Domo

Domo-kun (or just Domo) is the mascot for the Japan's NHK television station. The station made various 30-second stop-motion promo spots for their channel featuring Domo. They are rather strange to say the least…

Domo spends most of his time hanging out in a cave with the wise rabbit Mr. Usaji and watching TV. Apparently, "his body is stout, but his heart is pure". The clips also feature a bunch of bats (one of which has a drinking problem), a hungry bear and a girl-weasel.

For more on the Domo characters, check out their official website.

Without ever being shown outside of Japan, Domo-kun became an Internet hit. And while the strange-but-endearing movie clips had something to do with his fame, it’s mostly thanks to Domo’s ability to be Photoshopped into some amazing situations that made him the Internet star he is today.

A lot of his original fame can probably be attributed to this image of kittens running from Domo-kun.

The image was created by a Fark user, who used this student magazine front page as his inspiration.

More recently, this Domo-kan image has found its way onto forums and boards, and is used after a noob has made a stupid comment…

A quick search on Flickr and Deviant Art will show you just how widespread Domo-kun’s fame has become, especially amongst Anime fans. Domo plush toys, t-shirts and other merchandise are all the rage.

Domo’s popularity continues to grow – he’s now appearing in the UK on Nicktoons (part of Nickelodeon) in short 2-minute spots.

He’s also being used as the theme of Target’s 2008 Halloween promotions.

If you're looking for a Halloween costume, here's a Domo-costume how-to.

And just in case you haven’t had enough Domo for today, go check out the Domo-Kun’s Angry Smash Fest flash game.