why "Sonny" Boy

Rose_Player said:
OOoooOoh "𖤐mwhaahaha that's what happen when you're a Sonny fanboy S*CKER𖤐!!" at Madhouse ?

ChocoKoyokoyo said:

There is a scene referencing Mario from Nintendo, draw your own conclusions.

metem_psychosis said:
i’m not sure, haven’t watched show.

ToraiS said:
Probably from the etymology of the name Sonny, which comes from the word "son" which then is derived from a Germanic word that means "sun". So it's probably like "Sunny Boy", especially with how Nagara's

Or just Sonny Boy, which means a young male.

ShibitoMatuzaka said:
Sonny Boy is a story within a story that's laid out in a series of graybles. Credit given to @Rose_Player for making me question why the anime is called, "Sonny Boy" and to @ToraiS for making me think about the symbolism of birds throughout the series.

AS OF YESTERDAY, the US Wildlife Service declared the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. The last one to ever be studied was named, "Sonny Boy". ( article ) Long story short, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a species that could have been saved, but due to war, greed, unnecessary deforestation it is now best known as a legendary bird with a history of false sightings. In the world of bird watching, there's this collective sense of regret thinking 'if only the Lord God (the woodpecker's nickname) could be saved...". And despite the bird not being seen for around a century, bird watchers still search for its whereabouts. Connect the dots yourself

Kimurah said:
Most of the times the most simple answer is the right one. Japanese people think that anything written in english looks cool.

Die_Gods said:
Sorry to break it for you, but I really doubt an anime studio with base in Japan made a connection to an american bird, plus I bet they don't even know about its existence or its extinction. Besides, the anime isn't anout any of the themes you said, there aren't any dots to connect lol 🤷‍♂️

ShibitoMatuzaka said:


Thanks for speaking some common sense into me. I never considered that I may be wrong

ShibitoMatuzaka said:
Sonny Boy is a story within a story that's laid out in a series of graybles. Credit given to @Rose_Player for making me question why the anime is called, "Sonny Boy" and to @ToraiS for making me think about the symbolism of birds throughout the series.

AS OF YESTERDAY, the US Wildlife Service declared the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. The last one to ever be studied was named, "Sonny Boy". ( article ) Long story short, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a species that could have been saved, but due to war, greed, unnecessary deforestation it is now best known as a legendary bird with a history of false sightings. In the world of bird watching, there's this collective sense of regret thinking 'if only the Lord God (the woodpecker's nickname) could be saved...". And despite the bird not being seen for around a century, bird watchers still search for its whereabouts. Connect the dots yourself

Die_Gods said:
Sorry to break it for you, but I really doubt an anime studio with base in Japan made a connection to an american bird, plus I bet they don't even know about its existence or its extinction. Besides, the anime isn't anout any of the themes you said, there aren't any dots to connect lol 🤷‍♂️

vVanilia said:


Wow, awesome theory, thanks for sharing. I can see Nozomi reflecting that bird from the article in a lot of ways. (Btw, I recommend reading the article to those who hadn't.)
Also, her name means "hope, wish" and when it may be way too straighforward when we look at the levels of abstract of this anime, I think it suits well at some parts (like Nagara's original world lost hope, and how in the end he decided to follow Nozomi turned compass = hope/her wish).
When it comes to the article, the hope of people still hoping to find what was already lost would play nicely with one of anime's themes (...I guess, because I didn't get most of it xD).



Um... You DO know, that Japan has lots of connection to America, and interest in it, right...? Like the amount of American politics appearing on the news, or lots of American accents in animes. And even if that wasn't the case, it would be enough if one of the creators had interest in birds (or history, or ecology, or random stories on the net). If he'd had come across the story of this bird by accident, it could have become a major inspiration for this anime. I don't see it as impossible.

vVanilia said:


Wow, awesome theory, thanks for sharing. I can see Nozomi reflecting that bird from the article in a lot of ways. (Btw, I recommend reading the article to those who hadn't.)
Also, her name means "hope, wish" and when it may be way too straighforward when we look at the levels of abstract of this anime, I think it suits well at some parts (like Nagara's original world lost hope, and how in the end he decided to follow Nozomi turned compass = hope/her wish).
When it comes to the article, the hope of people still hoping to find what was already lost would play nicely with one of anime's themes (...I guess, because I didn't get most of it xD).



Um... You DO know, that Japan has lots of connection to America, and interest in it, right...? Like the amount of American politics appearing on the news, or lots of American accents in animes. And even if that wasn't the case, it would be enough if one of the creators had interest in birds (or history, or ecology, or random stories on the net). If he'd had come across the story of this bird by accident, it could have become a major inspiration for this anime. I don't see it as impossible.

Tinesife said:
Because:

Sonny Boy

Rose_Player said:
I mean @ShibitoMatuzaka knew the existence of it, so why not someone else.

Rose_Player said:
I didn't studied ornithology but know I know about the bird sonny boy

ShibitoMatuzaka said:

AS OF YESTERDAY, the US Wildlife Service declared the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. The last one to ever be studied was named, "Sonny Boy". ( article ) Long story short, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a species that could have been saved, but due to war, greed, unnecessary deforestation it is now best known as a legendary bird with a history of false sightings.

Hizu_ said:
really? none at all? isn't the "This World" in episode 10 called "War"?



I think it's a plausible theory

Die_Gods said:
A sole episode doesn't make it the theme of the whole story, not even once they talk about war in any other episode. As I said, for me the anime is about the experiences we have when we are young and how they change us in the future. That's why the name, that's why the ending song, that's why the end of the anime. Even the videclìp for the song was performed by children lol.

If a japanese anime director heard the name of a bird and said "hey, cool name for my story!" is another thing, but i can't see any correlation between the plot of the anime and the extinction of that bird. The anime wasn't about that.

ShibitoMatuzaka said:


This guy gets it. Basically, Sonny Boy is every kid's movie ever. Experiences that change your future , so much "Wow!". What a brilliantly developed mind you have

Die_Gods said:
Thinking hard doesn't mean thinking smart, buddy. Sorry but trying to look too deep like you isn't making you look as smart as you think, is actually doing quite the opposite. We've all seen your anti-vaccine read of episode 1 so yeah...will leave your "briliantly delveloped" mind at that XD 😉

PS: Someone posted an interview with the director, and let's say, my read of the anime wasn't wrong at all. As he said, and i quote, "I wanted to show Nagara's growth from a young boy to an adult in the context of the current times". Glad to have discussed about it with you guys, please continue theorizing and discussing in the future, it's what makes this community interesting. Hope to see you around.
https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/pzmnk9/shingo_natsume_director_of_sonny_boy_gave_some/

ShibitoMatuzaka said:


Again, your simple and brilliant all at once. Much "Wow". I'm sure when you watched Interstellar, you watched a movie about a father that loved his family. It's safe to be simple. Let's not draw any daring theories of our own. Take everything at face value.

On Reddit will I find more people like you?

Die_Gods said:
I theorize while being grounded in reality, and in the end I was the one who was right. I'm sorry for not trying to fill my ego to make me look smarter like others do🤷. That's just being pretentious.

ShibitoMatuzaka said:


I have a theory that taking the word of the creator of the series on its ongoings DOESN'T qualifies as a theory. That's more getting the answer from the horse's mouth. No one's arguing that your simplistic view of Sonny Boy is in question, because that part of the story is obvious.

Rose_Player said:
So, of course there's a lot I'd like to understand in Sonny Boy... I'll wait for the show to end. But does anyone have an idea why it is called "SONNY" boy ?

Rose_Player said:
That's why I like Sonny Boy : it can be very simple, enjoyable realistic ; but it also can be complex when looking into details. A bit like FLCL

ShibitoMatuzaka said:
Sonny Boy is a story within a story that's laid out in a series of graybles. Credit given to @Rose_Player for making me question why the anime is called, "Sonny Boy" and to @ToraiS for making me think about the symbolism of birds throughout the series.

AS OF YESTERDAY, the US Wildlife Service declared the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. The last one to ever be studied was named, "Sonny Boy". ( article ) Long story short, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a species that could have been saved, but due to war, greed, unnecessary deforestation it is now best known as a legendary bird with a history of false sightings. In the world of bird watching, there's this collective sense of regret thinking 'if only the Lord God (the woodpecker's nickname) could be saved...". And despite the bird not being seen for around a century, bird watchers still search for its whereabouts. Connect the dots yourself

deg said:
google has an answer

"Sonny boy" (note: not "sonnyboy") in the U.S. is a slightly derogatory or humorous way of talking "down" to a younger man or a man who is otherwise of lower status, and it's rather dated now. You might see it in examples like, "So, you think you're a tough guy, sonny boy?" or "Watch where you're pointing that thing, sonny boy." It works only in places where you'd feel free to call someone "son" or "boy" - for me, the situation does not arise. https://dict.leo.org/forum/viewUnsolvedquery.php?idForum=1&idThread=881752&lp=ende&lang=en