Nijiura and Futaba Characters

Nijiura (aka 2ch, 2chan or 2channel), the image boards of Futaba Channel, are a Japanese website where various Japanese net characters have been born. The OS-tans were spawned on Futaba on August 6th, 2003, though they aren't the only net characters out there, and often interact with the various other characters this site has created. This is a list of the characters and basic information about them.

The Random Residents of Futaba

The OS-tans interact with a host of random characters, and certain ones interact with certian others more. Some, like Toshiaki, are common across the board.

Toshiaki (としあき)

Toshiaki with 2k-tan.

The origin of the moniker "Toshiaki" comes from an incident in the early days of Nijiura. Like 4chan, both boards by default list no name, and most users don't list one (instead opting for the tag of "Nameless" ("名無し")). In these early days, a particularlly insistant, trollish poster harassed the posters into copying his name, "Toshiaki". This sparked the operators into changing the default name to "Toshiaki" (prior there was no default name, resulting in the "Nameless" moniker being posted by default). Over time, however, some boards removed this tag and the "Nameless" tag entirely, resulting in all anons being listed as "「」" (pronunced "Kakkou", translated as "Brackets"). Toshiaki, though originally just the name for a random anon, eventually turned into the User character of the OS-tans. "-aki" is actually a suffix, and has been attached to others, such as ME-aki, the credited creator of ME-tan, the first OS-tan.

Toshiaki, as drawn by 98-tan.

Toshiaki the character is generally depicted as a college-age man with shaggy, short brown hair. He lives alone in an apartment (apart from sharing his space with his OS-tans), and not much is known or described about him. he is generally patient with his computers, willing to forgive the freezes or crashes of ME-tan without much frustration. It has been hinted that he likes Megannekos ('Glasses Girls'). He may or may not be depicted with eyes, and sometimes is depicted with glasses.

Toshiaki with XP-tan, as depicted with glasses.

「」("Kakkou")

Various Kakkou.

A default name (name used when nothing else is entered) on certain boards on Futaba, Kakkou (which translates literally to "Brackets") also commonly shows up in OS-tan artwork, with the brackets replacing the facial features of an anonymous person. The Brackets originated when the use of "Toshiaki" as a default forum name was dropped, but since the newer boards have picked up "Toshiaki" as an anon name again, both are used in the forum's moniker.

Akachouchin and Daiginjou

Daiginjou (left) and Akachouchin (right).

Akachouchin is a girl often seen with 95-kun. Akachouchin is based off of the character Shinku from the Anime/Manga series Rozen Maiden. A Chouchin is a type of paper lantern, while Aka means red, so the character is a silver-haired girl with a red headdress with red paper lanterns on the sides. Perhaps this is is a sign of the Red Light District, which might coorespond to Akachouchin's frequent inebriation. 95-kun is more often depicted with Akachouchin, who is usually depicted with some sort of container, as it is said that Akachouchin is excellent at making sake (though it is in the kuchikami way of chewing the ingredients and then spitting them into the pot to ferment). She can be seen in a 4koma here.[1]

Daiginjou is a woman often seen with 95-tan. Daiginjou is derived from Suigintou and Kun-kun, both from the Rozen Maiden series. Like Akachouchin, Daiginjou is often associated with alcohol, but instead of making it, she serves it as a bartender. She is a tall, reubenesque blonde woman with brown dog ears under a small maid ruffle, flanked by red paper lanterns. Her hair varies in length depending on the picture, some depicting it in a slightly shorter cut than 2k-tan, some depicting it longer than 95's. She is a frequent companion of 95-tan and Kiri-san, the three seeming to be drinking buddies. Daiginjou has also been shown to hang out with 2k-kun and Eigyouseki after work. A lone comic[2] has implied that there might be a romantic relationship between 2k-kun and Daiginjou.

Kiri-san (霧さん)

Yukiko-san (left) and Kiri-san (right) with another net character, Goboten (above).

Kiri-san is a tall, buxom woman with long silvery-blue hair, small half-rim glasses and yellow eyes. She is based off the popular character Kotonomiya Yuki(琴乃宮雪), from the cult classic hentai visual novel Suigetsu. Though she, like her base character, is a maid, she is frequently pictured in various outfits, though her maid's uniform is brown and white. Her younger sister, Yukiko-san, is based off of the same character, though Yukiko's hair is about the length of 2k-tan's, and her eyes are red. Yukiko-san seems to appear significantly less than her older sister. Kiri-san worries about her. Yukiko-san has been featured in a Homeo 4koma here.[3] Both sisters are featured here.[4]

Kiri-san is older than most other net characters, so she is frequently seen hanging out with 2 characters her own age, 95-tan and Daiginjou (95-tan especially; the two seem to be best friends by all the artwork of them).

Eigyouseki

Eigyouseki and Daiginjou.

Eigyouseki[5][6] is a short man with an odd, almost frog or cat-shaped green hat (similar to Finn's from Adventure Time) that he wears all the time. He works in the same office as Yamada, WE-tan, and 2k-kun, and is a member of the circle of friends in that respect. He can be seen commuting to work with 2k-kun, occasionally working overtime, and going out for drinks with his friends (which sometimes includes Daiginjou and the others). Overall, his personality is very kind, though nervous when talking to others. One could say he relies on 2k-kun to be his wing man when talking to new folks. He has a crush on Daiginjou, which may or may not fuel a rivalry with 2k-kun.

He has a plain, soft face with small features (including a set of beady-yet-cute eyes) and brown hair, which can often be seen sticking out from underneath the hat. It's uncommon to see him out of office wear. Additionally, he and Jissouseki[7] look quite similar, as both were based on a super-deformed version of the Rozen Maiden character Suiseiseki (Jissouseki being more similar to the base in appearance; Eigyouseki is said to be the "Office Mutation").

Shitsuji-kun

Shitsuji-kun and Inu-T.

Shitsuji-kun is a Satyr, technically. However, contrary to what's expected of the species, Shitsuji-kun is calm, polite, and actually quite shy. Perhaps this is due to his name being a play on the words "Sheep" ("Hitsuji") and "Butler" ("Shitsuji"). He dresses formally, and usually behaves in a shy manner. His large, furry sheep legs almost act as a sort of bloomers (and they sometimes are, depending on the rendition), but after that he only wears a shirt, vest, and bowtie or collar. His hair is short yet shaggy, with a slight wave to it, and is somewhere between blonde and silver in colour. He has a crush on Inu-t, who seems to somewhat return his feelings, though is rather oblivious. He has also been shown to be friends with Homeo, and the two consider each other confidantes.[8] [9]

Waha

Top: Yamato Suzuran. Bottom: From Left, Musu, Waha, what appears to be a smaller Waha, and Choia.

A chibi character based off of the Suigetsu character Yamato Suzuran, Waha was one of the first Futaba characters, alongside Heika[10] (both were made in early 2003, before ME-tan). Waha got her basis from Suzuran's common exclamation of "Waha!", which Futaba took kindly to, making Waha a seperate character. Waha is done up in extreme chibi style, having a head-to-body ratio of about 2 or 3, with little nubbly limbs and a near constant expression of ^__^ or ＾∇＾. Her clothing consists of a small pair of black shorts, a white shirt with red and white striped sleeves, and a tan bandana over short brown hair. Waha's popularity has inspired flash games, animations, and spin-offs with people or characters imitating her classic Waha pose.

Waha has an older sister, Musu, who is depicted as older, taller, and wearing blue (vs. Waha's red). Musu, like Waha, is based off of Yamato Suzuran.

Waha also has a 'pet human' named Choia. A Futaba Original, her basis is unclear, with some sources saying she is another Suzuran derivitave. She is almost always naked save for a red collar, and has purpleish-grey hair in a long, low ponytail, with a very prominent ahoge (comparable to ME-tan's).

Astaroth

Astaroth in a long-sleeved shirt.

Astaroth is a curvy, blue-skinned demon girl with large, black, slightly curved horns, long blue hair, and yellow eyes. (Occasionally, she has wings.) She is a character from a TCG (Trading Card Game) called Shinrabanshou, which is packaged with candy or chocolate and sold by Bandai. Astaroth is the most well-known character of the game.

In her downtime, she enjoys wearing tshirts with offensive or bizarre slogans and lives in an apartment with Yamada-tan, WE-tan and Spider Man. Astaroth seems laid back, or somewhat clueless of the society around her. While there was more art of her with the OS-tans in the past, it seems to be harder to come by now. In the past, the -tans she was mostly pictured with included Yamada-tan, WE-tan, 95-tan, and perhaps 2k-tan.

Yabai

Yabai-san.

Yabai, while not technically one of the Nijiura Maids, is a maid that was created on Nijiura. She's a Harpy based off the Snowy Owl, after an anon posted a couple panels of Jagan wa Gachirin ni Tobu to the Guro board and it became popular.

Shippai

In the same catagory as Yabai as a sort of "bonus maid", Shippai is not one of the official "Nijiura Maids", but is a maid from Nijiura. She can be easily recgonized by her straight brown hair (no bangs, bob cut), creepy snickering expression, flat nose, and buck teeth. Shippai is regarded as obnoxious due to her malicious spreading of hurtful gossip, without much regard to others' feelings. This has garnered her a low reputation in the Futaba community, with her presence being somewhat looked down upon by others. It is unclear if she even lives up to her duties as a maid, instead being more interested in the latest scoop. Shippai can be seen in a 4koma here.[11]

Kiai(きあい)

Kiai-san.

Another random maid. Taking her name from "Kiai"(きあい, "Fighting Spirit"), Kiai[12] is a very active tomboyish kind of girl, taking her design from Capcom characters Kasugano Sakura (Street Fighter) and Wakaba Hinata (Rival Schools: United by Fate). She seems to be a fighter, judging by her dress (sports bra, biking shorts, wrist weights, and maid's ruffle atop short brown hair with trailing headband in back). With this in mind, she seems to get along with XP-kun, suggesting they might train together (her wrist weights also sport the same colour scheme as XP-kun's cuffs). She has been pictured with Gatai, the only man among the Maids.[13]

Inu/Inui

Inu[14] and Inui[15] are an oddity among the Futaba Characters. Though Inui has been described as a maid, she is rarely seen wearing any maid's attire or any clothes at all outside of Inu-T's collar. Both are derivitaves of Inu-T (hence the collar), and are long, blue forms with black, beady eyes as their only facial features (Inui is sometimes pictured with Inu-T's ears and bow). They appear as background characters in quite a few OS-tan and Nijiura/Futaba pictures, sometimes more than one of them at a time. Not much else is known about them. They appear in a 4koma here.[16]

The Nijiura Maids

Born out of an Anon's Thought about having a cute maid, the Nijiura Maids are a group of Maids with odd personalities or physical characteristics. They are sometimes shown with the OS-tans. Each one of their names is a pun, which started with the first maid, Medoi. Her name is a pun on "Meido", the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Maid". "Medoi" is also a slang term for "Bother", so Medoi thinks everything is troublesome.

Top Row, From Left: Inai-san, Dunbine from the anime Aura Battler Dunbine, Shibai-san, Shitai-san, Usai-san. Middle Row, From Left: Nemui-san, Kurai-san, Yakui-san, Yowai-san, Dorei-san. Bottom Row, From Left: Kudoi-san, Modoi-san, Medoi-san, Hidoi-san, Madoi-san.

Chikoi-san

Chikoi[17], from "Chikkoi" (ちっこい, "Small") is about the size of Windows CE. Her teeny-tiny stature leads to much abuse by Toshiaki, though whether or not this is intentional is unexplained. Due to her size, she hangs out with CE-tan most often, though she also hangs out with the net characters[18] Makibishi (the small, grey, pointy one) and Mobiko (the small green one in the chef's hat). Chikoi has short blue hair and an orange maid's uniform.

Dorei-san

Dorei[19] is a slave. She is stoic about her plight, never showing much emotion. The most obvious "joke" here is that she is the only dark-skinned maid. She exhibits great strength, possibly gained from being shackled to large weights constantly. She hangs around with Shitai-san and Yakui-san frequently. Her uniform is tattered at the bottom, and varies in colour, usually sticking to a dirty olive green.

Hidoi-san

Hidoi[20] (ひどい, Awful), is terrible at everything she does. Like ME-tan, she tries quite hard, but sadly she ends up failing even more than the Freeze Master herself. She is especially terrible at cooking, and is often subjected to abuse due to her uselessness. To add insult to injury, she also frequently experiences bad luck. She has brown hair held back in a pair of twintails, and a light greyish-blue outfit.

Inai-san

Inai[21] ("not here") is an invisible maid. Typically she's depicted in pictures as a bowl of food with no one at it, or a shadow. When she DOES appear, she has long black hair and a green camo maid's uniform.

Kudoi-san

Kudoi[22] takes her name from "Kudoi" (くどい, "Verbose"). She is a chatterbox, often filling up the page with meaningless prattle. Despite this, she's very sweet. She keeps her orange hair tied up in a ponytail, and her outfit is pink. Her birthday is the 11th of October.

Kurai-san

Kurai[23] gets her name from "Kurai" (暗い or くらい, "Gloomy") or "Kuro" (黒, "Black"). Her outlook on life is grim, and she sometimes dresses in Gothic-Lolita style. She doesn't really smile. She keeps her black hair tied back in braids, wears glasses and a lemonhead hairclip, off-setting her black maid's outfit. Kurai can be seen in a Homeo 4koma here.[24]

Madoi-san

Madoi[25] gets her name from "Madoi" (惑い or まどい, "Bewilderment"), leading her to share some personality traits with Osaka from Azumanga Daioh. Everything confuses her and she frequently gets lost. She wears a black outfit with bandages on the upper parts of the sleeves, and short red hair.

Medoi-san

Medoi[26] was the first of the maids, her name being a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Maid", "Meido". "Medoi also happens to be slang for "Bother" or "Troublesome", leading her personality to be apathetic as she thinks everything is a burden. In some instances, she seems to be Toshiaki's personal Maid. She has a pet cat, also named "Medoi". Her maid outfit is a greyish brown, and her birthday is April 21st, 2004.

Modoi-san

Modoi[27] takes her name from "Modokashii" (もどかしい, "Feeling Impatient"). As a result, she is extremely impatient and easily agitated. She gets little work done because she doesn't have the patience for it. Her outfit is blue, and her birthday is the 18th of July.

Nemui-san

Nemui[28] takes her name from "Nemui" (眠い or ねむい, "Sleepy") or "Nemuri" ("To Sleep"). She is sleepy constantly and carries a pillow with her everywhere in case of an accidental nap. She seems to suffer from narcolepsy, though the naps she takes doesn't aleviate her tiredness at all. She wears a deep brown outfit, matching her shoulder-length brown hair. She also wears glasses.

Shibai-san

Shibai[29] is an actress maid who wears makeup, unlike the other maids. She wears a red and gold Cheongsam under her apron, and keeps her sea-green hair cropped into a bob cut. Not much information could be found on her.

Shitai-san

Shitai[30], from "Shitai" (死体 or したい, "Corpse") and the phrase "Shitai" (したい, "I want to Do It"), is a very lewd corpse. Unlike some other net characters that have been seen, she is NOT a zombie; she is a fully dead, immobile, unsentient corpse. Her skin has turned to a sickly ashen blue, but despite this, she manages to stay pretty. She sports long emerald-green hair and a dark orange maid outfit, which due to "uneartly spirits", always seems to be pushed up, revealing her panties in some way. This, combined with her "behavior" (whatever the behavior of a corpse can be called) has earned her a reputation as a bit of a nymphomaniac. She is often seen in the company of one or more other maids, usually being dragged around in some way.

Usai-san

Usai[31] gets her name from Usagi (兎 or うさぎ, "Rabbit") and "Urusai" (ウルサイ, "Shut Up!"). She is a bunny girl who only wants peace and quiet, but never gets her message across properly. Instead of saying "Urusai", it comes out "Usai" ("Shup!"), meaning no one takes her seriously. She wears a bright blue outfit (matching the bunny ear headband she has) and sports long, blonde hair, and a clock necklace.

Yakui-san

Yakui[32] has her name come from "Yakuji" (やくじ, "Medicine"). She is addicted to pharmaceuticals and is often pictured drooling or with a crazed look in her eye. One of the maids featured in the fighting game Nijikaku, one of her attacks involves transporting the opponent to a spinning, brightly and starkly yellow and purple striped world, leading one to believe that she experiences psychadelic hallucinations regularly. She has been known to give out advice on medicines to passerby in the drug store (noteably Homeo), though whether this was good or bad advice is subject to speculation. She is frequently seen donning handcuffs, due to her nature being dangerous. She also wears a light blue outfit with bob-cut purple hair.

Yowai-san

Yowai[33] ("frail") is, like her namesake, fragile. She is near-constantly depicted with blood coming out of her mouth or nose, and is usually quite weak. She wears back-length black hair and a brown uniform, and a cross around her neck.

---

The Nijiura Chinese Maids

The Nijiura Chinese Maids are a group of 13 Maids based off the Chinese Constellations and Mythology. Unlike the original Nijiura Maids, the Chinese Maids' names are based off the animal they represent, rather than a pun. They include Seiryuu(The Dragon)[34], Suzaku(The Pheonix)[35], Byakko(The Tiger)[36], Genbu(The Snake)[37], Kouryuu[38], Hakuryuu[39], Kokuryuu[40], Shiyuu[41], Kirin(based off the legendary giraffe-like creature of the same name; it should be noted that Kirin is also a type of Japanese beer)[42], Konton (based on the Hundun; bears a striking resemblance to ME-tan and Inu-T)[43], Kyuuki[44], Toukotsu[45], and Toutetsu[46].

Kyuuki and the Si-xiong(Four Friends)

Kyuuki getting into trouble.

Kyuuki is a Maid character that is an odd combination of animal parts; She has paw-like hands and feet, a cat's tail, animal ears, and a pair of wings. Most of these are different colours than each other, and different colours than her skin. Other than that, she is seen sporting a pixie cut, a maid's outfit, and glasses.

Kyuuki is commonly shown harassing OSX-kun, with which she seems to have a fascination bordering on obsession (their encounters have run the gambit from friendly to near-molestation). Perhaps due to her cat tendencies, she might see in him a mate, but over half the time he is striving to get away from her, implying any sort of relationship is at best semi-consensual.

Kyuuki is a member of the Si-xiong, or Four Friends. It is a group of mythical creatures mentioned in Chinese Mythology, and the Nijiura group also consists of Konton, Toukotsu, and Toutetsu. The 4 (especially the first 3) are frequently pictured together in artwork.

OS-tan Based Characters

Yamada-tan

The original picture of Yamada-tan.

Yamada[47] began life as the candidate to be Windows 98. However, due to her common OL (Office Lady) appearance, she was rejected for being too plain. After the fall from grace, Yamada began her life as a Futaba character, taking up residence in comics with WE-tan, 2k-kun, Astaroth, Eigyouseki, and Daiginjou. Like many older OS-tans, Yamada consistently wishes for a bigger chest, and otherwise lives the life of the average OL (reads manga on the train, occasionally does cute-yet-embarassing things, has dreams of marriage). She hails from Niigata Prefecture, and enjoys staying up late and watching TV.

Yamada's typical look is a blue skirted suit with white longsleeve button-up shirt and blue vest with the windows logo somewhere on it. Some pictures give her a piece of computer equipment (a hard drive, maybe?) wrapped around her hips like a belt. She has brown eyes and a slightly long bob cut for her brown hair. She can be seen in a 4koma here.[48]

WE-tan

WE-tan, aka Taeko-san.

Though some sources list WE-tan (aka Taeko) as simply an ME-tan fangirl, other sources credit her as being Windows Explorer-tan (this is the accepted form on OSC). As Explorer-tan, she is often overlooked in her abilities, being seen as simple and flighty like her idol, ME-tan. On the contrary, WE-tan is one of the harder workers at the office, often having to scold Yamada to get back to work. She shares an apartment with Yamada, Astaroth, and Spider Man.

WE's typical look is almost a bizzaro ME-tan; she dresses in pink and black, with an orange icon (a downward-pointing triangle with a question mark in it)on her chest. She keeps her long, pink hair in braids like ME-tan. She has also been shown in office attire similar to Yamada-tan.

Pizza-tan & Pizza-kun

Pizza-tan in her typical state.

Pizza-tan is a Futaba original character without much basis. Considering her style, though, one could claim she has 2k-tan for a basis. However, this is likely due to Pizza's personality as 2k's fangirl, following her around happily. Pizza sports a red bob cut, not unlike 2k's, and 2 strips of meat (they bear a resemblance to bacon in some way) where the cat ears would go on 2k. She also has a sprig of something directly at the top, perhaps imitating 2k's maid ruffle, but it looks to be the leaves/stem to a tomato (implied by her hair). She wears a yellow dress covered in pizza toppings, which varies depending on the depiction (most depictions of her are rather simplistic, so usually stick to one or two toppings placed evenly, usually pepperoni. The more detailed depictions, however, take a more realistic approach with multiple types of toppings overlapping), sometimes being a solid dress with long sleeves, sometimes being a dress with longsleeve coat, sometimes being a leotard with the coat. (Alternate outfits have also placed her in a yellow cheongsam and winter gear, depending on the context and the picture.) Pizza's personality is sort of a contradiction; while she is a typical little girl, running around and getting into trouble, when approached, she often gets shy. Given the resemblance and the amount of time they spend together, people have mistaken Pizza for 2k's daughter.[49] Pizza seems to care deeply about 2k-tan.[50]

Pizza is often seen hanging out with XP-kun as well. Given her love of DON'ing stuff, coupled with his strength and gentle demeanor around kids, the two make a natural pair. There have also been pictures of Pizza-tan as an older teenager or young woman[51] with XP-kun, something not seen with 2k-tan. Given the amount of time they spend together and one or two pictures of them together in a romantic/semi-romantic context, it could be implied that Pizza has a crush on XP-kun, though this lacks ample evidence. (What evidence IS there, though, is quite shocking and could imply an undertone of malicious intent towards her relationship with 2k-tan, given that 2k-tan loves XP-kun, too. (Warning; NSFW)[52] (This cold, manipulative side of Pizza-tan might be taken from her brother, who has shown those signs on more than one occasion.)

Pizza's favourite activities include following around 2k-tan (though she can sometimes be rather shy when 2k talks to her, possibly out of being starstruck)[53], hanging out with XP-kun, running around, and DON'ing things (sometimes people, usually to startle them in childish fun). Her catchphrases include "DON!" (lit. "BAM!") and "Pya" or "Pyaaa"(with a's dragged out for effect; both a play on her name). She is occasionally seen with her older brother, Pizza-kun, who usually tends to be protective of her.

Pizza-kun.

Pizza-kun, like Pizza-tan, spends plenty of time with 2k-kun, though unlike Pizza-tan, 2k-kun is the one to get bashful at times when they're together. This, along with images of the two, has slightly implied a relationship between the two[54], however it remains somewhat unconfirmed. The majority of the pictures of the two show Pizza-kun as an assistant of sorts to 2k-kun, implying that he might also work in the office. However, lone pictures of Pizza-kun run the gambit from professional to downright nymphomaniac. He seems to be effeminate, though cold, usually keeping a very calm, serene demeanor. Unlike his sister, he is not prone to outbursts of physical activity (no DONs or "Pyaaaa"s), this likely being due to his age compared to hers (young adult vs young child). With this in mind, he keeps up a very professional public demeanor, though is fine with letting it all hang out in private. Though he seems to enjoy drinking[55], he is not really pictured going out for drinks with the guys after work.

Like Pizza-tan, Pizza-kun sports a short red haircut, similar to 2k-kun's, with the same bacon and tomato sprig that his younger sister has. He wears a suit, not unlike 2k-kun's, though his is yellow and has pizza toppings on the front. Like 2k-kun, he is sometimes seen sporting a matching cape, though this is more common to Pizza-kun than 2k-kun.

Both brother and sister both carry the same expression near constantly (something close to `v´ or `∀´), which has come across as cute, cold, and sinister all rolled into one, depending on the subtle nuances and the context of the picture. In some way, they could be implied to be Chinese, since Chinese characters are sometimes seen with closed-eye expressions in Anime and Manga. However, that is merely speculation, with no basis in the art's context.