Kuso

This is an introductory entry to Kuso culture and Kuso-related memes.

About

Kuso (恶搞) is an umbrella term used in the Chinese-speaking web to describe user-generated content that are campy, silly and downright outrageous in nature. Borrowing its origin from the Japanese word Kuso-ge (クソゲー, which literally means "shitty games"), the term was initially used to describe video games of such poor quality that they were celebrated as cult classics rather than criticized for the deficiencies. Today, the concept of Kuso is applied to a broader range of internet cultural phenomena, from photoshopped movie posters and exploitable macros to Stephen Chow films and silly lip synch videos. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with Ok-Ga (惡搞), which means "reckless doings" in Mandarin Chinese.

Origin

The word "Kuso-ge" was first coined in the 1980s by Jun Miura, an illustrator and writer for the Japanese video game magazine Weekly Famitsu. The introduction of Kuso fandom sought to teach gamers how to appreciate and enjoy a poorly made game, rather than to become frustrated by its errors. Circa 2000, the term was brought into Taiwan by young netizens who frequent Japanese websites and quickly became an internet phenomenon, spreading to Hong Kong and subsequently the rest of China.

Examples of Kuso Games

Games generally branded as "Kuso" include Hong Kong 97 and the Death Crimson series. Click here for a list of videogames notable for negative reception.

Kuso Culture in Taiwan

Because Kuso-ges were often unintentionally funny, soon the definition of Kuso in Taiwan shifted to "anything hilarious," and people started to brand anything outrageous and funny as Kuso. Parodies, such as the Chinese robot Xianxingzhe ridiculed by a Japanese website, were marked as Kuso. Mo lei tau films by Stephen Chow are often said to be kuso as well. The Cultural Revolution is often a subject of parody too, with songs such as I Love Beijing Tiananmen spread around the internet for laughs. [Excerpt from Wikipedia]

Mo Lei Tau (Makes No Sense)
h3. Q-Version
h3. Kuso Manga
h4. Kuso Celebrities