Domokun, The Little Japanese Monster that Eats Cats
This square shaped, mean-looking meatball is a friendly monster that’s become famous thanks to the Internet
He’s so cute
Where have I seen this doll? If you spend whole days sitting in front of the computer, you may be asking yourself this question, because this chicken McNugget shaped monster has become famous the world over thanks to the Internet. Many people have used its image to attract traffic and comments to their blogs: “I’ll eat a kitten for each comment you make” or “If you read without commenting, I’ll eat a kitten”. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It could simply be a little animal created by some blogger, but actually Domukun is a Japanese cultural icon.
To make a comparison, he’s as popular in Japan as Barney was in the ‘80’s. 90% of Japanese school children know who he is. The rest of the world isn’t really all that sure. Well, Domokun is Japanese TV channel NHK’s mascot. He stars in his own stop-motion animation series.
The series narrates the adventures of this monster hatched out of an egg who lives in an underground cave and loves to talk and eat meat and potatoes. You might think this is a children’s series, but it’s not. Just look what kind of friends he hangs out with: an alcoholic bat, an elderly rabbit who’s addicted to watching TV and a weasel who wants to be a model. Not exactly child-friendly fare. Even so, kids love it, and so do adults, many of them collect Domokun products: cell phone charms and covers, walking dolls, cut outs, stuffed animals, felt brooches… Anything that reproduces its image (and sometimes its texture) is sure to be a hit.
Where does his name come from?
Domo kun is a combination of the Japanese words Dōmo konnichiwa + Kun. The first words could be translated as “A very good day to you”, and Kun is an honorary title used to refer to young men in Japan. Although it’s probably best to forget about translating it and just remember his name in Japanese, it’s a lot more appealing and easier to remember.
Now that we all know Domokun, let’s watch some of his videos. If you can bear watching the first 48 seconds, you’ll see that Domokun is a fat but agile little monster with a gift for dancing. Even John Travolta at his peak couldn’t manage those pirouettes!
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He’s so cute
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