Japan's 4 most popular YouTube stars of all time
In Japan, YouTube has always been a place for illegally uploading broadcast TV and clips from old video tapes. That doesn't mean, however, that the site's Japanese users don't appreciate the kind of stars who are born on the internet rather than implanted there as cross promotion.
To get a sense of the kind of YouTube star that Japanese net users like best, we looked at the most highly-watched channels of all time in the Japanese region. Here are the four personalities who stood out.
1. MRirian: The silent stares of Magibon
American twenty-something Magibon -- aka MRirian, aka Margaret Lillian Adams -- has attained bonafide legend status on the internet, thanks in no small part to a loyal legion of Japanese fans. Videos of her speaking pidgin Japanese -- or better yet, doing absolutely nothing in the Zen Buddhist-like "mu" (無) series -- became so popular on this side of the Pacific that internet TV channel Gyao invited Magibon to Tokyo to become a real idol (complete with Weekly Playboy appearance.) Even after crossing the threshold from bedroom diary videos to professional career work, her YouTube clips still break the six figure mark on a regular basis, showing that the "white girl speaking Japanese" angle may always be a winning formula. (Cue Beckii Cruel and Emily of Applemilk1988.)
MRirian channel: 65,395,564 views as of November 30, 2009
2. 294tv: Disbanded idol group
294 -- pronounced "tsukushi" (don't ask, long story) -- were a two-girl singing unit who used the power of YouTube to secure themselves a recording career. In 2007, the group's producer challenged Kahori and Haruka to tape 100 short videos in just 10 days with the promise of a second single if they could break 100,000 page views. They ended up reaching 280,000, winning their next single, and more importantly, a stable YouTube fan base. (The most watched video of their oeuvre is one of Kahori saying the "nyoki nyoki" catch phrase while being sprayed with a Mentos-Coke fountain.) Unfortunately all that new-media celebrity was for not: Tsukushi broke up in May of 2009, citing Kahori's health issues. Yet, even without new videos, the 294tv channel is the fourth most watched in Japan of all time.
294tv channel: 55,547,507 views as of November 30, 2009
3. mugumogu: The internet's most famous cat
In the days before internet, we could only dream of a future society where entertainment hours were spent watching other people's pets do silly things. Now that future is here: Scottish Fold Maru is famous on the Information Superhighway for doing things like jumping out of boxes and rushing into empty six-pack containers. You may laugh, but Maru is a pretty great cat -- and frankly, can be much more active in the videos than Magibon. Bonus point: In the videos, we get to see the inside of an ultra-bland Japanese living space that perfectly defines the nation's interior decoration philosophy.
mugumogu: 32,731,866 views as of November 30, 2009
4. cotorich: Mostly SFW videos from a former porn star
Cotorich is the nickname of Hikaru Koto -- a former Japanese porn star. After working as an actress in Japan's bustling adult video industry during her late teens, Koto retired from the biz at 20 and began documenting her life on YouTube. Even at the ancient age of 24, Koto is able to collect net users' hearts with her demure good looks, sultry voice and subtly unhinged personality. And as seen above, she has been acting out stories in her underwear. How can you expect other YouTube users to top that?
cotorich: 30,657,088 views as of November 30, 2009
