2channel Shift JIS art

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[edit] >>1-san

>>1-san (>>1さん, ichisan) is a common Shift JIS art character on the popular Japanese BBS 2channel (2ch for short), standing in for the user who started a given thread. He is commonly characterized as a clueless newbie who rarely thinks through his posts and can't deal with the consequences of his actions.

On 2ch and related BBSes, two greater than signs followed by a number is automatically linked to another post in the same thread: >>1 links to the first post, >>2 to the second, and so on. As many 2ch users post anonymously, these links are also used as shorthand to refer to the persons behind the linked posts. Hence the name ">>1-san", -san being the most common honorific for personal names.

>>1-san is distinguished by a spiky hairdo, formed by a row of left and right parenthesis or less than and greater than signs. When unhappy, his face is rendered with the Cyrillic character De ( Д ) for an open, frowning mouth and, like Monā, an apostrophe and grave accent for eyes. When happy, his face is identical to Monā, with dots for eyes and a universal quantifier symbol (an upside-down capital A) for a mouth.

He is frequently threatened and beaten by other 2ch Shift_JIS art characters such as Kukkuru in retaliation for posting threads that other users find ridiculous or objectionable. "Hattoushin" Monā was originally created to threaten >>1-san with murder, but since has been reinvented as a homosexual lusting after him—attention that >>1-san does not appreciate.

　　　　 　（（（　）））
　　　 　　（　´Д｀）
　　　　　 ⊂　　　つ
　　　　　　人　ヽﾉ
　　 　　　 し'（＿）

[edit] Flash Videos

>>1-san and many other "ASCII Characters" (a pun based on the fact they are made up of actual ASCII characters) are often the subjects of amateur flash videos and games that are placed on the web for free access. The subjects of these productions are most often relating to Manga, Anime or other topics commonly associated with Otaku culture. The voices of the characters portrayed are usually created using Speech synthesis. See External Links.


[edit] References

  • Tarou, Maruheso, ed. 2ちゃんねる AA大辞典 ("Ni-channeru AA Dai-Jiten" (romanized), meaning "2channel AA BIG Dictionary".)
ISBN 4-7973-2275-6.
Tokyo, Japan: Softbank Publishing, 2003.
  • 2-ten Project, ed. 2典 ～2ちゃんねる辞典～ ("Ni-channeru AA Jiten" (romanized), meaning "2channel AA Dictionary".)
ISBN 4-8354-4033-1.
Virtual Cluster / Book-ing, 2002.

[edit] Giko Cat

Giko Cat or Giko neko (ギコ猫) is a character-based Japanese fictional cat. He is considered one of the mascots of 2channel, the largest web-based bulletin board system in Japan, but actually predates that BBS. He is thought to have originated in Ayashii World (Strange World), an old web-based bulletin board system in Japan around 1999.

He is frequently posted saying "Itteyoshi", which is a pun: when written "行ってよし" it means "you may go" or "please go away", and this is the meaning most Japanese speakers would think of when they hear it, but when written with different kanji (逝ってよし) it means "you may die" or "please die".

Giko's face is "drawn" with handakuten for eyes, and the Cyrillic letter De for a mouth. A semicolon on one side is frequently added as a sweat drop. Unlike Mona, there is no underscore separating his ears.

Giko is characterized as being somewhat cynical and misanthropic. However, he has a girlfriend, Shii-chan, who he suddenly dumped for someone else in Shii's song.

Giko, Shii-chan, and Boon all appear in a graphical IRC client known as Gikobar （BARギコっぽいONLINE）.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 ∧∧　　／￣￣￣￣
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(,,ﾟДﾟ)＜　ゴルァ！
　　＿＿＿_∧∧　　／￣￣￣￣￣￣　　　　　 ⊂　　⊃　＼＿＿＿＿
～'　＿＿__(,,ﾟДﾟ)＜　逝ってよし！　 　　　　　.～|　　|
　 ＵU 　 　Ｕ U 　　 ＼＿＿＿＿＿＿　　　　　 　.し`J

[edit] Monā

Monā saying "Omae mo nā"
Monā saying "Omae mo nā"

Monā (モナー) is the most well-known Shift JIS art character in Japan. His name comes from his favorite phrase, "omae mo nā!", which is best rendered in English as "You too!" or "So do you!" (This is equivalent to 4chan's catchphrase "NO U."). He is considered to be one of the mascots of 2channel.

Monā is distinguished by his pointed ears, and a face consisting of the universal quantifier symbol (upside-down capital "A") for a mouth, flanked by an apostrophe and grave accent for eyes. When rendered from behind, he has a small, round tail.

Monā was invented very early on in the history of 2channel. An Internet troll constructed the Monā character with his keyboard and had him say a standard complaint about Internet forums: "You people have too much free time". The first post following up to this simply copied and pasted the artwork and said, "You too!" This became an instant catchphrase and Monā was put to use across the forum.

The Mona Font for displaying Shift JIS art compatibly on Linux was named after this character.

[edit] Variants

There is also a taller variant, known as Hattoushin Monā (literally, "eight heads high Monā"), or simply Hattoushin, frequently spelled "8toushin". He is frequently depicted in mock-homoerotic poses, or pursuing >>1-san, originally with murderous but more recently lustful intent.

A variant with dots (in Shift_JIS art, the katakana middle dot) for eyes, rather than the apostrophe and backtick, has been named Morarā (モララー, sometimes spelled "Moraler" or "Moralar") or Matāri (マターリ, also spelled "Matterly" or "Mattarly") and is considered a separate character.　He sometimes characterized as being more sensible than the whimsical Monā, but in many cases they are interchangeable.

[edit] Avex

In fall 2005, Avex Group Holdings has come under fire from fans and supporters of Monā and the variants for promoting and commercialising their own Shift-JIS art character, named Noma neko, which probably first appeared in the music video for "Koi no Maiahi", a Japanese release of the Moldovan band O-Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei". Avex claimed that Noma neko was an adaptation of Monā, but denied that they were using the online popularity of Monā to increase sales. Due to pressure from 2channel fans, Avex ceased distribution of Noma neko merchandise and cancelled plans to obtain rights for the character.

However, 2channel fans say that Noma neko goods are still sold, and that the problem is not solved. (see ja:のまネコ問題—Noma neko problem, in Japanese)

[edit] Shii

Shii

Shii is a Shift_JIS art cat, portrayed as living in a cardboard box. She is considered one of the mascots of 2channel, the largest Internet forum in Japan, but actually predates that BBS. She is thought to have originated in Ayashii World (Strange World), an old web-based bulletin board system in Japan around 1999.

Shii's face is drawn with handakuten for eyes, chōon for a mouth, and an asterisk for cheeks. Unlike Mona, there is no underscore separating her ears.

Shii is associated with male counterpart Giko Cat.

Shii in SJIS art
Shii in SJIS art

[edit] Shii's Song

Shii-chan stars in "Shii's Song", a Flash animation accompanied by the song "Wind's Nocturne (Luna's Song)" as sung by Jenny Stigile from the game Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. The song's pitch was sped up to sound more kitten-like for the release of the animation.

The first version, created by an anonymous poster on 2channel, mixes Japanese text in the scenery with an English language song. The more famous version is entirely in English. It credits the animator as brandy199.

The song goes through a year of Shii's life, as she sings of waiting for a star that will fulfill her dreams. Giko Cat appears as Shii's unrequited love interest during the spring and summer verses and in her daydream. He appears again in Autumn having found someone else, to Shii's disappointment.

The song ends with Shii giving a smile as the animation enters the winter scene. Shii has gone, with her box available for rent. With foot prints near the box the young cat has left her box and moved on with her life.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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