure I could lose many, many hours in reading.)

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