Ryu and Ken

[Edmond Dantes]

Has anyone but me noticed how often those two names pop up together?

Just for example:

Obviously, Street Fighter's most well-known heroes, Ryu and Ken.
Ninja Gaiden has Ryu Hayabusa, the son of Ken Hayabusa.
Art of Fighting was, in Japan, called RYUuko no KEN
Tenchi Muyo TV Series - Ryoko owns Ryo-ohki (yeah, okay, that's Ryo, not Ryu, but close enough), her arch-rival owns Ken-Ohki.

Just... what is with that? Is it some sort of reference to classic Japanese mythology or real martial artists or something?

[trap15]

Well... Ryu means dragon, and Ken means sword... so...

[NTSC-J]

Ken also means "fist" (like in Ryuko no Ken and Hokuto no Ken).

In games where there's fighting you can expect these kinds of words to pop up a lot.

[Mortificator]

Gatchaman includes Ken the Eagle and Ryu the Owl.

The only real Ryu / Ken pair, though is the one from Street Fighter. Nobody in Art of Fighting is named Ryu or Ken, Ryu's father is called Joe Hayabusa in the Japanese version, Ryo-Ohki's a pretty different name than Ryu, and Gatchaman is a five-person team. I don't think Ryu / Ken is a thing.

[GaijinPunch]

They are also somewhat common Japanese first names... (plus all of the above).

[CIT]

Anybody notice how often the names "Bill" and "Joe" appear in American videogames, films, TV shows, etc.?

What is it with Bill and Joe!?

Apparently Bill comes from William, which means "protector of the realm" in ancient Germanic, whereas Joe comes from Joseph, which is Hebrew for "god will increase".

I think it clearly indicates the role of faith in the US and the desire for homeland security!

[Randorama]

Clearly, the 4D illuminati lizards are behind all of this.

[shmuppyLove]

Clearly, the 4D illuminati lizards are behind all of this.

true dat

http://www.timecube.com/

[Leader Bee]

what i'd really like to know is what the japanese thing for telegraph poles is all about. Every second scene transition in anime for example is an image of one of these from the bottom looking skyward.

[CIT]

Ever been to Japan? They are everywhere.

[shmuppyLove]

Something about not burying cables ... so everything is strung on poles.

[GaijinPunch]

Something about not burying cables ... so everything is strung on poles.

Oh, they bury cables now. And here's how construction works on one that would have a multiple day schedule.

1: Dig up cable starting around 10PM
2: Work on cable
3: Put cable and stuff back
4: Patch up hole
5: Go home and sleep
6: Rinse & Repeat the next night

The times all change, and what I love about this rule is that it is followed not only the in the urbanest of urban locales, but also residential. Nothing like your head hitting the pillow at midnight and a jack hammer just starting.