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Cat to Crow
Cain
From Joanna: In Kaori Yuuki's Count Cain manga, Cain is named after "the first person in the bible to kill his own relative."
Candy Cane
In the Minky Momo movie, Momo carries a magic candy cane that her parents gave her for her birthday. With it she can transform from her 12 year old self into a 16 year old version of herself, and into anything she wishes to be, such as a star or cat burgler.
Carmen
From Chris: Famous opera, also a ballet. Episode 17 is called Carmen Argozoras. It starts with the story of a young man who people loved but he only loved himself. When he found love he couldn't express his feelings to the girl. Music from the opera heard throughout the series.
Carmilla
Carmilla is the title and name of the vampire in Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire tale first published in 1871. It was most likely one of the influences for Stoker's novel. Carmilla in VHD: Bloodlust is the woman vampire encountered at the end of the film. She is known as the "Bloody Countess" and was said to have been so gluttonous with her blood reign that the Vampire King himself impaled her in her sleep. This description leads to the historical inspiration behind this fictional countess. Elisabeth Bathory though not a vampire was a countess with a bloody history. She was a Hungarian noblewoman who lived in the late 16th-early 17th century. She was known as the "Bloody Countess" because once she became obsessed with retaining her youth, she had hundreds of young girls killed in order to bathe in their blood. Bathory's reputation for enjoying to toy with her victims and her penchant for cruelty fits in as well with Carmilla in the film.
Carnival
From Licca: Wondrous Magical Ring. A magic carnival appears mysteriously over a single night and Licca has her adventures that play out almost dream-like. The structure of the story is similar to Midsummer Night's Dream or the Nutcracker. One of the strange sights they see is a transparent spirit-anteater but instead of ants it eats bouncing stars.
Castle
"The castle is an impersonal feminine symbol, sometimes of the anima. It is built by man
and therefore is a specific aspect of the maternal image, the image of an anima or mother
goddess...People sometimes build themselves a castle or house in active imagination and
live inside it for a long time" (Franz, 65). It can also be a symbol for the awakening of the
conscious mind or the fulfillment of wishes when described as beautiful or shining. Usually found in
fairy tales at the heart of a forest. In the Utena series, the floating castle is located at the heart of the Arena Forest,
a top the dueling arena. For the duellists, it is a symbol of attaining all they desire if they can reach it, just as it is in
fairy tales, and it is a symbol for reaching their own revolution, coming to consciousness.
In Berserk it is again a fairy tale symbol, coupled with the old woman at the spindle (the witch). She acts as Griffith's guide through his memories and through his unconscious to show him
the castle, that which is the embodiment of all his desires. He finds the path leading to the castle is paved by cobblestones of corpses, and he must choose if he'll keep placing the
cobblestones to reach it. Both the witch and castle become a dark aspect in his psyche as they embody the guide and summit of what he desires, but he knows to reach it he'll have to kill
many men along the way in his battles and ultimately even his own.
Castle Csejthe
Elisabeth Bathory's home. This is the name of Carmilla's castle in VHD: Bloodlust as well and a place known to have a frightening reputation.
Cat's Cradle
In ep. 2-4 of the Karura Mau OVA. The purpose of the cat's cradle game isn't completely clear. It may be an amusement or distraction, or possibly used in a subtle form of magic. The cat's cradle was used in a spell in the second Vampire Hunter D movie. In the Magical Emi OAV Semishugare, Mai is seen practicing her skill at cat's cradle throughout her summer break. It is a memory of childhood and part of the OAV's sense of bittersweet loss but joy, the sense of things, that is conveyed.
Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro
Japanese cats have been attributed to have supernatural powers or to be able to bewitch humans, also to be able to shape-shift. The Catbus is bakeneko, monster cat, and his design may have been inspired by the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Cattleya Flower Shop
From Kakyuusei. In the Language of Flowers the cattleya means mature charms.
Centipede
There was once thought to be a giant centipede living near Lake Biwa in the mountains, and the hero Hidesato was called to call it. A giant centipede shows up during Blue Seed. Mistress Centipede first appears in volume 1 of Inu-Yasha.
Cerberus
Cerberus (Kerberos: Greek) was the three-headed guardian dog to the entrance of the underworld in Greek mythology. He allowed the dead in but allowed no one to leave. To appease the great beast, one might give him cakes of honey and flour. Kero of CCS is named from him.
Ceremony of Genbai
U-ho quelling spirits of the earth and setting up a holy barrier in the Karura Mau movie. It is explained that originally, it was the Ceremony of Genbai done frequently by Abe-no-Seimei, the Onmyoh-ji who claimed great influence in the Hei-An era's court.
Ceres
Demeter in Greek. She was the goddess of agriculture, marriage, death, and fertility. She was given the first fruits of the harvest. Ceres was sometimes portrayed with a basket of flowers. Cere-Cere in Sailor Moon is named from her, and she is associated with flowers. Ceres is the name of the tennyo in Ayashi no Ceres.
Charm
Chisato buys two matching charms in ep. 2 of Vampire Princess Miyu, for herself and Miyu. They are a symbol of their friendship for each other she says. Later it's learned another Shinma gave the charms to Chisato purposefully so that Miyu could not detect the Shinma side of Chisato coming to maturation.
Charon
From Chris: In Princess Tutu Fakir's gardian is named Charon, which is the name of the ferryman of the River Stix's in Greek mythology. In Faeries' Landing he's the Head Minister of Avalon, he's the faerie god's right hand man.
Child God
From John P.: The Elysium in Sailor Moon ties in with the "dream" world of childhood, to which Helios (a sort of deathless child-god figure) belongs. The Child God, or eternal youth, is another mythological motif corresponding (psychologically, anyway) to cycles of death and rebirth of the Self. He appears as the herald of a new world which will rise from the ashes of the old; but paradoxically, the new world is also a return to the original paradise. He is generally a tragic figure who is devoured by the negative aspect of the Great Mother (in this case, Nehelenia) but who always appears again, through an endless cycle of renewal and decay. Unico and Dios are other examples of this figure in anime; Peter Pan and the Little Prince would be good western examples.
Christmas Eve and Virginity
From ep. 11 of Kakyuusei. From Dave Endresak: When Ai-chan finally works up her courage to ask Tsuushi out on a date for Christmas Eve, it is not as simple as you might think from a non-Japanese viewpoint. The reason that Tsuushi is so taken aback momentarily is not simply because he is surprised by Ai-chan asking for this as her favor in return for the favor she did him when she took Miko-chan back home late. Christmas Eve is THE most popular day in Japan for girls to ask guys to take their virginity - the love hotels do more business on Christmas Eve than any otner day of the year. Essentially, Ai-chan is asking him to take her out so that he can take her virginity - that's why he is so surprised. Of course, that's not what actually occurs... the entire story builds up to nothing more than Ai-chan's first kiss.
Chuchu (from Shoujo Kakumei Utena)
The mouselike monkey. Name is a pun on chuu-chuu, the sound a mouse makes.
The mouse once was thought to be analogous to the soul, but also some thought them to
possess prophetic or demonic powers. In dream symbology, it represents the dreamer's
soul. Mice might also represent witches, or be their familiar. They might also be the
substructure of the anima.
In Jung terms, the monkey can be a child archetype. The site Fonda's Jung notes says: It
represents original or childlike conditions in the life of the individual or species, and thus
reminds the conscious mind of its origins and helps to keep them continous. A necessary
reminder when one's consciousness becomes too one-sided, too willfully progressive in a
manner that threatens to sever the individual from the roots of his or her being. It
represents the urge towards self-realization.
An addition from John Pollard: Chuchu is most likely a spoof of animal companions commonly found in anime, especially
shoujo anime.
Clover
Clovers normally mean fortune or good luck. In the manga by CLAMP called Clover they stand for the potential of happiness, and are used to name inidividuals with special magic abilities. One leaf clovers being ordinary and least powerful, and four leaf clovers being so rare that the character Suu is the only one and the most powerful of all. Suu's name comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the Mandarian si or four. She also is drawn with a choker with a four leaf clover on it, and is described as having evergreen eyes and white hair, green like a clover and hair like white clover blossoms. It is said in the manga that those who find a clover will find happiness, and indeed it seems Suu somehow touches those she comes in contact with, and it is said of her that if ever the four leaf clover thought of someone as special the world would be in their hands. But not only her, but Oruha, the one leaf clover, brings happiness to Kazuhiko, as do the other clovers to those they meet, even if that happiness is brief and tinged with sadness.
Coffin
The coffins in the Utena series would be a symbol of mortality, also the unconscious or regression. In the series, characters are shown in a fetal position inside the coffins, perhaps a death and birth duality, or possibly showing a regression back into the womb, and into the unconscious.
Coin
From ep. 9 of Seraphim Call. A young girl is making a film about Kasumi, her idol, but little realizes until the end that she is working with the very woman herself. In the episode's opening Kasumi stands before a fountain and lets herself be sprayed by it with the moon overhead. She flips a coin but catches it before it lands in the water. Later, the girl visits the fountain in the night, alone, and lays in the water. She finds a coin at the bottom and is happy as she holds it up. Coins are often tossed in fountains as a hold over from an old superstition of tossing a coin in a well or fountain for luck or to make a wish. Perhaps the girl is a younger version of Kasumi, filled with dreams and hopes and her finding the coin represents this, after Kasumi is shown earlier to stop herself from indulging in the whim to throw a coin into the water.
Comb
The comb is a layered symbol. On the surface it is an accessory, or a lady's hair ornament. But it can be more than this. In the fairy tale Das Zauberross, the comb becomes a
magical object when it is thrown by the fleeing girl in the tale and becomes a mountain. In the Japanese legend of Susano and Kushinada, he transforms her into a comb and places her
for the time being in his hair while he fights Orochi. In the legend of Izanagi and Izanami, Izanagi travels to the underworld to bring back his wife, lighting his way with one of the teeth of his
comb. After being shocked at the decomposed form before him, he flees and escapes the demons she sends after him by breaking the remaining teeth and throwing them down so that they
transform into bamboo for them to eat.
Like the Western idea of bringing bad luck upon oneself by breaking a mirror, the Japanese have a superstition that to break the tooth of a comb also brings bad luck. Indeed, comb (kushi)
is made from the sounds for death and suffering. For this reason it is not a good gift to bestow as one would not want to be responsible for an object which can incur ill luck.
The Japanese also have a comb festival (Kompira Kushi Matsuri) where the objects are honored and burned in a ritual fire at the end of their life.
In Inu-Yasha, the oni Yura of the Hair hid her soul within a comb so once Kagome shattered it, Yura disappeared. She also used the oni's comb to send forth flames and as an object to control
the hair that is her magical weapon and instrument. Also, one of the devils in the Wedding Peach TV series was a puppet who controlled his victims by stealing a hair with his comb, a bit
like voodoo or power gained by possessing a part of the individual. A comb or hairpiece is also an important object and symbol in the first Cardcaptor Sakura movie.
*Information on the Japanese superstitions, festival and Izanagi myth found at:
www.city.kyoto.jp/sankan/kankoshinko/ta_news/sep_01.html
Confession Elevator in Shoujo Kakumei Utena
The confession elevator is loosely based on the Catholic confessional, where penitents come to confess their sins to the priest and through the priest find forgivenss and cleansing through God. The potential duelists step into the confessional and take a seat, revealing their inner thoughts and emotions to Mikage. In their cases, the duelists find that to gain any kind of emotional redemption they must come to terms with themselves, fighting out their inner struggles in the arena. Note that usually, those who go through this do not reach the point they need to be at after their black rose duel or enounter, but at least they have taken a step and are closer to where they need to be. The confession elevator also serves as a symbol of the duelist going into their unconscious. As they go deeper into their hearts, they go deeper into themselves, and once the black rose is part of them, they regress into a dream-state and remain there until the duel's end and they awake after the duel to their conscious state.
Coronis
Coronis was taken over by Sailor Lead Crow. In mythology, Coronis was a princess changed into a crow by Athene so she could escape from Poseidon, who chased and sought to ravage her before she cried out for a divinity to help her. Sailor Coronis was taken over by Sailor Lead Crow in the Sailor Moon manga.
Cranes
Cranes mate for life, and thus have become a symbol of happiness, fidelity, and long life. The red-crowned crane of Japan is the second rarest crane in the world. The Ainu people
imitate the movements of the red-crowned crane to use as a charm against evil spirits.*
While the birds featured in the third tale of CLAMP's Shirahime Syo, "The Happy Couple," may be herons, their symbolism and characteristics share those of the crane. The two husband
and wife pair are mated for life and are devoted to each other even in death as seen by the heron wife as she carries the skull of her mate when she appears to the young warrior to guide
him home. The birds as a symbol of luck or happiness then take an ironic turn as their love ends in tragedy, though in their tragedy and sorrow the wife helps the man find his way to
his own sweetheart thorugh the snow.
*Information on cranes taken from"Japan's Winter Wildlife" by Jennifer Ackerman in National Geographic's Jan. 2003 issue.
Crest
The family of the Vai emperor have a double-serpent crest in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. There is a power struggle within the family, and the siblings try to draw blood of the other. Kushana's mother is driven mad after drinking poison meant for her daughter as an example. Kushana says in the second volume of the crest: "Entwined and fighting, spilling its own blood."
Cross
In anime, the cross is often used for sacrifice or suffering. In Sailor
Moon, the cross is used at Queen Serenity's death after sacrificing herself for
daughter and court (the pillars of the destroyed palace form a cross that she dies
on). In the first film, Sailor Moon is held by Fiore in a crucifix position. When
Rubeus kidnaps the senshi, he places them on crystal crosses. And towards the
end of the third season, Hotaru is seen hung on a cross. In ep. 50-51 of Wedding Peach,
there a few examples of this. One is Viento placing
himself in front of Peach to protect her during the battle, but he is swept up
in the dark energy and vines, his body forming a cross.
In Trigun the wandering priest, Wolfwood, has cross cuff links and carries
a large cross on his shoulder. On one level, these are simple visual images of a priest, yet the audience learns the cross also hides weapons, and Wolfwood has inner struggles he deals with.
The cross or crucifix was thought to ward off the undead, and this is used often in popular vampire fiction. In both Vampire Hunter D films the cross is worn or used in hopes of protection against
vampires. Doris and the Markus brothers wear them, and in the opening of the second movie, crosses line the rooftops of the town.
From the Utena movie, the crosses in the red roses when Touga is introduced symbolize death. Touga's death.
Perhaps sacrifice as well, since Touga sacrificed his life to save the drowning girl. The crosses can also be for
remembrance as both Juri and Utena are inspired to be princes themselves from Touga's death.
Both Kamui and Fuma are shown dreams of the future where Kotori is tied to a cross in the X Movie. This symbolizes sacrifice since Kotori will bear the sword Fuma will use to fight Kamui, and by
doing so she will die.
Crystal Ball
Its use can be traced back to the Druids, and was once called a "stone of power." A crystal ball known as tama is an eternity symbol in Japan. Wiseman had a kind of crystal ball in BSSM, and the princess watches Himeko with her crystal ball in Hime-chan.
Curse
Curses are a favorite subject of Egyptian lore. Indeed deaths were recorded with several involved with the removal and study of King Tutankhamun's tomb and remains. This popular subject of deadly curses for those who disturb the gods or tombs carries into the Yu-Gi-Oh anime as well. Pegasus' cards for duel monsters were based on images he found while in Egypt. But he also wanted to use the images of three great god creatures. Those involved with his Egyptian god card project all met with disaster or disappeared without a trace. He unleashed their power by recreating the images of the original creatures. Shadi tells Pegasus that must return them to their resting place or he and world would be consumed by darkness.
Cyclops
Giant from Greek myth with a single eye in their forehead. One appears in episode 6 of the Bastard OAV.