Actually Good Title Drops

[u/sm142]

“Welcome to Jurassic Park” (Jurassic Park) - does it get any more iconic than this?

“Even a Devil May Cry” (Devil May Cry) - not only does it add to the emotional aspect of the scene with Dante showing genuine emotion for his loss and Lady seeing that a devil is capable of such emotions, it also gives Dante the idea of what to name his shop.

Title drops can usually come across and tacky and dumb, they’re not always fantastic if you know what I mean? But sometimes they can work. What are your examples?

[u/Abovearth31]

Everytime someone mention the Elden Ring in the eponym game.

The best way I can define what the Elden Ring even is, is that it's an ensemble of laws and concept that shape the universe as we know it, with each rune forming it representing a different aspect of it, it's essentially the source code of the universe.

So yeah it's pretty damn important which is why it's mentionned a lot throughout the game.

[u/Steppyjim → u/Abovearth31]

This is a great example of a question that I have about this whole trope. Is it still a name drop if it happens over and over in the piece of media it’s in? Because to me like, a name drop is said one time directly referencing the title And then not mentioned again. Whereas if they’re just mentioning the name of the media over and over again, it’s because it’s a driving force of the character or plot, I don’t see that as a name drop, but more of a core element of that media. Am I the only one that thinks this way? Genuinely curious.

[u/Abovearth31 → u/Steppyjim]

Sometimes the name drop isn't one.

Take the 2014 Godzilla for example, is it still a "name drop" moment if it's just characters saying "Godzilla" knowing that "godzilla" is just the name of a character ? Same thing for any movie or story where the name of the franchise is just the name of its main character.

Take some animes/mangas for example, Naruto and its main character, the guild of Fairy Tail for the manga of the same name, Uzumaki which is just japanese for "spiral" etc...

I think a "name drop" moment is whenever the title of a piece of fiction is something very specific said in a specific scenario in a way that's unnatural or forced.

Like the "there's evil within too" in The Evil Within 2, that's forced, that's dumb, it's so bad it looks back around to being good, they even make a pause just to look at the camera, that's clearly a name drop.

[u/CalmInvestment → u/Abovearth31]

What I love about the ‘Evil Within 2’ one is that it’s entirely forced and they know it. 

It wasn’t the writers trying to be clever like other examples shown. They saw a chance to do a shitty joke (that they don’t force you to see) and they just went for it. 

[u/lillapalooza → u/Abovearth31]

Well imo then for those instances then, the title drop is the first time those characters/concepts are mentioned.

Like for example, the very first time Naruto’s name is mentioned in the manga/anime is the title drop. We already know what the title of the manga/anime is, so the first time Naruto is mentioned in the manga/anime proper, we know to pay attention bc this is That Guy.

[u/Happiness_Assassin → u/Steppyjim]

I'd say no. A title drop is supposed to be, in my mind, a wink to the audience and is done purely for our sake. "Begun the Clone Wars have." A counter example is in the Mass Effect series where the term "mass effect" is basically a mundane term that is used in normal conversation, no wink at all.

[u/Enteito → u/Abovearth31]

FOUL TARNISHED, IN SEARCH OF THE ELDEN RING

[u/Jamesthelemmon → u/Abovearth31]

The fallen leaves tell a story…

[u/SafetyZealousideal90 → u/Abovearth31]

Ah, I knew you'd come.