About

"Nico Nico Nii" is a catchphrase used by Love Live! School Idol Project character Yazawa Nico, often as a reaction or a form of shitposting. It is also frequenlty used as a source in YTPMVs or MAD videos, and is often accompanied by Nico's signature pose or hand sign.

Origin

The phrase first appeared in the anime Love Live! School Idol Project on February 3rd, 2013 during the fifth episode, Nico Strikes, in which Nico attempts to demonstrate her impression of a proper school idol to the rest of the main cast.^[1] The scene quickly became notable among fans for its unique "cute idol" appearance, as well as Nico's uncharacteristically moe behaviour.^[2]

Spread

The expression is frequently referred to during discussion of the franchise on internet message boards such as 4chan's /a/, and the Love Live! subreddit, /r/LoveLive. Archive results on Fireden return over 250 results since October 2015,^[3] and over 350 results are returned on DesuArchive since July 2015.^[4]

Examples of "Nico Nico Nii" used in responses on /a/.

Use of the phrase exists on other anime-related and fandom websites. There is a private subreddit that refers to the meme, called r/NicoNicoNii,^[5] and a search for the term across Reddit returns many results for fan art, reaction gifs and various Nico-related content.^[6]

Examples

Related Memes

Comparisons to Satan

Nico is often compared to Satan due to her obnoxious personality. The origin of this in-joke is unknown, but sees frequent use in fan art and image edits online.

Examples of Nico-related fan content alluding to Satan.

When it was suggested to Tumblr user shittynicos that Nico was "secretly Satan", the user responded with a poorly-drawn fan art which included a caption where Nico simply replies "Secretly?"^[7] Other Tumblr users have referred to Nico in the context of satanic comparison as well.^[8][9]

Nico Nico Knee

Professional wrestler Marcellus Black, also known by his Twitter handle "Great Black Otaku", utilizes a signature move based on Nico's trademark hand gestures; a running knee dubbed the "Nico Nico Nii." Black will shout the meme before running at his opponent to execute the move.

On 11th May 2016, YouTube user 12MonthBreak uploaded footage of the move where it has gained over 10,000 views. Many of the comments of the video include references to Love Live! and the expression "Nico Nico Nii."^[10]

Upon news of Williams' signing by WWE on 1st August 2016, a thread on r/SquaredCircle reached the "hot" section of the subreddit, and many users replied to the thread with references to Nico, the Nico Nico Nii catchphrase, and other anime-related memes such as waifu.^[11]

Search Interest

External References