Don't Want to Go to Bed?

About

Don't Want to Go to Bed? (Japanese: ねないこだれだ, Nenai Ko Dareda) is a children's book written and illustrated by Japanese author Keiko Sena. On the Japanese web, the main character of the story is most well-known as the first mascot of the imageboard community Futaba Channel (2chan) and it has since become a popular subject of fanart illustrations and parodies.

Origin

Written and illustrated by Japanese children's book author Keiko Sena^[1], Don't Want to Go to Bed? has been a longtime best-seller with more than 2 million copies sold^[2] since its first release in 1969. The storyline of the book is quite simple, which follows a sleepless child's nighttime adventure in the company of a ghost. The book is also noted for its unusually dark plot line and unique style of paper collage art.

Child who doesn't want to go to bed must be a ghost.

Fly away to the ghost world.

Mutate into a ghost and fly away.

During the predawn of Futaba Channel in the early 2000s, many members of the community began using the cover art of the book as a reaction face image or a personal avatar to identify themselves as night owl users who would often stay up late to browse the latest threads. Having established itself as a widespread fad on the site before the launch of Nijiura board, Futaba Channel's equivalent of 4chan's /b/ (random) board, "Don't Want to Go to Bed?" is considered one of the first known internet memes to emerge from the imageboard community.

Spread

The development of a photo collage-making fad on Futaba Channel was in part inspired by the application of similar techniques in other fads that came around the same time in early 2003, such as The Majesty and Waha~, all three of which have been since included in Nijiura board's "Magnificent Ten" list. In addition to collage-style tributes, others have created parodies of the cover art by rearranging the order of the letters in the title to various humorous statements in rhyme scheme. While the meme is thought to have passed the peak of its popularity, a number of classic instances preserved by early adopters of Futaba Channel continue to make occasional appearances on the imageboard, perhaps out of nostalgia.

Notable Examples

Photo Collages

A girl I had sex the other day. (Ko-Na-I-Da Ne-Ta-Ko)	I have a sty in my eye. (Me-Ba-Chi-Ko De-Ki-Ta)	Nerunerunerune
I've got a girlfriend. (Ka-No-Jo-Ga De-Ki-Ta)	I AM the man who doesn't want to go to bed! (Ne-Na-I-Ko O-Re-Sa)	Say NO to Drugs! (Sha-Bu-Wa Da-Me-Da)

Compilations

Appearance in Other Media

In 2005, the cover art of "Don't Want to Go to Bed?" made a cameo appearance in the 15th episode of the Japanese TV anime series based on Ken Akamatsu's manga Negima! Magister Negi Magi.^[3], which has been known to include internet meme references on previous occasions, most notably the mention of Senkōsha in its pilot and third episode.

Search Interest

External References

Editor’s Note: Futaba relating websites basically prohibit people from introducing their URLs in the external. Do not write the URLs in articles or comments. Please use search engines.