Does This Remind You Of A Cleanup?

As discussed here, Does This Remind You of Anything? has a staggering amount of misuse, and it's been decided a cleanup thread would be a good place to start. Since it's such a popular trope, a long-term thread seemed like the best option.

For a place to start, there's DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.Western Animation, which seems to have some Getting Crap Past the Radar-esque vibes of "This kids' show is actually really adult and deep" even when many of these metaphors are simply audience readings.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

How do we determine what's just an audience reading and what isn't?

I think the first thing we need is to actually define the trope. At least, that's what I need. I've seen so much misuse and the name and laconic as both so vague that I'm never sure what actually is an example.

SoundCloud

Well, that's what makes the trope a bit difficult, isn't it?

Personally if it's something very unlikely for the genre and doesn't give enough supporting context that suggests multiple factors to the synonym, like a Lampshaded Double Entendre, then I'm wary. Like, I saw a Fairly OddParents example that said Crocker shouting "FAIRIES!" is meant to look like an orgasm, which is very much not true. There's also the issue of how much of the scene is a metaphor and how much is literal. "Abusive friendship symbolizes abusive relationship" is okay, "abusive friendship symbolizes abusive friendship" is not.

EDIT: Ninja'd, but I agree, which is why I sent it to TRS first. The trope is kind of vaguely defined.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 18th 2020 at 6:35:51 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

TBH, I still think this needs TRS work done. Less than a third of the wicks in the wick check used the trope properly, and the title is still vague.

back lol

Judging from the misused examples on the wickcheck list, there must be tons of easy-to-spot targets to clean up. I would leave questionable examples alone though.

Hence why I linked the Western Animation page. Like, this example is an obvious shoehorn.

• From an old episode of Arthur:
  Arthur: Francine! Distract the goalie! Tell him something about his face!

There's no metaphor here. Insulting somebody's face is just as common an insult as insulting their mom. If the context obviously stands on its own without any additional subtext, then chances are it isn't this trope.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 18th 2020 at 11:11:51 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

The Nightmare Before Christmas:

• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Yes, even the Anthropomorphic Personification of Halloween can have a mid-life crisis.
  • After Finkelstein awakens from Sally poisoning him for the fourth time in a little over a month he reacts to his doorbell the same way any hung over person would react to a loud noise.

I think the midlife crisis thing is just what's happening at face value without any metaphor, and is thus a circular example. The second entry sounds valid, though.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

Found this on Kill la Kill. These are mostly just the ones that are sexual metaphores, except for the second one.

• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • When Ryuko first finds Senketsu, he tries to undress her and force her to wear him. Then the camera pulls back and we can see him ripping off her clothes while she protests, and then she explodes with power:
    Ryuko: Stop! Ahhh!
    Senketsu: That's better! I'm a perfect fit!
    Ryuko: Ahhh! Stop it!
  • Satsuki putting Junketsu on for the first time. Considering Satsuki's father described it as her "wedding dress"... The undertones become much, much creepier when Ragyo Mind Rapes Ryuko and she has a vision where she's standing beside a faceless groom at a chapel while in a wedding dress. Did we mention that Junketsu is being sewed to her skin while this is happening? Yeah...
  • Tsumugu standing over Ryuko with one foot between her thighs and ordering her to strip in Episode 5.
  • In Episode 8, Gamagoori uses his Combat Sadomasochist powered-uniform, and remarks that the "punishment makes it bigger and harder." He may not have just been talking about his uniform. Mako even calls him a "pervert" in response. He even states that once he absorbs a certain amount of damage, he'll "climax". Aaaaand the resulting explosion rather fits this description. Even during the damage absorption process Gamagoori sounds rather......excited by the damage inflicted upon him, screaming to "punish" him more.
  • The members of Nudist Beach holster their guns in front of their crotches, with the barrel facing down. At one point, Aikuro is holding a giant Tailor's Dagger at crotch height and offers it to Tsumugu, who takes hold of it very deliberately, and pulls it out of its sheath.
  • In Episode 18, Ragyo beats the hell out of Satsuki and takes Junketsu from her by stroking her crotch, followed by an explosion which leaves Satsuki unconscious. In other words, she stole her "purity".
  • Nudist Beach's already decidedly phallic battleship turning into a "naked blade" form and penetrating the Primordial Life Fibre's cocoon.
  • In Episode 24, Ragyo powers up Shinra-Koketsu using a dress made of a merged Nui and the Primordial Life Fiber, and the noise she makes whilst taking off sounds very much like she's having an orgasm. Her speech at the time — "You feel amazing to wear, Nui!" — lends credence to this.
  • And then there's the giant Life Fiber transmission tower that is, ahem, "disciplined" by Gamagoori, and proceeds to shoot liquid out the top. And was protected by a "big rubber barrier".
  • The ending scene of the episode where the whole of Honnouji Academy are lying naked in a pile has Satsuki and Jakuzure lying next to each other, with Jakuzure's hand in a...suspicious position, to say the least.

The TRS thread chose to define Does This Remind You of Anything? as a deliberate, non-tautological reference to something in Real Life; the criteria (drafted here) would likely be similar to the Expy cleanup thread.

I'm back!

From The Good Place (season 3 spoiler I guess):

• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • The Reveal behind the points system being completely incompatible with modern life, as globalization has resulted in every seemingly good action having a myriad of negative bad results, can be seen as a reflection of the socialist argument that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

Is this really symbolic of anything in particular, or just a means of conveying this argument about capitalism? Capitalism still exists in this world and gets criticized on the show several times.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

I have an example on Fate of the Clans. I checked the criterea and I'm pretty sure it fits, but could someone please check just in case? I need to know if I should delete it.

FF.net, AO 3, and Quotev as Archdemon Slayer

Sure. Can you show us what it is?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

This is it from the edit page.

• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Cú Chulainn bites the side of Mikoto's neck and starts drinking his blood. Mikoto was the one who asked the Servant to do it, however, as it's a way for Cú Chulainn to replenish his mana. Misaki points out what it resembles.
  Misaki: He's not preyin' on the King like a vampire?

FF.net, AO 3, and Quotev as Archdemon Slayer

What is the exact difference between Allegory and Does This Remind You of Anything?? Is the former only for when the metaphor is present throughout the entire narrative while the latter is only about gags? Because if so, that could be a good thing to bring attention to in the description to avoid misuse.

Edited by good-morning on Nov 11th 2022 at 4:48:26 PM

oh hey how are you doing?

Taking an axe to the Western Animation page. So much of this is so redundant, I'm just gonna lump it together under folders.

There's also some examples (like the one about Ed Edd n Eddy) that read like unintentional Ho Yay as opposed to intentional subtext but I can't quite call that. There's probably more than this but my eyes kinda glazed over near the end.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 1st 2024 at 11:49:24 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

I agree that all of these can go for the reasons given.

Also, how in the hell do you watch "A Leela of Her Own" and see Jackie's dissing of Leela as some sort of transphobic allegory? She was very clearly mad at Leela because she herself was an actual blernsball player and Leela only got novelty-act attention due to being comically unsuited to play. Sorry, but this has made me actively angry.

From Rope:

I know Does This Remind You of Anything? doesn't have to imply something sexual, but I feel this is more contrasting forms of characterization rather than something evocative or suggestive. Am I missing something here?

Edited by Diesel on Mar 11th 2024 at 1:23:10 AM

Yeah, that's just those characters.. having different personalities, and a way that shows how guilt is affecting them (a lot vs. not). I'd say cut.