Adverbial イコール?


My question here concerns Speedwagon’s remark in the bottom left, “剣からの防御がイコール波紋攻撃につながっているぞ!”

First of all, I’m assuming this is all one sentence, but at times it’s hard to tell in manga due to a lack of periods.
Obviously, he’s saying that JoJo’s defense from the sword (lifting his leg) also served as a means for a ripple attack (by conducting it through the steel of the sword), but I’ve never seen イコール used like this. I’ve seen it used after the subject to denote that something is equal to something else (e.g. 恋イコール愛ではない or 彼は富イコール 幸福だと思っている), but I don’t think that’s the case here as the イコール comes after が.

Furthermore, the つながっている at the end also confuses me. につながる is to lead to, right? Can you just say “剣からの防御が波紋攻撃につながっているぞ” ? And if so, why is イコール even here? If anyone has seen sentences with イコール used like this, I’d love to see it, thanks!

It is still a bit unclear to me as well, but I think the layout might give a hint. The way that イコール is actually written aesthetically aligns the defense and the attack. That is, it is on it’s own line, which makes it feel like it’s just over the top emphasizer.

Kinda like saying, “Attacking me, EQUALS, your defeat.” It’s a little cheesy in English but it I am curious if it as the same affect in Japanese.

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If that were the case then I don’t think there would be the が particle after 防御. イコール can be used to mean what you’re saying, but, as in every example sentence I’ve seen, it can’t be used like that with a topic marker before it

I think so too, just it is going unstated:

|剣からの防御がイコールがあって波紋攻撃につながっているぞ

isn’t it kind of the same as this, just with the first part not being repeated again because it’s already the subject?

Here’s another example with イコール after が from the 新英和大辞典:

And a lot more examples here: Massif - がイコール

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I’ve heard Japanese people say that anime battles are lame to Japanese people because they are just words to them, like “お前はもうしんでいる” sounds cool to non-Japanese speakers because it’s just sounds, but “you’re already dead” sounds lame to people that speak it.

This sentence is pretty much the same, I think:
自ら不利な距離を取るという選択肢はイコール死に直結する。
This makes a bit more sense, I guess?
つまり、あの警告はイコール、絵画すべてに触れるなと言っているのと同義なのだ。
Here are 18 more, but they’re not exactly what you’re looking for:
https://jpdb.io/vocabulary/1021220/イコール?lang=english&expand=p#examples_plus_3417281699

A lot of sentences where イコール is used after a は or が has a particle で attached like so: イコールで. I wonder if this changes the meaning somehow or using it without で is a simple omission.

It’s not the first nor will be this the last time I see a very obviously English word with a very weird/strange/unnatural to an English speaker Japanese meaning or usage.

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Interesting, and very strange. I think this answers my question, it appears that イコール after a topic marking particle exists but is less common. Thank you!

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I would imagine so, but it also depends on the person and how much kitsch one can handle.