<p>This <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LuckyCharmsTitle">happens with a lot of other titles</a>, and it's neither limited to Anime/Manga, nor is it limited to stars.</p>

<p>A partial list:</p>

<ul>
<li>.hack//SIGN (read "dot-hack sign", leaving the slashes unread)</li>
<li>Yotsuba&amp; (the ampersand provides a more accurate transliteration of よつばと！)</li>
<li>The iDOLM@STER (at-sign is pronounced like the letter "A")</li>
<li>∀ Gundam (contains the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_quantification">universal quantification</a> symbol, but is read "turn-A Gundam")</li>
<li>Saiki Kusuo no Ψ Nan (the Greek letter Ψ (psi) is used for both phonetic purposes and for deeper meaning; this particular letter has roots in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology">psychology</a> and related fields)</li>
</ul>

<p>From what I've observed, the context used for those titles is generally emphasis, tone, or for stylistic purposes.  You're likely correct in that a symbol like this is meant to be there to look cool.  But, if you come across a symbol stranger than a star, there <em>might</em> be more to it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T18:16:08.210Z
There's also the new season of *Tokyo Ghoul*, titled *Tokyo Ghoul √A*.
Cattua
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T00:39:16.910Z
2015-01-04T00:39:16.910Z
Makoto
<p>TVTropes calls adding non-pronounceable characters to a works title a "<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LuckyCharmsTitle">Lucky Charms Title</a>" and as you can see from the example list, it is not a purely Japanese phenomenon. However, the Japanese are generally more adventurous with this. An explanation could be that because of the huge amount of Kanji the Japanese written language contains, being suddenly confronted with a character you can not immediately identify is not as jarring for a Japanese reader as it is for a Western reader.</p>

<p>Why is the Unicode character WHITE STAR (☆) so popular? Because it is a natural eye-catcher. When looking at a list of works, like a TV program for example, the ☆ character immediately stands out, even among the huge number of characters the Japanese language is using.</p>

<p>By the way: Official releases in English often drop the lucky charms from the title. Amazon sells <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B002M2T21C">Lucky☆Star</a> and <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B000924BV8">Puni Puni☆Poemy</a> sans ☆'s (although the star usually still appears as a decorative element in the lettering on the cover to reproduce the original typography as faithfully as possible).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T01:23:04.570Z
2015-01-04T12:21:09.907Z
2015-01-04T12:21:09.907Z
Philipp
<p>☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃</p>

<p>Why do some shows have the star ☆ in them? I understand it makes it look <em>cool</em>, but it seems to be the only non-standard character that's used in titles?</p>

<p>For example - you don't see Christmas specials with a unicode snowman in them ☃</p>

<p><strong>Some examples of shows using ☆:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><p>Lucky☆Star</p></li>
<li><p>Rolling☆Girls</p></li>
<li><p>Space☆Dandy</p></li>
<li><p>Puni Puni☆Poemy</p></li>
<li><p>Fuuun Ishin Dai☆Shogun</p></li>
<li><p>Miami☆Guns</p></li>
</ul>

<p>☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-03T20:02:32.320Z
And you shouldn't miss 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ
nhahtdh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-06T04:42:05.417Z
It makes some sense with Lucky **Star**, and maybe a little with **Space** Dandy, but the rest of them...
Torisuda
<anime-production><tropes>
Why do lots of anime titles have ☆ in them?
# Why do lots of anime titles have ☆ in them?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-01-03
☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃

Why do some shows have the star ☆ in them? I understand it makes it look *cool*, but it seems to be the only non-standard character that's used in titles?

For example - you don't see Christmas specials with a unicode snowman in them ☃

**Some examples of shows using ☆:**

* Lucky☆Star
* Rolling☆Girls
* Space☆Dandy
* Puni Puni☆Poemy
* Fuuun Ishin Dai☆Shogun
* Miami☆Guns

☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃☆☃
**Tags:** anime-production tropes
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: And you shouldn't miss 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ  
> **username_2**: It makes some sense with Lucky **Star**, and maybe a little with **Space** Dandy, but the rest of them...  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_5 on 2015-01-04. Score: 12 | Accepted answer
TVTropes calls adding non-pronounceable characters to a works title a "[Lucky Charms Title](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LuckyCharmsTitle)" and as you can see from the example list, it is not a purely Japanese phenomenon. However, the Japanese are generally more adventurous with this. An explanation could be that because of the huge amount of Kanji the Japanese written language contains, being suddenly confronted with a character you can not immediately identify is not as jarring for a Japanese reader as it is for a Western reader.

Why is the Unicode character WHITE STAR (☆) so popular? Because it is a natural eye-catcher. When looking at a list of works, like a TV program for example, the ☆ character immediately stands out, even among the huge number of characters the Japanese language is using.

By the way: Official releases in English often drop the lucky charms from the title. Amazon sells [Lucky☆Star](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B002M2T21C) and [Puni Puni☆Poemy](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B000924BV8) sans ☆'s (although the star usually still appears as a decorative element in the lettering on the cover to reproduce the original typography as faithfully as possible).
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2015-01-04. Score: 11
This [happens with a lot of other titles](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LuckyCharmsTitle), and it's neither limited to Anime/Manga, nor is it limited to stars.

A partial list:

* .hack//SIGN (read "dot-hack sign", leaving the slashes unread)
* Yotsuba& (the ampersand provides a more accurate transliteration of よつばと！)
* The iDOLM@STER (at-sign is pronounced like the letter "A")
* ∀ Gundam (contains the [universal quantification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_quantification) symbol, but is read "turn-A Gundam")
* Saiki Kusuo no Ψ Nan (the Greek letter Ψ (psi) is used for both phonetic purposes and for deeper meaning; this particular letter has roots in [psychology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology) and related fields)

From what I've observed, the context used for those titles is generally emphasis, tone, or for stylistic purposes. You're likely correct in that a symbol like this is meant to be there to look cool. But, if you come across a symbol stranger than a star, there *might* be more to it.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2015-01-04): There's also the new season of *Tokyo Ghoul*, titled *Tokyo Ghoul √A*.  
---
