Top 10 Anime Examples of the Mandela Effects

“Beyblade” (2001-03)

As far as dub-original anime songs go, the Beyblade theme is one of the best. Simple, rocking, repetition that truly embodied everything both brilliant and cringy about the early 2000s, we couldn’t get enough of it. But the lyrics, at least to some, turned out to be tricky to digest. In spite of just how many times the vocalist screams “let’s Beyblade”, fans have claimed that it’s actually “that’s Beyblade” or “it’s Beyblade”. Maybe they had a Bit-Beast stuffed in their ears?

“Higurashi: When They Cry” (2006-21)

One of the most famous moments out of the earlier seasons is undoubtedly when Keiichi found a nasty surprise in the meal prepared for him by Rena – needles in his ohagi. Yes ohagi, not a meatball like some people seem to think. Sure, it’s not as crazy a mix up as Brock’s jelly-filled doughnut, but it’s way more likely that Rena would have cooked up actual Japanese cuisine for her friend/victim. Besides, a meatball that big? Tad excessive don’t you think?

“Naruto” franchise (2002-)

This is a bit of an odd one, since we’re not sure why any fan would get hung up on the number of rivets indented into Naruto’s forehead protector. But apparently, it’s a thing. Unlike Naruto’s whiskers disappearing, it’s a less obvious mix-up, with some eagle-eyed shinobi claiming that there’s only four in total. There’s actually six in total. You’re welcome, now please ninja run your way outside and get some fresh air before you fall any deeper down the fandom hole.

“Ghost in the Shell” (1995)

Given how it's one of the most celebrated and influential anime films in its genre, you’d think people would remember the title. Apparently not. Mixing up “a” and “the” isn’t exactly this biggest crime otaku have committed, and makes sense when you consider that, yes, Major Kusanagi thematically is very much “a” ghost inside of a humanoid shell. But it’s still untrue. Besides, using “the” makes it sound all the more encompassing. Stop mixing up your definite and indefinite articles anime fans!

“One Piece” (1999-)

Translations with anime character names have long been a source of frustration, though over time fans have come to understand the mechanics of honorific names, as well as the always popular “does his name have an o in it, or is it ou?” What does this have to do with one of the most dangerous pirates of the new age? Basically, fans keep putting an extra “d” on Kid’s name. While we’re sure it’s flattering in some manner, if you want to put respect on the man’s name, then you’d best not forget he is in no way packing double d’s.

“Tekkaman Blade” (1992-93)

Now here’s a blast of the past. For those that had no idea that Tekkaman was even a thing, yet along a franchise, Tekkaman Blade stood alone as a cheesy yet awesome standalone series featuring mecha suits, aliens and macho-men. Though in the west it was known as Teknoman. With a k. It’s a bizarre word fusion that will likely make every linguistic major curl their toes in frustration, but that’s just how it was in the 90s. Also, we just wanted an excuse to talk about an anime that featured Bryan Cranston as a one-eyed Irish
killer.

“Pokemon” (1999-)

Ash’s first adventure with Pikachu, in both the original series and movie adaptations, is capped off with the appearance of the legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh, a bird of such splendor and gravitas that it is truly unmistakable, especially with that rainbow motif it likes to flaunt around. Unless, of course, you happen to think it was a Moltres? Yeah, there are a few fans who recall seeing the fire bird cross Ash’s path as opposed to its feathered counterpart. We’re not sure if this is just gen one purist talk, but it’s hard to mistake Ho-oh’s hair-do!
Maybe fans just got it confused with James?

“Medabots” (1999-2000)

Wait…what do you mean the name of Ikki’s Medabot isn’t Medabee? Medabot. Medabee. The two roll off the tongue, that has to be his name. Right? Wrong. Turns out that the d is actually a t. Metabee is the correct way to pronounce it. We’ll give you a moment to wrap your head around the switcheroo. Not sure what’s worse, that the name correction beestings us right in the childhood, or the amount of ironically named meta criticism this opens us up to!

“Dragon Ball” franchise (1986-)

The ever-changing color palettes of these Saiyans can get a little confusing at times, and while all attention is often put on the hair, some get hung up on the eye color. For most of the franchise, whenever Goku or another fighter would bust out the blonde, their eyes would turn a bright shade of green. Though different animations have certainly played around with different hues, prompting some to think Super Saiyans were blue-eyed beasts all along. Give it a few more series and maybe it will get course corrected again, who
knows!

“Pokemon” (1997-)

So…did any of you think Pikachu’s tail tip was black? You did, didn’t you. You don’t know why, but you’ve always had that image in your head. And that image is a hundred percent wrong. Maybe it’s just aesthetically pleasing to the mind’s eye, maybe there was a single frame where it was indeed black, or maybe everyone’s confused with Pichu? Either way, this is a falsehood. The end of the tail is yellow just like a lightning bolt! Even though lightning does come in a multitude of colors…ugh, why do we do this to ourselves?!