MULTIMEDIA

Many of Japan's most popular Web memes emerge from the millions of daily posts on the BBS called 2channel. So do some very elaborate and creative works of ASCII art. 2channel is a text-only bulletin board, but users have circumvented that restriction and created a whole new form of illustration, as well as an array of recurring characters that are continually refined and elaborated on by the user community.¹

Mona

One of the most famous creatures to emerge from the 2channel threads is Mona (aka Nomaneko), a catlike (or bearlike?) thing, which has been made out of apostrophes and brackets. Since his first appearance in 2000, he has become a fixture on the BBS. Many variations of Mona exist, and users will attach versions depicting the appropriate emotions to their posts and comments. The character is often accompanied with certain catchphrases popular on the site, such as omae mona! ("I know you are, but what am I?") and kimee! ("Gross!"). Mona is the collective property of the 2channelers—no single person owns the copyright. But when music label Avex tried to commercialize Nomaneko products, 2channelers fought back with everything from legalistic nitpicking to death threats, solidifying Mona's status as the collective symbol of the anonymous underdog.

1 Note: 2channel ASCII art is designed for IE's default Japanese font, MS PGothic. We used Firefox on a Mac to enlarge some of the originals, distorting them. Our readers showed us how to make changes so the images display properly.