Biting of the thumb

A

Ark

Adventurer
Hi there.

Bit of a strange question here. I've noticed a number of times characters in anime biting one of their thumbs. Does anyone know if this has some symbolism in Japanese culture?
 
I've also noticed in a huge amount of anime character/s have a spiral symbol on their thumb. Never got to the bottom of why it's there.

It was definately there in Excel Saga, so maybe it's a J.C Staff fad.
 
Another quirk is the ever-so annoying phrase of: "It can't be helped" or similar. I have no idea how many times I've heard or read something like that in anime.

It obviously can be helped.

On the note of thumb biting, Its a really odd ordeal. I can't say I can remember anywhere other than Naruto where it happens. It may just be a quick way to show some blood in a show, or something.
 
melonpan said:
I've also noticed in a huge amount of anime character/s have a spiral symbol on their thumb. Never got to the bottom of why it's there.

It was definately there in Excel Saga, so maybe it's a J.C Staff fad.
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I always took it that it was just a fingerprint...
 
Ishoganai or literally "it can't be helped" is a japanese idiom. I've seen the spiral in many animes,so I guess it's also another japanese thing (although looking really close, my fingerprint reminds me of spirals). no idea about the thumb biting, but to think it's kind of an universal sign of someone concentrated or thinking...
 
chaos said:
Ishoganai or literally "it can't be helped" is a japanese idiom. I've seen the spiral in many animes,so I guess it's also another japanese thing (although looking really close, my fingerprint reminds me of spirals). no idea about the thumb biting, but to think it's kind of an universal sign of someone concentrated or thinking...
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I would guess that as well, i've noticed it was there but not paid much attention to it, as for other tmes its happened, the red haired girl did it in the opening to Full Metal Panic! and L did it a few times i think.
 
vash_thumbsup.jpg


Finally found a random picture of it from Google.

You can't say that's meant to be a fingerprint...

During my delving I only found two other places where someone had noticed this, one from Yahoo answers - no one provided a good answer, the other was on the Anime Central (US convention) forums where they were talking about symbols, someone said it's the equivalent of "up yours", which seems accurate enough to me.
 
melonpan said:
I've also noticed in a huge amount of anime character/s have a spiral symbol on their thumb. Never got to the bottom of why it's there.

It was definately there in Excel Saga, so maybe it's a J.C Staff fad.
Click to expand...
It is a stylised impression of a thumb print. You may notice that it is usually shown in chibi style images.
Jayme said:
Another quirk is the ever-so annoying phrase of: "It can't be helped" or similar. I have no idea how many times I've heard or read something like that in anime.

It obviously can be helped.

On the note of thumb biting, Its a really odd ordeal. I can't say I can remember anywhere other than Naruto where it happens. It may just be a quick way to show some blood in a show, or something.
Click to expand...
"It can't be helped" is a translation of a common Japanese saying, "shokata ga nai" sometimes shortened to "sho ga nai". This basically means there is nothing that can be done about something so it is not worth worrying over. It is very much part of Japanese culture to accept there are some things that cannot be changed and some things that can.

I am not entirely sure of the context under which this biting of the thumb comes in. I have not noticed it or it is not particularly remarkable under the context in which it is represented.
 
The "it can't be helped" thing is something we do a little too, only we might say something more like, "nevermind" colloquially.

The swirly is just a cute fingerprint caricature as has been said, like impossibly pink swirly cheeks or twinkling eyes or those weird flowers which appear around every beautiful boy in shoujo manga. Amelia in Slayers brandishes hers a lot.

The thumb thing...well I don't know. It used to be rude in England but it seems more a nervous habit in anime.

R
 
Hmm, well sometimes it's used to show that anime character's are deep in thought and are puzzled for something... using L from Death Note as an example. (Though it's said he bites his nails, not his thumb. Same thing >_>)
 
redgore said:
"I bite my thumb at you sir"

Quote from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespear. It was a insult in his time.

As to its use in anime its beyond me.
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It was more of biting your thumbnail and then flicking the thumb out of the mouth. I assume it was similar to "giving someone the finger".
 
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