The Redundancy of Anime Notebook

Actually this post is not about Ani-nouto in the same way Damien's post is about the technicalities of Moe Check. Instead, I just want to make a play on a play on a meme, in a post about a different but related meme: Kyonko. There is also a second play: everyone knows about Kyonko by now, so this post is redundant. In fact, the whole site is.

Nonetheless, here's picture he posted (Kyonko on the left, Itsuko on the right):

Too bad there's no Miss Taniguchi.

I am not amused by the sex swap per se, primarily because I think Ranma squeezed that particular lemon dry back in the 80s. But the layers upon layers of memezation, and the unexpected strength of Lucky Star as a recognizeable symbol are amusing to me.

P.S. Truth to be told, Kyonko does play some angles on the swap which Ranma didn't. Specifically, the favourite joke of Kyonko is how all the relationships and actions become ridiculous after the swap, e.g. Mr. Yuki Nagato inviting Kyonko to his room late in the evening. It's the schtick advocates of colorblind society enjoy a lot, and it never gets old. So, Kyonko is not completely redundant, unlike Ani-nouto.

UPDATE: Daniel of Animanachronism (in comments elsewhere, rascal):

Kyonko is indeed moe. I’ve been wondering about this myself. The original Kyon wasn’t moe, but he had a compelling personality (a good thing too, since the whole show’s filtered through his experience), so I thought maybe part of Kyonko’s attraction is the tantalising idea that she’s a witty and sarcastic girl with whom we’re almost familiar.

I'm wondering. Koyomi Mizuhara was certainly compelling... Then, we had Kagamin. But coincidentially, both were defined by a oppositional relationship. Would such a character stand alone?

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