X on Riding Machine
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About
When one is hearing about a Riding Machine, that person usually thinks of either those little animal-like machines in front of stores he used to ride as a kid or the following depiction of it, more appealing under the name Rodeo Machine:
Either way, what comes to mind is more about fun and, to some, a national sport.
In Japan, however, those equipments have other uses. Since the 2000s and MEW that first introduced a new concept with JOBA[1], Riding Machines have been used for fitness by imitating horseback riding, useful for abs workout without really doing anything more than seating on it.
The following is a Japanese commercial for another trademark "RODEO BOY" from 2006:
Due to the suggestive nature of the up-and-down movement caused by the machine, X on Riding Machine is based on videos of girls, usually computer-generated, riding the machine with their face blushing and sweating in excitement, like they were having sex. The meme is very close, in its theme and usage, to Ahegaokin.
Origins
While the fitness machines were sold around the world, Japanese netizens were the first to jump on that lewd trend. According to Nico Nico Pedia[2], on December 19 2007, a video[3] featured a drawn Miku Hatsune, sideways and riding something (shown further on as a riding machine), while the Levan Polka song (see also Leekspin) is playing in the background. At the same time Miku's face is seemingly showing an intense amount of pleasure.
The video has over 120 000 views.
Although it was the first video to suggest any sexual undertone with those machines, Nico Nico Douga users didn't jump on it until June 2008 with a CGI video depicting Ritsuko Akizuki from IdolMaster [4]. It launched the meme by being simply entitled 律子 on 乗馬マシン, meaning "Ritsuko on Riding Machine".
Here is a Youtube version:
On Nico Nico Douga
From that video to throughout the rest of 2008, as shown by the aforementioned Nico Nico Pedia entry, several videos followed the meme, with viewcounts ranging from 120 000 to 900 000 views.
On Nico Nico Douga alone, more than 200 videos are hosted with the "on 乗馬マシン" tag and over 400 ones for the "乗馬マシンシリーズ" tag[5]
The most viewed video for that meme is ティファ on 乗馬マシン[6], featuring Tifa Lockhart from popular video game Final Fantasy 7. The video has currently over 1 800 000 views on Nico Nico Douga.
Youtube version:
Acknowledged by Westerners
Beginning in July 2008, multiple western websites about Japan made articles about the phenomenon. This includes Sankaku Complex[7] and Kotaku[8].
Remixes and MADs
As one can imagine, most of the videos are based on cute/sexy girls bouncing their breasts with mild to borderline NSFW sexual undertone. Nevertheless, some users have also made fun of the phenomenon with uncanny characters or face replacement.
More can be found in the respective Youtube list[9].
External References
[1] Gizmag.com – Horseback Riding Machine
[2] Nico Nico Douga Encyclopedia – 乗馬マシンシリーズ
[3] Nico Nico Douga – 【アニメは】初音ミクをおっぱい丸出しで描いてみた【ｒ】 [Registration required] / 12-19-2007
[4] Nico Nico Douga – 律子 on 乗馬マシン [Registration required] / 6-28-2008
[5] Nico Nico Douga list for on 乗馬マシン / Nico Nico Douga list for 乗馬マシンシリーズ.
[6] Nico Nico Douga – ティファ on 乗馬マシン [Registration required] / 9-22-2009
[7] Sankaku Complex – Yayoi Riding – Idol Master / 7-8-2008.
[8] Kotaku.com – Suggestive Rodeo Riding Machine Shame!! / 9-12-2008.
