Niconico

Niconico (ニコニコ),¹⁾ formerly Niconico Douga (ニコニコ動画),²⁾ is a popular Japanese website known for its video sharing service, but they also house several other services. It was launched on December 12, 2006 by Niwango³⁾ under Dwango, now a Kadokawa subsidiary.

They originally used YouTube videos as a source, but a DDoS attack had forced YouTube to block Niconico Douga around February 23, 2007, resulting in the website to require accounts and start hosting videos locally. Also, please be aware of the tag registration system.

Notice! Starting on October 30, 2024, several Niconico services are being region-locked or might have limited functionality outside of Japan, allegedly due to changing social norms and international law.⁴⁾

Summary

While the website is a video-sharing service, this description is a bit misleading as it's a much bigger website than it looks, as it also offers streaming, illustration-sharing, encyclopedia, and so on. However, the climate can be harsh and uninviting since it has roots in 2channel, vandalism is rampant, and the culture hasn't really stood the test of time with management bearing the brunt of criticism for bias or inaction.

In the past, Niconico used to be synonymous with this internet culture renaissance,⁵⁾ but the culture couldn't stay young forever and Inmu would mark a rejection of tradition. By the mid-2010s, conflicts and tensions⁶⁾ became clear, while the website aged and hasn't been innovative in years. It still has an audience, but people have since moved to TikTok, YouTube, legal streaming services, etc.

List of Niconico services

As previously mentioned, Niconico is a large website that offers many different services and always seem to be experimenting with new services, but they've hit a rut and haven't innovated in years. You can find the extensive list of current and former services on Japanese Wikipedia. To keep this article a bit concise, I am only listing the current services that are active on Niconico at the time of this writing.

Service	Possible English Translation(s)	Description	Launched
Niconico Douga^❌ ニコニコ動画 www.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Douga • Niconico Moving Image • Niconico Video	A video sharing service with barrage-style commentary. The main feature.	2006-12-12
Niconico Namahōsō ニコニコ生放送 live.nicovideo.jp	• Niconama • Niconico Live • Niconico Namahoso	A live broadcasting/streaming service.	2007-12-19
Niconico Daihyakka ニコニコ大百科 dic.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Encyclopedia • Niconico Pedia	An online encyclopedia service. Requires a premium account to edit.	2008-05-15
Niconi Commons ニコニ・コモンズ commons.nicovideo.jp	• Niconi Commons	A video material “sharing” service. A pun on Creative Commons.	2008-08-15
Niconico Channel^❌ ニコニコチャンネル ch.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Channel	A multi-content, monthly subscription platform for creators.	2008-12-05
Niconi Koukoku^❌ ニコニ広告 nicoad.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Ad • Niconico Advertising	A service that lets people advertise on their favorite videos.	2009-03-10
Niconico Jikkyō ニコニコ実況 jk.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Commentary • Niconico Jikkyō • Niconico Live Commentary	A live commentary service.	2009-07-24
Niconico Seiga^❌ ニコニコ静画 seiga.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Image • Niconico Seiga • Niconico Still Image	An illustration sharing service. It's similar to Pixiv, but came several years late.	2009-11-14
Niconico News ニコニコニュース news.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico News	A general news service.	2010-10-29
Niconico Rittai ニコニ立体 3d.nicovideo.jp	• Niconi 3D • Niconi Solid	A 3D model “sharing” service.	2014-05-02
~~N Anime~~ Nアニメ anime.nicovideo.jp	• N Anime • Niconico Anime	A general anime information hub that also links to the legal streaming options.	2018-04-25
Niconico Q ニコニコQ q.nicovideo.jp	• Niconico Q	A quiz and questionnaire service.	2018-07-05
Niconi Koken ニコニ貢献 koken.nicovideo.jp	• Hogehoge • Niconi Contribution	A better way for creators to show their appreciation for supporters.	2021-06-09
NicoFT NicoFT nicoft.io	• NicoFT	An NFT marketplace for member passes.	2023-03-28

List of former categories and genres

For over a decade, videos were classified using a “large category / small category” tagging system, but this was changed to a “genre / category” tagging system on June 26, 2019.⁷⁾ It also meant that the category ranking pages were deprecated and entirely overhauled. Unlike the prior system, the new system appears to be more flexible as uploaders don't have to attach a genre anymore.

Show deprecated categorizations.

Genre	Category	Translation	Old IDs
アニメ Anime	アニメ Anime	Anime	`anime`
エンターテイメント Entertainment	エンターテイメント Entāteimento	Entertainment	`ent`
	MMD MMD	MMD	`mmd`
	バーチャル Bācharu	VTuber	`virtual`
	描いてみた Kaitemita	Tried Drawing	`draw`
ゲーム Games	ゲーム Gēmu	Games	`game`
	アイドルマスター Aidorumasutā	The Idolm@ster	`imas`
	東方 Tōhō	Touhou	`toho`
	実況プレイ動画 Jikkyō Purei Dōga	Live Play Video	`jikkyo`
	TRPG TRPG	TRPG	`trpg`
スポーツ Sports	スポーツ Supōtsu	Sports	`sport`
その他 Other	その他 Sonohoka	Other	`other`
	日記 Nikki	Diary	`diary`
	例のアレ Rei no Are	Rei no Are	`are`
ダンス Dance	踊ってみた Odottemita	Tried Dancing	`dance`
ラジオ Radio	ラジオ Rajio	Radio	`radio`
音楽・サウンド Music/Sound	音楽 Ongaku	Music	`music`
	ASMR ASMR	ASMR	`asmr`
	VOCALOID Bōkaroido	VOCALOID	`vocaloid`
	歌ってみた Utattemita	Tried Singing	`sing`
	演奏してみた Ensōshitemita	Tried Playing	`play`
	ニコニコインディーズ Nikoniko Indīzu	Niconico Indies (Original Songs)	`nicoindies`
解説・講座 Exposition/Lecture	ニコニコ動画講座 Nikoniko Dōga Kōza	Niconico Video Lecture	`lecture`
	歴史 Rekishi	History	`history`
	科学 Kagaku	Science	`science`
技術・工作 Technology/Handicrafts	ニコニコ技術部 Nikoniko Gijutsu-bu	Niconico Technology Club	`tech`
	ニコニコ手芸部 Nikoniko Shugei-bu	Niconico Handicraft Club	`handcraft`
	作ってみた Tsukuttemita	Tried Making	`make`
自然 Nature	自然 Shizen	Nature	`nature`
社会・政治・時事 Society/Politics/Current Affairs	政治 Seiji	Politics	`politics`
乗り物 Vehicles	車載動画 Shasai Dōga	In-Vehicle Video (Dashcam Video)	`drive`
乗り物 Vehicles	鉄道 Tetsudō	Railway	`train`
動物 Animals	動物 Dōbutsu	Animals	`animal`
旅行・アウトドア Travel/Outdoors	旅行 Ryokō	Travel	`travel`
料理 Cooking	料理 Ryōri	Cooking	`cooking`
R-18	R-18 Āru Jūhachi	R-18	`r18`
未設定 Not Set

Version history

Niconico will occasionally announce a version upgrade that brings a lot of changes (i.e. features, services) to the website, but I'm leaving those out because there's a lot of them.

No.	Version	Meaning	Timespan
No.	Version	Meaning	Start date	End date
01	ニコニコ動画(仮)	Provisional⁸⁾	2006-12-12	2007-01-15
02	ニコニコ動画(β)	Beta	2007-01-15	2007-02-24
	YouTube blocks Niconico
03	ニコニコ動画(γ)	Gamma	2007-03-06	2007-06-18
04	ニコニコ動画(RC)	Release Candidate	2007-06-18	2007-10-10
05	ニコニコ動画(RC2)	Release Candidate 2	2007-10-10	2008-03-05
06	ニコニコ動画(SP1)	Service Pack 1	2008-03-05	2008-07-05
07	ニコニコ動画(夏)	Summer	2008-07-05	2008-10-01
08	ニコニコ動画(秋)	Autumn	2008-10-01	2008-12-05
09	ニコニコ動画(冬)	Winter	2008-12-05	2008-12-12
10	ニコニコ動画(ββ)	Double Beta⁹⁾	2008-12-12	2009-10-29
11	ニコニコ動画(9)	9¹⁰⁾	2009-10-29	2010-10-29
12	ニコニコ動画(原宿)	Harajuku¹¹⁾	2010-10-29	2012-04-30
13	ニコニコ動画:Zero	Zero	2012-05-01	2012-10-17
14	ニコニコ動画:Q	Q¹²⁾	2012-10-18	2013-10-07
15	ニコニコ動画:GINZA	GINZA¹³⁾	2013-10-08	2018-06-27
16	niconico(く)	Crescendo¹⁴⁾	2018-06-28	2020-08-09
17	ニコニコ(Re)	Re	2020-08-09	2022-12-12
18	ニコニコ(eR)	Er¹⁵⁾	2022-12-12	2024-06-08
19	ニコニコ(Re:仮)	Re:Provisional	2024-06-14	2024-08-05
20	帰ってきたニコニコ	Returned	2024-08-05	2024-09-17
21	ニコニコ(Re:turn)	Re:turn	2024-09-17	Ongoing

gantt %%{init: {'theme':'dark'}}%% title History of Niconico dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD axisFormat %Y todayMarker off tickInterval 12month section Versions Provisional : 2006-12-12, 2007-01-15 Beta : 2007-01-15, 2007-02-24 Gamma : 2007-03-06, 2007-06-18 Release Candidate : 2007-06-18, 2007-10-10 Release Candidate 2: 2007-10-10, 2008-03-05 Service Pack 1 : 2008-03-05, 2008-07-05 Summer : 2008-07-05, 2008-10-01 Autumn : 2008-10-01, 2008-12-05 Winter : 2008-12-05, 2008-12-12 Double Beta : 2008-12-12, 2009-10-29 9 : 2009-10-29, 2010-10-29 Harajuku : 2010-10-29, 2012-04-30 Zero : 2012-05-01, 2012-10-17 Q : 2012-10-18, 2013-10-07 GINZA : 2013-10-08, 2018-06-27 Crescendo : 2018-06-28, 2020-08-09 Re : 2020-08-09, 2022-12-12 Er : 2022-12-12, 2024-06-08 Re Provisional : 2024-06-14, 2024-08-05 Returned : 2024-08-05, 2024-09-17 Re Turn : 2024-09-17, 2025-01-01

List of known userscripts

Niconico's recent rebuild completely changed everything, so some of these scripts may no longer work.

Most of this information comes from their Greasemonkey article.
Also, use Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey instead.

General userscripts for Niconico
- ~~Niconico Link Corrector~~ - Replaces JavaScript links with HTML links.
Userscripts for Niconico Douga
- Histogram Heat Graph - Adds a heatmap for the most commented parts of the video.
Userscripts for user pages and playlists
- SmartNicorepo - Filters for user page activity. Removes non-uploads by default.
Userscripts for the search engines
- Add Niconico Tag Search Tab - Adds a tab for searching through a specific tag.
- Show Niconico Pagination on Top - Copies the pagination buttons above the results.
- Niconico Ranking NG - Removes the “video ranking” part of the search results.
- Nicovideo Search Spam Reporter - Adds clickable report buttons onto thumbnails.
Userscripts for Niconico Seiga
- MOD_Seiga - This will reveal “Shunga” thumbnails automatically and, when viewing an image, adds the “full screen” (フルスクリーン) and “save image” (画像を保存) buttons.
- Niconico Seiga (Manga) Helper - It apparently adds a client-side wordfilter to manga pages.
- Niconico Seiga NG Script - Allows you to blacklist users from the search results.
- Shunga Thumbnail Unmask - Reveals thumbnails for works marked “Shunga (R-15)”.
Userscripts for Niconico Namahōsō
- NicoNama Alerts (Simple) - Alerts you of live streams that match your search results. It'll also check for live streams housed on other streaming platforms as well.
- Prevent Seekbar Movement - This prevents the “seekbar” (video progress bar) jumping to the live stream, allowing users to watch previously recorded parts of the stream.
Userscripts for Niconico Encyclopedia
- NicoDicBBSViewer - Expand an article's thread like a 2channel browser.
- Niconico Encyclopedia BBS NG Feature - Allows you to filter the users in an article's thread.
- Add Nicopedia Menu - Adds a tiny menu, mostly things below the footer, to the sidebar.
Userscripts for Niconi Community
- Niconi Community BBS, New Post Checker - Checks for new posts in a community's board.

Notes

It originally started out as “Niwango Video” (ニワンゴビデオ) at “niwavideo.jp” for a short time.
There used to be a Spanish-language and German-language version of the website.
For some reason, search results are now a playlist and the option to disable “autoplay” is buried, so you have to go into “video list” (動画リスト) and disable “autoplay” (連続再生).
- ~~In the English interface, the names are “up next” and “play on repeat”, while the “autoplay” that appears in settings actually just stops the video from playing when the page is loaded.~~

External links

Niconico - The front page of Niconico.
- Niconico Info - Website announcements, formatted like a news website for some reason.
- @nico_nico_info on Twitter - The official Twitter account.
Niconico Douga on Niconico Encyclopedia
Niconico Douga on Pixiv Encyclopedia

live streaming, mermaid diagrams

¹⁾

“Niconico” (にこにこ) is Japanese onomatopoeia for smiling or a friendly grin.

²⁾

I could go on a long tangent about how inconsistent Japanese onomatopoeia conversions into English are, but I'm not in the mood to write all of that here yet.

³⁾

“Niwango” (ニワンゴ) was a Dwango subsidiary whose name was a portmanteau of 2channel (Nichanneru) and Dwango. It was directed by Hiroyuki Nishimura and Naozumi Takenaka. Nishimura was dismissed from the company in February 2013, and the subsidiary has since merged into Dwango by October 2015.

⁴⁾

"（10/30追記）【重要／予告】「ニコニコサービス全体を対象とした規制範囲の見直し」と「一部サービスでの海外からのアクセスを対象とした利用制限」にともなうニコニコ規約／ニコニコ活動ガイドラインの一部改定について" [Translation] (October 9, 2024). Niconico Info.

⁵⁾

The internet culture in question saw a revival of Flash and video creation, which encompassed trends like Airmoto, Gachimuchi, The Idolm@ster, Touhou Project, Vocaloid, etc.

⁶⁾

For instance, you had the Touhou–KanColle proxy war, the MMD Cup had to be cancelled, and the famed “Sand Planet” video described where Vocaloid culture was at during Hatsune Miku's 10th anniversary.

⁷⁾

"【告知】動画のランキングおよびカテゴリの仕様変更" (March 11, 2019). Niconico Info.

⁸⁾

The kanji, “kari” (仮), can be translated as “temporary”, “provisional”, “tentative”, or “interim” in this case.

⁹⁾

“Double Beta” (ββ) is named that way because it was meant to be a return to “Beta” (β) times.

¹⁰⁾

“9” was allegedly the ninth version. It's not a reference to “m9” or “⑨”.

¹¹⁾

“Harajuku” is meant to commemorate the “Niconico Headquarters” building that was set up in Harajuku, though it was only used from December 2010 to January 2014. And yes, it's that building.

¹²⁾

“Q” is just a “0” with a hair. This may also be a reference to the third Rebuild of Evangelion movie.

¹³⁾

“Ginza” is meant to commemorate Dwango moving to a tower behind the Kabuki-za in Ginza.

¹⁴⁾

There is a Unicode character for crescendo (𝆒), but they actually use “ku” (く) here instead.

¹⁵⁾

“eR” is a reference to English words with the “-er” suffix which often describe the types of content creators (e.g. dancer, designer, painter, singer, streamer, writer, etc.).

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