Legendary Carp: Difference between revisions

Carp have a strange tendency to appear unusually powerful in fiction, often being gigantic. Giant Carp are venerated for being colorful and allegedly wise pond dwellers, especially in Japan. Sort of like swimming parrots. They are known for their ability to jump many feet into the air and their long lifespan, something which is usually forgotten amongst their more domesticated, ill-kept brothers called goldfish and (in Japan) koi. According to legend, a sufficently old and powerful carp that is able to climb a waterfall may even become a dragon.

 

 

* Magikarp in the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime usually appear as extras in underwater scenes and the badly-disguised wares of a [[Snake Oil Salesman]], but occasionally have made a bigger impression:

** In the episode "''The Joy of Pokémon''" one Nurse Joy had a giant Magikarp for a friend.

* Turns up in ''[[The Exorcist III]]'', of all places.

{{quote|There's a carp in my bathtub, Father. And for three days it's been swimming. Up. And down. Up. And down. And I hate it. I can't go home until the carp is asleep. You've been standing close to me for some time now, Father. Can you tell? I haven't had a bath for three days.}}

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In the story "Tunnel of Fish" from Kate Atkinson's short story collection ''Not the End of the World'', on his birthday Eddie is taken to Deep Sea World where, in an undersea tunnel, he receives a message from a giant carp.

* In [[Alastair Reynolds]]' "Chasm City", research involving carp produced the earliest immortality treatments. As a result, the postmortal upper class reveres carp in general, and there is also a specific carp which is also several hundred years old and therefore extra-revered.

 

== [[Mythology]] ==

* In Chinese Folklore, a carp that was able to jump over the Dragon's Gate would then transform into a dragon itself. This myth inspired Magikarp, below.

** There are even several legends about carp being able to transform into dragons.

* A [[Bonus Boss]] in ''[[Live a Live]]'', Amulucretia, is a giant carp.

* In one of the versions of ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'', the game's creator accidentally made carp far too powerful: their default bite attack did as much damage as a wolf's and due to a bug in the skill system, they could increase their stats by swimming, which, being fish, [[Captain Obvious|they did all the time]]. Undead carp were even worse: [[Flying Seafood Special|they can walk on land]], so you were either screwed or [[Attack! Attack! Attack!|very brave]] if you tried building a fortress near them. Later versions (happily or sadly) dialed their power back a great deal. Then aimed attacks were implemented, and fish became dangerous again (''sturgeon'' are the new aquatic dwarf-killers).

* Referenced in ''[[Sakura Taisen]] V'' with the [[Macross Missile Massacre|giant carp missiles]] {{spoiler|[[Weaponized Landmark|controlled by the Statue of Liberty]]}}.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* One episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' begins with Aang riding a giant koi off the shore of [[Wutai|Kyoshi Island]].

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

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[[Category:Aquatic Animal Tropes]]