What do the numbers in this manga refer to?

October 11, 2008 3:55 AM

In the manga Black & White (Tekkon Kinkreet) by Taiyo Matsumoto what is the significance of the "96" shirt worn by Black and the "46" shirt worn by White?

Black's shirt says Love on the front and White's shirt says Peace on the front. The characters are frequently associated with these numbers in promotional materials and toys. The "96" on Black's shirt is even depicted in a highly stylized script that resembles some sort of calligraphic character. Are these numbers some weird pun visual or otherwise? Do these shirts exist in the real world or are they a recognizable reference to some Japanese shirts?

posted by mumblelard to society & culture (3 comments total)

9=ku 6=ro "kuro" means black.
4=shi 6=ro "shiro" means white.
posted by misozaki at 4:47 AM on October 11 [2 favorites]

Yes, misozaki has it. This wikipedia section has a little more. Although, the only time I've seen it in real life is "39" for "san-kyuu" (Thank you). Oh, any my lovely wife's "14 31" (Juicy Sandwich).

It's used in adverts to make phone numbers more memorable, too. I can't find it immediately, but some company is using "quick-quick" (ku-i-ku ku-i-ku = 919919) as their slogan at the moment.

In a similar way, the protagonist from "Hiarku No Go" wore a t-shirt with a 5 on it ("5" being pronounced "go", the name of the game he plays).
posted by mjg123 at 10:13 AM on October 11

Thank you misozaki for the great answer.
posted by mumblelard at 2:57 PM on October 11