Fridge Brilliance

[SoulSilverMstr411]

Post examples of fridge brilliance you've found within the anime here. I'll kick things off...

The show's most popular re-ocurring clone races, Nurse Joy and officer Jenny, have pink and teal hair respectively. And what colors are pink and teal variations of? Exactly! At first this may not seem intentional. But then you concider that the artist could have just made Joy and Jenny a blonde and a brunette and have them blend in with the show's relatively normal haired characters. But instead he went with two obscure colors that arn't shared by any other characters outside COTDs. Now tell me I'm just grasping at straws!

 

[MidnightMelody]

Wait what? I'm reading this after waking up no more then 5 minutes go. What are you even saying?

 

[Mukuhawku]

...Is that suppose to be a TV Trope? I don't understand.

 

[rval74]

I realize that what you're trying to say is that if there's one of those hair colors, its joy or jenny.

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

I can't belive no one's gotten it yet! Joy = Pokemon Red, Jenny = Pokemon Green! I just realised this earlier today and I've been watching the show for 12 years.

 

[MidnightMelody]

I can't belive no one's gotten it yet! Joy = Pokemon Red, Jenny = Pokemon Green! I just realised this earlier today and I've been watching the show for 12 years.

Her is hair is more blue then green. Joy's is more pink then red

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

Her is hair is more blue then green. Joy's is more pink then red

Weather you concider teal to be shade of green or blue, it still works. If the anime had pre-dated the games I'd call it a coincidence. But I find it hard to belive that I'm the first to make the conection.

And to the obove poster that mentioned TV Tropes, yes Pokemon does have it's own fridge brilliance page on the site. But this thread is for the discussion of it as opposed to just being a list.

 

[GetOutOfBox]

What is "fridge brilliance"? I consulted the Oracle of Google and found no explanation.

 

[Cobalt_Latios]

What is "fridge brilliance"? I consulted the Oracle of Google and found no explanation.

It's better if I explain it, because I don't want to be the one responsible for linking to TVTropes.

Fridge Brilliance: A moment that a first seems kind of strange and doesn't seem to make sense at first. Then, once your doing something else (i.e. going to the "fridge" to get something to eat/drink), it suddenly dawns upon you that it actually does work, it's just not quite as obvious.

The official explanation, as found on the site:

First impressions are really important, they build opinions and form relationships. If you screw up a first impression, it can be disastrous. You wish you could do it all over again, and once an opinion is set it is very hard to change it.

But every once in a while, it could be years later or the next day, you may gain a new respect for what you used to hate. It could be upon receiving additional information, or just that you have grown up a little

Fridge Brilliance is this very idea. You watch a movie and something about it just seems off, you don't like it. One night, as you get up for a midnight snack, you open the refrigerator door and the light dawns on you, "This is the real purpose behind this plot!"

Because you had that epiphany, what once was a hated moment has become one of your favorites.

There, now you won't be tempted to browse through the near infinite entries on things.


To the topic: Nothing that I can think of... but:

Yet another Pokémon one, this one about the dub. If you've seen the end of the Sinnoh league, Ash is defeated by a trainer named Takuto, however, the dub changes his name to "Tobias." It sounded a little familiar, and not just for the Animorphs connection, so I did a little research. Tobias is also a figure in the Hebrew bible, who went on a journey guided by the angel Raphael, much like the Pokémon trainer is constantly accompanied by his Darkrai. Want to guess what one of Raphael's patronages is? Nightmares.

Don't shoot me, okay?

edit:

This one struck me as interesting:

Another. In earlier seasons we repeatedly see Team Rocket whining about how they haven't eaten anything for days because they don't have any money. Around Hoenn and Sinnoh, these complaints stopped. Why? Because all of the stuff they sold at various contests and little tournaments proved wildly popular and thus paid for their Humongous Mecha and food.

/CL

 

[GetOutOfBox]

Fridge Brilliance: A moment that a first seems kind of strange and doesn't seem to make sense at first. Then, once your doing something else (i.e. going to the "fridge" to get something to eat/drink), it suddenly dawns upon you that it actually does work, it's just not quite as obvious.

Ah, I see. I did see the links to TVTropes, etc, but I didn't really understand the explanation until later, while I was posting in the debates forum.<- See what I did there

In all seriousness though, I don't see the significance of Joy's hair being a shade of the color that just happens to be in the same end of the color spectrum as the name of the first pokemon game, and Jenny's color happens to be a shade that is similar to the other 1st game. You realize that most colors are either going to be close to the color Red or the color blue, considering that Red and Blue are the two main colors in the visual spectrum. Not to mention the fact that about every other character seems to have hair died an unusual color, it's not that out of the ordinary in the anime. Even if that was intentional, what's the big deal? I don't see any hidden plot answers, etc.

As for any other possible hidden truths/connections in the anime, I doubt there are many. One of the things the anime is definitely not known for is intricate plots and wit.

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

Got another one for ya. More of a bilingual bonus really but WTH.

Where as Kasumi's dub name, Misty, is a litiral translation. Hikari's is a little more clever. Hikaru/Hikari - "Light" - is a popular name in Japan for children born at or around sunrise. The child "Came with the first light". Thus explaining the name Dawn.

While I realise that at this point the harcore otaku within some of you may be screaming "EVERYONE KNOWS THAT, DUMBASS!", please be aware that there may be those among us who are new to Pokemon and are not yet clued in to the knowlage that we vets take for granted. So I ask you to repect them if not me.

 

[munchlaxboy]

People always seem to poke fun of Pikachu and Caterpie's conversation in "Ash Catches a Pokemon!" They claim it's just downright weird and is probably what parents think of when they hear about the "Pokemans".

However, more careful observation shows you that Caterpie is talking to Pikachu about it dreams to become a Butterfree and to impress Misty, who hates Caterpie (a bug). Caterpie wants to become a beautiful Butterfree so Misty will like him.

This is what causes Caterpie to not give in it's Team Rocket battle, and it evolves into a Metapod. This is Caterpie's first step into becoming a Butterfree. It's courage and willingness caused it to be, as said by Dexter, the fastest any Caterpie in the world has ever evolved.

 

[GetOutOfBox]

People always seem to poke fun of Pikachu and Caterpie's conversation in "Ash Catches a Pokemon!" They claim it's just downright weird and is probably what parents think of when they hear about the "Pokemans".

However, more careful observation shows you that Caterpie is talking to Pikachu about it dreams to become a Butterfree and to impress Misty, who hates Caterpie (a bug). Caterpie wants to become a beautiful Butterfree so Misty will like him.

This is what causes Caterpie to not give in it's Team Rocket battle, and it evolves into a Metapod. This is Caterpie's first step into becoming a Butterfree. It's courage and willingness caused it to be, as said by Dexter, the fastest any Caterpie in the world has ever evolved.

And the irony of this is that Butterfree is still a bug-type (though perhaps Caterpie had read "Brock's Guide to the World of Pokemon", which likely contained "Butterfree is a Water/Flying type pokemon, alongside such facts as "Water types are totally weak against fire types!") Seriously though, wasn't that entire scene rather obvious and "spelled out" for the kids?

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

More careful observation shows you that Caterpie is talking to Pikachu about it dreams to become a Butterfree and to impress Misty, who hates Caterpie (a bug). Caterpie wants to become a beautiful Butterfree so Misty will like him.

I never thought of it that way before. But it kinda makes sence. Plus it worked!

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

More careful observation shows you that Caterpie is talking to Pikachu about it dreams to become a Butterfree and to impress Misty, who hates Caterpie (a bug). Caterpie wants to become a beautiful Butterfree so Misty will like him.

I never thought about it like that before. But it kinda makes sence. Plus it worked!

 

[munchlaxboy]

And the irony of this is that Butterfree is still a bug-type (though perhaps Caterpie had read "Brock's Guide to the World of Pokemon", which likely contained "Butterfree is a Water/Flying type pokemon, alongside such facts as "Water types are totally weak against fire types!") Seriously though, wasn't that entire scene rather obvious and "spelled out" for the kids?

I never found it "obvious". Especially since I usually watched this episode when I was around 3-4 years old, it may be a little difficult to interpret at such a young age.

I never thought of it that way before. But it kinda makes sence. Plus it worked!

See! This guy didn't understand it until now!

 

[GetOutOfBox]

I never found it "obvious". Especially since I usually watched this episode when I was around 3-4 years old, it may be a little difficult to interpret at such a young age.

I can't blame you for missing it as a 3-4 year old then, since I wasn't particularly perceptive at that age either, I don't think many people are, lol. I was talking more from my perspective upon re-watching the show when I was older. If I examined movies, books, music for "fridge brilliance" from the perspective of a toddler, I'd find it everywhere. Toddlers generally need to have ideas and jokes spelled out to them, subtly is rarely their strong point. Because of this, virtually all of Team Rocket's disguises that appear dumb to us today, would have been quiet convincing for many of us "back in the day".

See! This guy didn't understand it until now!

Mayhaps he's a little, you know, slow , nah, just kidding SoulSilverMstr

I'm sure people who haven't watched the Original Series since they were kids aren't going to have thought much about the meaning of any of the episodes, but I'm sure it would have been fairly obvious to someone watching it today (assuming they're not a toddler still ). But who am I to criticize your example, I haven't even posted one. I'm sure I can think of a few given time, as I do recall some episodes that had (surprisingly) deep plots.

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

This one leans more towards WMG. (Wild Mass Guessing)

In the 12th movie, Ash and Co travel into the ancient past. At this point pokemon are known as "Magical Creatures" and it isn't 'till Ash uses the word "Pokemon" when showing Damos his Monferno that the word is used in this time.

Taken at face vaule, the word Pokemon is a pre-destination paradox. Consult Google for more info.

 

[Yamato-san]

This is what causes Caterpie to not give in it's Team Rocket battle, and it evolves into a Metapod. This is Caterpie's first step into becoming a Butterfree. It's courage and willingness caused it to be, as said by Dexter, the fastest any Caterpie in the world has ever evolved.

actually, in the Japanese version, it clearly stated that the "species" has the fastest evolution rate out of any Pokemon, not the individual specimen. Going by the games, this is true (albeit, it is tied with the Beedle and Kemusso lines).

 

[SoulSilverMstr411]

Okay, this one's a little of-topic. But screw that 'cos I started the thread and I can do what ever I damn please. So I now bring you...

My analysis of some of the Gen V pokemon's possible origins.

Servine: It's limbs are shorter in relation to it's body than Snivy's. A subtle hint at Serperior eventually having no limbs at all.

Samurott: 'Though apparently based on a sea-lion, it bares more resembalance the the Amazon River otter. Better tying it to Oshawott and Dewott.

Sandile: One of my personal favorates. It's appearance dodn't change as it evolves. Not unlike real crocodiles.

Karrablast and Shelmet: I love these guys. The latter steals the former's armour when they're traded. Forcing it to become freakin' ninja to survive.

Bisharp: Pawniard seems to based on those Japanese sentai shows that've been around since the 60s. In some series, it's not uncommon for one or more characters to recive a mid-season upgrade. Bisharp is this to Pawniard.

Kyrem: I imagine it's in that crippled state 'cos Reshiram and Zokrom attacked it. The fact that they both have the type advantage surports my theory.