Starcraft Easter Egg - Anime References

There are quite a bit of Japanese animation references in SC. One obvious one is the Protoss Reaver, which looks and talks very much like an Ohmu, a giant bug creature seen in the movie "Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind".

In the map editor, certain heroes are listed with the names "Yggdrasil" and "Allen Shezarade". Yggdrasil was the name of God's computer in the "Ah! My Goddess" comic, and Allen Shezarade was a knight in the "Escaflowne" TV series.
I guess Blizzard likes anime.

- Gregory Lam

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  4.4/10 with 128 votes
Contributed By: Anonymous on 02-29-2000
Reviewed By: Webmaster
Special Requirements: Starcraft, and Starcraft Map Editor
Please correct this Egg if you see errors.

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Comments

Blackthorne writes:
Yggdrasil is also the name of the great tree, in Valhal, the vikings kind of heaven. (Nordic Mythology)
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Stomp Tokyo writes:
Perhaps the most obvious anime reference in Starcraft is the Yamato gun on the Terran Dreadnought. This refers to Space Cruiser Yamato, known in the US as Star Blazers.
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Boba_Fatt writes:
Also in the credits Blizzard thanks Pen Pen, a character of comic relief in the series Neon Genesis Evangallion.
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sinji 01 writes:
the proper spelling is evangelion incase anyone runs a websearch to get more info on that series
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Kodama writes:
Also Alan Schezar is in the Anime: Vision of Escaflowne
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Actually, the Yamato was the largest Battleship on earth. it was built by the japanese during WWII (it may have been an Aircraft carrier, though.)
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Hugh writes:
Actually, Yamato is the shogun who first unified Japan back in the fuedal period. He's a hero of Japanese history. The Battleships were named after him.
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Apollyon writes:
Its just a game...
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Ghost Knight writes:
Indeed, Chief Demon of the Apocalypse.
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orba writes:
No, it's more than that - it's a state of mind.
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Speedy writes:
The Yggdrasil is also your vehicle of transportation in Xenogears for Playstation
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DozenEggs writes:
Yeah, and if you go to www.zenogias.com, it'll show you that yggdrasil means "Tree of Life," i think. I was quite suprised that hero overlords are called yggdrasil. or was it mutalisks? Anyone have comments on torresque?
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J writes:
yggdrasil is the tree of life in norse mythology
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CyberGogeta writes:
torrasque is koo cuz when the first -ling blood was created,the kid that made it named it something and it slowly became the deformed Gerbil.
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Jonathan Tu writes:
Dunno about Torresque, but it seemed fitting the Hero form of the overlord was named after the mythic World Tree of Nordic fame - after all, wasn't that unit sustaining all the other units of the Zerg horde? And yes, there was both a shogun and a ship named Yamato. Course, they may have just named it the Yamato gun because it sounded Japanese. :P
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Tadabiyashi writes:
There is an anime of a spaceship in Japan, the spaceship looks decently close to the Terran Battlecruiser (or whatever they called it) and had a beam cannon that they used once in a while. I don't know the details because I only saw clips. Can you guess the name of the ship?? Yup, "Yamato".
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Shai writes:
Torresque is the "ultimate" & most feared monster in AD&D: a giant dinosaur creature with massive claws nearly unbreachable armor: AC -10. (Check the Moster Manual if you have it.)
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shadow1764 writes:
Also, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Enterprise's sister ship is the USS Yamato, and I believe that its captain is Russian.
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This is for Stomp Tokyo. Terrans don't have any dreadnots it's a battlecruiser. Also, if you haven't already gotten on B.net do so it is the greatest part of Starcraft ever, if you ask me, especially map settings.
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Tikki writes:
Just one more thing. In the credits, it says "pen pen" (the Misato's pet in Neon Genesis Evangelion) and "Hayao Miyasaki". She's the creator of "Nausicaa".
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PootinMonkey writes:
You guys forgot something. The Zerg Hero, "Hunter Warrior" is a reference to the anime "Battle Angel." Maybe you guys just haven't seen enough anime to have noticed it...
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Tikki writes:
It's NOT Hunter Warrior, is "Hunter Killer". Maybe you should learn to read again... =P
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Sushiman writes:
Actually all the Zerg broods in Starcraft are named after monsters in the Norse mythology. Just wanted to make that clear. Of course there are Anime references as well...
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Booyah12345 writes:
Yamato also means SUN! Yamato cannon means SUNGUN which means GET OUT OF THE WAY. Yamato is a word, a name and anime ship, but just because its named after the same thing, does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT mean it's an anime reference. The yamato in Star Trek is a reference to the yamato in ww2, just as the Enterprise is to the present day Enterprise, I do agree with anime references in Starcraft, and also the gui montag thing, But ANYTHING can be named yamato.
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Um...Tikki? Hayao Miyazaki is a MAN, not a woman. And also the best damned anime guru Japan has ever seen, I should say.
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This is one of the funniest comment battles I have ever seen... Although most are repeats of what others have said. People need to read more... I do agree, however, with booyah12345 about the Yamato in Star Trek.
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--Gemini-- writes:
To repeat and add: 1. Yamato Cannon roughly means 'sun gun' or 'sun bomb'. This would make sense, since it is a concentrated solar/nuclear explosion. 2. All broods are Norse. 3. The Terran Battlecruiser commander is a Russian, as is the commander of the Yamato in Star Trek. The Yamato in Star Trek is NOT an anime reference, it is refering to the Japanese battleship Yamato, and the Terran Battlecruiser's special weapon is paying homage to Star Trek in this way, by having the commander of the ship that uses that weapon be a Russian. 4. The German battlecrusier Bismark was the largest battlecrusier in the war. 5. Yamato was the first Japanese shogun. 6. Alan Schezar is the only anime reference I can piece from all of this. 7. Andromeda rules.
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Yozef writes:
More details on WW II battleships: Gemini is right, the largest one in the war was the Germans' Bismarck. The SECOND-largest Japanese battleship was the Yamato. The largest Japanese battleship was the Musashi. All of the above were never really effective in combat, and all three were attacked/sabotaged by the Allies at some point and left crippled.
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serphos writes:
Sorry, but you are wrong. The Yamato and her sister ship Mushashi displaced over 65,000 tons while the Bismarck( and its sister ship the Tirpitz) only 45,000. The Japanese ships also mounted the largest naval guns ever constructed at 18 inches (The Bismarck had 15 in guns while the most powerful US and British guns were 16 inches). That is why a "Yamato gun" is a *BIG* gun. On another historical note the Bismarck was sunk in battle after managing to sink on British battle cruiser and dispruting North Atlantic convoys for nearly two weeks. The Mushashi was sunk by US carrier aircraft on the way to the battle of the Leyte Gulf. The Yamato was sunk, also by carrier air, on a suicide mission to Okinawa late in the war. The Tirpitz sortied several times from Norway but never fought any surface actions. She was attacked numerous times in various Norwegian fjords by aircraft and even midget submarines and was finally sunk in 1944. Last nitpick, none of these ships were battle cruisers. Battle cruisers were faster and much more lightly armoured than battleships though they mounted guns of comparable size. None were built after WW I
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LittlePiggy writes:
I like these two posts just before me. Also, many Anime names are actually references to events/people/things/words in the real world, so the reference in Starcraft may actually come other stuff (Norse Brood names, Star Trek stuff) instead of anime. There are also references to the movies Starship troopers and Aliens.
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Clammy writes:
I agree, many anime names are also references to real things. As far as the Yamato goes, in the Anime, the space ship was built below (and using) parts of a long sunken battleship (which was more buried at that point in time). I can't remember since it's been years since I actually saw that anime but it was probably suppose to be the (ancient) sunken Yamato battleship. So any reference to a Yamato battleship, whether anime or not, is going to lead back to the WW2 battleship anyways which will lead back to the Shogun in Japan. Also, the terran transport pilot says something like Five by Five something (I haven't played starcraft since like a year after it came out), that's what the pilot in Aliens says when docking or landing or whatever. The voice also sounded the same as the actual actress in Aliens, but I don't remember if it actually was or not.
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Actool writes:
Actually the dropshift says all kinds of stuff that the lady flying the dropshift in Aliens says.
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Devil of War writes:
It's dropSHIP, not dropshift.
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Devil of War writes:
BTW, Yggdrasil is "the world tree" or "the tree of life", it stood at the central point of the world of gods (Asgård or Asgaard if you aren't Scandinavian) and mortals (Midgård or Midgaard).
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I've got another anime referance I think. The Xel'Naga the mysterious ancient race may be a referance to Slayers Xel'= Xelos Naga= Naga
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Devil of War writes:
I've got one too. The "Valkyrie" unit in Brood War is yet another reference to the old Nordic mythology, the Valkyries where the creatures, who decided which warriors should fall in a battle and which ones should not. After the battle they took the dead warriors to Valhalla, where they would fight, die, get resurected and then feast. A cycle, which would be repeated for eternity.
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Borgfan writes:
Actually, the tarsquee is the most feard D&D monster, there is a difference between D&D and AD&D, the monster is from 3rd Edition, Cor Rules of D&D. AD&D came after the original D&D, becasue its advanced. BORG300
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wormer writes:
serphos is right about the Yamato and Musashi, if I'm not mistaken they were sunk by carrier planes.(I know the Yamato was, I think the Musashi was too.) Yamato and Musashi had a sister ship, which was converted to an aircraft carrier, up to that time, the largest ever built and the largest in WWII. It was called the Shinano, and was built under complete secrecy. However, it was sunk by an American submarine, Archer-fish before it fired a shot, or even had its airplanes loaded. FYI: It had escorts, but the commander of Shinano told his escorts not to engage because he believed there to be more than one submarine. You can read all about it in Shinano, by Joseph Enright, the sub skipper who sunk her. It's a great book, almost as good as Run Silent, Run Deep, and it's true.
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Frungi writes:
The Yamato in the anime series was made from the remains of the sunken Yamato from WWII. Its most powerful weapon was the Wave Motion Gun, which is very similar to the Yamato Gun in StarCraft.
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AlphaFire X5 writes:
Have any of you considered that this game may have been in development before most of these shows were even created? The most obvious, and logical choice is mythology, old movies, and history, NOT Japanese Animation.
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ss4kujasp writes:
Yamato is Japanese for 58
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Actually, my friend, if you were to attach the Valkyrie with anything, it would most likely come from the Robotech/Macross series. Valkyries are the main mobile suit units utilized throughout the entire series.
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TheOtaku writes:
Yamato is not 58. Go ju hachi is fifty eight.
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GodSponge writes:
Personally I think that there are about 500 possibilities of what these things were named after. It could even be a combination of more that one!
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Antipaladin writes:
Just to clear this up, the Tarasque (sic) was a mythical beast which terrorised the town of Nerluc in France. According to the Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures (Collins, 1981) it was 'a winged scaly dragon'. It was defeated by Saint Martha, who sprinkled it with holy-water, taming it, upon which it was beaten to death by villagers. The D&D creature was based upon the mythical one, as are most D&D monsters (e.g. Sphinx).
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Gregamouse writes:
Excuse me, but the user who wrote that Star Trek was an anime reference: I am 90% certain that the show was aired years before the anime was ever created, so how could the creators have made an anime reference?
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First: Space Battleship Yamato (with the Wave Motion Cannon) originally aired in 1976, so having a Yamato-class battlecruiser with a crushingly powerful main gun is obviously a reference to this series, and indirectly references the original Yamato. Second: I can't believe anyone considered this... The series Macross, which originally aired in the mid-1980's as Robotech, had as its star mecha a unit called the Valkyrie, which was capable of launching a whole lot of missiles at once. However, the Robotech Valkyrie could also transform into a robot mode, so I may be reaching here.
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Van Zonderen writes:
When I first saw the name Yggdrasil, I thought it was a reference to H. P. Lovecraft's work, especially the stuff that had to do with the Elder Beings or whatever they were called. Apparently, Lovecraft used that name for the eldest of the creatures, and was, in fact referring to Norse mythology when he did, so it's actually a twofold reference: H. P. Lovecraft and Norse Mythology. BTW, as far as I can tell, all of the names of the different broods of Zerg are from ancient mythology. Take the Grendel brood, for example: This is a direct reference to the epic work "Beowulf", by an unknown Anglo-Saxon author. In it, one of the monsters that Beowulf has to kill is named Grendel.
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AlexBurel writes:
OK, here is the reason behind the brood names. Tiamet: The main evil chromatic dragon in D&D. Fenris: The evil wolf in Norse myth Baelrog: A giant evil monster in Lord of the Rings
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Approximately 90% of the references in Starcraft are to Norse Mythology or Classic Literature, Yggrasil is the Nordic Tree of Life Which holds up the world and will remain even after the world ends. Fenrir, Baelrog, and Tiamat are Nordic Beasts. The Valkyries were Nordic Demigods (the Fates, or the Furees) NO references are to D&D. I don't play and I still recognize them all, they run deeper than that. Tom Kazansky is ICE's real name in top gun. Gui Montag is the lead book burner in Ferienhieght 451 Dugalle was the name of a real Admiral in WWII ALL Zerg Broods are from Nordic myth, don't believe me? The book that comes with the game tells you so. I would like to commend everyone who recognized the WWII references And Tikki... The whole world does no revolve around anime. The Blizzard Staff, and the writers of all the other games and products mentioned here are simply trying to add a little culture to your life, just accept the gift, all of these references run way back.
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Odin writes:
OK, I am tired of you guys debating on whether the names come from Anime or mythology or whatever else you’ve come up with. I am commenting to set things straight. I’ll start off with the broods, because not ALL of them are Norse. 1. Tiamat is from Babylonian mythology and is a female dragon personifying the ocean. 2. A Baelrog is a fierce demon living in hell. 3. Jormungand, otherwise known as the Midgard Serpent, is one of three children of Loki and Angurboda. Jormungand was a snake in Norse mythology that grew so large he encircled the earth. 4. The Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza is famous for echoing chirping sounds when you clap. 5. Fenrir, or Fenris, is another of Loki’s children, and is a giant wolf and the fiercest enemy of the Norse gods, destined to kill Odin, the All-Father. 6. Surtur, or Surt, is from Norse mythology as well, and is the leader of the fire giants in Muspelheim. 7. Grendel is the beast Beowulf fought. 8. Garm is from Norse mythology again, and is the guardian of Niflheim, the equivalent of hell That sets the broods straight, now for anything else. 1. Yggdrasil is NOT a computer from anime. It is from Norse mythology and is a great ash tree holding up the world. 2. Valkyries may have had their fighting ability styled after Macross, but their accent is somewhat German/Norse, and therefore have most likely been created as a mix of Macross and Norse Mythology. Valkyries are Nordic battle maidens who chose honorable men slain in battle to go to Valhalla and become an einherjar and fight during Ragnarok, The Twilight of the Gods. 3. I definitely agree with Antipaladin on the Torrasque issue. 4. Gui Montag is from Fahrenheit 451. 5. Space Battleship Yamato could very well be a valid source of the battlecruiser’s design, as well as the Star Trek thing and the battleship from WWII. I personally think it is a mix of all 3. Well, that should clear up almost all the debate on this subject, and if you don’t believe me, I personally would like to see you legitimately prove me wrong.
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mamnoon writes:
BTW - The US space shuttle Enterprise was named AFTER the starship Enterprise in 1976 - Star Trek fans lobbied for the name and got it. Check out http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/enterprise.html
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TheThief writes:
god, you guys are funny. I never heard such a fun arguement. By the way its alan schezar not woteva the eeggs writer said... so he was wrong... torrasque was a french mythical beast. The broods are named after Norse mthyology of some sort. The yamato gun means SunGun... no starcraft names come from anime, they are either thought of by the production team or are a sort of myth or legend. I know, I helped to test it. ;)
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cb86 writes:
btw the Yamato was the biggest battleship in WWII and the Bismarck was a pocket battleship which means its smaller than a battleship that ends this history lesson
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Krieg writes:
It's GUY Montag, not Gui Montag. Guy montag is the guy from the book. I guess that either somone made a really bad spelling mistake.. or that Guy montag is copyrighted
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Also when you click on the terran battlecruiser, the captain says lines from StarTrek. In star trek, Picard says "Make it so." So does the captain of the battle cruiser.
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Odin is absolutely right all the way. Except Yggdrasil is in anime AND the world tree. Bah.
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Viper writes:
hey guys,you said "yggdrasiel is the tree of life" about 7 times.and you said "yamato was the biggest carrier in WII" about 12 times.stop saying the same thing that's already been said.you don't need to repeat previouse posts just so you can feel smart.I read about 3/4 of this before I got bored of reading the same thing in different words over and over and over again.
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loki writes:
yamoto is a japeness super carrier the only true super carrier to have been finished being bult but it was sunk by an unknow item wich was discribed as a great wale like creature with a silver skin that shined in the sun and seemed the repale all gun fire excpte for a singel gun who's name is clasifide pst all clerense in the jappenes archives and is only called the black ghost and some selcet hi ranking officers referd to it as the duran and affter the super carrier sunk those how were rescued were debriefed and one after another were found dead in there own homes cars ect.alonge with all close relitives wives kids parent and siblinggs and jim rayner is the name of a officer in the confedrit army who attempted an assaonation atempt on Robert E. Lee PS. mengsk was the name of hitlers father PpS. how was a Jew
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ST writes:
Gui Montag - I think we can all assume Gui is French for Guy, or Sir. Makes sense now?
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Powerlord writes:
In response to Slaughter_McMann: The Battlecruiser captain actually says "Make it happen." and "Take it Slow," both of which are parodying Picard's famous "Make it so." line.
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javelin writes:
To add: Overmind, and Overlord might be terms taken from Arthur C Clarke's Novel Childhood's End. The overmind is like a collection of intelligence and consciousness that seeks to assimilate any advanced consciousness it might encounter in the universe. The Overlords are a technologically advanced race that the Overmind utilizes to get what it wants. I haven't checked if there are any more references in SC to the book. BTW, the Overlords of SC are what I imagine the spore balloons of Frank Herbert's the Jesus Incident and Lazarus Effect to look like.
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Ryuugaki writes:
-.-' okay, people. THis should clear EVERYTHING up. All comments after this comment are null and void because they are too stupid to know squat. What came first, mythology or anime? No, don't debate, just answer. Ideas of ancient people that date BC (i think :p stupid old seventh-grade history), or japanese cartoons? For you rather dull people, this is another way of saying it- MYTHOLOGY PRECEDES ANIME. I'm a big fan of anime (FMA owns you all ^^, but seriously now, use your heads. The Norse people did not take ideas from Japanese peoples without the use of a time machine. Now look what you've done. Norse Vikings with time machines reading anime. Pity on you all.
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Chonodhoch writes:
ABANDON ALL HOPE YA WHO ENTER HERE!!!! What follows is a pointless argument about where whether things in starcraft are based on Mythology or thinly stretched Anime references. Before anyone reads these comments I would just like to remind you of stuff and give a few warnings. 1. The guys at Blizzard have a great sense of humer. 2. Odins right for pretty much everything so you don't need to read any farther than that. 3. more than half of the posts here are writen by overzealous Anime fans who don't realise the world could get on just fine without anyof it. 4. You realy don't want to read moany of these comments 5. No I mean they're Grade A Bull *explitive deleted* 6. Turn back while you still have a chance. 7. For the love of GOD, just turn around and leave this festering hell-holl of a comments page. Well thats all I can do to prepare you for the comming trials. Good luck!
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