Animal Motifs: Difference between revisions

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* Usagi Tsukino from ''[[Sailor Moon (Manga)|Sailor Moon]]''. Even her name means "rabbit", and [[Odango|her hair]] is meant to mirror the ears of one. This relates back to the astrological motif as well, from the Japanese myth of [[wikipedia:Moon rabbit|the rabbit on the moon.]] Chibi-Usa is designed to look even more like a rabbit, with her pinkish eyes and bunny ear-shaped [[Odango]].

* From ''[[Xxx Holic (Manga)|Xxx Holic]]'', we have Yuuko who is often represented by a butterfly, which symbolizes change and how she changes her customers, including the main characters.

* In ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'', the original Seven Warlords of the Sea have an animal in their names and can often identify with the animal's characteristics:

* In ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'', the characters themselves start wondering about which animal motif suits them best. Joking unflappable otaku Konata gets a fox, cute and innocent Tsukasa a puppy, soft-mannered and peaceful Miyuki a sheep (although Konata would quip that she's more suited to a cow due to her...[[Gag Boobs|ahem... bust size]])... and resident [[Tsundere]] and [[Straight Man]] Kagami is to her endless shame given a bunny (due to her underlying emotionality and her tendency to hide it from the world, and, apparently, because her ponytails look like rabbit ears according to Konata).

* Ikki from ''[[Air Gear (Manga)|Air Gear]]'' is often compared to a crow, both by other characters and through imagery.

** Harribel is [[Everything's Even Worse With Sharks|shark-themed]]. Dignified and terrifying, she comes with obligatory water powers.

* In ''[[Get Backers]]'', Ban is often associated with snakes. His eyes are slitty and look a ''lot'' like a snake's, and even one of his trademark attacks is ''called'' "Snake Bite." Shido even calls him "Snake Bastard." Hey, even his proud, condescending attitude is rather reminiscent of [[Smug Snake|a certain trope]]. Though physically, it's especially obvious in [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/get_backers/v14/c001.2/30.html this page of the manga].

* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh GX]]'', there's an animal motif on two points where Misawa and Judai clash. The artwork depicts a dragon coming from Judai, and a tiger coming from Misawa. This is a reference to tigers and dragons represented by Yin and Yang in Taoism. Dragon was Yang, and Yang went with rushing headlong into things on instinct, which is how Judai does everything. The tiger was Yin, going with thinking and planning, which Misawa does even with things like batting in baseball.

* ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]'' uses this trope quite a lot. Ippo is a gazelle, Sendo a tiger, Vorg a wolf, Date a lion, Woli a monkey, Kimura a dragonfish... Notably, Takamura, despite being the 2nd main character, does not have a clear motif. He could be a hawk (his name reflects it and he wears a hawk costume for world title fights), a bear (won against one and has worn his fur) or a rhinoceros beetle (wore such a costume and his ''[[K-On! (Manga)|K-On!]]'' manga appears to have a thing for turtles and tortoises. For one, there are the statues on the school staircases, based on the fable of the tortoise and the hare. In the opening of the first season, the girls are seen hopping over stones in a river, some of which are turtle-shaped (both are from [[Real Place Background|real locations]], by the way). Ui owns a large turtle plushie. And then there's Ton-chan, a turtle living in an aquarium in the club room.

* In ''[[Future GPX Cyber Formula (Anime)|Future GPX Cyber Formula]]'', some of racing team's logos have these. For example, Team Sugo has Pegasus as their logo, Aoi has the [[wikipedia:Griffin|Griffin]] as their logo and as for the team Albatross DDT... well, you can probably guess what they have as their logo.

* In ''[[Spirited Away]]'', all the characters from the spirit world are actually animal spirits, according to the [[Word of God]]. [[Deadpan Snarker|Lin]] is a weasel. [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|Kamaji]] is a spider. [[It's All About Me|Several workers]] in the bath are frogs and slugs. [[My Beloved Smother|Yubaba]] takes the form of a dark bird, perhaps a crow. *[[Mysterious Protector|Haku]] is a {{spoiler|dragon.}}

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', there's Greece with his many cats. He himself wishes to be a cat, and even has a cat army. Not to mention wearing cat ears in one episode (Japan put them on him), after wishing he were one of his feline companions.

* In ''[[Blue Exorcist (Manga)|Ao No Exorcist]]'', Konekomaru is one of the main characters to be this. Part of his name, Neko, means cat. He loves hot milk, he hates being cold, and he is one of the smallest and cutest characters in the series.

* In the original ''[[Mahou Tsukai Ni Taisetsu Na Koto]]'', Yume uses a dolphin as her magic sign.

* Spiders appear as a motif in ''[[Marvel 1602]]'', usually around Peter Parquagh. Given who his [[Spider Man|modern counterpart]] is, spiders seem to be a symbol for destiny (perhaps a reference to the web of Fate).

** Many [[Spider Man]] foes also have animal motifs. J. Michael Straczynski's run posited that Spidey is being assaulted by jealous pretenders who subconsciously realize that he is a true totemic champion.

* Psychic operatives in ''[[Casanova (Comic Book)|Matt Fraction's Casanova]]'' all seem to have differing animal totems that manifest when they use their powers. The protagonist had spiders then upgraded to crows and his villainous sister had snakes.

* ''[[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Ace Attorney]]'' [[Sprite Comic]] ''[[Kristoph Gavin Ace Attorney]]'' has a group of criminals all codenamed after birds.

* In [[X Men First Class (Film)|X Men First Class]] fanworks, Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier are commonly associated with sharks and rats, respectively. This probably originated with Michael Fassbender's [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|distinctive and somewhat intimidating smile]] and the "adorable lab rat" line in the Cerebro scene.

* [[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]] fanfic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3857461/1/ On the Alteration of Species]'' has the Straw Hats transformed into an animal based on their personalities. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by one character. Luffy becomes a monkey because monkeys are funny and enjoy to explore. Robin is a cat due to her observing and clever nature. Zoro a [[Big Badass Wolf|wolf]], headstrong and powerful. Usopp a stoat, able to get away quickly and also stand their ground if necessary. Sanji becomes a horse due to his intelligent and sweet nature. Nami becomes a magpie which are known to like shiny things and being very smart. And Chopper remains as a reindeer.

* ''[[Psycho (Film)|Psycho]]'' also has a bird motif, associating Norman Bates' female victims with the birds he stuffs. He comments that Marion Crane (note the surname), from Phoenix, Arizona, eats like a bird shortly before killing her. In the finale we learn that he has preserved the corpse of his mother with his taxidermy skills.

* At one point in ''[[Star Trek (Film)|Star Trek]]'', McCoy indirectly referred to Kirk as a stallion, who had started out wild, reckless and proud. Eventually, he does grow up and becomes "tamed" and more controlled of his emotions.

* Many of the characters in ''[[Blade Runner (Film)|Blade Runner]]'' are associated with an animal, including all of the (confirmed) Replicants. Roy Batty, in fact, has two.

* From ''[[Sherlock Holmes (Film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', a crow is always seen whenever Blackwood is about to kill someone. So at the end, {{spoiler|when Blackwood [[Karmic Death|really does die for real]], it flies away. Of course, the crow turns out to be nothing more than a normal crow.}}

* In ''[[Ever After (Film)|Ever After]]'', when preparing for the masque, Marguerite is dressed as a peacock, beautiful and vain. Compared to her sister, Jacqueline, who is kind and sweet, is dressed as a horse. The brief conversation they had before leaving also reflected Jacqueline's situation. She complained that she always wanted to be the peacock (someone beautiful and admired like her sister), in which her mother then told her a horse is still a noble creature. In the end, she chooses to help Danielle and falls in love with the captain, living happily in the castle with her stepsister, unlike her mother and sister.

* Original ''[[Piranha (Film)|Piranha]]'' has a sea life motif.

* [[James Cameron]] [[Word of God|has stated]] that he used a butterfly motif on Rose in ''[[Titanic (Film)|Titanic]]''. Most evident in the (in)famous "I'm flying!" scene.

* Jafar, the villain of ''[[Aladdin (Disney)|Aladdin]]'', was actually given a snake motif: his hat and robes resemble the hood and body of a cobra, he has vaguely serpentine eyes, teeth resembling a venomous snake's fangs, a constant tendency to flick out his tongue while speaking, he always carries a cobra-headed staff with him all the time, and at the end of the film, [[One-Winged Angel|he even]] [[Scaled Up|turns into one.]]

* ''[[Bram Stokers Dracula (Film)|Bram Stokers Dracula]]'' has the obvious bat, rat and wolf associations for the titular character, but there's also a snake motif for Lucy: her first appearance has her wearing an evening gown with snake embroidering and a hairdo resembling coiled snakes, the nightgown she wears when attacked by Dracula resembles a snake's belly, and her wedding/funeral dress was inspired by frill-necked lizards.

* [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]] is full of animal analogies. Lions, doves, sheep and cattle are especially prominent: Jesus himself was regularly compared to lambs, lions and, in later Christianity, [[Mythical Motifs|unicorns.]]

* ''[[The Iliad (Literature)|The Iliad]]'' is heavy with animal similes when describing characters' emotions and actions.

* There are the protective spirits brought forth by the Patronus Charm in ''[[Harry Potter (Literature)|Harry Potter]]'' -- Harry's Patronus is a stag, which is the animal his father could turn into, Ron Weasley has a terrier, and dotty but quick-thinking Luna Lovegood has a hare. The Patronus of {{spoiler|Severus Snape}} turns out to have a critical symbolic significance recognized even by characters in the scene. Dolores Umbridge, who fills her office with adorable kittens and has a cat Patronus, presents an atypical symbolic association for felines; the cute kittens and sleek cat Patronus (which we see only in a scene where it magically shields Umbridge against the consequences of her own ongoing miscarriage of justice) represent cloying, false sweetness, politeness masking lethal intention, and near-pathological self-justification.

* The [[Animorphs (Literature)|Animorphs]] all have signature animals they often turn into, particularly in battle. For example, Marco, the team clown, typically transforms into a gorilla, which is big, bulky, but still capable of delicate manipulations with opposable thumbs; [[The Hero]], Jake, is a tiger; [[Blood Knight]] Rachel is a [[Everything's Worse With Bears|grizzly bear]]; Tobias is a hawk (self-sufficient and needs lots of space); [[Team Mom]] Cassie is a wolf.

** And [[Sixth Ranger Traitor|David]] is [[Rewarded As a Traitor Deserves|a rat]]. [[Shout-Out|For all his rage, he is still just a rat in a]] [[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|bottle.]]

* ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (Literature)|The Grapes of Wrath]]'' has in its third chapter a tortoise trying to cross a road and getting run over by a truck. In the fourth chapter, we meet Jim Casey, who's described as having a "long head" and a "beaked" nose.

** A very similar [[John Steinbeck (Creator)|Steinbeck]] example occurs in ''[[Of Mice and Men (Literature)|Of Mice and Men]]''. Lennie and Candy's dog are described in very similar terms: both have "pale...eyes" and dragging feet. {{spoiler|Both succumb to [[Death By Newbery Medal]] via [[Shoot the Dog]]}}.

* [[Jorge Luis Borges (Creator)|Jorge Luis Borges]] writes a tiger somewhere into many of his stories.

* ''[[Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Literature)|Songs of Innocence and of Experience]]'' employs the recurring imagery of different animals to represent innocence, e.g. "The Lamb", and experience, e.g. "The Tyger". In "THE FLY", the narrator compares himself directly to a fly with reference to human mortality and vulnerability.

* In ''[[Stardust (Literature)|Stardust]]'', a character remarked when {{spoiler|Tristran is transformed into a dormouse by a witch}}, that she isn't sure whether {{spoiler|the spell simply transformed Tristran into a dormouse or it had chosen the form that Tristran is most like}}.

* Each chapter of [[The Darksword Trilogy]] starts with a small, symbolic illustration. Joram is represented as a [[The Frog Prince (Literature)|frog]] wearing a crown, referencing his [[Royal Blood]]; Simkin is represented as a [[Ravens and Crows|crow]] wearing a jester's cap, referencing his [[Trickster Archetype]] nature and status as [[The Fool]].

* ''[[The Hunger Games (Literature)|The Hunger Games]]'' has President Snow identifying with a snake. Katniss has been compared to a mockingjay.

* In ''[[Criminal Minds (TV)|Criminal Minds]]'', Gideon loves birds and is associated with them. When his successor Rossi debuts, the first thing he does is shoot a bird, to indicate that he's nothing like Gideon.

* When the current [[Masked Luchador]] [[Rey Mysterio Jr]] began his wrestling career he used the name "Colibri," which is Spanish for "hummingbird." It's fitting for someone so [[Fragile Speedster|agile and small]].

* [[Spell My Name With an "S"|Rhino/Rhyno]] is powerfully built and fights by charging at his opponents.

** ''[[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|Super Mario Sunshine]]'' takes place on Delfino Island, which itself is shaped like a dolphin. There are also a few fountains with dolphin figures spouting water.

* Squall Leonhart of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VIII]]'' has - as indicated by the name - a lion motif, one so omnipresent that he and Rinoa actually have an ingame conversation about it.

** In ''[[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VII]]: Advent Children'', Cloud has a very strong wolf symbolism going on. Not only is there a wolf head in his shoulder pad but his motorbike is named ''Fenrir'' and he's being followed by a shaggy old wolf that mourns in the places he most strongly associates with personal failure. You have three guesses which kind of wolf this is painting him as.

** ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' continues Squall's lion motif, though as painted by the villains this time. They seem to make a habit of referring to at least a few of the protagonists as though they were animals, such as calling [[Final Fantasy V (Video Game)|Bartz]] a mouse, and [[Final Fantasy IX (Video Game)|Zidane]] a monkey.

** Gabranth in ''[[Final Fantasy XII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy XII]]'' may as well be ''named'' "the Stray Dog".

* ''[[Super Mario Bros|Mario Power Tennis: Advance Tour]]'' included a cat-and-mouse theme in one doubles partnership, with Paula (who was tiny, had a ponytail that could be seen from the front, with a huge, puffy bow over her head and rosy cheeks) and Whisker (taller, slicked-up cat-ear style hairdo and a prominent, muzzle-like nose). Why, exactly, is unclear, unless it was a parody, as they're the best of friends.

* The high-ranking [[Shinigami|Reapers]] in ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'', each have an (animal) [[The Heartless|Noise form]] that vaguely shadows their personality.

* ''[[Assassin's Creed (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed]]'' uses eagles for Desmond Miles' ancestors as well as their names (Altair is Arabic for "The Flying One" and Ezio is derived from ''aestos'', which is Greek for "eagle"). There's also the genetic "Eagle Vision" that allows Desmond and his ancestors to spot out their targets and better analyze their surroundings.

*** The final level of ''[[Assassin's Creed Revelations (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed Revelations]]'' finally just says "to hell with subtlety" - Ezio goes ''parasailing'' behind a charging carriage, and dispatches mooks by dive-bombing them and slicing their necks with his twin blades.

* In ''[[Bio Shock]] 2'', [[Big Bad]] Sofia Lamb's cult uses the Butterfly to represent rebirth due to their belief in sacrificing the individual for the good of the group.

* Many ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' characters are [[Cute Monster Girl|animal youkai]] of various sorts, and dress in ways that evoke their original species, in addition to having [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|odd features]] or [[Unusual Ears]]. Less animalistic youkai and humans sometimes have motifs, too, either evident in canon or bestowed by the fandom.

* The noble chicken is a recurring motif in ''[[Fable III (Video Game)|Fable III]]'', representing a spirit that is unfortunately frequently taken advantaged of, yet yearns for freedom.

* Philemon of ''[[Persona (Video Game)|Persona]]'' is ''really'' big on [[Butterfly of Death and Rebirth]], to the point [[Word of God]] says he's ''all'' the butterflies seen in the third and fourth games.

* In ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]'', Porky Minch takes his unfortunate name and [[Fat Bastard]] status and has the audacity to turn ''it'' into an animal motif, theming his entire empire and the Pigmask Army after pigs.

** Also, in ''[[The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'', people who enter the Dark Realm without the Moon Pearl transform into something reflecting their soul. When first entering, Link is transformed into a pink bunny to reflect his innocence. In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', Link transforms into a wolf when in the Twilight Realm. Throughout the game there are references to Link in his human form having "the eyes of a beast".

* The Four Great Knights of Gwyn in ''[[Dark Souls (Video Game)|Dark Souls]]'' each have their own unique animal theme.

* ''[[Fate Stay Night (Visual Novel)|Fate/Stay Night]]'' has Saber {{spoiler|aka Arturia, the [[Gender Flip|gender flipped]] version of King Arthur}} is often given a lion motif. Rider gets both horses {{spoiler|for her ability to summon Pegasus}} and snakes {{spoiler|as befits her real identity of Medusa}}.

* [[Tsukihime (Visual Novel)|Tsukihime]] compared Arcueid to a cat a few times with her mood swings, occasionally impish nature and impulsive behavior. And Neko-Arc in the hints corner. Kagetsu Tohya took that and ''ran'' with it. Neko-Arc everywhere, a leopard booby trap in her underwear drawer (Yes, really) that eats Shiki, Arcueid in a catsuit, normal Arcueid with cat ears... Len also has a cat theme, but that really doesn't count considering what she is.

* In ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Ni]]'', Beatrice is most frequently associated with golden butterflies (appearing early on a cloud of them), signifying the questionable nature of reality as presented in the series. Bernkastel, the self-entitled "cruelest Witch in the world", has a [[Cats Are Mean|cat's tail]]. In what may have been a partial [[Cultural Cross-Reference]], Battler is a few times compared to a [[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Phoenix]] (for his determination).

* Kazuko in ''[[Maji De Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai (Visual Novel)|Maji De Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai]]'' is heavily associated with dogs. She is frequently depicted with dog ears, and occasionally a tail. She's trained to respond to a whistle and will run to the person who blows it whether she wants to or not. Most notably, though, she has ''two'' nicknames referencing dogs, Wanko (used by everyone) and Inu (used by Chris). On a lesser note, Mayucchi comes up with an animal motif for everyone.

* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' has several animals associated with particular characters:

* ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'' has a little bit of this.

* In ''[[Sakana (Webcomic)|Sakana]]'' each of the primary characters' design is based on some kind of seafood: Jiro has hair similar to a shark fin, Taro's design is based on a whale, Taisei's hair looks like jellyfish and Yuudai resembles an eel.

* Several of the trolls in ''[[Homestuck (Webcomic)|Homestuck]]'' have animal motifs, associated with their lusus and their [[Western Zodiac|Zodiac sign]]. Karkat - crabs, Nepeta - cats, Terezi - dragons, etc. Vriska's spider motif is the most obvious though, working its way into her typing quirk. John seems to be picking up on it. The kids (with the exception of John) each have one as well, relating to what their sprites were prototyped with: Dave's crows are the most obvious, then Rose's cat (in addition to her affinity for [[Eldritch Abomination|all things tentacled]]), and Jade's [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|radioactive god dog]]. Finally, there's Roxy's cats and Dirk's seagulls.

* ''[[Moral Orel (Animation)|Moral Orel]]'' has a blue bird appearing in key shots throughout the two-parter "Nature."

* Zuko from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' had an animal motif in the theme of dragons, creatures associated with [[Elemental Powers|fire]]. However, his motifs were of two dragons, one blue and one red, representing the dual aspect of his nature. The dragons also refer to his Uncle Iroh, the Dragon of the West {{spoiler|who protected the last of the dragons, from whom Zuko and Aang later learn the true source of Fire Bending from.}}

* ''[[Thundercats (Animation)|Thundercats]]''

* ''[[Silverhawks (Animation)|Silverhawks]]''

* The main characters of [[Motorcity (Animation)|Motorcity]] all have [[Cool Car|Cool Cars]] named and designed after animals:

* Most countries have an animal they use as a symbol for the nation as a whole. The United States have their bald eagle, of course, while Russia has [[Everything's Worse With Bears|the bear]], the United Kingdom the scrappy but lovable bulldog (officially it's actually the Lion but the bulldog characterisation stuck), India has the tiger, Thailand has the elephant, Israel the Lions of Judah and China has its whiskered dragon. Other countries apparently had to take whatever animal mascots were left over: Canada has the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HmgemMkfKA mighty beaver], Spain has the black bull, while France is unofficially associated with the Gallic rooster. Empires with great reach or which were viewed as secular and religious authorities often adopt the double-headed eagle: the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the old Russian Empire, the [[Warhammer 40000|Imperium of Man]], etc.