20X6

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Current revision as of 09:47, 3 April 2024

Stinko Man K: 20X6

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Characters

See also 20X6 Characters and Stinkoman 20X6 Enemies.

"I could be mistaken but are you asking for a CHALLENGE??!"

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
  • Sticklyman fits in the trend of Flash-animated stick figures engaging in highly stylized, well-animated combat, popularized by Chinese series Xiao Xiao.
• Nebulon (Nebulon)
  • The alien appears much stronger and larger in his 20X6 incarnation.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Appearances

See also Stinkoman Filmography

• Email japanese cartoon — Strong Bad, asked what a Japanese cartoon starring him would be like, creates Stinkoman, 1-Up, Pan Pan, and the world of 20X6.
• Main Page 17 — The Main Page is 20X6-themed, also featuring the first appearance of Marzi-Mei.
• 20X6 vs. 1936 — The Homestar Runner finds himself on Planet K, coming into conflict with Stinkoman.
• Under Construction — An April Fools' joke conceals a 20X6 toon.
• Scrolling Shooter Games Menu — The menu is styled after a 20X6 shoot 'em up arcade game, featuring multiple 20X6 characters including the first appearance of Z Sabre.
• Email time capsule — In the finale, time skips ahead to show Stinkoman and 1-Up discovering time capsules left by Strong Bad and Homestar years ago.
• Stinkoman 20X6 — A game centered around Stinkoman and the world of 20X6.
• Happy Trogday — In a postscript, Stinkoman complains that his birthday was a week earlier and seems to have been forgotten; he is then challenged by Trogador.
• Email alternate universe — Stinkoman is among the many dimension-crossing Strong Bad variations featured in the email.
• Email trading cards — A 20X6 card game, featuring Stinkoman and Cheatball, that combines elements of the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games is shown.
• 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 — 1-Up teaches Stinkoman how to give thanks in a special Thanksgiving episode of Stinkoman and the Challenge of the Crystal Shards.
• 8-Bit is Enough — Strong Bad ends up in Stinkoman 20X6 and meets Stinkoman, Browntant and Chorch.

[edit] See Also

• Anime
• japanese cartoon
• Japanese Culture Greg
• 20X6 Other Costumes