Anglerfish Inspiration
Wanna clear things up here regarding the potential anglerfish inspiration for Tatsugiri and Dondozo, and why I think it should remain in the origins section.
- Anglerfish are notable for two main reasons which are both respresented by Tatsugiri and Dondozo, which are:
- The small lure on their head which acts as bait to lure prey for the bigger fish to eat (Tatsugiri is literally sushi-shaped bait, and lures prey for Dondozo)
- The males being tiny compared to the females and living as parasites (Tatsugiri is tiny compared to Dondozo and is essentially its parasite)
- The fact that both aspects are referenced makes it significantly less likely to be a coincidence.
- Pokemon are often based on an eclectic mix of creature/plant/object traits that don’t mesh in real life. Just because Tatsugiri and Dondozo don’t share all the traits of Anglerfish (like being saltwater fish or having sharp teeth) doesn’t mean they don’t take inspiration from Anglerfish.
- Clamperl is an oyster that evolves into… eels? I think? Which are entirely unrelated.
- Magikarp is found when fishing anywhere, but is based on the Asian Carp which is a specifically freshwater fish.
- Tatsugiri itself is already based on Tuna and Sea Urchins, which are entirely saltwater, and shrimp (probably Japanese Tiger Prawn used in sushi, which again is saltwater)
- The entry only mentions that specifically the relationship between Tatsugiri and Dondozo may reference Anglerfish, rather than the designs of the Pokémon themselves.
- Origins are largely speculative anyway. Most origin entries (including how I wrote the Anglerfish one) say this ‘may be based on’ or ‘may reference’ or ‘may be inspired by’. There’s no reason to remove it as a potential origin unless there is evidence directly to the contrary.
Silverbrick (talk) 10:11, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
- I think this falls under the same category as the "tongue-eating isopod" hypothesis that was being floated a while back-- while there's some superficial similarities, I don't think it's enough to consider it an influence on the design. Tatsugiri isn't a parasite, and Anglerfish aren't the only fish that use lures or other bait strategies to hunt (e.g. Dragonfish are not anglerfish but have the same hunting strategy and gender size discrepancy-- and a more relevant name!). It might be an interesting bit of trivia to discuss fishes that use lures and baits in general, but I don't think Anglerfish specifically are relevant enough to Tatsugiri and Dondozo to get a specific mention. Auricolor (talk) 19:27, 17 December 2022 (UTC)