Pedobear has grown to be one of the most recognized memes in history, but many don't know where the internet's favorite pedophile bear came from. Like most memes, the exact history of Pedobear is a bit of a mystery, but the few who were there for his inception remember it like it was yesterday. As with many of today's most popular memes, the origins are not recent but rather from a few years ago -- and strangely enough, Pedobear is actually a sort of import.
Pedobear's first sighting was not on the English-speaking side of the internets, but rather far away in a place on the moon known as "Japan". Initially known simply as Kuma, he was best known as an ASCII character used on 2channel, Japan's most popular image board and BBS. As Kuma, Pedobear was just another ASCII character amongst all of the hundreds of other Japanese ASCII emotes and characters, but all of that changed once he traversed the internet tubes and hit 2channel's English counterpart.
2004 was the year, and new memes were coming and going everyday -- one of which was Osaka Phone, an ASCII image of Osaka from the anime Azumanga Daioh holding a phone to her ear. Osaka Phone is long dead now, but it was the beginning of Pedobear's rise to internet fame, money, and power. Many of today's most prominent memes were born in the time frame between 2004 and 2005, though none can contest the lasting power of Pedobear.
It began as a simple Osaka Phone thread, but Pedobear's lecherous nature could not be held back even in his first days of speaking English. He called her with a proposition that no loli would have the sense to refuse (or understand). From that moment forward, Pedobear's taste in women was known, and it was a sentiment that would be scribed into the blogs of internet meme historians for decades to come.
Over the weeks and months, Pedobear grew famous for his seal of approval towards prepubescent girls and his catchphrase "is dat sum loli". The Pedobear Seal of Approval has lived on, while "is dat sum loli" has faded away like so many other memes who have made their small mark on internet culture. The phrases that he is often seen with these days vary greatly and will likely fade out just as his flagship "is dat sum loli", but the Seal of Approval has proven to have the lasting power to thrive in image boards, forums, and blogs unlike any other.
Pedobear stands as one of the most long-lasting and recognized faces of the internet. While his preferences in women and moral standards may not coincide with the vast majority's, people are able to overlook that due to his cute face and non-threatening appearance. Against all odds, he has been able to maintain his popularity through all of the internet drama and the criticism. Memes come and memes go, sometimes even in the course of a few days. The fact that Pedobear has lasted as long as he has is nothing short of a miracle. The chances of his cheery face all but disappearing off the face of the internet are low. The image macros, the jokes, and his cheery face are burned into minds of all who see them, and internet culture would just not be the same without everyone's favorite loli-loving bear.
