Maru (まる, Japanese: circle or round; born May 24, 2007[1]) is a male Scottish Fold (straight variety[2]) cat in Japan who has become popular on YouTube. Vorlage:As of, videos with Maru have been viewed over 300 million times.[3] Videos featuring Maru have an average of 800,000 views each and he is mentioned often in print and televised media discussing Internet celebrities.[4] Maru has been described as the "most famous cat on the internet."[5]
Maru's owner posts videos under the account name 'mugumogu'. His owner is almost never seen in the videos, although the video titled Maru's ear cleaning. is an exception. The videos include title cards in English and Japanese setting up and describing the events, and often show Maru playing in cardboard boxes, indicated by "I love a box!" in his first video.
In August 2013, Maru's owner adopted a two-month-old mixed-breed cat named Hana from a veterinarian. During the two-week trial period, Maru and Hana got along very well and Mugumogu decided to make Hana a new member of their family.[6]
Fame
Entertainment Weekly mentioned Maru alongside Keyboard Cat and Nora in its "Notable Kitty Videos" article.[7][8] The New York Times mentioned Maru in an article about cats and dogs in the media and included pictures of the cat.[9] Maru's videos have been featured on the Fresh Step's commercial on the Fresh Step YouTube Channel.[10] Maru has also been featured in advertisements within Japan, for various products.[11] Vorlage:As of, Maru's channel is the 7th most subscribed in Japan.
After the March 2011 earthquakes in Japan, Mugumogu reported from Maru's blog that Maru was safe and unharmed, though a carrying case was prepared in the event of an evacuation.[12]
In August 2013, a female tabby kitten named Hana (はな, "flower") joined Maru's household.[13]
Published media
A book and DVD (containing English and Japanese text) entitled I am Maru was released in Japan in September 2009.[14][15][16] A further DVD Maru Desu followed in February the year after.[17] A second book, もっと、まるです (More Maru) was released on August 31, 2011 (Japanese only).[18]
See also
References
External links
- ↑ mugumogu: まるです。 Sisinmaru.com, 24. Mai 2011, abgerufen am 28. Juli 2016.
- ↑ Donahue, Deirdre: Maru, the cat's meow of YouTube, stars in a new book ( des vom 23. August 2011 im Internet Archive) In: USA Today, 22 August 2011
- ↑ mugumogu: mugumogu's Channel. YouTube, 10. Juli 2008, abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010.
- ↑ mugumogu: I am Maru. 2006, abgerufen am 24. Dezember 2010.
- ↑ In Search of the Living, Purring, Singing Heart of the Online Cat-Industrial Complex | WIRED. Abgerufen am 5. Juli 2015.
- ↑ mugumogu: まるです. Sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com, 6. August 2013, abgerufen am 11. März 2014.
- ↑ Notable Kitty Videos, 7 August 2009, S. 39
- ↑ Benjamin Svetkey: Cat videos! Cat videos! Cat videos! Help us grade the cat videos! EW.com, 30. Juli 2009, abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010.
- ↑ Neil Genzlinger: On Films and TV, Cats and Dogs Playing Cute In: NYTimes.com, 23 July 2010
- ↑ freshstep: freshstep's Channel. YouTube, abgerufen am 27. Dezember 2010.
- ↑ Photo of Maru WiMAX ad
- ↑ Maru: Maru blog post. Maru, abgerufen am 11. März 2011.
- ↑ http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/blog-entry-1489.html
- ↑ mugumogu: I am Maru. Amazon.co.jp, abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010.
- ↑ mugumogu: I am Maru 2. Tokimeki Publishing, abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010.
- ↑ mugumogu: I am Maru (Maru Desu). Tokimeki Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-4-04-895128-9 (japanisch, amazon.com [abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010]).
- ↑ mugumogu: I am Maru. Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc., 2010, abgerufen am 23. Juli 2010.
- ↑ Amazon.co.jp： もっと、まるです。: ｍｕｇｕｍｏｇｕ: 本. Amazon.co.jp, abgerufen am 26. Januar 2012.