20X6
From Homestar Runner Wiki
20X6 (pronounced "twenty-exty-six") is a series of cartoons that reinterpret the Homestar Runner body of work and its characters in a spoof of stereotypical anime. The X in "20X6" is meant to indicate an unspecified year yet to come, allowing the setting to still be "in the future" even as real-world time has advanced past 2006 and 2016.
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Setting
20X6-era toons often take place on Planet K, an earth-like planet illustrated in a slick, simplified visual style. The game Stinkoman 20X6 features many and varied locales such as volcanoes, glaciers, and the planet's moon.
The Strong Bad Email japanese cartoon indicates that the world of 20X6 exists in the fictional television series Stinko Man K 20X6. Alternatively, the email time capsule depicts 20X6 as taking place in the future of the regular Homestar Runner universe, with Planet K as a futuristic Free Country, USA. Strong Bad buries a time capsule to be revealed "in at least X0 years," which is eventually uncovered by Stinkoman.
Characters
- See also 20X6 Characters and Stinkoman 20X6 Enemies.
20X6 stars anime versions of the standard "present era" characters, often dramatically reinterpreted or with very distinct personalities from their original incarnations. Additional characters are original to the 20X6 world, without a direct counterpart.
- Stinkoman (Strong Bad) — A blue-haired fighter obsessed with training and seeking out worthy opponents to challenge.
- Stinkoman primarily parodies characters from Akira and Dragon Ball Z, with elements of his visual design similar to that of Mega Man.
- His minor redesign in the Stinkoman 20X6 Intro Cinematic is comparable to Derek Wildstar from Star Blazers, particularly his hairstyle.
- 1-Up (Homestar Runner) — A cheery kid who idolizes Stinkoman and wants "to be the guy" just like him.
- Pan Pan (Pom Pom) — A giant panda with an insatiable appetite.
- Pan Pan can be compared to animal characters like Genma the panda from Ranma ½ or Pen Pen the penguin from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- Marzi-Mei (Marzipan) — A magical girl with musical powers activated by playing her shamisen.
- An earlier iteration of Marzi-Mei resembled Sailor Moon.
- Z Sabre (Coach Z) — A powerful villain who seeks to defeat Stinkoman and claim the title of "the guy".
- Z Sabre's design is an amalgamation of Zero and Sigma from Mega Man X, with elements of M. Bison from the Street Fighter series.
- Cheatball (The Cheat)
- An animalistic character only capable of speaking its own name, Cheatball is reminiscent of many Pokémon.
- The Brothers Chaps originally conceived of the 20X6 version of The Cheat as a spaceship.
- Trogador (Trogdor)
- Trogador is an Asian dragon, with his beefy arm resembling one belonging to Goku from Dragon Ball.
- Sticklyman
- Nebulon (Nebulon)
- The alien appears much stronger and larger in his 20X6 incarnation.
Stylistic Influences
The stylistic practice of using "X" in place of a numeral to obscure a year set in the future has been used in multiple notable Japanese video games. The closest equivalent is the original Metroid game, set in the year 20X5; the Mega Man series regularly uses 200X and 20XX (with spinoff series Mega Man X taking place in 21XX). The game EarthBound is set in the year 199X, meant to indicate a modern-day setting.
The anime inspiration on 20X6 is usually very broad, typically leaning on common anime iconography and visuals rather than direct parodies of specific anime series. Anime with outsize pop-culture prominence in America, such as Akira, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball, have noticeable influence on 20X6. Additional character-specific design influences are noted in the section above.
20X6 characters often speak in an exaggerated and overly dramatic tone, occasionally with deliberately poor English. This is evocative of certain English dubs of Japanese animation, particularly the 1960s dub of Speed Racer and the 1989 dub of Akira.
Appearances
- Email japanese cartoon — Creation of 20X6.
- Main Page 17 — Entire 20X6 Main Page.
- 20X6 vs. 1936 — Stinkoman and Planet K are featured throughout the toon.
- Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 8.0 — Stinkoman leaves a message, claiming he dialed the wrong number and asking Marzipan for a challenge.
- 3 Times Halloween Funjob — Stinkoman appears in an Easter egg done in the style of The House That Gave Sucky Treats.
- Under Construction — Entire 20X6 toon.
- Scrolling Shooter Games Menu — Entire 20X6 menu.
- Email time capsule — In a segment, Stinkoman and 1-Up discover time capsules left by Strong Bad and Homestar.
- Stinkoman 20X6 — Entire 20X6 game.
- Happy Trogday — In a segment, Stinkoman complains about people forgetting his birthday, then is pursued by Trogador.
- Email alternate universe — Stinkoman is featured in many places throughout the email.
- Email trading cards — In a segment, Stinkoman attempts to play a game featuring Cheatball.
- Email web comics — Strong Bad makes a comic by recycling game sprites from the Stinkoman 20X6 game.
- Make-O Your Own Stinko — A comic creator featuring many of the game sprites.
- Twenty THANXty Six — A Thanksgiving toon. Stinkoman learns how to give thanks.
- 8-Bit is Enough — Strong Bad ends up in Stinkoman 20X6 and meets Stinkoman, Browntant and Chorch.
