Meaning
What does Chunchunmaru mean?
Chunchunmaru is a sword found in the popular Japanese Anime series Konosuba. It is wielded by Satou Kazuma, the main protagonist of the series.
In the series, Satou Kazuma died very early and was then given the opportunity to be reborn as a baby with complete loss of memory about his prior life, enter the afterlife or being reborn into a fantasy world under the rule of a demon king, the latter of which he chose in the series.
It turned into a meme because the swords name is rather quirky and doesn’t fit the epic setting it brings in the anime.
“Chunchunmaru” is comprised of the words “Chun”, which is an onomatopoeic Japanese expression for birds chirping, while “-maru” is a popular suffix given to the names of swords. Several translations exist for the name of the blade, including “Chirp Blade” or “Tweet Stick”.
“Chunchunmaru” became a popular meme among Weebs and Otakus, appearing in countless image macros, paired with captions, making fun of the sword’s funny name.
The true legendary weapon #Animemes #memes #anime https://t.co/Yv58YtM0lO pic.twitter.com/cEDgFRSaTs
— r/animemes (@AnimemesReddit) October 17, 2019
Origin
What's the origin of Chunchunmaru?
Although “Chunchunmaru” was first featured in the KonoSuba series, the peculiar name of the sword may also be interpreted as an allusion to the name of another legendary sword from Crayon Shin-chan: Unkokusai’s Ambition.
The Crayon Shin-chan movie was premiered in April 1995, featuring a plethora of funny talking names, like Unkokusai, which translates to “Smells Like Poopoo”, while a legendary sword in the film is named Chinchinmaru, which is a dick joke.
Although “Chunchunmaru” does not explicitly allude to Chinchinmaru, one can see the influence of the classic anime, while appreciating the hidden phallic double entendre.
The series KonoSuba first appeared in bookstores December 2012, and was adopted as an anime series in 2016. The sword “Chunchunmaru” was first featured in the series in the 6th Episode of the 2nd Season, which first aired on February 16th, 2017. It played a big role within the series and thus also gained media attention, mainly by fans of the anime and the Japanese culture in general.
Spread & Usage
How did Chunchunmaru spread?
“Chunchunmaru” became a success among fans, who began creating image macro memes, following the first feature of the blade in the KonoSuba series.
Its funny name, which even contains a veiled dick joke became the symbol of epic stuff, labeled with a silly name. This trope continued to be exploited by memers and creators online, who continued to create meme edits, as well as comics and even Doujinshi, revolving around “Chunchunmaru”.
The sword is a good reminder to always contemplate the name of things, before you hand them out, else they might become a meme sensation among fans – which might also work as a strategy for enhancing the sense of community.
