Drop the Washtub

*BONK!*

"For some reason, people laugh when this falls on other people's heads. These Earthlings are very strange."

— The King Of All Cosmos, Katamari Damacy

Before the introduction of indoor plumbing, there was the humble wash tub, a simple, portable basin which, as the name suggested, was primarily used for bathing and cleaning. As they were meant to be portable, they were made of thin pieces of tin or similar metal, and therefore were not particularly heavy—unless you filled them with water, in which case they carried quite a bit of weight; not exactly something you'd want to be in the way of. And yet in Japanese media, such washbasins—regardless of whether they are filled with water—find themselves windborne and lofted in the direction of some poor unsuspecting schmuck.

"Tarai Ochi" (lit. Washtub Punchline) is a visual gag in Japanese comedy. This trope first appeared in 8 Ji Dayo, Zeiin Shuugou, a comedy by The Drifters. As a Running Gag, large objects would randomly drop onto one of the performers, with containers of water being common. The gag made its way into Japanese animated media where washtubs, pots, and buckets would fall onto someone's head, appearing out of nowhere from above the camera, merely for Rule of Funny.

Compare Flower-Pot Drop and Anvil on Head, the western equivalents.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• In one episode of Ah! My Goddess, Keiichi ends up being cursed with exceptionally bad luck, having just about every misfortunate thing happen to him such as getting crapped on by a bird flying overhead, having the ground collapse beneath his foot while walking, and other stuff. When he gets hit in the head by a falling washtub basin, he even loudly questions if that was what it really was.
  Keiichi: Was that a washtub!?
• In an extra episode of CLANNAD, Tomoya and Sunohara hang a party ball over the school's entrance with a string attached that said something really interesting would happen. Nagisa is the only one who pulls it and suffers from a washtub falling in slow motion until it hits her. It did come with some inspirational words for her to read in the infirmary though.
• In Excel♡Saga, Excel and Hyatt are dealing with intruders in an Absurdly Spacious Sewer. They're presented a wall full of unmarked buttons, all of them being traps. Excel tells Hyatt to push a button, and Excel suddenly finds herself dodging a ton of spears falling from the ceiling. After weaving her way out of the mess, she tells Hyatt to push another one, and then gets bonked on the head by a washtub.
• This happens during a "game" in Fireball Charming.
• Hanaukyō Maid Team La Verite:
  • Episode 2. During Ryuuka's contest with Mariel a washtub falls on her head. The idea was for the person to step out of the way and catch the washtub as it falls, which Mariel does perfectly.
  • Episode 7 "Unidentified Living Creature". While the protagonists are exploring an underground passageway Ryuuka and Ikuyo Suzuki deliberately set off a number of booby traps, some of which drop washtubs on poor Taro's head.
• In Hidamari Sketch, we find that Misato, the previous tenant of Yuno's apartment, has rigged a device to drop a washtub when someone pulls a rope. Hiro and Sae are aware of it, but are apparently sworn to secrecy, only being permitted to warn her about a purple "snake"; Yuno's father sees it, but is distracted by Yuno bringing something else up. Yuno finally triggers it after a bath one day...
• Another Keiichi of Higurashi: When They Cry is occasionally the victim of these, which Satoko can summon with the mere snap of her fingers.
• At the end of Jewelpet Sunshine episode 34, Opal tries to close the stage curtain for the School Play but instead pulls a lever that drops washtubs on a few of the people on the stage, as well as a giant one on the giant Garnet prop, causing it to fall over and destroy the stage background.
• In the Assassination Classroom Spin-Off series, Koro-Sensei Quest!, Karma, as a result of his character glitch, is on the receiving end of this effect whenever he talks down to people. This happens often.
• This happens in the first episode of Maburaho. Two of them drop on Kazuki's head while his friends continue to talk about how worthless he is as both a magic user and a student at the school.
• Modern Magic Made Simple: the main character's only magical power is turning any kind of magical spell into a basin. Expect a head to be on the washtub's trajectory more often than not.
  • In one episode, a particularly huge one is used by the cast to actually bathe in.
• In one episode of Naruto, Konohamaru locked himself in the late Hokage's office, barring all efforts to enter. One of what happens when someone slams at the door (the other is smoke balls) is that washtubs drop on the perpetrator (which Naruto was a victim of, and which Tsunade easily deflected).
• Pictured above in Negima! Magister Negi Magi, characters can make a washtub fall on others' heads by casting it as a spell.
• In episode 21 of Oh! Edo Rocket, the cast puts on a theater play of the whole plotline of the series that happened thus far. Sanza is cast as one of Akai's "YOU'RE UNDER ARREST" men, but halfway across his charge across the stage, he becomes enamored with Tenho, who was playing the main character Seikichi. When O-Ise notices he's breaking the script, a giant washtub comes falling down on top of him, leaving him imprinted into the washtub itself underneath.
• In one episode Pani Poni Dash!, there's a random PSA sign out on the streets that says "Watch for falling basins", while depicting a washtub falling from the sky.
• This serves as part of Panty's Humiliation Conga in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
• Pikachu inexplicably gets bonked on the head with a washtub after having a bunch of empty cardboard boxes fall on his head in a warehouse in the 3rd episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White. It knocks him out cold.
• Happens to Ranma in Ranma ½. Not surprising, considering how water seems to be attracted to him throughout the series.
• In Rosario + Vampire, Yukari often does this with magic. One of the funniest moments in the first series involves her doing it to people who were about to break The Masquerade in front of Tsukune’s cousin, resulting in rapid-fire washbins to the head for nearly the entire cast with the exception of Ruby (who gets a light smack from a dustpan) and Gin (who gets the business end of a morningstar flail to the cranium before he can say two words). By the end of it Yukari looks like the only things keeping her on her feet is determination and sheer rage.
  • Her mother takes this to extremes in the anime, having them fall from freakin' space at terminal velocity!
• Sgt. Keroro of Sgt. Frog uses the Kero Ball in Episode 2 to drop a veritable rain of washtubs on Momoka in order to stop her from throwing dodgeballs at Tamama. In a later episode, Keroro gets a washtub dropped on him as one of the punishments for not focusing on his report assignments.
• In Taiko no Tatsujin: Clay Anime, Don plays a prank on Katsu by dropping a washtub on him. Similarly, Katsu drops a giant blackboard eraser on Don.
• In episode 20a of Tamagotchi, Memetchi and Makiko's comedy routine as "Samurai Memetchi and Afro Makiko" features Makiko being by a washtub falling on her. Thankfully, her afro is so bushy that it cushions the washtub and makes it have no impact on her.
• Seina gets bonked with one of these in the ending credits for Tenchi Muyo! GXP. At least the bevvy of naked girls counteracts his bad luck there.
• Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase uses this liberally throughout the whole series. Various characters will get bonked on the head numerous times by one whenever they do something remotely stupid. No one is exempt, not even the house. It's all for the Rule of Funny, and at one point one character actually realizes exactly what he's saying, and steps back to catch the tub.

Live-Action TV

• Dropping a washtub onto someone's head was a running gag in the variety show Hachijidayo, Zen'inshugo! by Japanese band The Drifters, that ran from 1969 to 1985.
• Kamen Rider:
  • An episode of Kamen Rider Gaim used this gag: Jonouchi tries transforming into Guridon, but his Lock Seed had been replaced by Oren, so instead of a fruit dropping onto him to form his armor, a metallic washtub dropped onto his head, knocking him out.
  • In the net movies for the movie of Kamen Rider OOO, Ankh gets a tub dropped on his head out of nowhere (indoors even), which gives him memory loss, and turns him into a kansai-accented demure guy. Chiyoko exploits this for comedic purposes.
• Super Sentai:
  • In Shuriken Sentai Ninninger, the eponymous ninja have the Goton Shuriken, which gives them the power of the five Chinese elements. The Metal power tends to drop washtubs on enemy heads.
  • In Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, one episode has Lucky and Spada attempting to infiltrate an enemy base, only to get thrown back to the entrance by Trap Doors...which are triggered by their teammate Garu, who's having a really bad day. The third time it happens the guys have caught on and brace against the sides of the slide, keeping them from falling. And then a washtub comes out of nowhere and bonks Spada on the head, making him fall onto Lucky and sending them both back to the start.

Video Games

• In Animal Crossing City Folk, when you visit the fortune-teller Katrina, she reads the stars... specifically, the ones that circle your head after she makes a washtub fall on it.
• Sitting in one of the chairs in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness causes one to fall on you, complete with canned laughter. Your character doesn't move an inch when it hits him.
• Chibi-Robo!
  • This randomly happens to the titular character after recharging and trying to unplug. His sidekick Telly Vision keeps a count of how many times this happens. Since Chibi-Robo is... well... chibi, it is a saucer plate-sized washtub.
  • Also one of the many ways Telly's song is interrupted. He even looks around for the cause incredulously.
• It's a regular trap in the Deception series - doesn't do a lot of damage (generally), but enrages the victim, forcing him to charge towards you, even if he would otherwise act cautiously and run away/keep his distance. Useful for luring such cautious foes into the REALLY nasty traps...
• Digimon World: as you're going up toy tower you have to choose between one of three doors each marked with a question mark. Choose the wrong one and a buzzer sounds, followed by a washtub landing on you and your digimon's head, doing some damage.
• In the Disgaea series, the Prinny's Priver Dance attack drops one of these on the target's head. Etna's Prinny Raid also drops a flaming one in addition to the expected Prinnies.
  • The Prinny also drops them for its magic attacks in Trinity Universe.
• During some of the boss battles in the 1994 Game Boy Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong would make heavy objects fall from the sky, including barbells, 16t weights, and washtubs.
• Several of these try to crush the heroine in Eryi's Action on the very first game screen. Yes, while she's still in her own home.
• This happens to you if you get a 'dud' when using the Lady Luck dressphere's reels ability in Final Fantasy X-2. Like the God Hand example, duds do damage. In fact, it knocks off three-quarters of your remaining health, which makes using reels a pain; however, this can be curbed by another ability you can get later.
• The attack makes a return in Final Fantasy XIV with Deltascape 4.0's boss Kefka. One attack is called Hyper Drive which in the normal version of the fight drops washtubs on the target. It is classified as a tankbuster which is an attack that deals very high damage that requires a tank to survive. Even then it requires using a defensive ability to do so.
• God Hand has a God Reel/Roulette with customizable outcomes, but two constant choices; one of those two choices in the Japanese version sends a washtub falling on top of Gene's head and damaging him. This is ridiculous since it actually deals some damage, not to mention the God Reel/Roulette is NOT random, so you would have to actively scroll to this outcome and CHOOSE it for it to happen.
  • It has some use; dropping the washtub gives you a brief invincibility frame.
• Goemon's Great Adventure: The boss of the Ryugu Castle is the third incarnation of Taisamba, "The Enchanting Mermaid". In this battle, she acts like a Pivotal Boss and to defeated her we must destroy the hand crank reels in the arena causing two things to happen: either a washtub falls on the Humongous Mecha or two logs crush her head flat.
• One of the various things used to wake up the sleeping guy from Grow Cannon is the water from a washtub, then the washtub itself.
• In Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!, jarring the broken television in the Ruins (actually a garbage dump) will cause a hamster-sized washtub, albeit one referred to as a "sink" by the game, to fall off of it and bonk Hamtaro on the head. Do it a second time will cause an even bigger one to fall and knock Hamtaro over. Do it a third time and Hamtaro will immediately run away expecting another... Only to hear a scream of a nearby hamster as a very large tub drops on them instead.
• A common trap in the Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja series. It resets your map for the floor you're on, forcing players to explore the level again.
• Kachan Monogatari by GAGEX Co Ltd (of Hungry Hearts Diner fame) has you cleaning up after your son by attacking and cataloguing the Neets that infest his room. One such attack is to summon washbasins to fall from the sky, dealing massive damage to any neet below it.
• During the result screen of a minigame in The Legendary Starfy, the winner has a crown descending to land on their head while the others have a basin dropped on them instead.
• Live A Live: A washtub comedically falls on Akira's head after one of his failed attempts to control the Steel Titan.
• Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times has the Metal Basin spell, which drops one onto the affected NPC/player, making NPCs forget what they were doing.
• In Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, one of the effects of Jess's Sky Present spell can be a washtub dropping on the enemy, dealing mediocre damage but leaving the enemy immediately stunned.
• In the Japanese version of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, this happens to Luigi in one scene near the beginning of the game. International localizations turned it into a bucket.
• In the Mario Party 6 mini-game Seer Terror, this is one of many misfortunes that can befall your character.
• In Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, one of the ways to defeat the bonus boss Mechagenola is by tricking him into destroying shelf beams, dropping a giant washtub on his head.
• When using the Basin sticker in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, said basin will drop on enemies from above, heavily damaging them. The Basin Thing reappears in Paper Mario: Color Splash where it is used the exact same way. In fact, it is found in Fort Cobalt looming over the path Mario has to take as an obvious trap, and Mario has to have it dropped on himself to gather it.
  Huey: OK, that's DEFINITELY a trap. That Thing up there makes it totally obvious.
• The Basin thing returns in Paper Mario: The Origami King during a Test of Courage, where Mario needs to intentionally drop it and stop it just as it's about to hit him. If he stops the rope too soon or too late, then he fails. While a Basin is used for the first two parts of the trial, the final part replaces it with a Thwomp.
• In Project × Zone, at the end of Frank West and Hsien-Ko's multi-attack, Hsien-Ko ends up accidentally dropping one on Frank's head.
  • This is most likely a Call-Back to Namco × Capcom, where during the Combination Attack with Hsien-Ko, Regina, Bruce and Fongling, Hsien-Ko ends up accidentally causing bunch of spike balls to fall onto the other three, plus causing a washtub to fall on Bruce's head.
• Puyo Puyo:
  • In her HaraHara course in Puyo Puyo Fever 2, Amitie finds Arle still hasn't been able to get back to where she came from and comes up with an idea to teleport her back. Amitie has Arle turn around and then drops a washtub on her head, which doesn't work.
  • Serilly’s lose animation in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 features a wooden tub being dropped on her head.
• Reincarnation (2008): The end of In The Name of Evil has the demon dropping a bathtub on the Reincarny.
• RPG Maker 2003 comes pre-loaded with generic "RTP" graphic files that you can use in your game. One of the files in the "Battle" folder (for graphics used in attacks and such), called "Strike", consists mostly of graphics for a punching attack, but also includes a wash tub. Strangely enough, when you start a new project, the pre-made animation for the Instant Kill spell shows the wash tub falling on the enemy.
• In the Snowboard Kids games, one of the items you can use drops washtubs (or "frying pans", as they're called in the North American versions' manuals) on all your opponents, squashing them flat for a short time.
• Happens in Sonic Adventure if you fail at inputting the correct password in the Egg Carrier. It usually drops normal-sized ones, but occasionally drop a gigantic one that's several times bigger than your character.
• In Suikoden IV, your hero can listen to characters' confessions and decide whether to 'forgive' or 'punish' them. Forgiveness entails dumping confetti on them from a hidden door; punishment results in either water, buckets, or a washtub falling instead.
• In Vanguard Princess, the game's token Magical Girl Kanae can summon washtubs to help assist your fighter.
• In Yandere Simulator, washtubs can be used to drops dumbbells on students from the school's roof, invoking this for an Instant Kill.

Web Animation

• hololive - Holo no Graffiti: In "Rain, Rain, Fall Away", when Lui points to Kobo that she put a lighthouse on top of the office nowhere close to the sea, the latter is hit with a sudden washtub. And another one when she claims to be the strongest shama in her town while not being in her town. And when Marine comes in claiming to be an expert, she is hit too when Lui reminds her she's not a real pirate.

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