Unexpected moments of encountering certain works IRL

I sometimes look back at older magazines (mostly videogame ones but also some anime ones) from when I was in middle school and I always get shocked when I see that they used things that were (and still are) kinda obscure and I got to know well only years later. Stuff such as a random still of Jet Jaguar giving a thumbs up, a photo of a group of Touhou cosplayers or an article about Mario Paint using a frame of the original Homestar Runner short (which was animated using Mario Paint).

I once saw a portrait of the first Ultraman in his iconic pose (like the one in the page image) in a market stall I frequently pass by. For context said stall sells old stuff from Japan, and I also saw a giant plush of Pingu on the stall next to it.

Ah, I forgot that time I was in a recreational center and they had a El Chavo piñata on showcase. As the show is virtually unknown in Italy outside of the few people who saw its short-lived dub, I was genuinely stunned.

Went to a thrift shop yesterday where most of their CD offerings were typical for my area (country/folk, "once-popular" pop, easy listening, etc.), so I was surprised to see a copy of Vision Thing by The Sisters of Mercy.

Today I went into a vintage collectible store and saw a copy of Custer's Revenge. It was priced at like $9.95 but I felt like that was simultaneously too much and too little at the same time.

Next I went into a Walmart and saw a physical copy of Boyfriends., which made me physically recoil as soon as I was aware such things existed.

The other day, I found a plush toy of the titular character of Camp Lazlo at a thrift store. According to the tag, it's a Happy Meal toy from 2007.

I looked online for some additional information - it was part of a promotion for several Cartoon Network shows from around that time. It's also meant to be a pencil topper.

Kinda surprised I found it - I don't typically hear people mention Camp Lazlo that often, especially these days.

Several years ago I took a trip to Hawaii. While on a bus, we passed by a trolley that had the characters from One Piece on it. Always wondered about that.

I just remembered that until some years ago there was a travel shop owned my Mexicans and specialized in travels to South America near to my house that was named "La Chilindrina Travels", with an actual cartoon drawing of La Chilindrina on the logo. And again, I'm probably the only non-Mexican in the entire town who knows about El Chavo del ocho.

How does an italian guy in his 30's know about El Chavo del ocho?

Like this: “I’m going to do an Internet. -presses a button on the computer, and it shoots a rainbow-colored “laser”- Whoa! :D”

"I’m going to do a book. Oh..."

Edited by ChicoTheParakeet on Dec 22nd 2023 at 3:31:17 PM

x3 I'm Vietnamese, and I know that show even though I don't watch it. That's because I know it from some of the Inkagames/Mazniac games.

My job involves overlooking online invoices. People have to take photos of said invoices to submit them, so sometimes I see random merchandise of things in the background of the photo.

Among the things I've seen:

- A Bluey advent calendar - Blue's Clues & You! band-aids - A Minecraft floor rug - A toothbrush with Yoshi on it - Too much PAW Patrol merchandise to name - A package of diapers with Simba from The Lion King (1994) on them - Various people (the ones taking the photos) with pajama pants with cartoon characters on them such as Mickey, Snoopy, and Spongebob - A copy of Duck Hunt for the NES

Edited by AdventurousYak9234 on Dec 22nd 2023 at 7:36:17 AM

Picked up a CD of Speaking in Tongues by Talking Heads at a thrift store earlier! (They also had Remain in Light, but I already have that album on CD.)

I was kinda surprised, because most of the CDs they have for sale at that store tend to be either religious music or soundtracks.

More car decal stories! Was at the store and in the parking lot noticed a car with three different Pokemon: Pikachu, Eevee, and the most unexpected, Alolan Vulpix.

That reminds me: Years ago, I was just walking through the city and noticed an advertisement in a car window. The character they used as what I'm guessing was some kind of mascot? Bonzibuddy, of all characters. Have to wonder if they were aware of said character's infamy or if they were just looking for some random silly cartoon character to put on their ad...

Edited by Zanreo on Jan 1st 2024 at 8:25:08 PM

You'd be surprised at how many companies do stuff like that. Battle for Dream Island characters, for example, get a ton of usage, if people don't just make their own character with the provided template. Object shows in general, really, but BFDI gets it hard.

I was listening to some Zillakami, and I was hit with a steel chair by a sudden Undertale reference.

[ed.] well, I watched another music video only to be greeted with footage of Denzel Curry and Zilla playing the Yandere Simulator demo.

Edited by JethroQWalrustitty on Jan 3rd 2024 at 9:32:02 PM

Today I was at Coles (Canadian bookstore) and heard "Waiting On A Miracle" from Encanto and "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog. Pretty sure the worker had on a Spotify playlist of Disney songs (the mall the store is in attracts a LOT of families with small children) When I walked by the store later I could very faintly hear "We Don't Talk About Bruno."

Going to one of my classes, I found two cars that stuck out to me:

• One with a Treecko on the dashboard.
• Another with System of a Down and Korn bumper stickers.

Went to a library recently and found the Penguins of Madagascar artbook, which exists apparently.

There's a cafe near me which tends to play various kinds of rock music, so almost every time I go there, I end up hearing some songs I wouldn't normally expect to hear. When it comes to songs I'm not familiar with, I'll often look them up so I can listen to them again later.

Some songs that I've been pleasantly surprised to hear there include, but aren't limited to:

• "She's Lost Control" and "Disorder" by Joy Division
• "Do You Want To" by Franz Ferdinand
• "Terrible Lie" by Nine Inch Nails
• "Evil" by Interpol
• "When the Sun Goes Down" and "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by Arctic Monkeys
• "Loser" by Beck (which I partially found amusing because I had just been thinking about the song shortly before it started playing)
• "Monkey Gone to Heaven" by Pixies
• "Uncontrollable Urge" by Devo

At my new job, I see s lot of anime t-shirts. Mostly Dragon Ball and Naruto, occasionally Demon Slayer.

I was at this small Japanese restaurant, when, lo and behold, one of the waiters was wearing a Naruto shirt

I drove past a car with a sticker of the Jorts snack food from Hilda. That’s gotta be the deepest cut I’ve recognized from anything.