yaruopoona
やるオプーナ (Yaruopoona / Yaruopuuna) is an Ascii art character that was born from the 2channel board "Games: Hardware & Industry," and it is strongly associated with the 2007 Wii game Opoona.
The titular character of the game has a unique design. He looks like a stuffed doll that has an orange sphere, called "Energy Bon Bon", floating over his head, which attracted the interest of many 2ch users.
Officials from the game's publisher KOEI announced at the game press release conference that they were aiming for the sale of half a million to a million copies of the game. However, the initial sales figures were extremely low, and 2ch users believed that the producer / character designer Majima Shintarou and the developer ArtePiazza were responsible for this.
Yaruopoona is a fusion character that combines Opoona and another 2ch Ascii art character named Yaruo. The sphere over Yaruopoona's head differs from the original in that it is supported by a brace sticking out from the top of his head. He always has a grimace on his face but quite frequently tries to give you a purchase deed, while saying "Good Job! As a reward, I will give you the right to buy Opoona!" in an extremely condescending tone of voice. However, next to him used to stand a cart of new games on special bargain sale which was piled up to the top with Opoona games.
The reason for the game's slow sales was the fact that its launch date happened to coincide with the launch date of Super Mario Galaxy. However, afterward it became clear that the game was actually of decent quality, and the game title and the developers regained their good reputation. Even now, "Yaruopoona" and the phrase "I will give you the right to buy...!" are still extremely well-known.
Opoona has been incorporated as one of Zack's costumes in "Dead or Alive: Dimensions." In this costume, Zack's win quote was "I will give you the right to fight me!"
See also
- 2ch all Ascii-Art illustrations: http://riceballman.fc2web.com/AA-Illust/Data/Opu-na.html