Talk:Tanks for the Memories/@comment-5879304-20160503210726/@comment-24382279-20170205010806

It's definitely a death analogue. I'm not sure they wanted to address death directly on a show like this, but considering that the death of a pet is usually the first time a child has to come to grips with death and loss, it seemed appropriate. And using Tank's hibernation period provides a similar experience without actually saying "Yup, Tank's dead."