Weekly moe: Os-tan
November 25, 2007
Welcome to the first weekly moe here on moemania.org! Every week we’ll be discussing a new kind of moe and show examples of it.
This weeks moe is os-tan!
Os-tan is an internet-based and created meme which reaches all over the moe-chart. It originated on futaba and spread from there to all over the internet. It now has everything from songs (the trouble windows opening by KOTOKO) to plastic models of the characters to regular(ish) fan-comics. I’d say that it is one of the biggest internet-memes to ever have spread outside of Japan, but it is hard to measure these kind of things.
Os-tan can be split into different groups:
- ME-tan: based on Windows ME. She is the clumsy type that often freezes at inappropriate moments. Some would argue that she is one of the bases of moe as a whole.
- XP-tan: based on Windows XP. She is the big-breasted character, mostly for being so memory hungry. Variants of XP-tan include Homeo (male) and Homeko (female), where there is a forbidden love theme going on between the siblings. Homeko is known to use her brother as she pleases.
- Win2K-tan: Based on Windows 2000 (pro. edition). The intelligent and professional in the bunch. Often seen as the guardian of ME-tan due to her stability.
- Win98-tan: Based on Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition, often together. Uses boxes as mecha and is seldom seen outside of them. The like to keep together.
- Win95-tan: Based on Windows 95. The traditionalist, dressed in kimono and always wearing a sword to fight off everything from perverts to OS9-tan.
- Vista-tan: The newest Windows girl. Has horn-shaped pigtails (or “drills”), based on the codename “Longhorn” before the release-name of the OS was released. Often characterized as the silent demon-type girl.
- OS9-tan: The only mentionable Apple-based os-girl. She is often carrying either a bomb or an apple, depending on her mood.
- They are just like the girls, but with genders swapped. They can have changes in personality though, as some of them are seen more stable and reliable compared to the girls.
- Antivirus: Such as Norton antivirus, portrayed as a dirty old man
- Browsers/Mail applications: Including Mozilla Firefox and Opera
- Devices: Mobile devices, including cellphones and PDAa
Os-tan is the first weekly moe on moemania.org because they opened a whole new world of memes for many, mostly thanks to the imageboards where they were created. They can be seen as cornerstone of all memes, since moe anthropomorphism has become hugely popular after the creation of os-tan. There is now a -tan for everything, and they are mostly created by you, the internet users!
Os-tan is moe because it has a wide selection of characters, each created for a special kind of interest. We have tsundere-girls and yandere-girls, girlish boys and boyish girls and so on and so on. The problem with os-tan can be that they are too stereotyped and that there is no “standard” behind them. Some artist create them in their own image, meaning that big breasts can become small or even worse, a characters personality may change.
My favorite? ME-tan, of course. Don’t you just want to protect her? ;)
☆Let’s make everything moe☆
VIDEO:
AUDIO:
Check out these sites for more information about Os-tan:
The Wakachan imageboard (NWS)
Wikipedia
Futaba (Japanese)
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