< Verbal Tic

Verbal Tic/Anime and Manga

Examples of Verbal Tic in Anime and Manga include:

Desu

In polite Japanese, "desu" at the end of a sentence can mean "is" or "are", but it is typically clipped in speech to something more like 'des'. Suiseiseki in Rozen Maiden (the former poster girl of this trope), unusually, stresses the final vowel. Safety in Risky☆Safety extends it to a more formal 'desuno'. Sho Marufuji in Yu-Gi-Oh GX elides it to "su".

  • Kirby anime Escargo(o)n, King Dedede's caretaker, says degesu instead of desu. (Dropped for the dub.)
    • Referenced/played with when Escargon was pretending to be Dedede, and kept ending his sentences with "degesu zoy".
  • Yukari from Rosario + Vampire is yet another "-desu" user. Nazo Koumori (or Kou-chan for short) uses the variation "-de kyuu" (which is like a bat squealing) and "-Whee~" in the dubbed version.
  • In Keroro Gunsou, Tamama uses "desu"
  • Heartcatch Pretty Cure: Chypre and Coffret end each sentence with "desu". Potpourri, being very young, ends each sentence with a slightly-off "-dechu".
  • Yue Ayase in Mahou Sensei Negima frequently ends sentences with an extra "desu".
  • The Prince of Tennis: Dan Taichi uses "-desu".
  • Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z: Miyako ends her sentences with "desu wa".
  • Mega Man NT Warrior: Iceman.
  • Shakugan no Shana: Domino uses the unnecessarily convoluted "de gozaimasu desu", which is basically the same thing both in a formal and informal way one after the other.
  • Freya in Matantei Loki (Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok) ends absolutely every sentence with "desu" (ie, "Hai desuu!").
  • Suouin Kana from Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru has an annoyingly long sentence ending ~na no desu yo.
  • Belbel, Beth's assistant in Petite Princess Yucie, very classically ends every sentence with "desu".
    • In the English dub, she ends with a quick 'yes!' every so often.
  • Chobits has Chii ending her sentences with desu.
  • Seto no Hanayome: Maki uses "Desu~"...at least when she's in her cute, non-yandere mode.
  • Mileina Vashti from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, perhaps as part of her Genki Girl persona, usually ends her sentence with 'desu'.
  • Gintama: Okita, whose signature way of speaking includes ending his sentences with desaa~ or desu zee.
  • Arita Shion, Birdy's idol/part-time model alter-ego in Birdy the Mighty: Decode speaks in a forced bubbly manner, accentuating all the final 'u' sounds in words that have them and adding "de arudesu~" to most sentences.
  • Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple: Miu tends to end her sentences with 'Desu wa.'
  • The Chinese Tsun family in Doctor Slump say "yes" often, such as, "Ah! That is Turbo, yes!" So when someone asks Tsun Tsuku-tsun a question, he responds with, "No, yes!" - which is actually a more or less literal translation of "iie desu."
  • A Certain Magical Index: Komoe is a constant user of desu as well, even using it on its own (for example, instead of saying yes).
  • Touka of Saki has a "Desu Wa" Verbal Tic as fitting The Ojou desu wa. The title of her Image Song gave this a Lampshade Hanging: "You Won't Escape... Desu wa!"
    • Momoko, meanwhile, has a tendency to add "-su" at the end of her sentences when she's talking aloud-su.
  • Fairy Tail: Hot-Eye of the Orachion Seis in the Nirvana arc... desu ne!/desu yo!
  • Axis Powers Hetalia: Don't forget Sealand, desu-yo!
  • Caramel from Yumeiro Patissiere ends virtually every sentence with "desu", even in group dialogue-desu.
    • Chocolat also does sometimes-desu wa.
  • Dalian of Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian ends most of her sentences with "desu" regardless of whether the word fits there, though she at least pronounces it the normal way. Also, if a sentence starts with "Yes" or "No," she usually says "Yes" or "No."
  • Super GALS!: Sayo's still young, so she says "datchu!" instead of "desu!"

Other verbal tics

  • Most of the characters in Rozen Maiden have Verbal Tics, including:
    • Suiseiseki with "desu" (as mentioned above) - there is an enormous amount of Memetic Mutation regarding this character.
    • Hina-Ichigo with "na no," roughly meaning "definitely!"
    • To a slightly lesser extent, Shinku with "da wa" (which when not a tic can be legitimate Japanese).
    • In the second season, it adds Kanaria with "kashira," roughly translated to "maybe?" (as a parallel to Hina-Ichigo). All of these are natural parts of Japanese sentence structure used to the point of being odd.
    • Lampshaded in the manga reboot, where Future Jun points out that she sounds very uncertain because of her verbal tic. Since he can't remember her name either, he keeps referring to her with it, too, much to her annoyance. She even tries to avoid using said verbal tic somewhat because of this.
    • Souseiseki uses the male pronoun "boku" for herself (she lacks the other characteristics of a Bokukko, though). This is because she had been impersonating a young boy against her will for quite some time before the series began.
    • Finally, the second season's Big Bad, Barasuishou, has a habit of simply repeating what anyone says to her.
    • Suigintou seems to have been spared from this trope, although she stretches the ending vocals of sentences.
  • Osomatsu Kun's Iyami is famous for saying ~zanzu at the ends of his sentences.
  • So is Zanzu from Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan
  • From Fruits Basket, there's Momiji Sohma who, despite being a boy, uses feminine sentence endings like "na no" and "de ne."
  • Tagmec, The Grim Reaper of Marmundo in Aqua Knight, has a habit of randomly tagging "Bone" to the end of his sentences.
  • Suupuushan of Houshin Engi adds "-su" to his sentences. His parents also have their own suffixes that they add. There's also Kou Tenka, who adds "-sa".
  • One side story in Hellsing had Alucard dreaming about him meeting the spirit of his gun, who was a Bruce Willis parody. Just to hammer the point home, he ended every single sentence with "-wirisu".
    • The Dark Horse translation kept this tic in and spelled it correctly ("-willis"). It still makes no sense.
    • They kept the tic in the OVA.
  • Mikamo, the sadistic torturing robot antagonist from one chapter of the Tenchi Muyo manga, has something like this, in that he occasionally replaces words with "chu". Often used to humorous censoring effect: "Damn you all, you chu-ing scum!"
  • Most of the cast of Katekyo Hitman Reborn does this.
    • Colonello in particular as he ends every sentence with "Kora!".
    • Ken's "pyon" and Squalo's "VOI" are particularly notable as well.
    • Let's not forget about Ryohei's "TO THE EXTREME!!" too.
    • Lambo has several: There's "ga ma n" (which roughly translates into "Tolerate" or "Gotta stay calm") and he tends to add "e gamo ne", "monya m" and "damone" at the end of his sentences. Also, Adult!Lambo has a habit of saying "Yare yare" ("geez").
  • King Dedede in the Kirby anime ends most of his sentences with zoy. Escargo(o)n, his caretaker, says degesu instead of desu. Both of these quirks were dropped for the dub.
    • Referenced/played with when Escargon was pretending to be Dedede, and kept ending his sentences with "degesu zoy".
    • Kirby himself doesn't say anything other than "Poyo!" At least while he isn't using any absorbed power.
  • In World Destruction, Toppi, a bear-tribe mercenary, adds "kuma" or bear to the end of his sentences. He claims that it is how he shows his racial pride.
  • Di Gi Charat - Nyo (Dejiko), Nyu (Puchiko), Gema (Gema), Pyo (Piyoko). The character Murataku was introduced when he came to complain about all the weird people who end their sentences with strange syllables.
  • Kurumi's "Kyuiin!" exclamation/interjection in the original Japanese version of Steel Angel Kurumi. (ADV's translation note for this "word" in the manga refers to it as, "totally made up, and inescapably cute"). Also, Kurumi's addition of "desu" to the end of virtually every sentence, which since then has been imitated a lot.
  • In The Law of Ueki many of Ueki's opponents have this habit. It's even addressed in the anime itself; when the opponent is introduced, Boss Subtitles are displayed, along with the Verbal Tic, if the opponent has one.
  • Chichiri's habit of ending every sentence with "no da" in Fushigi Yuugi (A valid bit of Japanese, but much like adding "Isn't that right?" to every sentence one says - isn't that right?) . And if he doesn't have anything to add to the conversation, sometimes he just says "Daaaah!" The popularity of this character caused many American fangirls to pick up the habit back in the late 90's
    • Replaced with "You know!" in the English dub.
  • Persona 4: The Animation has Teddie/Kuma who uses the word "kuma" randomly throughout his sentences.
  • Naruto's titular character has the habit of adding "Dattebayo" or "~ttebayo" to the end of his sentences and speech, which ups the intensity/annoyance factor of the sentence, and is what children use when they're trying to get the attention of adults who are studiously ignoring them. It was translated into "Believe it!" for the American dub, a decent compromise if nothing else. Unfortunately, considering how often it was used (Occasionally more than the original Japanese, especially in the games), it quickly became insanely annoying, Believe it!
    • This was apparently acknowledged, as no less a person than Naruto's voice actress herself requested it stop being used, so later episodes use the phrase less and less until eventually not at all beyond every once in a while or if the dialogue calls for it.
    • In one episode, Sasuke mocks Naruto's constant use.

Naruto: Oh no you don't, Sasuke. They came here to interview me, not you.
Sasuke: They came here to interview everyone, loser. There are other ninja here, you know. Believe it!

    • This was parodied in a YouTube Poop, and even though repetition is a staple of most Poops, the intent was clear by replacing other words with the catchphrase. As it turns out, he gets it from his mother, who says "~ttebane".
    • Other characters have their own phrases; Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage, ends most of his sentences with "kore", and Akatsuki villain Deidara punctuates his speech with a drawn out "hmm", which is retained verbatim in the dub.
    • Kushina, Naruto's mother, ends her sentences with Dattebane, which is commented on by Naruto when they meet during his fight with Kyuubi.
    • Gaara's older brother Kankuro has the habit of adding "jaan" at the end of a sentence. It's supposed to give him some sort of though guy/delinquent accent.
  • Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin makes a habit of speaking in archaically formal Japanese, using the "de gozaru" verb form. (he's using it wrong, however) This gets translated into English - the anime anyway - as a rather awkward, repetitive, countrified emphasis in sentence construction, such as "It would not be wise of you to attempt this, that it would not." He also uses the very old and archaic personal pronoun 'sessha', which was generally used by the samurai up until about the time Kenshin lived, but is nearly unheard of anymore. Translating it into "this one", as the Viz manga did, is actually about right; it's very formal. It wouldn't have been terribly odd to hear someone use it in the time period that Rurouni Kenshin is set in, but it's very odd and distinctive today.
    • In the english dub, Kenshin always refers to himself in the first person. Still, he tends to end his sentences with "That I am" or "That I do".
    • The "de gozaru" is so frequent that at one point, a baby starts calling him "Gojaru" (babytalk for "de gozaru") because he thinks that's Kenshin's name.
    • Kenshin's famous "oro?" which he uses to mean "what the...?"
  • Metal Fight Beyblade's Tetsuya certainly qualifies, with his frequent exclamations of 'crabba-WHAT'?, adding 'crab' to the end of his sentences, calling people his 'soft-shelled pals' and whatnot.
  • Mugimaru from Nurse Witch Komugi would often use "mugi" at the end of his sentences.
  • In Eyeshield 21:
    • Monta uses "-MAX!" as suffix, or "MAXI-" as a prefix in the English manga translation. He tends to use it more as an adjective than a suffix, though. "That's, like, effort MAX!"
    • Ikkyuu uses "oni" to mean something like "really, really" or "totally," as in "She's oni pretty." "Oni" literally means "devil" or, in context, could be translated "wicked" to sound Totally Radical like a New Englander.
    • Hiruma does it overlapping with Cluster F-Bomb in Gratuitous English ("fakkin-").
    • Taki doesn't use Japanese honorifics. He just uses "monsieur."
    • The Ha-Ha Bros. with their titular "HA?" "HAA?" "HAAAAA!?"
    • And Komusubi's "HAN!"
    • Kurita's battle cry, "FUNNURABA!"
    • Marco ends most of his sentences with, "I'd say."
    • And Kisagi compliments everything as "beautiful." Especially strength.
    • Akaba starts his speeches with "fuuu."
    • Sasaki says, "That's smart!" to a lot of things, mostly when it comes to kicking.
    • Omosodake complains about virtually everything and ends every complaint with "I'm only human."
  • Moonface from Busou Renkin ends all his sentences with "moo~n" spoken in an extremely odd way.
  • Aisha from Outlaw Star tends to throw in the masculine-sounding "zo na" every few sentences.
  • In Keroro Gunsou, Keroro tends to append "de arimasu" to almost all his sentences, while Tamama uses "desu", Kululu uses "da ze", and Dororo uses "de gozaru". There's also a minor character, Space Police Officer Poyon, who tends to end her sentences with "poyo". "De arimasu" and "de gozaru" are both valid Japanese (both are polite, military-style forms of "de aru", the Japanese equivalent of the verb "to be"); however, "de gozaru" is rather archaic, and "de arimasu" is rarely used outside of the military - not to mention that Keroro and Dororo use them excessively and outside of proper context.
    • "Ku ku ku ku". Kururu/Kululu also has an additional one, da ze (doubles as an alleged Evil Laugh); one episode title even lampshades this ("Kururu: Ku Ku Ku no Ku [De arimasu!]")
    • "Teyuuka Angol Mois mo desu ka?" (It's more like Angol Mois does it too? [loose translation])
    • In a recent episode, Keroro fuses with each of his platoon members. The composite is the left half of one fusee, and the right half of the other. When either half talks, it impersonates the other half. So when Keroro was fused with Tamama, the Keroro half ended his sentences with "desu" while the Tamama half ended his sentences with "de arimasu".
  • The Gikongan flavour "Chappy" in Bleach places an energetic modsoul in your body that ends every sentence with "Pyon". The English (manga) translation has Chappy punctuating her sentences with "Hop."
    • Which pretty much is a direct translation of the onomatopoeic word. Somewhat annoyingly, the English dub seems to have abandoned this idea in favor of her using "cutesy-wootsy" speech.
    • Then there is Dondochakka that ends his sentences with yansu! (subtitled as Don't cha know).
    • In the fillers, The Stoic modsoul Nova often says "montai nai," meaning "no problem," and has occasionally said the opposite, "montai ga aru (There is a problem)."
  • Lum from Urusei Yatsura ended her sentences with "'cha" or "da'cha".
    • She also refers to herself using a rather rare pronoun "uchi" (mostly used by younger women from the Kansai area), which in addition to the "-cha" was a way girls talked to make themselves sound cuter.
    • There's also the Dappya Monsters, strange fish-headed beings who randomly pop into scenes to pass comment, and end their sentences with "-dappya!".
  • Sent up in an Omake chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist, where Al, after asking Ed for advice on how to raise his popularity, is told he should adopt a unique personal speech habit, like "adding 'nyu' or 'nya'" to the end of his sentences.
  • The title character of Oruchuban Ebichu has the unusual habit of replacing "s" with "ch" as much as possible - and thus her owner's title of respect repeatedly comes out as "Go-shuujin-chama", which sounds childish.
  • Late in Slam Dunk, the reader is introduced to the captain of the Sannoh team, Kazunari Fukatsu, who always adds "pyon" to everything he says. Seriously, it has to be seen to be believed. To make matters worse, he's recovering from yet another Verbal Tic, "beshi".
  • In the Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh, Pegasus frequently uses funnily mispronounced Gratuitous English, and how to forget his "DEEEEEEEEESU!".
    • Joey/Jounouchi's English dub "Nyeeh?" (endlessly mocked in the abridged series). It's one of the more versatile Vocal Tics, meaning anything from "Huh?" to "OHMYGAWD!" to "I'm disappointed," depending on the situation and inflection.
    • Manga-only—Yugi has a subtle one; he says "Yep!" or "Yup!" a lot.
    • Weevil has his snarky laugh, Dub!Mokuba has his vocal tremor, Ryou is always exceedingly polite, and Dub!Kaiba tends to favor "Yeah" and "Yeah, right."
  • Professor Daitokouji in Yu-Gi-Oh GX tends to end sentences with "-nya" (the Japanese sound for a cat's meow), and the dinosaur-loving Kenzan often ends his with "-saurus" or "-don". Hayato would often end his sentences with "nan do na". Professor Chronos de Medici also likes to end his sentences with "(na) no ne" ("Is that not so?"), and his co-worker Napoleon ends his sentences with "de aru".
    • In one episode, as they argue bitterly, Chronos and Napoleon take to calling each other by their specific sentence ending.
  • Rua in Yu-Gi-Oh 5 Ds has an annoying habit of talking like Gerald McBoingBoing...but only in duels. Just try to get through an episode (or Tag Force 4 duel) with him dueling and not poke out your eardrums after the fiftieth cry of "DOOOOON!", "CHA-KIIIIING!", or "DIIIIAL ON!".
  • The Pretty Cure multiverse gives every Non-Human Sidekick one such catch phrase.
    • Futari wa Pretty Cure: Mipple ("-mipo"), Mepple ("-mepo"), Porun ("-popo"), and Lulun ("-lulu").
    • Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash* Star: Flappi ("-lapi"), Choppi ("-chopi"), Mupu ("-mupu"), Fupu ("-pupu")
    • Yes! Pretty Cure 5: Coco ("-coco"), Nuts ("-natsu"), Milk ("-miru") - and listing those added in the second season would take too much time.
    • Surprisingly averted in Fresh Pretty Cure - Chiffon spoke babytalk until episode 13 and Tart spoke in Osaka-ben Kansai dialect.
    • Suite Pretty Cure: each of the Fairy Tones end each sentence in a solfège name (for example, Dori and Dodori use "-dodo"). Hummy also speaks often with the "-nyan" word that sometimes sounds like a verbal tic.
    • Smile Pretty Cure: Candy ends each sentence with "-kuru". Pop frequently ends sentences with "-de gozaru," since he sounds and acts like a samurai.
  • Kaede Nagase in Mahou Sensei Negima ends most of her sentences with "de gozaru", the archaic speaking style highlighting her "samurai-like" personality. Ku Fei ends hers in "aru" or "arune", intended to convey a Chinese accent. Yue Ayase also frequently ends sentences with an extra "desu". Chao Lingshen ends her sentences in "ne".
    • Kaede uses "sessha" as a personal pronoun too. She actually talks a lot like Kenshin...
    • When the typically Cute Mute Zazie Rainyday's identical twin sister starts talking, she passes through several of these. First she uses "poyo" several times, then, when called out on her sudden non-use of it, gives "zazi" and "ponyo" a try before settling back to "poyo".
  • Nishiyama Kankuro in Muteki Kanban Musume adds "nya" to every sentence he finishes.
  • From The Prince of Tennis:
    • Kikumaru Eiji ends many of his phrases with "-nya", or substitutes 'nya' for the 'na' sound in a word.
    • Subverted in the case of Yanagisawa Shinya: he finishes his phrases with "da ne", but it's so annoying that at one point Kaidou and Momoshiro go all "STFU!" at him.
    • Momo doesn't have a specific word he uses, so much as a specific sentence structure. Whenever he feels the need to emphasize how seriously he's taking something, he adds an emphatic negative to the end.
    • And of course Kaidou's "...fshuuuu..." which pretty much is an unconscious exhalation, though he tends to do it more often and forcefully when he's pissed off.
    • Also, Niou from Rikkai Dai often ends sentences or randomly says "puri", though this also borders to a Catch Phrase. It was more prominent in the manga than the anime, though.
  • Nia, the apprentice Biter in DearS always adds "ni" to her sentences as well. In fact, sometimes it's the only thing she says.
  • Mojo Jojo in Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z usually adds "-mojo" to the end of his sentences, presumably because the original Mojo's wonky grammar wouldn't translate well into Japanese (being a parody of bad Japanese-to-English translations in the first place).
    • This happens with other characters. Peach the digital dog (-wan), the Amoeba boys (-nume), and Fuzzy Lumpkins (-de mon da). Generally this seems to be an indication that the speaker isn't human.
  • Pani Poni Dash has a cat-like creature who ends its sentences with "nya", a tanuki that ends its sentences with "de yansu", and a giant salamander that ends its sentences with "kero".
    • Not to mention Himeko, who says "Maho" practically every other sentence.
    • Akane Serizawa, when in her "Roboko" disguise, says "piko piko" randomly in an apparent attempt to indicate Roboko "computing."
    • Yanki tends to punctuate his sentences with "dot com."
    • Sayaka Suzuki uses "... Of The Year", in English, as her nonsensical way of adding emphasis. (Example: "Becky is hungry of the year.")
  • Ichigo of Tokyo Mew Mew occasionally "nya"s, as she is a Catgirl; Chinese Girl Bu-ling avoids the stereotypical "aru" and instead says "nano da" to show that she's a Genki Girl, and Ojou Minto uses "wa" at the end of her sentences.
  • Mocchi from the Monster Rancher series adds "chi" to the ending of most of his lines. Sometimes he simply exclaims "Chi!", too.
  • Tsuruya in Haruhi Suzumiya said the word "nyoro[1]" only once in the anime, though she uses it more often in the light novels, in which she is a more prominent character. This, too, has become a Memetic Mutation, with the fan-comic character "Churuya", a chibi version of Tsuruya that says "nyoro~n" at the end of every strip.
    • However, she does regularly add an additional 's' at the end of her words. Whether this is a lisp due to her snaggletooth or just a way of talking is anyone's guess.
    • She is also known for 'megas(sa)'.
  • Mikuru-chan in Haruhi-chan is fond of saying "Honya~!" (written in Hiragana when she says it).
  • Eiji Niizuma from Bakuman｡ might have one of the oddest Verbal Tics ever: he punctuates his phrases with manga onomatopoeiae.
  • The main character of Zatch Bell ends almost all of his sentences with "na(ru) no da", an expression of emphasis that loosely reads as "isn't it?", although it's seldom translated.
  • In the anime-only (that is, not from the original manga) episode of Hayate the Combat Butler!, the supporting cast gets caught in a roleplaying game, with a villain whose verbal tic is "-tima." She reveals in one of her monologues that "-tima" is part of her punishment, and something she will be able to get rid of if she defeats the heroes. It's so bad she writes it on a welcome banner.
  • Mega Man NT Warrior has entirely too many of these. Higure's "de masu" (brought over in the games as "huh", forgotten in the anime), Gutsman's "de gatsu" and Toadman's "kero" (brought over as "guts" and "ribbit"), Aquaman's "pyuu", Iceman's "desu", Bubbleman's "puku", Diveman's "deaaru", the list just doesn't stop.
    • In the US version, Bubbleman goes "Blub" about as often as a Smurf says "Smurf". Presumably for the same reason.
    • Also, Diveman's "deaaru" was translated as "awooga" (a reference to his "submarine" motif).
    • The sequel series, Ryuusei no Rockman (Mega Man Star Force) has a few more of these. The most outstanding is Cancer Bubble's "~buku" dialect. Since Cancer Bubble has the same theme and basic role (inept comic relief villain) as Bubbleman from the original, this might be him actually taking after Bubbleman, puku.
  • Nyu/Lucy from Elfen Lied can only say "Nyu" while in her Nyu personality. It's darker than is usually seen with this trope, as it's not just a cute habit; it's brain damage from being shot in head.
    • Only in the anime. She starts out this way in the manga, but becomes more articulate as the series progresses, regaining some standard speech habits and even singing. Nyu and Kaede/Lucy are still distinctly separate personalities, though.
  • Noda Megumi of Nodame Cantabile often uses nonsense words such as "Mukya!" and "Gyabo!"
  • Wilhelmina Carmel of Shakugan no Shana ends nearly every sentence with "de arimasu", de arimasu.
    • Said expression was adapted in the dub by making the character say "indeed" in pretty much every sentence. The results are satisfactory indeed. It was indeed a nice Woolseyism.
  • From D.Gray-man, Lero, the Millennium Earl's sentient umbrella, adds "-lero" to the end of his sentences.
    • The sadistic Akuma Eshi, being an artist when still human, begins most of his sentences with "Title."
    • While not necessarily a verbal tic, the Millennium Earl ends all his sentences (in the manga) with a heart. No matter what. This is occasionally creepy, since the Earl is the Omnicidal Maniac Big Bad.
    • Also, Lavi and Chomesuke with their "sa"s and "cho"s respectively. Chomesuke was named for hers.
  • Nyake from Kamichama Karin ends her sentences with "da shi". She also laughs with a 'shi shi shi' and has a tendency to mangle and 'ni's and 'na's in her speech into nya's (Japanese onomatopoeia for 'meow'). This is why she's called 'Nya-ke' and not 'Nike'.
  • Pokémon: In the Japanese version of episodes 18-19, the two Obabas (US: Brutella in ep. 18 and Nastina in ep. 19) would end whatever they say with "-baba".
    • Team Rocket's Meowth occasionally adds "-nya" to the end of his sentences, which makes sense as he's a cat. The dub tried to do this in early episodes with the English "meow" (or "Meowth"), but it was quickly dropped. Not to mention Haruka, (US: May), who used "-kamo" at the end of most sentences in the season she is introduced; it was played as a joke with her Pokémon, Achamo (AKA Torchic), who always repeated "-chamo" at the end of the sequences.
    • There's also Hikari (Dawn) who usually says "Daijobu". Unlike the other examples, it's actually translated into English as "No need to worry".
    • In the eleventh Pokémon movie, Shaymin (in the Japanese version) ends sentences with the verbal tic of "deshou".
    • When the female player character from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (Kotone) appeared, she added "koto ne?" at the end of her sentences.
  • The fictional Nessie-like lake monster Kishi in Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro adds "-ki" to the end of every sentence. When the murderer "crosses the line" and transforms, he also speaks in this way.
  • Franky of One Piece, among his other eccentricities, uses "super" in a variety of ways (including shouting it at the top of his lungs) when he's in a good mood.
    • This is only the tip of the iceberg, a section on the unique laughs alone would be enough for its own page.
    • Unique laughs aside, there are a couple other characters with similar verbal tics. Buggy tends to say "flashy" in a flashy way every sentence where it's remotely flashily possible, for example.
    • There's also Caimie, who addresses everybody by the non-existent honorific of "<insert name here>-chin".
    • Kaku's use of -ja to end sentences is notable because it's a tic normally used by old men. When the Straw Hats question him about this, Kaku replies that he's in his mid-twenties... while continuing to use the tic, further confusing the issue.
    • Dosun of the New Fishman Pirates has 'dosun' as his tic, boardering on Pokémon-Speak. However, it's unique in that his tic corresponds to how powerful he's feeling. According to the One Piece Wiki, his tic rating is this, from weakest to strongest; Fosun after Rapid Aging -> Pikon -> Kotsun -> Potsun -> Posun -> Tosun -> Dosun -> Dogan -> Bokan -> Zugan -> Bagon -> Gyaban.
  • Various characters in Digimon had it: Culumon, Guilmon, Deramon and Piyomon on occasion, ShogunGekomon. It became particularly prominent in Digimon Frontier, though, with many secondary characters having very obvious ones. Baby I Digimon had Pokémon-Speak in Digimon Adventure.
    • Taken to the extreme in Digimon Xros Wars, where nearly any character under two feet tall will suffix each sentence with the a part of it's name. Chibikamemon says "kame", Pawnchessmons say "chess", Evilmons say "evil"... you get the picture.
  • Marumaro of Blue Dragon sometimes added "-maro" as a sentence ender.
    • ...which surprisingly was kept in the dub. Maro.
  • Kogarashi from Kamen no Maid Guy uses "ku ku ku" a lot in his sentences.
  • The Robot Buddy Giru in Dragon Ball GT often repeated his own name.
  • Uzura, an animate doll from Princess Tutu, ended most sentences with "zura."
  • Dio, the main villain of the 1st & 3rd story arcs of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ends almost all of his sentences with '-te yare', which is about the most elaborately condescending way to give other people a direct order. It roughly translates in intent to giving an order to an insect or inanimate object.
    • As well, a relatively minor enemy from the second story, Wired Beck, can't help but say 'ok' at the end of every sentence.
    • Gyro in Steel Ball Run has a weird little chuckle he uses when things get interesting: Nyohoho~
  • Coopa from The Tower of Druaga tends to end many of her sentences with "de gozaimasu".
  • Many of the Monsters Of The Week in Sailor Moon do this, adding their name or part of it to the end of sentences. (Actually, the monsters that don't do this are generally only capable of saying their own name, period.)
    • Banban.
  • The Token Mini-Moe in Girls Bravo adds "na no da" to all of her sentences. Her magic formula even goes "poru poru poru na no da!".
  • Cardcaptor Sakura's main character has her ever present "Hoee".
    • And her "Rosy Daydreaming Variant", "Hanyaaan".
  • Haruko from FLCL sometimes ends her sentences with random tics such as "pyon" or "nyaa", though this is more to come across as an eccentric, mischievous person. Her codas are usually ad hoc, such as "nyaa" in an episode that was framed by a cat theme.
    • Mamimi, on the other hand, expresses the -ssu coda throughout.
  • Boss in Mazinger Z often ends his words with "Da wa sa". He discards it in the Mazinkaiser OVA, da wa sa.
  • Subaru from Comic Party often says "ugyuu" for no reason at all; It's, among other things, her equivalent of "Oh?"
  • Ume from Air Gear (in the manga, at least) often punctuates her sentences with "deshi."
  • While believing she is a child, the titular character of Nanaka Six Seventeen often says "Hayaya" or "Hawawa" when surprised by something. This is partly in imitation of the Magical Girl in the Show Within a Show she loves.
  • In Kyattou Ninden Teyandee (aka Samurai Pizza Cats), Yattaro (Speedy Cerviche) always says "Teyandee!" to whatever he says.
  • Shark Fujishiro from Seto no Hanayome speaks as if all sentences were interrogatory. What this means is that everything he says ends like a question? You know with an upward inflection? There's maybe 3 lines in the entire dub where he doesn't talk like this?
  • Little-known Ken Akamatsu work Mao-chan (originally released around the end of Love Hina's run, though only just now being translated into English in an official publication) features a character named Misora who ends her sentences with "de arimasu". In the English version, this is translated as "don'tcha know!" or "if ya please!". .
    • Possibly the best joke in the series: someone fears that the girls have been killed and will come back to haunt her as ghost/zombies... with their evil chuckles... "Heh heh heh." "Heh heh heh." "Heh heh heh de arimasu."
    • Also, Sylvia, who refers to the other girls as "dudettes" and often starts sentences with "yo, yo" The translation notes say this was just to convey a general manner of casualness to her speech.
  • Misha and her constant "Suuuu" or "Nyaaa" at the end of her sentences in Pita-Ten. Even lampshaded on occasion by several characters.
  • In Shugo Chara, several of the Chara use Verbal Tics, including Yoru's "da nya", Nana's "nia" (Which, as she is quite clear towards pointing out towards the afore - mentioned Yoru, is NOT the same as "nya".) and Su's "desu~" (Which is actually a self - reference: Peach-Pit did both Rozen Maiden AND Shugo Chara, and Su happens to wear green, medieval - maid - ish clothing, so that it is.)
  • The titular character of Otogi Juushi Akazukin says "juushi" at every opportunity, leading to another character wondering what's so "juicy" anyway.
  • Mahoraba thrives on these, with almost every character having one tic or another.
  • Kagura from Gintama ends many of her sentences with "aru" (which is translated as "uh-huh" in the Viz licensed volumes). At one point, when the other characters thought Kagura was gone from the story, Otae (aru/uh-huh), Sacchan (nin-nin) and Catherine (nya/meow) make up their own verbal tics in an attempt to be chosen as the new female lead.
  • Paya-tan, the "heroine's" animal mascot in Dai Mahou Touge, ends his sentences with "-paya!" except when in Jouji Nakata mode.
  • The demon in Baccano! that gave Maiza the secret to eternal life regularly peppers his speech with a phrase that roughly translates into "but, whatever." Now, isn't funny that camorrista Ronnie tends to use that very same phrase...

Demon: "...Oh, 'but, whatever,' is a Verbal Tic of mine. Don't worry about it... It's kind of strange to call it a verbal tic when I'm communicating directly into your minds. But, whatever."

  • The main character of Iono the Fanatics has "-zoyo". As in, "Would you like to be my sobame (concubine), zoyo?"
  • Each member of GEAR Fighter Dendoh's Goldfish Poop Gang ends all of his sentences with a different tic: -dawa, -bari, or -jyan.
  • Chappy, the enchanted broom from Himechan no Ribon, ends every sentence with the onomatopoeia for "swish swish".
  • "Manager" from Excel Saga (the Emeraldas look-alike character) ends most sentences with "isn't it?" in the English translation of the manga, while Elgala combines this with Third Person Person by referring to herself as "I, Elgala".
  • Aah, that's right, Signum of Lyrical Nanoha has her distinctive "Aah" which she uses as a preface for certain statements or simply as a very old-fashioned "Yes".
    • There's also Wendi, the cheerful, red-headed, Hover Board riding cyborg who has a habit of adding a "su" at the end of her sentences su.
  • Shigure from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple has an odd habit of pausing once or twice per sentence, oftentimes right in the middle of a wo...rd.
    • Apachai has a habit of saying "Apa!" a lot, sometimes very rapidly in sequence: "APAPAPAPAPA!"
  • In Welcome to The NHK, there's Puru Puru Pururin, where the eponymous heroine ends her sentences with '-purin'.
  • Quon from RahXephon tends to say "ra ra" when surprised or confused.
  • "MISAKA from A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun narrates her own dialogue from the third person perspective," explained the troper.
    • "This is probably a design decision on the part of the scientists that created them, given that her narrations tend to include details that would normally be conveyed through inflection, but are lost in her monotone delivery," the troper explains helpfully.
    • "'Similarly, Last Order narrates herself narrating her own dialogue from the third-person perspective,' said the troper," said the troper.
  • Sora, the main character of Kaleido Star, occasionally repeats the last word or sound of a sentence three times, times, times. She actually doesn't do it often in the actual series, except when she is very excited or worried about something and mostly for comic relief, but she does it at the end of the brief introduction at the beginning of every episode, sode, sode.
  • Saki: don't forget Yuuki's "Je!"
  • A one-time character in +Anima ended all of his sentences with "Now,". Because he spoke frequently, and in very short sentences, it got rather grating by the end of the chapter.
  • Eruka Frog from Soul Eater often uses "geko," the Japanese equivalent of "ribbit."
    • Mizune always adds "chi chi chi" to the end of her sentences (when she speaks in sentences). Chichichi is the sound a rat makes in Japanese. There is also one-shot character Al Capone's "y'know?".
  • Chikinaro from the Japanese anime version of Utawarerumono often ends his sentences with a drawn-out "Haaaiii..." which actually means "yes" in Japanese. Some Western characters actually do a similar thing, yes.
  • Rizelmine's Lan-Lan and Rachel have them, being foreigners. Lan-Lan uses the Chinese "-aru" frequently, while Rachel, being Russian, ends her sentences with "-ski" often, as this is a common ending to Russian words.
  • Rave Master has a talking penguin-esque creature named Ruby who ends every other sentence with "poyo", and even writes it at the end of sentences. This is joked about lightly once when, after giving a long drawn out explanation about how magic and elements works, Ruby guesses that the resident mage, Sieg, must not be aligned to any element. In the background is an image of Sieg saying "Correct, poyo"
  • Fairy Tail - Ebi means shrimp/prawn in Japanese. The Stellar Spirit Cancer is the one who says it, to the disappointment of all who wanted to hear him say something more appropriate, being The Crab.
    • Kinana says -kina.
  • Axis Powers Hetalia is in love with verbal tics. Be it China's 'aru', Russia's 'da', or N. Italy's 've', the use is heavy and often.
    • Or, like, totally, Poland, you know?
    • Canada has a tendency to say "Maple" when he is in pain.
    • Romano says "chigi" whenever someone pulls his curl, which is also his erogenous zone.
    • China's sometimes changes to -ahen (which is Japanese for opium) when talking to Britain (in reference to the Opium Wars).
    • Korea uses da-ze all the time to emphasize his sentences.
    • Prussia's... not-quite-laugh, per say, but something he says when amused is 'Kesesesese.'
    • Russia chants 'Kolkolkolkolkol' when he is upset, threatened, insulted, or taking pleasure in someone's misfortune.
    • Belarus chants 'Kekkonkekkonkekkon'('Marriage') -translated to the English dub as 'Marry me'- whenever she's in the mood to terrify/marry Russia (which is all the time).
    • Thailand says "ana" after his sentences.
  • Lady Aska of Fahren in Magic Knight Rayearth ends nearly every sentence with "-ja", rather than the typical "-aru" you'd expect from a Chinese Girl ja. Sometimes appends a "-ja" to the end of a random word in the middle of a sentence, or replaces a word's last syllable with "ja".
  • In Student Council's Discretion, one episode has Kurimu punishing the rest of the student council by ASSIGNING them verbal tics which they had to use, including "gesu" for Ken and "mokyuu" for Chizuru.
  • Chinatsu Nakayama from Doki Doki School Hours (Sensei no Ojikan) has a habit of ending sentences with "kyaha" when excited.
  • A rare Sonic the Hedgehog manga released before the first game has Eggman have one of these with the word 'hai' at the end of every sentence. This is translated to a fascination with cooking giant eggs in English, yes!
  • Rikuson Hakugen of Ikki Tousen ends her sentences with "Zo ne", an odd combination for a young girl; "Zo" is a strong and manly tic and "ne" is, of course, the cutesy girl kind.
  • Himawari's Darkskinned Blonde Himeji ends her sentences with "arisu".
  • The titular Squid Girl ends most of her sentences with "de geso".
  • In one episode of MM!, Mio uses hypnosis to temporarily make Taro end all of his sentences with "muccha boin" (translated as "hugetastic boobs").
  • From Ranma ½, Shampoo's tendency to add "Aiyah" to the beginning of sentences when agitated.
    • Maomolin the cat ghost randomly adds the noun "Nya", the Japanese word for "Meow", to his sentences, and the people he possesses will also talk like this.
  • Homura from Puella Magi Madoka Magica sports a fan-created verbal tic: Japanese fans have her use the tic "homu" (sometimes repeated twice or more) in fanart. She often says it while engaging in illicit activities (another meme that's totally fan-made).
  • C: the Money And Soul of Possibility has Q's "Nano des", Which she literally ends every sentence with, even when she's discussing very disturbing secrets.
  • Sheila of Superior does this quite a lot, nyaaa~!
  • In Tamayura, the Cute Clumsy Girl Fuu often finishes her sentences with "na no de". This phrase is then used also in episode names.
  • Much like Kenshin, Masa in House of Five Leaves ends his sentences with a polite, "de gozaru."
  • Lana Linchen from Freezing has the same verbal tic as Wilhelmina above de arimasu.
  • Black Hanekawa of Bakemonogatari says "nya" for every "n" sound in a word.
  • Mayo Chiki has a verbal hic from Kanade. Hiccups from her results in a "nyu" sound that's used much like a regular Verbal Tic, and Jiro even thinks she's doing it on purpose. It's just about the only thing that breaks her normally very solid composure.
  • Ah! My Goddess: Keiichi once spotted that a character was an impostor because she wasn't ending practically every sentence with "na no"—rendered as "you know" in the English translation—as the real one had done consistently when he met her. She'd actually been taken over ... by Belldandy's father.
Back to Verbal Tic
  1. ↑ Japanese for tilde (~)
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