Friday Afternoon Diversion: The Bottom Biting Bug

Apparently, The Bottom Biting Bug is all the rage in Japan, which means 6 months later it's all the rage in the US.

The bug is "kimi-kawaii," which means icky-cute, and he has a noble cause: To bring people together. When he bites someone's bottom they feel some sort of excitement to talk with someone they don't know.

Yeah, we don't totally get it either, but the animation is beyond cute and the tune has been stuck in our head since yesterday when a co-worker sent the video link to us. Also, how can you resist translated lyrics that say things like "Bottom to bottom is getting to know someone?" The cartoon first aired on NHK in Japan. Since then, there have been more than 11,000 ringtone downloads of The Bottom Biting Bug song, more than any other ringtone on the site. There are even Bottom Biting Bug CDs and DVDs and talks of cashing in by making some character goods.