Stealth Pun/Anime and Manga

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Examples of Stealth Puns in Anime and Manga include:

  • The Geneon dub of Lupin III once had Jigen describe a house-fly that turned out to be a listening device as "a flying pun".
  • In Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Nanoha is pursuing Jewel Seeds. One such Jewel Seed had possessed a tree that was near a couple's confession of love, and it responded by turning into a massive murdering monster, trapping them inside itself and trying to consume everything. The pun comes when you realise that they pined for each other. (This pun actually works in Japanese, too.)
  • In Chobits, Hideki is searching desperately for the on switch for his new discovery, a female robot, when he says there's only one place left he hadn't checked. Cut outside to a mewing cat.
  • The main character of One Piece is named Monkey D. Luffy, and his first appearance in the anime was breaking out of a small barrel. Perhaps the implication is that the show will be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
    • Or about Donkey Kong.
    • Another pair are for Mr. 1, his devil fruit is called the Supa-Supa fruit, it gives him super powers and his secret dream is to be a super hero. The obvious one is "super" a play on "Supa", his devil fruit name. The second not quite pun is he is literally a Man of Steel. A "Supaman" if you will..
    • Later in the series, Sanji uses a move called the "Parage Shot" to change people's looks by kicking them in the face. In other words, he can literally "rearrange your face".
  • Cowboy Bebop: Spike goes out with a bang.
  • Possibly unintentional, but Edward Elric's attempts at human transmutation in Fullmetal Alchemist literally cost him An Arm and a Leg.
  • A particularly painful one is the Mobile Suit Gundam MSV model MS-07H-4 Gouf Flight Test Type, a prototype Zeon mobile suit adorned with their iconic mono-eye camera and forehead-mounted communications antenna, and painted in outrageous magenta demo-colors. An early, unsuccessful attempt at creating a flight-capable Humongous Mecha, it was scrapped for its unfortunate tendency to kill its test pilots. Long story short, it's a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people-eater.
  • At the end of the first episode of Gankutsuou, Albert is making out with Peppo, the local "Bridget" (although he doesn't know that yet), when she stops him and, points a gun at him, and helps kidnappers take him hostage (thus, she had a pistol in her pocket, but might have been happy to see him as well).
    • Also, it really was a trap.
  • Because of their Make Me Wanna Shout/Magic Music powers, those operating the Dolems (sort of living mecha) in RahXephon are termed instrumentalists. Although the series involves an End of the World Special rather than an Assimilation Plot, there's probably a deliberate allusion to "Instrumentality", given that RahXephon is sort of a Lighter and Softer Neon Genesis Evangelion.
    • There's one that's true of both RahXephon and Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin. Both series make reference to the whole "2012 End of the World" idea, and it's probably no coincidence that both also have characters named Maya.
  • In Darker than Black, April has the power to create real hurricanes that make it rain. No one refers to "April Showers" though.
  • The Pokémon episode that introduced Barry is titled "Barry's Busting Out All Over!" Even if you get the reference, it sounds inexplicable, unless you are aware that Barry's Japanese name is Jun.
    • Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker: One of the characters in the movie is Butler. He's a villain. In other words? The Butler Did It.
    • Charles Goodshow is the president of the Pokémon League and appears in the episodes pertaining to the larger tournaments. He is a short elderly man with a large beard, bright-colored shorts and a backwards cap, giving the visible impression that he is still a child at heart. Goodshow, old boy?
      • Alternately, Jolly Goodshow.
    • In Pokémon Special, White has a Sandile actor trained to cry for any sad scene. Crocodile Tears
  • In New Getter Robo, there's a pun in the first episode. When Ryouma is told by Professor Saotome that he is to be one of the pilots of the Getter Robo, Ryoma replies "Getter?" With the scene being shot at floor level, focusing on Saotome's "geta".
  • A flashback in Naruto has someone hearing what Sasuke's name is, and commenting that's also the name of the Third Hokage's father. The Third Hokage's real name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, thus making his father...
    • Another example could be during one of the fillers, Naruto has to sit in during the funeral and has to not laugh the entire time or else the person they're doing the mission for will not get the inheritance which causes for everyone trying to get him to laugh. One of the gags that happened were with a guy having a flower coming out of his nose. In Japanese, the word for nose can also mean flower.
  • Hidamari Sketch: When the residents of the Hidamari Apartments go to a sentō following the cultural festival, they relate things that they did and experienced. For example, during a Cinderella play they put on, Miyako did the voice of a horse; while in the baths, Hiro asks her to replicate it. Miyako refuses, not wanting to sell herself cheap, but an unspoken reason is that horseplay is against bathhouse etiquette. (Probably not intended...)
  • The Tatami Galaxy represents the protagonist's libido via a cowboy with a phallic-looking nose called "Johnny". The intent becomes clearer when you realize that he looks a whole lot like Woody from Toy Story.
  • In the Virtual World arc in Yu-Gi-Oh, Noah, the arc villain chooses Shinnato's Ark for his Deckmaster. It is never mentioned that this would make it Noah's Ark.
  • In Black Butler, demonic butler Sebastian Michaelis' catchphrase is "I'm just one hell of a butler." Has the bonus of working perfectly in its original language as well.
  • The title of Neko Kissa is either a Bilingual Bonus Stealth Pun or a Accidental Pun. In Japanese, "Neko" = "Cat" and "Kissa" = "Cafe". So, "Cat Cafe". The title could also be translated as being the word "cat" in two different languages - Japanese and Finnish: Neko (Japanese), Kissa (Finnish).
  • Osaka of Azumanga Daioh is somehow unable to so much as float when in the water in an episode taking place at the pool. She's dense. In spite of this, she can somehow keep just far enough above the water to speak with Tomo and Nyamo during the same scene. Maybe she's airheaded.
  • In Tiger and Bunny, Nathan's name, when pronounced in Japanese ("Nee-San"), sounds eerily like the role he plays in the series. There's also Kotetsu/Wild Tiger's eye color, which shifts between Brown Eyes, gold, and something in between. There's actually a gemstone with the same sort of coloring. It's called tiger's eye.
  • In the first episode of Medaka Box, Hyuga knocks Zenkichi unconscious and calls him "Ahoge." (Idiot.) The scene abruptly cuts to Shiranui. Just look at her hair!
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