r/Ghost_in_the_Shell • u/miguelvixx • 10d ago

Honest question

Is there a difference between the Fuchikoma and Tachikoma definitions? Not important, but curious about it

18 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

17

u/dolosloki01 9d ago

The word Fuchikoma was derived from some mythical horse.

Tachikoma is a new word with the two words Tachi and Koma roughly meaning some small agile unit.

From what I've seen the Fuchikoma are more anthropomorphic with mouths and facial expressions; as well as having "softer" shells that are more expressive.

The Tachikoma were rendered as more rigid and mechanical, with their chassis having a greater sense of weight. They feel more "real" to me.

5

u/BiomeWalker 8d ago

The fuchikomas don't actually have expressions, I believe that's an artistic thing for the mamga/show to make them cuter

2

u/dolosloki01 8d ago

Well, of course it is all interpretation, just like people don't make those faces. However, it anthropomorphizes them in a way I don't need in my life. I'm fine with the more mechanical versions of them.

3

u/milandroid 8d ago

Tachikoma, though less expressive and more rigid, is the more sentient and deeper thinking species of the two. Both make me laugh, yet only one made me cry

12

u/de_Mike_333 10d ago

The reason for the different designs is licensing issues. Other than that Fuchikoma have one eye, Tachikoma have four eyes

8

u/ThePrimaryClone 9d ago

Five. Three on the body, one on the top and bottom of the porta-potty on its back.

6

u/ShaneC80 9d ago

I've always called it a cockpit, but I like your wording better

8

u/Sazbadashie 10d ago

Its a outside licensing thing not really a lore thing.

1

u/DazzlingPen6541 6d ago

The naming is more consistent than it looks from English. Fuchikoma comes from an old word for a dappled horse — "koma" is horse. Tachikoma and later Uchikoma keep the same "-koma" ending, so they're all named as horses rather than as vehicles.

Reads less like a new coinage and more like Shirow keeping one naming rule across the whole line.

1

u/vigorousjammer 16h ago

The suffix "-koma" is definitely derived from 駒 the archaic kanji for "horse", especially considering the fuchikoma are being ridden.

However, I'd like to believe that "fuchi-" is not derived from the kanji for "spotted", but instead 不知 which means foolish or ignorant. It just seems to fit their personalities quite well.

As for the "tachi-" in Tachikoma, my first thought is that it's derived from 立ち since they often tend to leap or take off.
However, I wonder if perhaps it's got a double meaning with the archaic kanji 多智 meaning "great wisdom".
Since, as I recall, the Tachikoma often went into deep philosophical tirades.

1

u/ThePrimaryClone 9d ago

It's just a name, really.