this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2026
84 points (97.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

36831 readers
986 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I vaguely remember someone doing this during a conversation in a bar in Japan years ago, and I saw it again in a manga. What does this mean, if anything? I don't remember what the conversation was about, and we were all drinking so I wouldn't trust my memory anyway

top 23 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] karasu_sue@pf.korako.me 38 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I’m Japanese, and honestly, I don’t see any special meaning in this pose at all.

As far as I know, this image is just a scene from Space Brothers, where Namba Mutta is simply talking about the Sharon Telescope. There’s no symbolic or cultural meaning attached to the pose in Japan—it’s just a moment in the story.

https://koyamachuya.com/contents/7107/

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

yep that's the manga, I do swear I saw someone do this in the wild, like 10 years ago. I kinda guess maybe it's like doing the heart shape with your hands

[–] karasu_sue@pf.korako.me 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

There is a similar pose where people make a heart shape above their head. Japanese people like making heart shapes for pretty much everything.

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 days ago

danke, so, just kinda love you or for what you just said :)

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 days ago

lol I'm so confused then. The like 20s girl that did that didn't act like she was a reddit dork

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 26 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If you're western this is old-timey for "I'm about to dive into a swimming pool, or the ocean."

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

lol I 100% did this as a six year old to dive into a pool during swim lessons

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 days ago

we used the moniker "zip" "T" "zoom" to do the back stroke

[–] lens0021@programming.dev 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] lens0021@programming.dev 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

After searching online, it seems everyone knows that "たけのこニョッキ", which was a game from a TV program aired Wednesdays at 11 PM from 2003 to 2005? It's a game where several people call out numbers in order starting from 1, and if they overlap, they lose. And judging by the name, that posture is a growing bamboo shoot. You mentioned it was a bar, and this does seem like a game suitable for a noisy bar, so it's plausible.

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Proof that people do this!! This definitely wasn't the context when I saw it, but I'm gratified I'm not crazy

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago

theyre making fun of your ballin’ mohawk haircut

[–] Sergio@piefed.social 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Just in case no Japanese people answer, check this out for comparison:

My guess is the kid's asking for a favor, but making a bit of a joke about it.

[–] rlc3r_yb3ldcg_@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 days ago

I feel like Sadhu is the closest feeling

[–] sefra1@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Western weeb here, I think that's the pose they make in anime when they want to beg someone to do something like asking for a big favour.

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Yep seems like the emoji🙏 but over the head to increase the intensity
Sort of like bowing vs bowing while knees are on the floor.

[–] udon@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Interesting, any special weeb insights why they do it like this? Does it make it easier to draw maybe? Just stands out?

[–] sefra1@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 days ago

No idea, it just happens in anime.

[–] Zannsolo@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

It means you're a genie in a bottle baby

[–] ieatpwns@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I might be pulling this out of my ass. But is it possible it’s a reference to extra terrestrial aliens? I know there are aliens in Japanese pop culture that have heads shaped like onions like this

. That’s from the dandadan anime opening.

I’ve seen references to the onion-headed aliens before but searching the internet is shit now.

[–] TrousersMcPants@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I thought those aliens were more of a reference to the Flatwoods Monster tbh

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Maybe that's just the US version of the same alien

[–] TrousersMcPants@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Actually I looked it up, since I haven't read/watched much of the show, and it is indeed just the Flatwoods Monster.