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{{trope}}
[[File:ocelot-hurf.jpg|link=Metal Gear|frame|
▲{{quote|'''Naomi''': I also put some nootropics in there.<br />
'''Naomi''': Nootropics. It's a class of drugs which will help improve your mental functioning.
▲'''Snake''': Say what?<br />
▲'''Naomi''': Nootropics. It's a class of drugs which will help improve your mental functioning.<br />
'''Snake''': It'll make me smarter, huh?|''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', in a typical demonstration}}
So, you're told something of great importance, something that is either too incredible to believe or part of some larger thing that you don't know about. The typical response to this is [[What Is Going On?]], or [[Let Me Get This Straight...]]. Unfortunately, there's a problem with this scenario in media: more often than not, the ''viewer'' has about as much of a clue as to what's happening as the character being fed the information, and [[As You Know|as we all know]], [[Exposition]] is key in making media understandable and watchable. So, expect this trope to be used over and over and over again in nearly every conversation, as the informee is given the [[Idiot Ball]] for the sake of explaining everything to the viewers. Do it too often, and the informee begins to act like they can't go two steps without requiring [[Mr. Exposition]] to come in and point out the glaringly obvious. Combine well with [[Dull Surprise]] to get a character that ''really'' looks out of it and perpetually clueless.
[[Truth in Television]], especially in the form quoted above. Sometimes you just want a bit more detail. Worth noting that Japanese, the language that many examples are translated from, does this a lot as a mechanic of the conversational language.
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Often done by [[The Watson]]. Compare [[Repeating So the Audience Can Hear]], for when we ''can't'' hear the other side of the conversation, and [[Parrot Expowhat]], where the exposition is so shocking, [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]], or obscure that the other party can't repeat it.
{{examples|Examples?}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* An [[Egregious]] example from an episode of ''[[Black Cat (
{{quote|
'''Train:''' Nanotechnology?
'''Sven:''' Nanotechnology.
'''Eve:''' Nanotechnology... }}
** Considering nanotech is one of the most popular current [[Hand Wave
* Kyōji Kōriyama from ''[[Noein]]'' practically ''defines'' this trope. It seems like over ''half his dialogue'' is just repeating back what his partner Ryōko Uchida says to him.
* [[Bowdlerized]] anime dubs seem fond of this to really pound the point home that the thing that looks a whole lot like a gun and is being held a lot like you'd hold a gun isn't actually a gun. For example, the duel in ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' between Yugi and Arkana. Try and count how many times they repeat "If that dark duel disk touches me, it will [[Never Say "Die"|send my mind to the shadow realm!]]" I dare you.
** Don't do it! It's a trap!
* Likewise in the dubbed ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', EVERYONE'S magical ability to tell that <s>Haruka and Michiru</s> [[Dub Name Change|Amara and Michelle]] and Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are cousins; even the random [[Monster of the Week]]; and comment on it.
* In the ''[[
* Sort of parodied in ''[[Darker
* [[The Slayers]] frequently uses Gourry Gabriev as a [[Dumb Blonde]] or even an outright [[Idiot Hero]] in order to use this trope to manage info dumps about mystical stuff (powerful spells, monster society, magical items, etc) that the other characters (all being powerful, well-studied magic-users) would know, but the audience doesn't.
* Countless ''[[Ranma
** A lot of humor manga use this variation on the trope to get stories moving quickly, and Takahashi herself popularized it in her earlier series [[Urusei Yatsura]] (though it wasn't used nearly as much as it is in Ranma.) Even her more serious works will use it on occasion.
* Speaking of Takahashi, she modifies the above approach for ''[[Inuyasha]]'', which likes to pick itself up from cliffhangers this way. A chapter will end with a character delivering a shock revelation ("Kikyo's alive!") Then the next chapter will start with everyone else parroting it back ("What? Kikyo's Alive?!") which handily puts the reader back in the moment and brings them up to speed. Then the character who dropped the bombshell will proceed to explain the details.
** Many plot-heavy manga love to use this variation, though again, Takahashi seems to be one of its biggest fans.
* In the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
{{quote|
'''Signum''': (turning to Shamal) Those kids?
'''Shamal''': You know, them. The kids that Fate-chan always visits before a mission. [[As You Know|Remember]]? }}
* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' - It's OVER NINE THOUSAAAND!
** What!? Nine thousand? There's no WAY that can be right, CAN IT!?
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' has this happen in episode 3: [[Combining Mecha|GATTAI DA!!!]]
* The manga version of ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' stretches a little longer than the anime in places, primarily thanks to the girls' tendency to break every sentence spoken to them down to its component nouns and then repeat them as questions ("You have to get to the Fountain of Power to create your magic weapons." "Fountain of Power?" "Magic weapons?").
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== Fan Works ==
* Naturally, this can carry over into ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' fanfiction, although certainly not as often. One memorable example from a tongue-in-cheek Snake/Otacon [[Slash Fic]], in which Otacon, more from being a nerd than a pervert, films the 'action' using the Metal Gear MkII and its new "accessory."
{{quote|
'''Otacon:''' It's a microphone boom, Snake.
'''Snake:''' A microphone boom? }}
* Done several times by [[Ace Attorney
{{quote|
'''Phoenix:''' Celestia? Magic of friendship? Ponyville?... Wait a minute, [[Oh Crap|are you saying there's more talking ponies!?]] }}
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== Films -- Animated ==
* Lord Farquad and Gingy parodied this [[Waxing Lyrical|with the children's song "The Muffin Man"]] in the first [[Shrek]] movie
{{quote|
Farquad: The Muffin Man?
Gingy: The Muffin Man...
Farquad: Oh yes, I know the Muffin Man... Who lives on Drury Lane?
Gingy: Well... she's ''married'' to... the Muffin Man.
Farquad: The Muffin Man?!
Gingy: THE MUFFIN MAN!!
Farquad: She's married to the Muffin Man... }}
* Neil decides to copy the emergency alarm in [[Final Fantasy:
{{quote|
'''Computer:''' Proceed to the nearest evacuation facility.
'''Neil:''' I think we should proceed to the nearest evacuation facility. }}
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== Films -- Live-Action ==
* ''[[The Court Jester]]'':
{{quote|
'''Griselda:''' Right. But there's been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace!
'''Hubert Hawkins:''' They broke the chalice from the palace?
'''Griselda:''' And replaced it with a flagon.
'''Hubert Hawkins:''' A flagon...?
'''Griselda:''' With the figure of a dragon.
'''Hubert Hawkins:''' Flagon with a dragon.
'''Griselda:''' Right.
'''Hubert Hawkins:''' But did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?
'''Griselda:''' No! The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
'''Hubert Hawkins:''' The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
'''Griselda:''' Just remember that. }}
* ''[[The Matrix]]'' also had this with Neo, with the [[Dull Surprise]] addition.
* ''[[Prince of Space]]'' is riddled with this. (To the point of being an alternate [[Trope Namer]]: [[Prince of Space Sir]])
{{quote|
'''Scientist''': What's that?
'''Phantom of Krankor''': Prepare to leave. Each of you will enter a space capsule.
'''Scientist''': What?
'''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000|Tom Servo]]''': For crying out loud... '''[[
** This may be a result of inferior English dubbing. Presumably the dialogue made more sense in the original Japanese.
* The verses of [[Ear Worm|"Zydrate Anatomy"]] in ''[[Repo!
{{quote|
'''Shilo''': "A little glass vial?"
'''Everyone else''': "A little glass vial."
'''
'''
'''Everyone else''': "Addicted to the knife."
'''Grave Robber''': "Mag's contract's got some mighty fine print."<br />▼
'''Shilo''': "Some mighty fine print?"<br />▼
'''Everyone else''': [[Overused Running Gag|*disinterested murmurs*]] }}
* ''The Cat In The Hat'' - Making Cupcakes scene. The cook, all the way from CHE-SHIRE ENGLAND, states that the "Amazing Kupcake-Inator" can turn ANYTHING into delicious cupcakes...
{{quote|
'''Cheshire England Cat''': Anything!
'''Host''': Anything?
'''Cheshire England Cat''': Yes, anything!
'''Host''': Anything?
'''Cheshire England Cat''': ... anything.
'''Host''': [[Overly Long Gag|... aaanythingg??]] }}
* ''[[Star Wars]]'': ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' - the explanation of what midichlorians are was delivered by Anakin starting with a question of what they are and continues like so:
{{quote|
'''Anakin''': They live inside me?
'''Qui-Gon Jinn''': Inside your cells, yes. And we are symbiont with them.
'''Anakin''': Symbiont? }}
** In Anakin's defense, the first line sounded like an expression of disbelief, with the second line being more like asking "What is symbiont?"
** Since nobody in the audience can understand what Chewbacca can say, almost all his conversations involve someone repeating what he's (assumingly) just roared, as if to clarify. One imagines this must be annoying for him.
{{quote|
'''Chewbacca''': [[
'''C-3PO''': No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca! }}
*** An exception occurs when Chewie simply roars, and Han replies, "You said it, Chewie." Listening to the original tape reveals that he said "That old man's mad!" Han's next line however, is "Where ''did'' you dig up that old fossil," so Chewbacca's line can be reasonably guessed.
* ''[[
{{quote|
* If Bill Harford, [[Tom Cruise]]'s borderline [[Cloudcuckoolander]] protagonist from Stanley Kubrick's ''[[Eyes Wide Shut]]'', didn't repeat everything everyone around him said, the film would be about half an hour shorter.
* Amusingly, even ''[[Escape
{{quote|
'''Snake:''' 24 hours, huh? }}
** In Snake's case, it seems that he's planning to cheat Hauk. This is before, of course, the bomb capsules are implanted.
* This is a common tool in old [[Film Serial
== Literature ==
* In ''1Q84'', pretty much half of Tengo's spoken dialogue is parrot exposition, often word-for-word. It's why the book is a thousand pages long.
** "It's why the book is a thousand pages long," said Tengo.
* A writer to [[Roger Ebert]]'s ''Questions For The Movie Answer Man'' took note of this Trope in action.
* ''[[Harry Potter]]'' is known for doing this:
{{quote|
Voldemort [[Foe Yay|put something of himself]]... into ''me''? }}
** Notably, he's most likely to do this during scenes where it is revealed he's important. Or, to put it more simply, he has a hard time believing he's special. He is, after all "Just Harry".
* [[Michael Crichton]] in ''[[Sphere]]'' has a character use
* Used quite often in ''Deep Storm'', usually by Dr. Crane. One example:
{{quote|
Dr. Crane: Chipped?
Dr. Asher: Tag you with an RFID chip.
Dr. Crane: Radio frequency identification? Is that necessary? }}
* Eragon from the [[Inheritance Cycle]] is infamous for doing this:
{{quote|
"The Varden, who are my friends." "The Varden!"
"I'm a Rider!" }}
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** Particularly egregious in the two-part episode at the beginning of the fifth season. The first half of the episode consisted of ''nothing but'' voice-overs summarizing the plot. The entire episode could have been condensed down to three and a half minutes. The name of that episode? "Redux".
* ''[[Bones]]'' uses this, dealing as it does with forensics, but it's only used when Agent Booth is in the room. If, for instance, Zach and Cam are alone in the lab dealing with X-rays, the average viewer will have no clue what they're talking about. And Bones tends to reciprocate when they're in the field, leading to her [[Catch Phrase]]; "I don't know what that means."
* In an episode of ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'', Alex animates the figures in various famous paintings ([[Did Not Do the Research|and apparently the ''Mona Lisa,'' ''Blue Boy'' and ''The Scream'' are all located in New York]]) and can't get them to go back to their paintings. She calls her brother who
* In ''[[Emmerdale]]'' when Val is revealed to have cataracts everybody who witnesses it repeats the word (about a total of five times) and then...
* ''[[Harry
** This is [[Call Back|called back]] to later when a man accuses Val of getting worked up over a misunderstanding, she gets angry and asks if her ears have cataracts as well.
{{quote|
* This happened regularly in ''[['Allo 'Allo
** The Christmas episode gives us this conversation.
{{quote|
'''Rene:''' The pill in the till?
'''Hans:''' (nods) Take it and put it in [this jug of wine].
'''Rene:''' Put the drug in the jug?
'''Hebert:''' [entering the cafe with the bomb disguised as a cake] We almost forgot the most important part!
'''Rene:''' Oh my god... It's the [[Running Gag|gateau from the chateau!]]
'''Hans:''' What about the gateau from the chateau?
'''Rene:''' In contains a bomb!
'''Hans:''' [[Overly Long Gag|A bomb in the gateau from the chateau?]] }}
* Used to disastrous consequences in ''[[Malcolm in
{{quote|
'''Lois''': [Clearly perturbed by her inability to stop] You say something... I say it back... }}
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== Theater ==
* [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Hamlet]]'', Act 1 Scene 2, thus fulfilling the [[Zeroth Law]]:
{{quote|
'''Hamlet:''' The king my father! }}
* This exchange in "I Am the Captain of the Pinafore" in [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[
{{quote|
'''Crew''': What, never?
'''Captain''': No, never!
'''Crew''': What, never?
'''Captain''': Well...hardly ever! }}
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== Toys ==
* ''Bionicle'' featured this very often. One notable example from the "Visorak" story arc:
{{quote|
'''Kualus''': ...when it hits a mirror of ice.
'''Whenua''': (sees the spinner be reflected) [[Captain Obvious|It's reflecting!]] }}
== Videogames ==
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' has its protagonist, Solid Snake, repeating everything that whoever is telling him about something, or going "huh?". Used less in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater|Snake Eater]]'' (although when the name "Metal Gear" is mentioned for the first and only time, of ''course'' Naked Snake has to say it), but still pretty abundant. Snake's voice actor, [[David Hayter]], made fun of this tendency in a podcast, in which he joked that most of his dialogue was "repeating whatever everyone else says but with a question mark on the end." This happens less often in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', though it's less because Snake understands what people are saying and more because he just doesn't care. So, rather than saying "So it'll make me smarter, huh?", he'd say, "Okay, so... what now?". This was [[Lampshaded]] in ''Metal Gear AC!D2'', when an amnesiac Snake accesses a terminal and comes across data on the eponymous machine.
{{quote|
"Huh? You're familiar with it?"
"...No. Just... had to blurt it out." }}
** The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJVSNhqa-s sheer amount of use] this trope gets in the games is the reason why this page used to be titled ''Metal Gearing''.
*** [[Overly Long Gag|Metal Gearing!?]]
** Parodied in the [http://lparchive.org/UFO-Aftermath/Update%2018/ UFO: Aftermath LP] with a team made up entirely of Snakes.
{{quote|
'''All 6 Snakes''': METAL GEAR?!
'''Hunter''': What? No! No one said anything about a metal gear!
'''Snake''': Metal Ge-
'''Hunter''': Shut up snake. They're transgenants, just shoot them. }}
* Every single acquired weapon in ''[[Mega Man (
** [http://www.rockmanpm.com/?p=original/rockman7/labtalk At least in the Japanese version], sometimes Roll or Auto will appear instead to provide some comic relief.
* A famous line in ''[[Advance Wars]]'':
{{quote|
* Found in ''[[Metal Wolf Chaos]]'':
{{quote|
'''Michael''': An email? }}
* Hilariously played straight in ''[[Fallout 3]]'', where the ''higher'' your intelligence stat, the ''worse'' it gets. Here's an abridged sample dialog:
{{quote|
'''PC''': [Intelligence] So you use the GNR radio to fight the good fight? }}
* All the time in ''<nowiki>
** When Claude's the main character? Christ. Every other freaking line of his dialogue in the first four hours is
* In its sequel, Fayt cannot stop using this trope.
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Ghido''': "Sometimes I wonder if you say things like this to spite me.... Yes, the twelve legendary weapons. They are weapons. They are legendary. There are even twelve of them." }}
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' is fond of the trope, including, from ''Sonic Heroes'', preceding the boss fight with {{spoiler|[[Humongous Mecha]] Metal <s>Gear</s> Overlord}}, the following.
{{quote|
'''Sonic:''' So THAT'S {{spoiler|Metal Sonic}}? }}
* There's plenty of this in the ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' series, but it's most common (and annoying) in ''Covenant''.
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* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', both games: Whenever T3-M4 says anything, somebody will repeat what it said back to him so the player can understand. (Oddly, all the various incomprehensible alien languages get subtitles...but T3's subtitles are just transliterations of his beeps.)
** Lampshaded in the second game, during [[Player Character|the Exile]]'s first conversation with the HK-50 unit on Peragus.
{{quote|
'''The Exile''': Believed to possess?
'''HK-50''': Irritated Statement: Master, if you insist on echoing everything I say, this already tedious conversation is in danger of becoming even longer. }}
* Basically every RPG ever allows you to do this.
* Zero does this quite often in ''[[
* [[Dead Rising|Frank West]] tends to repeat things too, usually out of disbelief.
* This happens quite often when Ryo asks someone about something in [[Shenmue]]; he will often bring up the subject of the conversation, and someone will ask about it ("Did you see a black car go by?" "A black car?"). This was parodied in the ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' review of ''Shenmue II'', which mentioned the awkward dialogue between the characters.
* ''Xenosaga'' is perhaps one of the most constant users of this trope, with one of the most common things you'll hear in the cutscenes is one character expositing, and another repeating a keyword with a questioning inflection. And this happens at least once in every. Single. Cutscene.
* Lampshaded in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', in a dialogue with Nordom.
{{quote|
* In ''[[
{{quote|
'''Soldier''': A RED Spy is in the base?
'''Announcer''': Protect the briefcase!
'''Soldier''': We need to protect the briefcase! }}
* Done in ''[[Trauma Center]]'':
{{quote|
'''Derek:''' Sypro...? What's that?
'''Angie:''' It's a new antihistamine, Doctor. They're usually used to treat allergies.
'''Derek:''' ...I know what antihistamines do. }}
** Really more of an aversion of the trope, since the character didn't repeat anything and pointed out it was just a gap in their knowledge.
* [[Played for Laughs]] in ''[[
{{quote|
'''{{spoiler|Wheatley}}:''' Hello! This is the part where I kill you.
'''Chapter 8: The Part Where He Kills You'''
'''Achievement Earned:''' The Part Where He Kills You (This is that part.) }}
* Not even [[Deus Ex
{{quote|
'''JC:''' [[Captain Obvious|A bomb!!]] }}
* Samus in ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'' is a frequent offender of this, reiterating plot points in [[Up to Eleven|drawn-out monologues;]]
== Web Originals ==
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series
** "CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!"
*** "Card games on motorbikes?"
* [[Code
* [[Loading Ready Run]]'s CSI: CSI, internal investigations [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this.
{{quote|
'''Morgan:''' Doing what?
'''Paul:''' Repeating everything I say, just using less scientific terminology.
'''Morgan:''' Dumbing it down? }}
* Parodied in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2 The Sons of Abridgerty]]'' when Ocelot shouts "STOP SAYING METAL GEAR!" at Snake and Octacon.
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== Western Animation ==
* If we had a leg of meat for every time this happened in the more recent episodes of ''[[
* Used in [[Freakazoid!]] in a classic exchange between Freakazoid and Roddy McStew.
{{quote|
'''Freakazoid:''' Then I'll only use them when I'm really angry!
'''Roddy McStew:''' THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAID!! CAN YOU HEAR ME OR IS THERE A WEE GOBLIN IN YOUR HEAD EATING MY WORDS!?
'''Freakazoid:''' I... don't think there's a goblin in there... }}
* [[Chowder]] uses this a lot with Schnitzel. Occasionally lampshaded when he gives exposition and needs to tell Chowder to stop repeating everything he says.
* [[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]: Ed does this a lot.
{{quote|
'''Ed:''' Hide these magazines?
'''Eddy:''' What are ya, a parrot? Hide 'em! Now! Quick, quick!!
'''Ed:''' Huh? Who? Where? What?
'''Eddy:''' *shoving Ed away* Numb-skull. }}
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** Or had a severe food allergy.
*** [[Flat What|You...]] [[Completely Missing the Point|Are allergic to food?]]
* Also recommended when talking to toddlers and small children who are learning to speak; not only does it give the kid a chance to clarify if he or she wasn't understood, but it gives the adult a chance to demonstrate the proper way to say it.
** It doesn't actually make a child learn language any faster - the rate of language-learning is fixed at biological level - but it helps the adults to figure out what the child is trying to say.
* Also a technique some use to help remember names. When you first meet someone, you try to say their name three times (in conversation) within a minute or so. Some say it works. Some say it makes you sound like a massive tool. Some say both.
** It's also used sometimes to help oneself remember instructions.
* Also a helpful technique for doctors and nurses to get patients to clarify their problems. Example:
{{quote|
'''Nurse''': Your stomach hurts?
'''Patient''': Yes, it feels like someone is stabbing a knife down here. *points* }}
** In particular, Rogerian psychotherapy is largely based on this, at least in parodies such as Joseph Weizenbaum's [[wikipedia:ELIZA|ELIZA]] and this one from the ''Journal of Irreproducible Results'':
{{quote|
'''Therapist''': You seem concerned about my parroting you. }}
* Also useful to call center operators, especially with details like numbers, dates, or unusual spellings of names. Making sure you understand the caller correctly allows you to not waste time solving the wrong problem, which makes the number-crunchers who might decide you're taking too long on calls for them to continue to employ you feel a little better.
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----
{{quote|
}}
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[[Category:Exposition]]
[[Category:Absurdism]]
[[Category:
|