List of cultural references

"This is classified information!"

This article contains unmarked spoilers. You have been warned.

The statue seen in Fixed Point bears a strong resemblance to the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Taking place in a world similar to ours, the Girls' Frontline franchise contains references to many medias and cultures. The most notable and interesting ones are listed here.

For references to Girls' Frontline in other games, see the dedicated page section.

Literature

Entropic construct based on Ghroth from the Cthulu Mythos in Project Neural Cloud.

• The backstory of Codename: Bakery Girl written by “Hannibal”, on which the world of Girls' Frontline is also based by way of the Confidential Files, copied several elements from the short story A Colder War by Charles Stross.
  • Relics reports in the Secret Documents and Confidential Files are titled after Old Ones from the Cthulu Mythos: Ammutseba, Aphoom-Zhah, Arwassa, Atlach-Nacha, Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg, Basatan, Bokrug, Byatis and Chaugnar Faugn.
  • The codename BOOJUM is from a monster of Lewis Caroll's The Hunting of the Snark.
  • The codename Koschei is from an evil wizard figure in Russian folk tales.
• Girls' Frontline
  • In the third part of ^SMG Type 64Type 64Type 64's Neural Upgrade story, ^RF M99M99M99 quotes Lü Meng from the Book of Wu in the Records of the Three Kingdoms: "A scholar's absence of three days thereafter must be viewed under new light" (士别三日当刮目相待). She uses the quote to praise Type 64's growth.
  • In 8-3N, ^AR AUGAUGAUG and ^RF IWS 2000IWS 2000IWS 2000 quote Plutarch on a conversation between Julius Caesar and the seer Spurinna, who had foreseen his assasination that day: “The Ides of March are come, Spurinna,” “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.” AUG uses the quote to invite IWS not to claim victory too soon, and IWS immediately notes that the quote is probably apocryphal anyway.
  • Singularity opens with an extract of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice: “The only thing that permits us to acquiesce in an erroneous theory is the lack of a better one; analogously, an injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice. Being first virtues of human activities, truth and justice are uncompromising”. The quote could be a commentary on ^AR M4A1M4A1M4A1's increasingly violent actions during this chapter.
  • The Longitudinal Strain chapter “3-α2 Wind, Sand and Stars” is titled after a novel from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This is relevant to Longitudinal Strain because it is the novel on which Saint-Exupéry's later book Le Petit Prince was based, and this novel is tied to Pavel. Pavel also mentions The Chronicles of Narnia in the same story.
  • The science-fiction novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is featured in part 1 of Slow Shock. One passage of the book is quoted as the origin of Martha Meitner's nicknamed of Laplace: “I am an animal, you see that. I don't have the words, they didn't teach me the words. I don't know how to think, the bastards didn't let me learn to think. But if you really are... all-powerful... all-knowing, like Laplace's Demon, then you figure it out!”
  • The title of The Summer Garden of Forking Paths references the book The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges. The “Summer Garden” part is related to the Hume Dolls.
• Project Neural Cloud
  • Magrasea is named in reference to Magrathea in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (H2G2). It is no coincidence that Magrasea was created by 42LAB given the importance of the number 42 in H2G2.
  • Hubble is holding the book Stardust by Neil Gaiman in her base artwork.
  • In her second Neural Expansion artwork, Hatsuchiri is reading the book At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft. Her Ultimate Skill, "Forgotten Wgah'nagl", references the ritual call from Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulu.
    • In Irradiant Awakening, an Entropic structure takes the form of Ghroth, a sentient planet from Ramsey Campbell's The Tugging in the expanded Cthulu Mythos.
  • Dupin's name originates from C. Auguste Dupin, a fictional detective from the book "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", by Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Sector Rossum is named after the play Rossum's Universal Robots by Karel Čapek. Its administrator is also named Turing after Alan Turing, the father of computer science.
  • The event Singularity Immemorial draws heavily from the science-fiction novels of Liu Cixin. This is self-admitted in Part 4 of the event. The Stellar Engines in the event are taken from Cixin's influential short story The Wandering Earth.
  • The Professor's adventures during the [Snowy Encounters] seasonal event in the closet land of Arnina facing the Great Winter, are in reference to The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically its first book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
• The enemy unit Svejk from Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium is named after the protagonist of Jaroslav Hašek's novel The Good Soldier Švejk. The novel is explicitly mentioned in the enemy's description.

Visual arts

This CG from the Valhalla event references a scene from Blade Runner 2049.

BonnevilleBonneville 's Ultimate Skill references the “Akira Slide” from Akira.

CascadiaCascadia 's Ultimate Skill references Kill la Kill.

• Girls' Frontline
  • In ^RF M99M99M99's story for Notebook/Night of Sweetness and Surprise, she references the movie Devil Gambler (赌魔), an example of many infamous rip-offs of the gambling movies of Hongkongese director Wong Jing.
  • In ^HG SerdyukovSerdyukovSerdyukov's story for Notebook/Operation Mermaid, she tames a crow and names it Madam Sakamoto. Her name and appearance in the costume makes it an explicit reference to the same character in the anime Nichijou.
  • The seasonal enemy Speed Demon's Wheel is probably inspired by the 2010 absurd slasher film Rubber, featuring a murderous sentient tyre.
  • The parts in chapter 1 and 3 of Slow Shock are titled after famous paintings and other pictural works, most of them from 19th-century Europe:
    • Realist works include In the Wild North by Ivan Shishkin and The Angelus by Jean-François Millet.
    • Symbolist works of Gustav Klimt include Beech Grove, Death and Life and Allegory of Sculpture.
    • Impressionist works include Morning Sunlight on the Snow by Camille Pissarro, The Pontine Marshes at Sunset by August Kopisch, Sunlight in the Blue Room by Anna Ancher, The Wave by Paul Gauguin and Moonlit Night on the Dnipro by Arkhip Kuindzhi.
    • Expressionist works include Marc Chagall's Fiddler on the Roof, Clock with Blue Wing and The Red Rider as well as Paul Klee's Death and Fire.
    • Abstract works include The Swan, Group IV No. 1, The Swan, Group IX No. 6 and Altarpiece No. 1 by Hilma af Klint, Evening: Red Tree, Gray Tree and Tableau No. 1 of Piet Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich's White on White and Black Cross.
    • Surrealist works include The Son of Man by René Magritte and The Persistence of Memory of Salvador Dalí.
    • Exceptions to the theme are the American works of James McNeill Whistler Harmony in Blue and Silver and Arrangement in Grey and Black and Georgia O'Keeffe's Black Iris; 17th-century Dutch Golden Age The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius; the works of 15th-16th century Albrecht Dürer Stag Beetle, Wing of a Blue Roller and Knight, Death and the Devil, as well as classical works Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich and Nicolas Poussin's The Crossing of the Red Sea and The Deluge. The final part of chapter 3 "Sunset" is possibly titled after the eponymous work by John Frederick Kensett.
  • Several chapters of The Summer Garden of Forking Paths contain references to 19th-century French works:
    • Luxury, Peace and Pleasure, The Open Window and Harmony in Red are all paintings by Henri Matisse. Other paintings include The Broken Vase (Émile Munier), Dance of the Nymphs (Camille Corot), The Cradle (Berthe Morisot) and The Card Players (Paul Cézanne). An exception to the theme is The Lamp which is likely titled from the work from British artist Amy Atkinson.
    • Two chapters are titled after classical French books: Artificial Paradises by Charles Baudelaire and La Fontaine’s Fables.
  • In The Summer Garden of Forking Paths, ^SG Stevens M520Stevens M520Stevens M520 becomes nicknamed Reinette and ^SG Stevens M620Stevens M620Stevens M620 Mirabelle after French film Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle ("Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle"), which tells the misadventures of rural artist Reinette, helped by her more worldly friend Mirabelle. M620 mocks M520 by assigning her Reinette's name, especially since she explicitly names the movie in E5.
• Project Neural Cloud
  • CroqueCroque makes general references to mecha anime, but a specific parody of the theatre poster for the first Mobile Suit Gundam movie can be seen in one of her costumes.
    • In another costume, a Neon Genesis Evangelion DVD and parody of the cover art for the vocaloid song World is Mine can also be found.
  • BanxsyBanxsy is named after real-world street artist Banksy.
  • The chapter titles of the Joyful Reunion event are parodies of titles of Chinese martial art movies and TV series, though some were lost in translation. More references in the event's script are listed in this post, including potential connections between the character of Old Man Su and actor Yuen Siu-tien.
    • Part 1 “Enter The Jiangyu” is based on Enter the Dragon, but the original title is 骤雨过江 (“The Way of the Sudden Rain”, from the literal meaning of Jiangyu's name, “Crimson Rain”), based on a different Bruce Lee movie, The Way of the Dragon (猛龙过江).
    • Stage 1 “Once Upon A Time In Canada” is based on Once Upon A Time In China, but the original title is 师妹出马, from the 1980 movie known as The Woman Avenger in English.
    • Stage 2 “Adventures in Kung Fu Practice” (习武风云, “Trainee's High Deeds”) is based on 2010 movie 精武风云 (“Master's High Deeds”), Legend of the Fist in English.
    • Stage 3 “The Grandmistress” (一位宗师) is based on The Grandmaster (一代宗師).
    • Stage 4 “Fist of Glory” is based on “Fist of Fury”, but the original title is 精武英豪, from a 1989 movie known as Brave Hero in English.
    • Part 2 “Peerless Sisters” (绝代双娇) is based on the novel 绝代双骄, which received several movie adaptations under various translations such as The Proud Twins, Handsome Siblings and The Legendary Siblings.
    • Stage 5 “Chivalrous Loyalty” (侠影丹心, “Chivalrous Movie, Loyal Heart”) is based on the novel and film adaptations of 侠骨丹心 (“Chivalrous Bones, Loyal Heart”).
    • Stage 6 “Tiger Gate Inn” (虎门客栈) is based on the 1987 TV series 龙门客栈, Dragon Inn (lit. “Dragon Gate Inn”, adapted from a 1967 Taiwanese movie).
    • Stage 7 “Smiling Proud Oasis” (笑傲绿洲) is based on 1990 movie 笑傲江湖, Swordsman, adapting the novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
    • Challenge Stage 1 “Girl Cop” (少女名捕) is based on the multiple TV series 少年四大名捕 (lit. “The Four Great Young Constables”, localized as The Four), adapting the novel 四大名捕.
    • Challenge Stage 2 “Calculating Commoner” (布衣神算) is based on 1984 movie 布衣神相, Return of the Bastard Swordsman.
    • Challenge Stage 3 “A World Without Lies” (天下无骗) is based on 2004 movie 天下无贼, A World Without Thieves.
  • FernFern and MagnhildaMagnhilda 's Projections contain references to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, The Thing and Kill Bill.
  • April Fools event Projections are references to ACG or movies, like Ashita no Joe (MagnhildaMagnhilda ), Kung-Fu Hustle (DaiyanDaiyan ) and Bocchi the Rock (UndineUndine ).
  • Mysterious Warrior Omega's color scheme is inspired by Rider Build - Genius Form from the Heisei-era Kamen Rider Build tokusatsu series. His pose is also similar to the main promo shot for an action figure of the same character by S.H.Figuarts.

Music

• The development version of Girl of the Bakehouse, titled Epiphyllum, mentioned Schubert's String Quartet No.14, Death and the Maiden.
• The true ending theme of Codename: Bakery Girl is a rendition of Ave Maria.
• In ^HG CZ52CZ52CZ52's story for Notebook/Operation New Year Visit, she reads a part from the Chinese translation of the orchestral song Das Lied von der Erde by 20th century German composer Gustav Mahler.
  • Mahler’s lyrics are taken from Hans Bethge’s rendition in German of various Chinese Tang Dynasty poems. Chinese scholars have identified the original poems used by Mahler in five of the six movements of his piece, but the origins of the third one remain debated. The lyrics might have been successively modified by Bethge and Mahler past recognition from the original. The poem read by CZ52 is from this third movement of mysterious origins, which illustrates her skewed perception of Chinese culture in the story.
• Most chapters of Longitudinal Strain are named after classical works of music:
  • “3-α1 Waltz in A minor”, “3-α3 Raindrop”, “14 Ballade in G minor”, “35-W4 Tristesse” and “35-N1 Fantaisie-Impromptu” reference pieces by Chopin.
  • “35-N2 Spring Sonata”, “5-α5 Moonlight Sonata”, “5-γ7 Choral Fantasy” and “9 Ghost” are pieces by Beethoven. “3-β3 Symphony No. 3”, “5-β6 Symphony No. 9” and “30 Symphony No. 6” are also symphonies most commonly associated with Beethoven.
  • “3-α4 Little Prelude in G minor”, “3-γ4 The Well-Tempered Clavier”, “13 Goldberg Variations”, “35-T2 Prelude No. 5” and “35-R4 Piano Concerto in F minor” are by Bach.
  • “5-β4 Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso”, “5-β5 Danse Macabre” and “18 The Swan” are by Camille Saint-Saëns.
  • “5-γ5 The Canary” and “32 1812 Overture” are by Tchaikovsky. Fittingly for the final battle map of the event, the 1812 Overture famously includes cannon shots as instruments.
  • “5-α7 Winter”, “10 L’estro Armonico” and “29 Summer” are from Vivaldi.
  • “35-W2 Clarinet Concerto in A Major” and “35-P1 Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”” are by Mozart.
  • “12 Gnossienne No. 1” and “35-C1 Gymnopedie” are by Erik Satie.
  • “35-R2 Sommeraften” and “35-W1 Solveig’s Song” are by Edvard Grieg.
  • “8 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” is by Rachmaninoff and “35-P2 Death and the Maiden” by Schubert. “35-T4 Moments Musicaux” could refer to a piece of either artist.
  • Other referenced classical artists are Schumann with “3-β2 Symphony No. 2 in C Major”, Stravinsky with “5-β8 The Firebird”, Handel with “16 Concerto Grosso in A minor”, Brahms with “17 Brahms Intermezzi”, Liszt with “21 La Campanella”, Mussorgsky with “22 Night on Bald Mountain”, Strauss with “26 Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, Wagner with “27 Ride of the Valkyries”, Pablo de Sarasate with “31 Zigeunerweisen”, August Wilhelmj with “33 Air on the G string”, Debussy with “35-T3 Romance”, Ravel with “35-R1 Tzigane” and Edward Elgar with “35-P3 Salut d’Amour”. “35-R3 Piano Quintet in B minor” and ranking map “Todesfuge” could refer to multiple artists.
  • More contemporary pieces include “3-β1 Gene Takes a Drink” by Michael Gordon (related to “Gene's Bar” in the event's story), “3-γ3 Vladimir’s Blues” by Max Richter, “35-T1 Étude No. 2” by Philip Glass, “35-C2 Moon River” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer and “35-C3 Starry Starry Night” by Don McLean.
  • “5-γ8 Torna a Surriento” and “35-C4 O Sole Mio” are examples of Neapolitan songs.
  • “3-γ2 Courante”, “5-α6 Chaconne”, “23 Con Espressione”, “35-N3 Minuet” and farming maps “Quartet Rondo” and “Quintet Rondo”, labeled Largo, Andante and Presto in Normal, Hard and Nightmare difficulties, use vocabulary from Renaissance and Baroque music. “5-α8 Stradivarius’ Magic” is named after the famous instruments of the Stradivari family. “35-W3 Tour di Mantova” references the Italian town of Mantua, important in the musical history of Renaissance.
  • Other opera references include “3-γ1 Méditation from Thaïs”, titled after the piece “Méditation” from Jules Massenet's Thaïs, and “5-β7 Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni.

Poetry

• In ^RF Gepard M1Gepard M1Gepard M1's story for Notebook/Gun & Rose, the Commander describes Gepard by quoting The Cherubinic Pilgrim by Angelus Silesius: "The rose is without 'why'; it blooms simply because it blooms. It pays no attention to itself, nor does it ask whether anyone sees it."
• In ^AR AN-94AN-94AN-94's story for Notebook/Night of Sweetness and Surprise, AN-94 recognizes that one of the desserts is named after the poem “Unrivalled Beauty” (绝色) by Yu Kwang-chung: "In-between the colors of Moon and Snow, You would be the third color rivaled by none" (在月色与雪色之间，你是第三种绝色).
• In Dual Randomness Hay Fever - Beginning, ^MG RPK-16RPK-16RPK-16 describes their situation after becoming surveillance targets with the famous inscription on the gate of Hell from Canto 3 of Dante Alighieri's Inferno: "Abandon all hope, Ye who enter here." She's shot down by ^AR AK-12AK-12AK-12 for quoting poems out of context.
• The credits of Mirror Stage end with an encoding of the line “Apostate only am I true. I am you, when I am I” from Lob der Ferne by Paul Celan.
• During Longitudinal Strain, ^AR AR-18AR-18AR-18 takes the name Lyudmila Pavlichenko and summons the bomber Ruslan II. This is a nod to the poem (and later opera) Ruslán i Lyudmíla by Alexander Pushkin.
• In Slow Shock, Bramedb quotes the poet Hai Zi: “In BC we were too young, in AD we were too old, and nobody saw, that one truly beautiful smile” (公元前我们太小、公元后我们又太老、没有谁见过、那一次真正美丽的微笑).
  • Russian poet Alexander Pushkin is also mentioned in Slow Shock by aspiring poet Pan, who criticizes his work as too obscure.

Myths and legends

• Jefuty is named after the Egyptian god Djehuti or Thoth, associated with the ibis bird, the Moon, wisdom and knowledge.
• Girls' Frontline
  • The Sangvis Ferri units Gaia, Ouroboros and Cerberus are named after beings of Ancient Greek mythology.
  • Most enemies of the KCCO and some of Paradeus are named after elements of Ancient Greece and its mythology: Acheron and Troy are locations; Aegis, Argo, Aspis are objects; Aceso, Aesclepius, Ares, Coeus, Kratos and Narciss are gods and goddesses; Arachne, Cerynitis, Cyclops, Hydra, Ladon, Lycaon, Minautorus, Orthros and Typhon are monsters; and Elusinian Mysteries are a secret rite.
  • Several Paradeus units have names referring to Christian lore: the Pyxis is named after the box containing the Eucharist, the Hymnal Organ is a traditional instrument for organized prayer, and the Quill of Patmos is named after John of Patmos, purportedly the author of the Bible's Book of Revelation.
  • Paradeus' Garmr is named after a monstrous dog acting as the guardian of the underworld in Norse mythology. Moreover, the Garmr units are associated with the Avernus base, named after a gate to the underworld in Roman tradition.
    • Two other Norse references associated with Paradeus are Ráðgríðr, named after a Valkyrie, and Project Hela, named after the Queen of Hell.
  • Paradeus' Gebbennu appears to be a combination of the Egyptian gods Geb, the Earth god associated with snakes, and Bennu, the Sun and reincarnation deity in the form of a heron.
  • According to a now-deleted Weibo post by former Sunborn writer Jano, Mercurows' name is made of the words “mercury” and “Merrow”, a type of mermaid.
  • Galatea Corporation is named after the Greek goddess who transformed her mortal lover into a river after his death.
  • While Mirror Stage and its main chapters (The Real, The Imaginary and The Symbolic) are titled after concepts in Lacanian psychoanalysis, some story parts are named after Ancient Greek mythology (more are named after philosophical concepts from Ancient Greece, listed in #Others):
    • Selene’s Dream: After the goddess of the Moon, though there are no specific legends associated with her dreams.
    • The Birth of Apate: Indirect reference to the opening of Pandora's Box, in which the goddess of deceit Apate was contained.
    • Hemera Points to the Light: In reference to the goddess of daytime and her alternating cycle with Nyx, goddess of night.
    • Athena’s Owl: The animal associated with the goddess of wisdom and war. In Girls' Frontline, it is also associated with Griffin Lyons.
    • Ariadne’s Clew and Cretan Labyrinth: From the story of Theseus slaying the Minotaur.
    • Dreams on the Island of Dia: Named after the island where Ariadne was slained by Artemis after Theseus slained the Minotaur.
    • Defying the Moerae, Clothos’ Thread, Lachesis’ Measure & Atropos’ Shears: The Moerae (also called Moirai or Fates) are the goddesses of fate. Clothos spins the thread that represents each mortal's life, Lachesis decides how long their thread will be, and Atropos cuts it with her shears, deciding their death.
      • ClothoClotho in Neural Cloud is themed after the Moerae.
  • As noted by the characters in chapter Reversing Entropy IB of Poincare Recurrence, the enemy hacker Bramedb is named after Queen Medb, a legendary Irish queen known for seducing great heroes and causing great wars. An interview confirms that Morridow's name is a mix of Morrigan, an Irish war goddess, and “Shadow”.
  • In ^HG PA-15PA-15PA-15's story for Notebook/Charming Furniture Expo, PA-15's idea to attach rockets to a chair to fly resembles the humorous legend of Wan Hu in Ancient China, who purportedly reached the Moon using a similar contraption.
• Project Neural Cloud
  • SolSol is named after the Norse god pulling the sun through the sky on a chariot, as evidenced by the fact that her blades bear the same names as the chariot's horses: Arvakr and Alsvidr. The reference is even more explicit in Inferno SolInferno Sol 's artworks, where she is seen on a chariot drawn by two horses.
  • According to his profile, AkiAki wields the tachi called Shuten-kiri (酒吞切), which is a reference to the real-world Douji-kiri (童子切), said to have been used by the legendary Japanese warrior Minamoto-no-Raikou to kill the oni chieftain Shuten-Douji. Aki directly references Shuten-Douji and the Douji-kiri in his Halloween quote.
  • PenumbraPenumbra 's background story references the Order of Assassins, a religious sect that built a state in medieval Persia: the name and methods of Penumbra's commander, Colonel Hassan, resemble those of Hassan-i Sabbah, the founder and leader of the Order; and Penumbra's blades, Al-Haqq and Al-Maliq, are names for the Muslim god (though the second should be written “Al-Malik”).
  • The Tartarus Sector in Neural Cloud is named after the underworld of punishment in Ancient Greek mythology. Three enemies are named after regions of Tartarus: Caina, Ptolemaea and Antenora.
  • Arcadia, the base of the Guardians, is also named after a region of Ancient Greece later associated with utopia.
  • The Reverse Babylon Tower is an inversion of the Tower of Babel story from the Bible: unlike in the original story, the tower isn't built in an attempt to reach the Heavens, but descends from the sky to protect the agents of Magrasea.
    • Accordingly, many Lesser and Intermediate Sanctifier units are named after virtues listed in christian works: Diligence, Fortitude, Kindness, Mercy, Moderation, Modesty, Patience, Faith, Hope, Love, Reverence and Wisdom, to which are added the trio of Crime, Punishment and Judgment. Some Greater Sanctifiers are classified as Gabriel models after the name of an angel, and the repository of the Sanctifers' core data is called the Sacred Canon, a concept of christian origins.
    • However, few Greater Sanctifiers, like Eucharist and Angelus, are named after Christian concepts. Instead, most are named after Ancient Greek mythical figures (which could reflect the progression of christian liturgical language from Greek to Latin): Atlas, Electra, Alcyone, and the trio EosEos , Eosphorous and Hesperus (it is notable that the Latin equivalent of "Eosphorous" would be Lucifer). Moreover, the core of the Reverse Babylon Tower is called the Pantheon and they maintain structures named Acropolises, furthering the duality of references to Ancient Greek and Christian myths.
  • Demiurge is named after the divinity that shaped the material world in Gnosticism.
  • The False God is also called "Great Creation", "Great Humanoid Creation", or "Poimandres", after the name of the conscious mind of the monotheistic god in Hermeticism.
  • In his enhancement quote, YuwangYuwang mentions Yuegong (月宫), the legendary lunar palace, home to the immortals.
  • Jiutian Sector (九天) means "Ninth Heaven" and its administrator is named Xuannu (玄女, Xuannü) after the Daoist goddess of the Ninth Heaven.
• Enemy mechs in Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery are named after slavic deities (most of them of dubious attribution due to lack of primary sources): Svarog, Khors, Simargl, Porevit, Marzanna, Filins, Devana and Jarilo.
  • Svarog Heavy Industries is also named after a slavic deity.
  • One exception to this pattern is the Diberg, named after savage warriors from Irish legends.

Sciences

• The chapters of Polarized Light are named after concepts in optics (though some titles veer into the fictionalized):
  • Chapter 1 - Unpolarized Light Source retraces the transformation of a light ray from unpolarized to polarized light: Lamp Starter, Propagation, Refraction Point, Critical Angle, Reflector, Total Internal Reflection, Sine Curve, Reversibility, Cosine Signal
  • Chapter 2 - Bifocal Prism lists equipment used in the formation and study of EM waves: Polarizer, Diffraction Grating, Waveguide, Beam Splitter, Interferometer, Aperture, Vacuum Tube, Accelerator, Spectrometer, Analyzer
  • Chapter 3 - Polarized lists chemical reactions and properties associated with "optically active" (chiral) materials: Enantiometer Overload, Recrystalization Resolution, Shattered Plane of Polarization, Asymmetric Induction, Optical Isomer
  • Chapter 4 - Crystal Recasting lists the creation steps of a reflective lens: Milling, Mixing, Pre-Heating, Sintering, Foaming, Foam Stabilization, Molding, Annealing, Tempering, Cutting, Polishing, Silvering, Virtual Image Reforging
  • Chapter 5 - Visible Horizon lists extreme electromagnetic phenomenons associated with quantum physics and black holes: Unfathomable Singularity, Observable Limits, Light Cone Frame of Reference, Causality Separating Plane, Blackbody Radiation, Escape Acceleration, Through the Event Horizon
• Poincaré Recurrence is titled after a theorem in mathematics and physics which states that certain types of changing systems will loop back to their initial state after a finite amount of time. In the context of the story, one could extrapolate that "History repeats itself" is but one case of this theorem.
• Fixed Point and its chapters are titled after concepts in topography: Singularity, Reflective Surface, Riemann Surface and Teichmuller Space.
• Eclipses & Saros and most of its chapters are titled after astrophysical concepts, several of them specifically applied to the Moon and eclipses: Long- and Short-Period Perturbation, Lunar Orbital Inclination, Ingress, Egress, Homology, Capture, Antumbra, Umbra, Annulus, Planetary Ring, Mare Crisium, Mare Tranquilitatis, Lunar Node, Third Contact, Last Contact and Outer and Inner Lagrange Point.
• The chapters of Maze Guess are named after (some fictionalized) mathematical concepts of statistics and analysis: Initial Inference, Harmonic Simulation, Interpolation Analysis, Analytic Inference, Real Analysis Simulation, Error Analysis, Transcendental Inference, Complex Manifold Simulation, Asymptotic Analysis and Bayesian Decision Theory.
• The Global trailer for Deep Dive and Project Neural Cloud's marketing used images of Conway's Game of Life.
• The tracks in Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery Soundtrack are titled after various medical terms.

Others

The titular character from the Dinosaur Game can be seen in this CG of Project Neural Cloud.

Metal Slug reference in Sharkry's dorm.

• Girls' Frontline
  • Most map names of Operation Cube and Operation Cube Plus are named after concepts surrounding the Rubik's Cube puzzle game, though some references got lost in translation: “Seven-Step Puzzle” (七阶谜题, name of the “V-Cube 7” variant), “Corner Breaker” (角先破解, the “corners first” method), “Layer Reversal” (层先调换, the “layer-by-layer” method), “Cross Base” (十字基底, the “cross” is the first step in the CFOP method), “Directional Algorithm” (定向算法, the algorithms of the CFOP method) and “Reverse Sequence” (逆转序列, a base concept of solving).
  • On ^RF M21M21M21's memento for Notebook/Mystery of the Bewitching Figure, the quote “Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one” is from the play Der Sohn der Wildnis by Friedrich Halm.
  • Some basic Paradeus units are named after historical classes of soldiers from various cultures: Rodelero, Uhlan, Strelet, Doppelsoldner, Maccabee, Gladiator, as well as famous generals Hannibal and Murat.
  • Some story parts in Mirror Stage are named after classical paradoxes and thoughts experiments:
    • Heraclitus’ River & Cratylus’ River: From the quote "No man ever steps in the same river twice" attributed to philosopher Heraclitus. Later philosopher Cratylus is known for adding to Heraclitus' river metaphor that if a river is constantly changing, it paradoxically cannot even be stepped in once.
    • Ship of Theseus: Metaphor based on the ship Argo, of which every part had been replaced at the end of Theseus' journey. The question is whether the boat could be considered the same if its original physical form had been replaced.
    • Torricelli’s Trumpet: Also known as Gabriel's horn announcing the Apocalypse, later name given to an apparently paradoxical geometric figure first detailed Evangelista Torricelli with finite volume but infinite surface.
    • Balls and Vase: A.k.a. Ross-Littlewood paradox, an example of supertask problem where 10 balls are added to and 1 taken out of a vase an infinite number of times in a finite amount of time.
    • Cretan Liar: From Cretan philosopher Epimenides, who coined the paradoxical statement that "All Cretans are liars".
    • The Grain of Millet: A paradox from philosopher Zeno, who observes that a single grain of millet doesn't make a sound when hitting the ground while thousands do, making something emerge from the addition of many nothings.
    • The Prisoner’s Dilemma: A thought experiment illustrating the difficulties of cooperation in the face of greater reward by acting selfishly.
    • Achilles and the Tortoise: Another of Zeno's paradoxes, stating that the running hero Achilles can never catch up to a moving tortoise, as the tortoise will always have moved somewhat in the time that Achilles took to close half of their separating distance.
    • Zeno’s Circle of Knowledge: Ill-sourced quote sometimes attributed to Zeno, used to illustrate the limits of human knowledge: if the sum of human knowledge is a circle traced on the ground, the rest of the world outside the circle is what mankind doesn't know.
  • The clock motif seen throughout Poincaré Recurrence is based on the Doomsday Clock, though it works for a different definition of "doomsday" since the clock eventually runs past 12:00 into 12:01.
  • A slightly modified version of the first verse of the Song of the International Brigades are seen at the end of the credit sequence of Fixed Point:

Wir im fernen Vaterland geboren, (We, born in the distant fatherland,)
Nahmen nichts als Haß im Herzen mit. (Took along nothing except hatred in the heart.)
Doch wir haben die Heimat nicht verloren, (But we haven't lost our home,)
Unsre Heimat ist heute vor G&K. (Today, our home is in front of G&K)

• • The title of Cartesian Theater references the absurd concept of consciousness being the result of observation by another internal consciousness, which is a circular logic.
• Project Neural Cloud
  • CentaureissiCentaureissi and Centaureissi - Unbound WingsCentaureissi - Unbound Wings make references to the Touhou character Sakuya.
  • According to Quenching Operation, Python (PNC)Python is canonically named after the character Snake from the Metal Gear Solid video games series. His designers also considered the names Viper, Mamba and Cobra, as well as Fischer, from the main protagonist of the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games series. The glasses he wears in the Valentine CG are similar to Ray-Ban Aviators, which are associated with the Metal Gear Solid character Kazuhira Miller.
    • Python was also nicknamed “Old Ironsides”, a nickname of the warships HMS Britannia and USS Constitution
  • BonnevilleBonneville is likely named after the Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.
  • Odile and Odette are respectively the names of the Black and White Swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake.
• The Reverse Collapse Collection contain more references.

Games Released: Girl of the Bakehouse · Codename: Bakery Girl · Girls' Frontline · Project Neural Cloud · Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium · Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery Canceled: Girls' Frontline: Glitch Land Anime Girls' Frontline (anime) · Healing Chapter & Madness Chapter Books Guns&Girls · The Art of Girls' Frontline Vol.1 · The Art of Girls' Frontline Vol.2 · Confidential Files · Girls' Frontline: Doll's Song · Others Music Withered · Codename: Bakery Girl Original Soundtrack · Girls' Frontline Original Soundtrack · Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium Original Soundtrack · Project Neural Cloud Original Soundtrack · Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery Soundtrack · Girls' Frontline ECHOES · Mankind Is No longer Solitary · Girls' Frontline Concerts Companies Big Firebird and Liverless · Sunborn (Mica Team) · Vanguard Sound · Game publishers Community Community Resources · Community Events Misc. April Fools · List of cultural references · Minigames · Shadow Confrontation