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This is from a scene in volume 1 of Non Non Biyori. During the chapter, Renge is concerned that "we might live in the countryside" (田舎) and lists several evidences of it.

Renge mentions owning a tanuki/raccoon dog and having named it "具", to which Natsumi responds with surprise. She says it's a "サイケデリック" name.

Non Non vol.1 pg.24 Non Non vol.2 pg.25

It seems to carry a positive meaning, and I was wondering if it's slang. I tried to do a quick search online for other sentences in Japanese containing this word, but I couldn't find any in which the term isn't used literally.

Any ideas on what this means in context?

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  • psychedelic name?
    – Jimmy Yang
    Commented Aug 31 at 2:46
  • I'm not sure what you're asking exactly. What does it mean for it to be used "literally" versus how you think it's being used here? What is the discrepancy you're suggesting exists?
    – Leebo
    Commented Aug 31 at 2:54
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    Well, the "literal" meaning I refer to would be related to drug usage, or, in a more common usage, relating to strong and strange sensations or mental state. I don't really understand what this has to do with the pet's name.
    – Sheklon
    Commented Aug 31 at 3:19
  • I see, I thought you were excluding things like things like spiral-patterned, colorful shirts, suggesting that such uses of the word couldn't be found, where it's not literally related to drug use. The character would be making that kind of figurative reference to the word, but it's possible for people to disagree that such a pet name is not actually psychedelic.
    – Leebo
    Commented Aug 31 at 7:59

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サイケデリック is not a commonly used adjective in everyday conversation, but it's not really different from "psychedelic" as used in English. In the contexts of art and music, it conveys the same image as shown in this video. It is associated with hallucinations seen when one's normal thought processes are altered.

The word 具 refers to ingredients used in stewed dishes like curry or soup, and 狸鍋 (raccoon dog hotpot) was once a popular dish in rural areas in Japan. In this context, the use of the adjective サイケデリック seems to suggest that the idea of naming one's pet "Ingredient" doesn't come from a person of sound mind. While this isn't a typical usage of サイケデリック, it at least works as a humorous expression.

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  • Thank you. I'm not really familiar with the kanji, so I thought there might be some meaning I simply missed. But this explanation makes sense.
    – Sheklon
    Commented Aug 31 at 3:21

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