Yukkuri

“Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!” (ゆっくりしていってね！！！, lit. “Take your time!!!”),¹⁾ often shortened to Yukkuri (ゆっくり), is an AA meme that started out as Touhou Project text art from April 18, 2004, then it somehow became a viral Japanese internet phenomenon around June 2008.

They are still relatively popular in Japan,²⁾ but it's kept alive in ways that aren't accessible to foreigners. In the west, views of Yukkuri wane as textboard culture was under-researched during the boom³⁾ and weirdos will spam Yukkuri Cruelty to scare people that do find them cute.

History

On December 5, 2003, “Deep Takezaki” (Ｄプ竹崎)⁴⁾ uploaded text artwork of Reimu, wearing the borrowed outfit from Touhou Kourindou, to the “Touhou Series General Thread” on 2channel's /gsaloon/ board.⁵⁾ A couple days later, this was edited to have knives and a murderous smile,⁶⁾ dubbed “Kehihi Reimu” (ｹﾋﾋ霊夢). Some time after, a big head version was created on April 18, 2004 in a much later thread.⁷⁾

　　　　　　 ,---、, --、,---,
　　　　　　,'ゝ-´、⌒,'´-´、_ゝ
　　　　　/==--　　　　 　　ヽヽ,
　　　　 ,ｲ 人_,-iﾉ人ｲ_-,|_入ゝ i　
　　　　　ヽi i.ｲ[)　　 [~)ｱi ｲヽ |　　
　　　　　　|人"　ー 　".人i 　|ﾉ
　　　　　　 | |｀' -,　-,イ/| |　(|　 ,、
　　　　　　 ﾚ' ／<Ｖ>＼ .ﾚ'　　.//[]
　　　　　　 ,ヽゝi 入　/／ヽ、_//　[]]
　　　　　　,く_　L_λ__ヽ、　　//　　 []
　　　,──'_ｲ'/ /Tヽ、ヽ,ト´ノ　　 []　[]
　　　|_______,く__/_,,|,___ヽ___>　　　 []　[]
　　　　　　　｀'~ｲ_ト~ヽ_ゝ~´
　　　　　　　 i´__ノ　　(__｀）

^{The original text art of Reimu in Rinnosuke's blue clothes, which she borrowed in the first two chapters of Touhou Kourindou.}

　　　　　　　　 ,---、, --、,---,
　　　　　　　　,'ゝ-´、⌒,'´-´、_ゝ
　　　　　　　/==--　　　　 　　ヽヽ,　　　　　　　
　　　　　　 ,ｲ 人_,＼iﾉ人／|_入ゝ i　 、 | ,　　
　　　　　　　ヽi i.ｲ[)　　 [~)ｱi ｲ.ヽ | ─,　 ─ 
　　　　　　　　|人"　∀ 　".人i 　|ﾉ　/ i |｀　　
　　　　　　　　 | |｀' -,　-,イ/| |　(|　/ /i
　　　　　　　　 ﾚ' ／<Ｖ>＼ .ﾚ'　　./ ,ﾉ.|
　　　　　　　　 ,ヽゝi 入　/／ヽ、_/ ._i /
　　　　　　　　,く_　L_λ__ヽ、　　//ヽ/
. 、-------.,─'_ｲ'/ /Tヽ、ヽ,ト´ノ
　ヽ、～～～|￣,く__/_,,|,___ヽ___>
　　　￣￣￣ 　｀'~ｲ_ト~ヽ_ゝ~´
　　　　　　　　　 i´__ノ　　(__｀）

^{The edited text art featuring Reimu wielding two knives, whose head would serve as the basis for Yukkuri Reimu.}

However, the head didn't instantly become known as “Yukkuri Reimu” back then. On June 2, 2007, the head was posted to the Touhou Suimusou thread on Shitaraba's Touhou Series Board.⁸⁾ A few threads later, people joked about the head being a manjuu bun or growing limbs to become Kirby,⁹⁾ then all the variants began to spawn around June 14, 2007¹⁰⁾ and infest other threads.

　　 _,,....,,_　 ＿人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人＿
-''":::::::::::::｀''＞　　　ゆっくりしていってね！！！　　　＜
ヽ:::::::::::::::::::::￣^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^Ｙ^￣
　|::::::;ノ´￣＼:::::::::::＼_,. -‐ｧ　　　　　＿_　　 _____　　 ＿_____
　|::::ﾉ　　　ヽ､ヽr-r'"´　　（.__　　　　,´　_,, '-´￣￣｀-ゝ 、_ イ、
_,.!イ_　　_,.ﾍｰｧ'二ﾊ二ヽ､へ,_7　　　'r ´　　　　　　　　　　ヽ、ﾝ、
::::::rｰ''7ｺ-‐'"´　 　 ;　 ',　｀ヽ/｀7　,'＝=─-　　　 　 -─=＝',　i
r-'ｧ'"´/　 /!　ﾊ 　ハ　 !　　iヾ_ﾉ　i　ｲ　iゝ、ｲ人レ／_ルヽｲ i　|
!イ´ ,' |　/__,.!/　V　､!__ﾊ　 ,'　,ゝ　ﾚﾘｲi (ﾋ_] 　　 　ﾋ_ﾝ ).| .|、i .||
`! 　!/ﾚi'　(ﾋ_] 　　 　ﾋ_ﾝ ﾚ'i　ﾉ　　　!Y!""　 ,＿__, 　 "" 「 !ﾉ i　|
,'　 ﾉ 　 !'"　 　 ,＿__,　 "' i .ﾚ'　　　　L.',.　 　ヽ _ﾝ　　　　L」 ﾉ| .|
　（　　,ﾊ　　　　ヽ _ﾝ　 　人! 　　　　 | ||ヽ、　　　　　　 ,ｲ| ||ｲ| /
,.ﾍ,）､　　）＞,､ _____,　,.イ　 ハ　　　　レ ル｀ ー--─ ´ルﾚ　ﾚ´

At some point, a “Yukkuri Marisa” variant had surfaced and the “yukkuri shiteitte ne” phrase was born, but it remains a complete mystery on how these other two parts came to be. This phenomenon spread through other websites, sometimes as illustrations or video animations instead of text artwork since Niconico and Pixiv existed at this point in time, and it would even place third in the 2008 Internet Buzzword Awards.

Derived concepts

Yukkuri Live Play

Yukkuri Live Play (ゆっくり実況プレイ, Yukkuri Jikkyō Purei), often translated as “Yukkuri Let's Play”, refer to gameplay videos with commentary generated by text-to-speech software like SofTalk. This is a popular format since people are self-conscious about using their real voice and identity, may want to focus on gameplay if they aren't good, and may not be interested in live streams.

Surprisingly, these videos are apart of the reason why Touhou Project remains popular,¹¹⁾ even if the Yukkuri isn't always present. Some channels omit the Yukkuri, use the standard Yukkuri based on Touhou Project characters, use a Yukkuri based on a character from the video game, or make an original talk sprite. In a way, these Yukkuri videos can be construed as a significant precursor to the Virtual YouTuber trend.

Yukkuri Cruelty

Yukkuri Cruelty (ゆっくり虐待, Yukkuri Gyakutai), commonly translated as Yukkuri Abuse, is the violent response to the Yukkuri's sudden, widespread popularity. This is often treated as a separate group that voluntarily zones itself off, as some people actually find Yukkuri cute, and toes a line as it arguably breaches Touhou Project's fan creation guideline of not harming its reputation.¹²⁾

It's a sadistic genre where Yukkuris become purposely detailed enough to the point of grossing people out, detailing how they breed, defecate, and occasionally act barbaric to one another, thus justifying a sadistic urge to crush them, burn them, scalp them, make them rot, make them suffer, dehumanize or genocide them, etc. On that note, “Yukkuri Cruelty” can be seen as an extension of the “Genocide Boom”.

Osatou Yukkuri

Osatou Yukkuri (おさとうゆっくり), or OsaYuku (おさゆく), is a special breed of Yukkuri with limbs that “Osatou” (おさとう) invented on May 26, 2009.¹³⁾ “Osatou” would compile his comics into a video,¹⁴⁾ but most people are probably familiar with the long-running four-panel comic by “Tani Takeshi” (たにたけし) who became interested in them around March 15, 2010.¹⁵⁾¹⁶⁾

Yukkuri Farce

Yukkuri Chaban (ゆっくり茶番, lit. “Yukkuri Farce”),¹⁷⁾ or Yukkuri Chaban-geki (ゆっくり茶番劇),¹⁸⁾ is a popular video genre where these animated Yukkuri perform a comedic skit. Unlike real life, Yukkuri rarely make any mistakes, so one could argue that they are technically voice dramas. In May 2022, the genre would suddenly become the center of a week-long trademark registration scandal.

List of notable Yukkuris

Source Character(s)	Tag(s)	Pixiv	Nico	Additional Notes
Reimu Hakurei	ゆっくり霊夢 Yukkuri Reimu	[p]	[s]
Reimu Hakurei	ゆっくりれいむ Yukkuri Reimu	[p]	[s]
Marisa Kirisame	ゆっくり魔理沙 Yukkuri Marisa	[p]	[s]
Marisa Kirisame	ゆっくりまりさ Yukkuri Marisa	[p]	[s]
Cirno	チルノフ Chirunov	[p]	[s]	A derivative of Aramaki Scarchinov whose name can also be translated as: Cirnov, Chirunofu, Cirnofu, Chirunof, Cirnof. That aside, she wants to eat Udon.
Patchouli Knowledge	ヨコハマパチュリー Yokohama Pachuri	[p]		Refer to Yokohama Sakuya's notes.
Sakuya Izayoi	ヨコハマサクヤ Yokohama Sakuya	[p]	[s]	“Yokosaku” (ヨコサク) for short. She was born in late March 2009¹⁹⁾ and her expression is a reference to Yokohama Rubber's memetic “Smile-drive” mascot. Anyways, she smiles and normally doesn't speak.
Remilia Scarlet	れみりゃ Remirya	[p]	[s]	She says things like “Uu~! Uu~!” (うー！うー！), “Remi☆lia☆u~!” (れみ☆りあ☆うー！), and “Rawr! I'm gonna eat you!”(ぎゃおー！たーべちゃうぞー！).²⁰⁾
Remilia Scarlet	うーぱっく U~ Pakku	[p]	[s]	This is a box, presumably called the “Uu~♪ Package”.
Letty Whiterock	ゆっくりレティ Yukkuri Letty	[p]	[s]
Alice Margatroid	整形アリス Seikei Alice	[p]	[s]	“Plastic Surgery Alice”. She came from /gline/ and her name refers to her peculiar looks.
Youmu Konpaku	ゆっくり妖夢 Yukkuri Youmu	[p]	[s]
Youmu Konpaku	ゆっくりみょん Yukkuri Myon	[p]	[s]
Tewi Inaba	ウザテイ Uzatei	[p]	[s]	Recommended viewing.
Reisen Udongein Inaba	うどんげ Udonge	[p]	[s]	Paired with Tewi, but often gets bullied. As a warning, this is also just normal Reisen's middle name.
	ゆどんげ Yudonge	[p]	[s]	Alternate tag. Less susceptible to being tagged with the actual Reisen Udongein Inaba.
	きもんげ Kimonge	[p]	[s]	The hideous, greedy, two-faced one.
Kaguya Houraisan	テルヨフ Teruyov	[p]	[s]	A derivative of Aramaki Scarchinov whose name can also be translated as: Teruyofu, Teruyof.
Yuuka Kazami	のうかりん Noukarin	[p]	[s]	The aunt-like Yukkuri who wears a straw hat and farms.
Nitori Kawashiro	にちょり Nichori	[p]	[s]	One variant of the Yukkuri Nitori looks horrifying to some people.
Aya Shameimaru	きめぇ丸 Kimeemaru	[p]	[s]	Her smug face was put on diagonally, thus the name. She is known for her condescending “Oo, kowai kowai” (おお、こわいこわい, lit. “Ooh, scary scary”).
	うぜぇ丸 Uzemaru	[p]	[s]	Kimeemaru's alternate name.
	あややぼん Ayayabon	[p]	[s]	A variant of “Kimeemaru” from a video series that was made by “Aobata” (青ばた) on August 8, 2008.²¹⁾
	きめら丸 Kimeramaru	[p]	[s]	Kimeemaru, after some or many significant changes.
Shizuha Aki	静HARD ShizuHARD	[p]	[s]	Shizuha's portrait only comes out on Hard or Lunatic Mode of Touhou Fuujinroku. She used to be depicted as cranky due to the low popularity meme.
Sanae Kochiya	ゆっくり早苗 Yukkuri Sanae	[p]	[s]
Komeiji Sisters	男前古明地姉妹 Otokomae Komeiji Shimai	[p]	[s]	The “Handsome Komeiji Sisters” who wear suits.
Shou Toramaru	ゆっくり星 Yukkuri Shou	[p]	[s]

Notes

The usual “Yukkuri Voice” is SofTalk and AquesTalk.

External links

Yukkuri Matome Wiki - This wiki has a considerably large repository of Yukkuri-related AA.
- Yukkuri Origin Investigation Report - A two-page story on where Yukkuris came from.
Yukkuri Refuge Matome Wiki - This wiki collects inappropriate works (e.g. erotic, vulgar, abuse, etc.) and vandalism uploaded to the main Yukkuri Matome Wiki.
Yukkuri Creation Communique Wiki - This wiki is related to the Yukkuri thread that's on 2channel's /mitemite/ board.²²⁾ For some reason, new text art is uploaded here instead of that thread.
Yukkuri and Kehihi Reimu on Niconico Encyclopedia
Yukkuri on Pixiv Encyclopedia
Yukkuri on the 2ch AA Illustration Project

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　　　　　,'´ 　,. -‐ｧ'"￣｀ヽｰ ､｀ヽ
　　　　　／/　　　　　　　　　｀ヽ｀フ
　　　　/　.,'　 /!　/! 　 !　ﾊ　 !　',
　　　(　 　 !　ﾉ-!‐ﾉ !　ﾉ|/ｰ!､!ﾉ　 ,.ゝ
　　　ﾍ　 ﾉﾚ'　 rr=-,　　 r=;ｧir /!　ﾉ
　 　(　　ノ　! 　　　　　　　　"! ﾍ（
　　　) 　,.ﾊ ''" 　　 'ｰ=-'　"'!　',ヽ.
　　　　)　'!　ﾄ.､　　　　　　,.ｲ　 i .ﾉ
　　　　　ﾉヽ,!　i｀＞r--‐ i´ﾚﾍ　ノ
　∬　 ヽ（へ ﾚｨr'7ア´￣｀ヽ.　）'
┌-┐　　　ノ　/ｲ　　　　 　 Y
(i ＿i　　rくヽ/!ﾉ 　　　　__　 ,ゝ
　＼　＼／`/::ﾒ:::`ヽ､_二､___イ

ascii, touhou related, yukkuri

¹⁾

“Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!” (ゆっくりしていってね！！！) has historically been translated to “take it easy!!!”, but it can also be interpreted as “take your time!!!”, “take it slow!!!”, etc.

²⁾ , ¹¹⁾

"Many learn about Touhou via Youtube then Nicovideo, usually through Let's Plays that feature Yukkuris, blobhead versions of Touhou chars." (August 9, 2017). @NForza26 on Twitter.

³⁾

In the late 2000s, a user named “Shii” had wrote the “Church of the Latter-Day Yukkuri” which was an awful source as it barely touched on textboard culture and most of its pages glorified Yukkuri Cruelty.

⁴⁾

“Deep Takezaki” (Ｄプ竹崎), or “Fukaiton”, is credited as the original Reimu's illustrator as he already had a record of creating text artwork and shortly illustrated it, nine days later, on December 14, 2003.

⁵⁾

"庫符「東方シリーズ総合スレッド 106/106" (December 5, 2003). 2channel /gsaloon/.

⁶⁾

"刹符「東方シリーズ総合スレッド 114/114」" (December 13, 2003). 2channel /gsaloon/.

⁷⁾

"糞符「東方シリーズ総合スッドレ 316/316」" (April 18, 2004). 2channel /gsaloon/.

⁸⁾

"東方萃夢想　攻略・雑談スレ45" (May 28, 2007). Shitaraba /computer/6306/.

⁹⁾

"東方萃夢想　攻略・雑談スレ47" (June 10, 2007). Shitaraba /computer/6306/.

¹⁰⁾

"東方萃夢想　攻略・雑談スレ48" (June 14, 2007). Shitaraba /computer/6306/.

¹²⁾

"東方Projectの二次創作ガイドライン" [English]. Touhou Yomoyama News.

¹³⁾

"「・・・・・・・・・」" (May 26, 2009). Pixiv

¹⁴⁾

"東方の皮を被った何か" (December 22, 2009). Niconico Douga.

¹⁵⁾

"ダブルスポイラー記念【ネタバレ】" (March 15, 2010). Pixiv.

¹⁶⁾

"烏" (March 19, 2010). Pixiv.

¹⁷⁾

“Chaban kyōgen” (茶番狂言, lit. “tea server's wild words”), later shortened to “chaban” (茶番), is a short nonsensical comedic skit performed by amateur actors. It originated during the Edo period where tea servers, or waiters, doubled as entertainment and performed a short kyōgen to humor the guests.

¹⁸⁾

“Chaban-geki” (茶番劇, ~~lit. “tea server drama”~~) is best translated as “farce play” or “farce drama”.

¹⁹⁾

"ゆっくりしていってね！！！！！！！！！！！" (March 26, 2009). Shitaraba /computer/41116/.

²⁰⁾

This line is actually spoken by Remilia in Stage 4 of Aya's scenario in Touhou Hisouten.

²¹⁾

"あややぼん" (August 8, 2008). Niconico Douga.

²²⁾

The thread is titled “ゆっくりしていってね！！！　創作発表スレ” (Yukkuri Creation Presentation Thread).

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