Chapter 2
? Unless you’re literally Yukimura from Prince of Tennis...
The Prince of Tennis is a legendary sports manga by Konomi Takeshi that ran in Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2008! The series is known for taking the sort of exaggerated special moves and playstyles seen in sports manga to absurd extremes, and Yukimura Seiichi is no exception to that rule. Wearing a jacket like a cape during a match is far from the most ridiculous thing he does over the course of the manga.
? They were totally expecting me to call one of my shots the 108th level something-or-other, or structure a gag around the Andou Kingdom, or whatever.
These are both references to The Prince of Tennis 2 (sometimes known as The New Prince of Tennis), a sequel series to the original manga that started in 2009 and is still currently running. “108th level something-or-other” is a play on a move from the Hadokyu series of techniques, which involve charging up shots, and “the Andou Kingdom” is a reference to Atobe Kingdom, a special move used by Atobe Keigo that allows him to analyze an opponent down to the structure of their bones.
? She’s the spitting image of the Red Bullet himself! / What was that move, the Royal Phoenix #1?!
This passage includes shout-outs to two very obscure tennis manga—Andou really is digging deep for his material this time around! “The Red Bullet” refers to the main character of Stay Gold, a tennis manga by Ooshima Tsukasa that ran for just three volumes in 2004 (Not to be confused with Stay Gold, a BL manga by Hideyoshiko that ran for six volumes starting in 2012). Apparently, the main character receives the nickname thanks to his signature shot (called the “Bullet Forehand”) and the red cap that he wore.
The “Royal Phoenix #1,” meanwhile, is a technique used in Happy!, a tennis manga by Urasawa Naoki that ran from 1993 to 1999. Happy! was notable for dealing with some unusually dark themes for a sports manga, and it’s worth noting that Urasawa’s next work after Happy! concluded serialization was Monster, an extremely well-known psychological thriller.
? It was just like Shu, the technique Nen ability wielders use to extend their Ten to strengthen weapons and stuff!
We’re back in the realm of Hunter x Hunter references! We’ve touched briefly on Nen abilities in previous volumes, but as a refresher, Nen is a power system that’s used extensively throughout the series. It’s quite complex and gets explained in a ton of detail in the original manga, but in this particular instance, the only necessary context is that Nen abilities generally involve the user manipulating their aura for combat purposes.
? Remember what Kenshin said when he fought Shishio: “Don’t let the flames deceive you! The fire itself is hardly lethal at all!”
Speaking of series that have already been extensively referenced, we’re back to Rurouni Kenshin! Shishio is a character in Kenshin who’s very fire-themed on the whole—his backstory involves him having been horrifically burned, and he wields a special sword that he can set on fire.
? It’s almost like the Tezuka Zo—oh, whoops!
Andou almost references the Tezuka Zone in this line, which is an ability in Prince of Tennis used by Kunimitsu Tezuka. The ability does indeed resemble what Hatoko does with her powers in that scene, only in the case of Prince of Tennis, Tezuka forces his opponents to hit the ball directly back to him by applying extremely powerful and specific spin to it in just the right way.
? Is she planning on unleashing the Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren or something?!
The Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren is one of Shinomori Aoshi’s techniques in Rurouni Kenshin! It’s more or less exactly what Chifuyu attempts to do with her tennis rackets, only with swords instead. Andou’s next line continues the reference, with the Oniwabanshu being a group that Aoshi is the leader of.
? Who are you, that one guy with the boomerang swords in the Trick Tower?!
This is a reference to an extremely minor, literally nameless bit character in Hunter x Hunter who gets killed eight pages after he’s introduced to the story.
? What are you, a Sengoku-era samurai who shouts ‘Let’s party!’ all the time?!
This one’s referring to the Sengoku Basara rendition of Date Masamune, a real-world historical figure who definitely did not do either of the things Andou mentions here.
? What are those, Captain Kuro’s Cat Claws?!
Captain Kuro is a One Piece character who, as you might have guessed, wears gloves with sword blades at the end of each fingertip.
? What is that, Gate of Babylon?!
This one’s a Fate/stay night reference! Gate of Babylon is Gilgamesh’s Noble Phantasm, and if that statement doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, then attempting to explain it all within the confines of this notes section would be a hopelessly lost cause. The extremely long-story-short version is that it’s a superpower featured in the series that involves lots of swords.
? What is that, Sword Mirage?!
Blade Paradise is a special move from Shaman King used by Tao Ren! It makes a ton of bladed weapons—not just swords—shoot up from the ground and do terrible things to his enemies.
? What is that, the White Emperor Sword?!
Last Sight: White Emperor Sword is part of Kuchiki Byakuya’s Bankai in Bleach! As you might expect, it involves condensing a bunch of swords into a single, more powerful sword.
? Consider the movie Enchanted, for instance...
I imagine that plenty of readers will be surprised to learn that this section was not, in fact, localized at all! The original text genuinely referenced Enchanted explicitly, by name.
? Performing a parody means staking two fates upon a single gag...
This entire extended speech is an adapted parody of a scene from early on in Rurouni Kenshin in which the main character explains the philosophy behind the style of swordsmanship that he practices—hence Tomoyo’s quip about the Swords That Give Life philosophy.
? There was the one time I broke my mom’s umbrella trying to do an Avan Strash...
The Avan Strash is a special move used by the main character of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, a manga by Sanjo Riku that received two anime adaptations, one of them quite recent! Despite its relative obscurity in the English-speaking anime fandom (which can presumably be attributed at least in part to the manga never getting an official English release), it’s one of the Jump’s best selling manga of all time.
? ...and the time I sprained a finger really badly trying to do the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms taijutsu...
The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms taijutsu is a technique from Naruto that, appropriately, involves sixty-four open palm strikes.
? ...and the time I actually fractured my hand trying to pull off a Futae no Kiwami...
The Futae no Kiwami is another Rurouni Kenshin technique! For the sake of brevity, it more or less involves punching someone really hard in a very particular way.
? ...and the time I lost three baby teeth at once trying to imitate the Three-Sword Style...
We’re back to One Piece this time! The Three-Sword Style, created and used by Roronoa Zoro, involves holding one of said three swords in your teeth.
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