Leekspin / Loituma Girl

Leekspin, or Loituma Girl, dates back to 2006 as a looping animation of the character Orihime from the anime Bleach spinning a leek, set to an audio loop from the traditional Finnish folk song levan Polkka, as played by the band Loituma.

Leekspin represents an interesting cross-section of Japanophilia and… well… polka.

Original

Dance Mix

Metal

Loituma performing levan Polkka

Although Leekspin and Loituma emerged onto the Internet within months of eachother, Loituma’s popularity in Finland, Sweden, and Norway far outweighs the popularity of the Leekspin image.