December 30 (5M^_^: Five-Minute Mecha Anime)

[Zeke]

You know, the new approach I used with that last fiver was a real success. This time I'm gonna aim even higher! And I'll choose a target so preposterously big I can't miss it no matter <i>how</i> many eyes I close!

You've heard of them. You've seen them. They haunt your dreams. They are Japan's largest export by mass... <i>mecha anime</i>. But now you'll never have to watch another one, because I've summed them all up for you! Here's <a href="../a1/mecha.html">Five-Minute Mecha Anime</a> -- <i>all</i> mecha anime, ever!

But why does the main page say "The end is near"? Hmm, I should fix that...

[Derek]

Pilot 3: Okay, gang, time for our five-man band to shine! Begin assembly!
The Chick, the Big Guy, the Smart Guy, and the Lancer: Right!
(Their ships come together into a giant robot)
Pilot 3: And I'll form... the head!
First, I love Voltron. Second, I love four supporting character names. I think you'll find those combination in non-Anime sometimes too.

[Zeke]

Unfortunately, I can't claim credit for the names -- we're not the only ones who have noticed this pattern in various series. TV Tropes calls it a Five Man Band (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveManBand). Voltron fits the pattern so perfectly that I couldn't resist doing a shoutout here. Hell, the Lancer is even called Lance.

(A cautionary note about TVT's Five Man Band pages: there are about five times more examples than actually fit the pattern. There seems to be a collective habit of cramming every possible show in, whether it fits or not.)

[Derek]

Yes, that's always annoyed me about TVT. Whenever I want to look at the examples for a particular trope, I have to read through a whole bunch of examples that appear to be forced into the TVT description.

Buffy, for example, apparently meets every trope ever.

[NAHTMMM]

General: Well... there is always the traditional champion of the Japanese people.
President: You can't possibly mean...

Godzilla: RAAAAAAAAARRRR!
Alien Commander: Oh, I don't think so. We're not getting paid this much. Sound the -- no, wait a minute.
Godzilla: *crushes Tokyo*
Alien Commander: Never mind.
Ah, that mixed-up Godzilla. I'm guessing this was an entirely gratuitous scene(?), but if so, it was definitely worth it. :D



It also turned out that the head of TSO was working for the aliens, who were in turn working for the president.
President: And I was working for the Illuminati, who work for a little old lady in Wisconsin who was working for the aliens. You should see our org chart.
I was reading this aloud to KJ, and the above totally cracked her up. :D