Editor's Note : For the related concept, please visit the gijinka entry.

About

Anthropomorphism (also referred to as personification) is the attribution of human characteristics, through artistic or written representation, ascribed to other animals, non-living things, or perceived concepts such as organizations, governments, events, feelings, and websites. The term is often applied to art that incorporates both animal and human appearances.

Origin

Throughout early humanity, anthropomorphism has been present in various cultures, thoughts, and religions. According to Wikipedia,^[1] the earliest evidence for anthropomorphism dates back to about 40,000 years ago in various examples of zoomorphic (animal-shaped) works of art occur.

Online Presence

Furries

Furries are animal characters who are highly anthropomorphic, especially in terms of intelligence, behavior, emotions, communication, and culture. Additionally, people who are fans of such characters are also referred to as Furries.

Yotsuba Koiwai (404 girl)

Yotsuba is known as 4Chan's "404 error" mascot. She appears in banned users messages, in ads, in logos, and in the HTTP 404 messages (leading to the nickname of 404 Girl), but also represents all of the site. She is actually woven into the the history of 4chan, as the software that 4chan runs on was lovingly code-named “Yotsuba.”

Moe Anthropomorphism

Moe Anthropomorphism is the personification of non-human objects. A popular fad among corporations lately has been to create selling points for products by using anime characters or even creating moe mascot characters based off of different products.

Akita Neru

Akita Neru is a Japanese personification/moe anthropomorphism of a troll and is occasionally mistaken for a character of Vocaloid like Hatsune Miku.

Website Anthropomorphism

Website Anthropomorphism is the personification of a website as a human illustration, a personality, or both. The personality and appearance given to the website is often derivative of the stereotype for people who use the site itself.

4chumblr

4chumblr refers to the fictionalized relationship between personified versions of 4chan and the micro-blogging site Tumblr. The anthropomorphized relationship stemmed from a trolling war between the sites known as Operation Overlord.

OS-tan

OS-tan is a popular series of Moe anthropomorphized characters drawn by Japanese amateur artists, with their personality traits based on various computer operating systems. The OS-tan mascots are typically depicted as women, with the OS-tan representative of Microsoft Windows operating systems usually depicted as sisters of varying ages.

Axis Powers Hetalia

Axis Powers Hetalia is a webcomic and anime created by Hidekaz Himaruya. Hetalia features anthropomorphized versions of various countries, mainly those of the Axis Powers and Allied Forces of World War II, as well as other western European nations. The series shows allegorical interpretations of events in history in a humorous way using these characters, particularly those occurring around the time of the 2nd World War. The series has a significant fanbase on the internet, in both the Eastern and Western worlds.

External References