Leekspin
| Meme | |
|---|---|
| Synonyms: | Loituma |
| Date Started: | April 23, 2006 |
| Related: | Caramelldansen |
| See Also: | Animation Meme |
 Gif of the original scene -- Inoue Orihime spins a leek | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Leekspin is an animation meme that originates from a scene in the anime Bleach where a character is shown spinning a leek.[note 1] The action is typically paired with the Finnish folk song "Ievan Polkka". The animation would go on to be parodied using different characters both from fandoms and original characters, with the leek often replaced with some other character-relevant item.
History
The meme was allegedly spawned from a Russian user of LiveJournal who paired the song with the gif in a Flash animation and shared it to the site on April 23, 2006.[1] On May 6, 2006, a site simply known as LEEKSPIN was launched, which plays the animation loop and nothing else.[2]
One of the most well known and earliest derivatives of the meme is a 2007 cover posted to Nico Nico Douga using Vocaloid voicebank Hatsune Miku.[3] The cover features an animation of a chibi Miku shaking a leek. This video gained such popularity that it cemented a long-running association between Miku, leeks, and Ievan Polkka, including official merchandise.[note 2][4] Chibi-Miki-with-leek became considered a separate character, Hachune Miku.
Another notable version is dance vid posted to Nico Nico Douga in 2011 by 農萌 , set to Otomania's Miku cover.[5] This dance references the Miku leekspin animation at the beginning, and (possibly?) the tossing of the leek from the the Project Diva Dreamy Theatre version at the end, but includes about a minute of more complex choreography. This more complex choreography was perfectly captured in MikuMikuDance by トッポ for an MMD competition video.[6] The MMD version has gone on to viral popularity[7] and been reproduced in other fandoms (such as "Go home Homura, you are drunk", see below).
Examples
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
- Animal Crossing: Leekbomb Part! (Ft. Isabelle)
- Blue Exorcist: please dont hurt me i just wanted an excuse to draw rin
- Cuphead: LeekSpin! - meme [Cuphead]
- Dream SMP: TommyInnit Leekspin
- Hermitcraft: Pesky bird grian- || Halloween leekspin map
- Hollow Knight: Leekbomb MAP Part - Hollow Knight Leekspin
- The Legend of Zelda: Link Loituma :D
- Naruto: Deidara Leek Spin, Loituma - Gaara Style!
- PMMM: 【MMD】Go home Homura, you are drunk【ハピトリ】HD Version! -- this is a recreation of the MMD by トッポ (and the name is a reference)
- Pokémon: Mewtwo Leekspin
- Resident Evil: Chris Redfield Leek-Spin
- Undertale: Undertale Ievan Polkka [Leek Spin]
- Warrior Cats: Warriors Leek spin map || part 10, Fernsong Leekspin
Compilation:
- Some of the Leek Spins over the years, includes several of the above.
Links and Resources
Notes
- ^ Although it is called a leek in the English dub of Bleach(hence the name of the meme), the vegetable was original called negi (ねぎ), which is more commonly used in Japanese and other East Asian cuisines. Some fans prefer to use the original term despite "leek" catching on for the meme.
- ^ The Miku cover of Ievan Polkka was included in the 2009 game Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA. The 2010 update Project Diva Dreamy Theatre included animation of Miku dancing to the song with leeks, see the reference for the video.
References
- ^ Wikipedia:Loituma Girl#Popularity.
- ^ LEEKSPIN (Accessed 7/28/2023)
- ^ I was allowed to cover「Ievan Polkka」with VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku. Posted by Otomania on 2007/09/03 20:55. (Accessed 7/28/2023)
- ^ Hatsune Miku "Ievan Polkka" Project Diva Dreamy Theatre (HD) uploaded by PlayerMiku. Posted 19 August 2011. As of 2 August 2023, this video has 37 million views.
- ^ 【農萌】みくみくにしてあげる♪Ievan Polkkaでネギに祈ってみた【豊作】 Posted to Nico Nico Douga by 農萌 on 2011/07/20 02:01. The leek dance begins at roughly 1:14 timestamp. Leek Dance Farm Girl but in Higher Quality, youtube-reupload of just the leek dance.
- ^ 【第9回MMD杯本選】ミクさんが酔っ払っているようです posted by トッポ on 2012/08/17 05:37. Video title translates to "[The 9th MMD Cup Finals] Miku seems drunk". See also the [the comparison video posted to Nico Nico Douga by トッポ, comparing their MMD Miku to the original dance vid posted by 農萌.
- ^ i found the video posted to Tumblr by jonathancrocker on 6 May 2013. This is a re-upload of the comparison video posted to Nico Nico Douga by トッポ. The tumblr post has over 600k notes as of August 2023, while the NND vid has 50k. (The competition MMD vid has 220k views on Nico Nico Douga).