Reply To: Discussion: Episodes 11-15

Forums Tenchi Muyo! Discussion Anime Discussion: Episodes 11-15 Reply To: Discussion: Episodes 11-15

    wwwwhhhhoooo
    Moderator
    none
    Great cast guys!

    I was recently reminded at how much these episodes cram into such a short time frame. Watching Blade of the Phantom Master yet again, I was drawn to the arc involving the Mandrake plant (spelled by subs as “Mandarake” more or less how it is pronounced with a Japanese dialect). For those unaware, a Mandrake is the unfortunate little bugger Ryoko threw into her stew in Episode 14.

    http://i.minus.com/iYEJQgp3HWRt1.gif" />

    They have many reputations in fiction, myth, and the real world:

    – They’re said to scream when uprooted (as Harry Potter fans can attest to)

    – They’ve long been associated with witchcraft (thus Ryoko’s bubbling cauldron)

    – They’ve also been associated with fertility as a sort of “love potion” (doesn’t take much to see why Ryoko would be interested in something like that)

    – Though primarily a work of satire, the narrative of Machiavelli’s La Mandrogola involves a man attempting to use Mandragora (Mandrake) to scheme his way into sleeping with a woman (with Ryoko and Tenchi, the genders happen to be reversed)

    – The real-world roots are said to not only contain powerful hallucinogens (notice all the pretty colors when Ryoko dropped it in the pot), but are downright poisonous if ingested (so when Ryoko commented it might send Tenchi to heaven, there may have been more truth to that statement than she intended).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrake_(plant)” class=”bbcode_url”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrake_(plant)

    Ai continues to impress me more and more. Looking forward to next week!