I vaguely remember someone doing this during a conversation in a bar in Japan years ago, and I saw it again in a manga. What does this mean, if anything? I don’t remember what the conversation was about, and we were all drinking so I wouldn’t trust my memory anyway
I’m Japanese, and honestly, I don’t see any special meaning in this pose at all.
As far as I know, this image is just a scene from Space Brothers, where Namba Mutta is simply talking about the Sharon Telescope. There’s no symbolic or cultural meaning attached to the pose in Japan—it’s just a moment in the story.
yep that’s the manga, I do swear I saw someone do this in the wild, like 10 years ago. I kinda guess maybe it’s like doing the heart shape with your hands
There is a similar pose where people make a heart shape above their head. Japanese people like making heart shapes for pretty much everything.
danke, so, just kinda love you or for what you just said :)
lol I’m so confused then. The like 20s girl that did that didn’t act like she was a reddit dork
theyre making fun of your ballin’ mohawk haircut
If you’re western this is old-timey for “I’m about to dive into a swimming pool, or the ocean.”
lol I 100% did this as a six year old to dive into a pool during swim lessons
we used the moniker “zip” “T” “zoom” to do the back stroke
Just in case no Japanese people answer, check this out for comparison:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Añjali_Mudrā
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_sadhu_performing_namaste.jpg
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/合掌
My guess is the kid’s asking for a favor, but making a bit of a joke about it.
I feel like Sadhu is the closest feeling
Western weeb here, I think that’s the pose they make in anime when they want to beg someone to do something like asking for a big favour.
Interesting, any special weeb insights why they do it like this? Does it make it easier to draw maybe? Just stands out?
I bet having the hands right above the head does make it a bit easier to draw, tbh. Means you can draw the whole character’s torso if you want to. Other than that I’d say it’s just dramatic, like double begging/pleading.
No idea, it just happens in anime.
Yep seems like the emoji🙏 but over the head to increase the intensity
Sort of like bowing vs bowing while knees are on the floor.
I am not Japanese, but there is a party game? https://45mix.net/takenoko-nyokki/ https://youtu.be/WkXyWmBauxg
After searching online, it seems everyone knows that “たけのこニョッキ”, which was a game from a TV program aired Wednesdays at 11 PM from 2003 to 2005? It’s a game where several people call out numbers in order starting from 1, and if they overlap, they lose. And judging by the name, that posture is a growing bamboo shoot. You mentioned it was a bar, and this does seem like a game suitable for a noisy bar, so it’s plausible.

Proof that people do this!! This definitely wasn’t the context when I saw it, but I’m gratified I’m not crazy
It means you’re a genie in a bottle baby
I might be pulling this out of my ass. But is it possible it’s a reference to extra terrestrial aliens? I know there are aliens in Japanese pop culture that have heads shaped like onions like this
. That’s from the dandadan anime opening.I’ve seen references to the onion-headed aliens before but searching the internet is shit now.
I thought those aliens were more of a reference to the Flatwoods Monster tbh
Maybe that’s just the US version of the same alien
Actually I looked it up, since I haven’t read/watched much of the show, and it is indeed just the Flatwoods Monster.






