Magibon

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Magibon
Background information
Born 9 August 1986 (1986-08-09) (age 22)
West Palm Beach, Florida,
United States
Nationality American
Internet activity
Web alias(es) Magibon, MRirian, Magichan2007
Period active July 2006 - present
Host service(s) YouTube, EdgeSNS.com[1]
Genre(s) Vlogging
Influences Japanese pop music[2]
Signature phrase Minasan konnichiwa Magi desu
(皆さんこんにちはマギです?)
Official site www.youtube.com/MRirian
www.youtube.com/magibonchan (alternate link)

Magibon (マギボン?, born 9 August 1986, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States)[3] is an American Internet personality on the video-sharing website YouTube.[2][4][5][6]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Magibon (not her real name) was born in Florida, but now lives in Pennsylvania.[3] Before becoming a YouTube celebrity, she worked as a pharmacy checkout clerk.[2][6] She learned to speak isolated Japanese phrases from watching Japanese television dramas and listening to Japanese music.[3][6]

[edit] YouTube videos

By October 2008, Magibon had uploaded over 60 videos onto her YouTube channel since July 2006. Most of these videos are in the form of video blogs that exhibit her smiling silently into the camera. When asked whether she planned making the videos, she replied "I don't use scripts. There's no grand plan."[2] Almost all her videos are under one minute[5] In some of her videos, Magibon speaks or sings in Japanese.[7] Magibon is also a member of the YouTube Partner Program.[8]

[edit] Public reception

Magibon's vlogs and physical appearance are often subjected to criticism or rude remarks by English-speaking viewers.[2][9][10][11] On the other hand, Japanese viewers, particularly Japanese males, tend to be more welcoming of her and her vlogs.[2]

[edit] Japanese media coverage

In Japan, Magibon has been labeled as "the next Leah Dizon".[12][13] In addition to appearing on a TBS Radio show in Japan,[14] Magibon has been featured in the Japanese Weekly Playboy magazine, appearing in the 25 February 2008,[15] 14 April 2008,[16] 12/19 May 2008[17] and 10 November 2008[18] issues.

In April 2008, Magibon was invited to be interviewed by the Japanese Internet TV company GyaO and flown to Japan to make her debut appearance on internet TV program Midtown TV in which she met her idol, Mari Yaguchi of Hello! Project. [6][7] A fan event was scheduled for 12 April by USEN (the owner of GyaO), but this was canceled due to security concerns following the receipt of a number of threatening emails.[14]

In October 2008, Magibon was invited to the 21st Tokyo International Film Festival, and appeared at the world premiere of the film Blue Symphony in Roppongi on 22 October 2008.[12] Magibon featured as a voice actor in the film.[19][13]

Magibon returned to Japan in November 2008, appearing at the "YouTube Live Tokyo" event at Studio Coast in Tokyo on 23 November alongside other YouTube personalities and musicians such as BoA and Kreva.[20][21]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "株式会社ティー・オーエンタテインメント". EdgeSNS.com. http://www.toenta.co.jp/about/081219.pdf. (Japanese)
  2. ^ a b c d e f The Japan Times: "Introducing Magibon, Japan's YouTube darling" (18 December 2008), by Mark Schilling. Retrieved on 19 December 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Weekly Playboy 14 April 2008 issue: "マギボン独占ロングインタビュー" (Exclusive in-depth interview with Magibon)
  4. ^ Who's Who On YouTube? - G4TV
  5. ^ a b "Unclear if latest YouTube craze has deep sociological meaning". Machinist. Salon.com. http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/01/18/youtube_meme/. 
  6. ^ a b c d www.gyao.jp (Japanese)
  7. ^ a b "謎のYouTube美少女“マギボン”がついに生出演！" (Mysterious YouTube girl "Magibon" finally makes a live appearance!) (9 April 2008). Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  8. ^ YouTube Partner Program
  9. ^ "The Silent Staring Japanese Girl Is Ugly, Not Japanese". Gawker.com. http://gawker.com/380285/the-silent-staring-japanese-girl-is-ugly-not-japanese. Retrieved on 2009-02-09. "Then a clip of her on a Japanese talk show, where she needed an English translator. Without the flattering bird's eye angle of her webcam, her face is long and plain; her teeth are terribly crooked. There's more information in this juvenile wiki article." 
  10. ^ Wortham, Jenna. "Subversion, not Sexism, in Internet Culture". Wired.com (Condé Nast Publishing). http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/04/post.html. Retrieved on 9 February 2009. "Marwick used the example of Magibon, a YouTube phenomenon whose videos of herself staring intently into a webcam elicit millions of views, to talk about the way contemporary celebrity culture permeates internet culture. Magibon occasionally spoke in Japanese, leading many of her viewers to think she was from Japan. But a disastrous television appearance led to outing Magibon as a rural teen from Pennsylvania. "This faux Japanese doll came off as awkward teenaged, American girl," said Marwick." 
  11. ^ Douglas, Nick. "Being A Camgirl Now Takes 40 Seconds Of Staring At The Camera". Gawker.com (Gawker Media). http://gawker.com/346624/being-a-camgirl-now-takes-40-seconds-of-staring-at-the-camera. Retrieved on 9 February 2009. "It's not a Japanese fan club; the comments on her silent and conversational videos are all in English, and most revolve around the theme of "I wanna bang her." But YouTube's ad program doesn't care, and Magi (who further exploits her cuteness at her Yahoo blog) has enough viewers to theoretically make a living as a YouTube partner as history's laziest camgirl." 
  12. ^ a b Hochi Shimbun: “第２のリア・ディゾン”マギボン「温暖化気になる」 (Magibon, the next Leah Dizon, "concerned about global warming") (23 October 2008). Retrieved on 28 October 2008 (Japanese)
  13. ^ a b Mainichi Shimbun: "マギボン：“黒船２号”はリアのファンだった" (Magibon - the next American import - is a fan of Leah) (23 October 2008). Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  14. ^ a b J-Cast News: "謎の女性「マギボン」が来日　素顔が見えて芸能界入りに賛否" (Enigmatic girl Magibon visits Japan and shows her true face - non-committal on show-biz start) (14 April 2008). Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  15. ^ Weekly Playboy 25 February 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  16. ^ Weekly Playboy 14 April 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  17. ^ Weekly Playboy 12/19 May 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on 28 October 2008. (Japanese)
  18. ^ Weekly Playboy 10 November 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on 4 December 2008. (Japanese)
  19. ^ 21st Tokyo International Film Festival: Blue Symphony
  20. ^ J-Cast News: "「YouTube」主催のライブイベント　2000人招待" (2,000 invited to live event staged by YouTube) (27 October 2008). Retrieved on 29 October 2008. (Japanese)
  21. ^ Mainichi Shimbun: "＜ユーチューブ＞初のライブ開催　視聴１位の謎の美少女・マギボンの日本好き生素顔も" (23 November 2008). Retrieved on 5 December 2008. (Japanese)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magibon"
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