Domo-kun{}

 

About

Domo is a Japanese character often pasted in to relevant or major scenes of disaster as the apparent cause for destruction. Domo’s usage is very similar to the more contemporary Disaster Girl. He has grown to become a pop culture icon.

Origin

Domo-Kun (どーもくん Dōmo-kun) was initially the official mascot of Japanese television station NHK (日本放送協会, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai). The station introduced the character in December 1998 with several stop-motion sketches made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the station being on air. Created and animated by Tsuneo Gōda, Domo was formed out of sketches of shapes while Gōda was brainstorming for a mascot. The character received its name from the announceer’s introduction to the second airing of the animation: “dōmo, konnichiwa” (どうも、こんにちは?), which roughly translates to “Well, hello there!”

On The Web

Threads about Domo were posted on Japanese imageboard 2channel as early as 2001, showing up in ASCII forms on the site. The same year, Domo began appearing in Newgrounds flash animations. On December 16th, 2002, a collaboration game between Newgrounds founder Tom Fulp and the site i-Mockery.com, was released entitled Domo-Kun Angry Smashfest. That week, it was voted as the Weekly User’s Choice game.

Domo’s Personal History

According to his mythology, Domo was hatched from an egg and lives underground with a rabbit, Usajii. He loves watching television and is known for passing gas when he gets nervous. He also has a fear of apples, since his ancestors became extinct after eating them. He doesn’t speak, he only communicates via low noises that sound like his name.

Spread

Domo was introduced to English-speaking audiences when a photoshopped image of two Domo-kuns chasing kittens appeared on Fark November 28, 2002. It was captioned Every Time You Masturbate, God Kills A Kitten, which became a catchphrase on its own.

The first Domo YTMND was created on July 13th, 2004 and over 150 have been created since. Domo’s official site, DomoNation.com, was registered on October 31st, 2005. Since then, it has grown to feature forums, video, news, games and other interactive elements.

Si Malang Ingin Terbang

Aku adalah seekor burung merpati putih yang elok nan cantik..

Semua mata pernah memujiku, bahkan ingin memilikiku. Dengan kedua bola mata yang bercahaya penuh oleh keindahan, dengan suaraku yang merdu seringkali bernyanyi sepanjang hari yang cerah membius siapa saja yang mendengarnya. Orang yang sedang berjalan menjadi berhenti, burung-burung yang sedang menari indah pada lukisan langit menjadi hinggap, hanya untuk mendengarkan suaraku yang merdu dan parasku yang elok ini.

Kedua sayapku berlapisi emas perak berkilauan, bulunya halus selembut sutra, berwarna putih bersih tanpa setitik noda, tiada yang mampu membuat noda sekecil apapun pada sayap indahku ini.

Tak ada satu orang pun yang mampu menyentuhku, terlebih manusia, burung sejenisku pun tidak ada yang berani mendekatiku, melukis segaris harapan pada bulu halusku ini. Tidak ada.

Mereka hanya mampu terbang disekelilingku, mengepak-ngepakan sayapnya pada tangkai pohon di dekatku, memandang dari kejauhan, mencari perhatianku.

Pernah aku meminta, pernah aku berharap, inginnya aku terbang bebas di angkasa ke seluruh bagian lekukan-lekukan dunia yang samasekali belum pernah aku lihat, inginnya aku menyapa sapaan kata hai mereka kembali dan terbang tinggi sesukaku. Hmm, hanya mampu membayangkan pada ruang lingkup sesempit ini saja.

Percuma aku memiliki sayap indah seperti ini. Tidak berfungsi. Hanya menjadi bahan pujian dan kekaguman semua orang yang melihatnya. Sayap indah yang aku miliki, tidak mampu terbang jauh mengitari seluruh bagian permukaan bumi.

Manamungkin bisa? Ya, Karena aku hanyalah seekor burung dalam sangkar emas.