Cultural references/The Animation

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This page contains cultural references that can be found in Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation. All references are listed by episode.

The Goddess (Neptune) of Planeptune

When Neptune is playing a game, she yells "Sonic jump", implying that the game she is playing is a Sonic the Hedgehog game.
When the Planeptune sisters, IF, Compa, and Histoire see the leaked pictures posted on the internet, Compa mentions that she's in the fantasy zone, referencing the Sega arcade game of the same name.
- Neptune also comments that it's like a journey of dreams, referencing NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

Noire mentions YouTube in the English dub.
The theme park Super Nintenland has various references to the Super Mario series:
- The pipes that would transport a character from one area to another.
- The coins that give 1-Ups.
  - Rom and Ram, in the dub, joke about collecting one hundred coins so that Blanc will "get a life". This is how a player gets 1-ups in Mario games.
- In the dub, while ordering peaches, Neptune asks for the "Rainbow Road Special", Rainbow Road being a track in the Mario Kart series.
- Neptune trying to keep her basket of peaches away from a turtle is a reference to the original Super Mario Bros. plot.
Vert and Neptune mention about a satellite service in Lowee known as the Basiliview, referencing the Satellaview.

A cover of Akiba's Trip Plus is shown in Vert's game collection.
Vert's "special camera" is a reference to the Kinect.
A controller resembling an Xbox 360 controller is briefly shown when Vert is showcasing her game.
The Zune district is a reference to Microsoft's Zune media player.

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(April 2022)

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(April 2022)

Uni's pet bandicoot Crachy (known as Clutter in the Japanese version) is a reference to Crash Bandicoot.
Neptune can be seen playing Mugen Souls Z.
Setag's verbal tic, ending every sentence in -bill, is a reference to Bill Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft. In the English dub it was changed to -bing, instead referencing Bing, Microsoft's search engine.
In the English dub, Anonydeath compares his Metal Gear to Solid Snake.
When Neptune makes fun of Noire who was convinced that her security system is unbreakable. She does it by paraphrasing Rudol von Stroheim's famous quote, accompanied by on-screen SFX, saying "Lastation no security wa sekai ichi!" meaning "Lastation's security is the best in the world!".

Arfoire mentions that she bought an entire eggplant farm to take advantage of Neptune's weak point, and take her down like an arrow to the knee, referencing the infamous quote from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

In the English dub, Neptune tells Peashy to "check herself before she wrecks herself" after being tackled for her pudding. This is a reference to the Ice Cube song "Check Yo Self".
There are two references to lines from various video games in the dub:
- In one scene, as the CPUs are flying back Plutia asks why they won't let her transform and references the line "Henshin-A-Go-Go" from the Viewitful Joe series.
- In another, when the interface grants Vert the access to R-18 Island, she says "All your boobs are belong to us", which is a reference to the infamous line from the game, Zero Wing.

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(April 2022)

In the dub, during Purple Sister and Yellow Heart's battle, Purple Sister states in annoyance "Why did you have to do a barrel roll" in reference to Star Fox.

There are multiple references to Sonic the Hedgehog:
- When Neptune bumps into Abnes during a news report, a chest containing rings can be seen after dropping to the floor.
- Nepgear tells Abnes to take the chest of rings to the Green Hill attraction for her, referencing Green Hill Zone.
- Abnes can also be seen bumping into a girl wearing a green Sonic-like costume.

Tari's super weapon, the Pong Laser, is a reference to the Atari video game Pong.
When the CPUs unite against Rei, Purple Heart quotes that they have assembled a true dream cast. This is a reference to the Sega Dreamcast.

The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower is a reference to the Idea Factory RPG Spectral Tower.
Plutia tells Neptune "It's dangerous to go alone", referencing the famous quote in The Legend of Zelda.

The "That is COOL" tagline in the trailer is a reference to the “This is Cool” tagline used in the Japanese Sega Saturn commercials and the Japan-exclusive Skeleton Saturn.
Vert mentions a crown in Lowee that can turn anything into a princess and imagines Rom and Ram as princesses. This is a reference to the Super Crown in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and the Bowsette internet meme.
Blanc can be seen holding a Nintendo Switch-like handheld while reading.

The Planeptune Costume Festival is entitled Planeptune Kasō Matsuri: Nep ga Gotoku. This is a reference to the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series (known as Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan).
The Top Nep hat that the older Neptune wears is a reference to the the Top Nep hat that occasionally appeared in memes and fanart created by the Western Neptunia fanbase before being made into official Neptunia merchandise and appearing in official 4koma comic strips illustrated by Tsunako.
- The hat is originally based on the Comedy Central sitcom Workaholics, where the character Adam would occasionally be seen wearing a similar hat, with Top Gun written on it. This was adopted by the 4chan message board, where it was changed to Top Lel, and later spread to the Neptunia fanbase where it was finally changed to Top Nep.
Covers of Super Ileheart Quest, Octomania and Spectral Tower can be seen on the pile of games Neptune was about to pick up.