About

Laser Beam is a nickname given to the throws by Ichiro Suzuki. These phrases for the Japanese baseball superstar became the target of online parodies, including a series of MAD videos on the Japanese video sharing service Nico Nico Douga (NND) in 2007.

Origin

Said by announcer, Rick Rizz^[1], on April 11, 2001, and used again in PBS' documentary, The Tenth Inning^[2], the phrase, "Ichiro laser beam!" became quite popular; frequently replayed in Japan. This created some minor controversy in American media, doubting whither Ichiro lived up to his hype.

Spread

Nowadays, "Laser Beam" is a well-known catchphrase of outfielders' awesome throws among both Japanese people and mass media. Besides, the original footages of "Ichiro Laser Beam" again came to light as a audio/visual resource for online parodies after people became to be able to share it via video-hosting hubsites.

The most well-known instance in the "Ichiro Laser Beam" parodies is this video seen below which was originally titled as "Doom by Ichiro's Laser Beam". It was posted to NND on August 8th 2007.^[3] The zany BGM heard in this video is "Bon Mawari" (盆周り), and is well-known for being featured on the popular Japanese comedy show in the 70's. This was also the origin of the popular MAD series on NND, known as the Doom Series.

Over one hundred of videos are uploaded to both YouTube^[4] and NND.^[5]

Notable Examples

Since Ichiro caused another catchphrase meme “I was almost coming” in March 2009, many of Ichiro's video parodies made after that year include both materials.

Search Interest

External References

Editor’s Note: Registration is needed to browse the original videos listed in this section.