Shrimpin' ain't easy.
"How many shrimps do you have to eat
Before you make your skin turn pink?
Eat too much and you'll get sick.
Shrimps are pretty rich."
Before you make your skin turn pink?
Eat too much and you'll get sick.
Shrimps are pretty rich."
Kero Kero Bonito, Flamingo
Shrimp are some of the smallest and easiest to make fun of animals to ever live under the water. Dwarfed by their larger crustaceous cousins the Lobster and Crab, the humble shrimp is petite yet plentiful, with over 2000 discovered species decorating the ocean floor. With such a diverse array of species, it's no surprise that fiction has taken note of some of the more eccentric ones. In particular, three kinds of shrimp are the most common ones to be souped up for a fantastical setting.
- The jumbo shrimp. Although not a real species of shrimpnote , the catchy name has led to it being a common pick. This will typically be a shrimp scaled up in size to the point of being a threat to humans.
- The mantis shrimpnote . It's a fighter if there's ever been one, even being observed to fight as a ritual. This little guy also packs the single strongest punch anything in the animal kingdom can deliver, so just imagine how terrifyingly powerful it could be when given a little creative enhancement.
- The pistol shrimp. This lopsided lead-slinger is named after its ability to turn its large claw into a deadly cannon. It snaps with enough force to turn water into a pressurized bullet capable of knocking out bigger fish and even shattering glass. Will typically be depicted taking its water bullets to more destructive levels, and barring that, wielding or being used as an actual pistol.
Whether it be the three mentioned above, or any of the other thousands of shrimp species observed, let this be a lesson. Think twice the next time you try to use "shrimp" as an insult.
Closely related to Natural Weapon for Pistol Shrimp, or Power Pincers for Mantis Shrimp depending on the depiction. See also Atrocious Arthropods and Giant Enemy Crab for similar depictions of cantankerous and caustic crustaceans.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Dan Da Dan: Mr. Shrimp is an alien "gig worker" who is at first hired to battle the protagonists with his powerful boxing skills. He later pulls a Heel–Face Turn and becomes a recurring supporting character.
- Hunter × Hunter: Bloster is a crustaceous chimera ant whose Nen ability lets him rapidly shoot out aura bullets from his claws.
Fan Works
- Nine Days Down: The monsters of Tartarus include a species of shrimp that live in bodies of water underground and feed on creatures that come to drink. They have four claws, both capable of being launched forward with immense force; two end in serrated blades, capable of punching through anything short of steel, and two end in blunt clubs capable of shattering stone. They live in swarms and are nearly fearless, and the other natives of Tartarus fear the greatly.
Film — Animated
- Seal Team (2021): Switch is an expert at using living sea creatures as weapons, among them being a pistol shrimp he uses as a real gun.
Film — Live-Action
- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep: Ebirah is a kaiju-sized shrimp that is controlled by the Red Bamboo as a bodyguard and warden to keep their slaves on the island. Outside of its size, it has little else going for it, leaving it the victim of a Curb-Stomp Battle from Godzilla.
Live-Action TV
- Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Power Rangers Samurai: The Gold Ranger, being a sushi chef in Shinkenger and a fisherman in its Power Rangers adaptation, has an enormous golden shrimp or lobster as his primary Humongous Mecha. Much more formidable than it sounds, the Ebi Origami/ClawZord transforms into a humanoid form with four distinct modes, each with its own specialized weapons.
Video Games
- Darkspore: Malidri's design takes heavily after a mantis shrimp, with two sharp, curved blades for hands, short stature, multiple legs, and a prominent tail. His play style focuses on abusing quantum mechanics to rapidly tear apart enemies, constantly dodging damage, and attack every nearby enemy he could be attacking at once.
- Elden Ring: Lunaria of the Lakes is home to a species of giant prawns that squirt jets of water which hit like a truck, have incredible range, and almost never miss. Memetic Mutation has turned the local crustacean wildlife into Cold Snipers for a reason.
- Fallout 4: Far Harbor introduces "fog crawlers," which look like mutated mantis shrimp that are now amphibious, towering, surprisingly fast, heavily-armored and hard-hitting killing machines. Each is a Boss in Mook's Clothing in their own right, while companion Old Longfellow is hunting a particularly infamous fog crawler known as "Shipbreaker".
- Granblue Fantasy: The SHRIMP Spreader is a shotgun attached to a fried shrimp that shoots fried shrimp bullets.
- Metro: Last Light introduces a number of new aquatic crustacean mutants known collectively as Shrimps, who are very territorial and will attack other mutants and humans if and when they get close. Of note is that they're normally the size of an adult human, but certain specimens, known as Bog Shrimp, can reach double that size. One of the latter in particular serves as a boss during the mid-game section.
- Outward: The Mantis Shrimp are giant crustaceans with a large, glowing arm that can shoot out homing electrical blasts.
- Pokémon X and Y: The Clawitzer family is based on the real-life pistol shrimp taken to an extreme. The shooting arm dwarfs the rest of the Pokémon twice over, and its Mega Launcher ability gives it a boost to moves themed around shooting pulses of matter or energy at a target. Real pistol shrimp can shatter glass jars, but Clawitzers can pierce through metal.
- Risk of Rain 2: Added in the Survivors of the Void expansion, the Plasma Shrimp item is the corrupted version of the AtG Missle Mk. 1. Picking one up makes your attacks have a missile volley as long as you have shields. The item obviously resembles a shrimp, but it's not the only shrimp related to the void. The Void Jailer is a Pistol Shrimp that has the trademarked lopsided arm, which it uses to fire a shotgun burst of slowing darts. Upon death, it shoots an insta-killing black hole toward you.
- Vampire Survivors plays this trope for laughs with its "dragon shrimp," which look like oversized, bony, dragon-headed shrimp, but aren't significantly tougher than any other enemy. Their bestiary entry explains that they were ordinary shrimp who prayed to their deity for a mightier form. "It turns out that being the patron god of all shrimp doesn't let you make anything much more intimidating than this, but the shrimp are happy!"
Western Animation
- Futurama: "The Late Philip J. Fry" has Fry, Bender, and the Professor briefly traveling to a future where the whole world is covered by ocean. They encounter a scrawny merman, who turns out to be the lure of a gigantic shrimp.
- One Hundred Percent Wolf Legend Of The Moonstone has a giant Pistol Shrimp as the Monster of the Week. It has Make Some Noise powers that stun the werewolves.
- The Octonauts: In "Octonauts and the Snapping Shrimp", the Octonauts encounter a pistol shrimp who can knock creatures as large as the Octonauts themselves out cold.
- Steven Universe: In "Cheeseburger Backpack", the Lunar Sea Spire is infested by a swarm of rock-hard, razor-sharp-shelled Crystal Shrimp. Luckily they're easily distracted by bagels.
