I think it's quite an obvious Evangelion reference. Maybe add the tag?

The weakest of the Four Heavenly Abyssals: Heavy Cruiser Hime is defeated... once again.

Get on her shoulders, Kasumi

Ooh, double notes! Is this the fabled translation war?

Elf_song said:

The weakest of the Four Heavenly Abyssals: Heavy Cruiser Hime is defeated... once again.

"I am the weakest of the Four Radical Lords!"
"The butler did it!"

AnObservingShadow said:

Ooh, double notes! Is this the fabled translation war?

One of the few times I've been here early enough to see it in action.

And here I am still being toyed by the WEAKEST of four heavenly queens......Now I fear of E6 and E7.

dat smug Ashigara

I know pursuit battle is the direct translation of 追撃戦, but I'm not sure if that's really a thing (￣▽￣;)

Vezral said:

I know pursuit battle is the direct translation of 追撃戦, but I'm not sure if that's really a thing (￣▽￣;)

Well, there's a difference between a pursuit, and pursuit where you also engage, no?

Turns out that there's an actual naval term for it, that being 'running fight' (or battle).

That's a hot Ashigara.

Why she's Christmas Cake? Dunno.

Tsuchino said:

dat smug Ashigara

id be smug too if i had those delicious legs on my shoulders :3

Jarlath said:

That's a hot Ashigara.

Why she's Christmas Cake? Dunno.

Because straight guys and lesbians in anime have no taste? I mean, I often find myself gravitating towards the "Christmas Cake"-type characters at least a little bit...
(though I wonder how much the "and lesbians" part matters, because while the shipgirls are all bi in canon, fanon is a different story, and the "Christmas Cake" aspect of Ashigara is entirely fanon (not counting the anime), at least last I checked).
EDIT: I'm actually pleasantly surprised nobody's tried to argue with me about the whole "shipgirls are all canonically bi" thing.

AntagonistChan said:

Because straight guys and lesbians in anime have no taste? I mean, I often find myself gravitating towards the "Christmas Cake"-type characters at least a little bit...
(though I wonder how much the "and lesbians" part matters, because while the shipgirls are all bi in canon, fanon is a different story, and the "Christmas Cake" aspect of Ashigara is entirely fanon (not counting the anime), at least last I checked).

It makes it all the more satisfying for "the one" to show up. Their miraculous success amounts to them having their Cake and eating it too (pun definitely intended).

Otherwise, Ashigara just has competition, that's all. If the role was moved over to another equally-attractive shipgirl, the same principle would apply. "Why isn't X-shipgirl getting more love?", because the joke is virtually the same in fanon no matter who you choose, lmao

Is that opinions of three pillar man on Santana? lol

userno007 said:

Is that opinions of three pillar man on Santana? lol

Among other things. The whole "there are four villains, and one of them gets defeated very early on because they're so much weaker than the other three" thing is a fairly common trope in anime (to the extent that The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruh-Chan parodied it (that's what I was quoting up on my first comment)), so it's not just specific to JoJo.

Paracite said:

Well, there's a difference between a pursuit, and pursuit where you also engage, no?

Turns out that there's an actual naval term for it, that being 'running fight' (or battle).

I've often also heard it as a 'stern chase'

Jarlath said:

That's a hot Ashigara.

Why she's Christmas Cake? Dunno.

I heard ALL of her captains were single.

Jarlath said:

That's a hot Ashigara.

Why she's Christmas Cake? Dunno.

Personally I think she's damn fine

Jarlath said:

That's a hot Ashigara.

Why she's Christmas Cake? Dunno.

I'm pretty sure it's just a characterization based upon her "Hungry Wolf" moniker (gained for being thinner than other cruisers), which the Japanese took as meaning "highly aggressive" and "hungry for victory".

In Japan, they talk a lot about whether someone is an "herbivore" (someone more passive), or a "carnivore" (aggressive), especially when it comes to dating.

And obviously, a hungry wolf is a desperate carnivore, is it not? (Actually, they're omnivorous and aren't above just foraging roots or berries, but that's not what is in the popular consciousness.)

Hence, for joke material, Ashigara isn't hungry for victory, she's hungry for finding a man to settle down with. The part about being Christmas Cake just comes from being one of the few shipgirls that actually appear to be working women, where concern that their time to settle down is slipping by is a common trope, and she may have been something more like Suzuya's compensated dating meme, but with a "find a rich man and pry a ring out of him" angle if the Myoukou class had been portrayed as high school girls like the other cruisers.

NWSiaCB said:

I'm pretty sure it's just a characterization based upon her "Hungry Wolf" moniker (gained for being thinner than other cruisers), which the Japanese took as meaning "highly aggressive" and "hungry for victory".

In Japan, they talk a lot about whether someone is an "herbivore" (someone more passive), or a "carnivore" (aggressive), especially when it comes to dating.

And obviously, a hungry wolf is a desperate carnivore, is it not? (Actually, they're omnivorous and aren't above just foraging roots or berries, but that's not what is in the popular consciousness.)

Hence, for joke material, Ashigara isn't hungry for victory, she's hungry for finding a man to settle down with. The part about being Christmas Cake just comes from being one of the few shipgirls that actually appear to be working women, where concern that their time to settle down is slipping by is a common trope, and she may have been something more like Suzuya's compensated dating meme, but with a "find a rich man and pry a ring out of him" angle if the Myoukou class had been portrayed as high school girls like the other cruisers.

I've already heard that explanation, but that's the Doylist answer, and I think Jarlath was asking for a Watsonian one. The only Watsonian answer I can come up with is that, well, straight guys and lesbians in anime have no taste.