Magibon

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Magibon
Background information
Born August 9, 1986 (1986-08-09) (age 23)
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 August 9, 1986, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States)[3] is an American Internet personality and YouTube celebrity on the video-sharing website YouTube.[2][4][5][6] Magibon is also a member of the YouTube Partner Program.[7]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Magibon 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. Almost all her videos are in the form of video blogs lasting under one minute[5], with most of them just showing her smiling silently into the camera. In a few of her videos, Magibon speaks or sings in Japanese.[8] When asked whether she planned making the videos, she replied "I don't use scripts. There's no grand plan."[2]

[edit] Public reception

Viewers often comment on her silent staring but indicate that the videos are compelling. For example,[9]

“ These videos are so random, but for some reason, I can’t stop watching them. ”

Magibon's vlogs and physical appearance are often subjected to criticism or rude remarks by non Japanese-speaking viewers.[2][10][11][12] 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".[13][14] In addition to appearing on a TBS Radio show in Japan,[15] Magibon has been featured in the Japanese Weekly Playboy magazine, appearing in the February 25, 2008,[16] April 14, 2008,[17] 12/19 May 2008[18] and November 10, 2008[19] 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][8] A fan event was scheduled for April 12 2008 by USEN (the owner of GyaO), but this was canceled due to security concerns following the receipt of a number of threatening emails.[15]

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 October 22, 2008.[13] Magibon featured as a voice actor in the film.[14][20]

Magibon returned to Japan in November 2008, appearing at the "YouTube Live Tokyo" event at Studio Coast in Tokyo on November 23 alongside other YouTube personalities and musicians such as BoA and Kreva.[21][22]

[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" (December 18, 2008), by Mark Schilling. Retrieved on December 19, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Weekly Playboy April 14, 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/tech/machinist/blog/2008/01/18/youtube_meme. 
  6. ^ a b c d www.gyao.jp (Japanese)
  7. ^ YouTube Partner Program
  8. ^ 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!) (April 9, 2008). Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  9. ^ Marty Sliva (Mar 03, 2008), Another Internet mystery - Why Magibon may be the future of entertainment, The UWM Post, http://uwmpost.com/article/52/22/3193-Another-Internet-mystery 
  10. ^ "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 February 9, 2009. "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." 
  11. ^ Wortham, Jenna. "Subversion, not Sexism, in Internet Culture". Wired.com (Condé Nast Publishing). http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/04/post.html. Retrieved February 9, 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." 
  12. ^ 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 February 9, 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." 
  13. ^ 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") (October 23, 2008). Retrieved on October 28, 2008 (Japanese)
  14. ^ 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) (October 23, 2008). Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  15. ^ 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) (April 14, 2008). Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  16. ^ Weekly Playboy February 25, 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  17. ^ Weekly Playboy April 14, 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  18. ^ Weekly Playboy 12/19 May 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on October 28, 2008. (Japanese)
  19. ^ Weekly Playboy November 10, 2008 issue contents. Retrieved on December 4, 2008. (Japanese)
  20. ^ 21st Tokyo International Film Festival: Blue Symphony
  21. ^ 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) (October 27, 2008). Retrieved on October 29, 2008. (Japanese)
  22. ^ 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" (November 23, 2008). Retrieved on December 5, 2008. (Japanese)

[edit] External links

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