Tanasinn, Japan's Ancient Internet Horror | Esoteric Internet

[@vitlaska]

comparing tanassin and zalgo in their resolutions only brings forth the basic similarities of aesthetics and conceptions. In tanassin's case, the sheer abstraction of what is (or lack thereof) established, under layers of purposeful contradictions, it makes you wrestle with your mind trying to construct an concrete image of such discrepancy, yet the best you can do is literally don't think, just feel. oh yeah, meanwhile zalgo is a cthulhu downgrade and was created by shmorky

[@Pseudiom]

I actually thought Yahtzee created the name "Zalgo" then I learned his thing was "Chzo". I guess that's the really horror right there.

[@georgewilson7432]

That's what makes these viral ideas Lovecraftian in nature, their ambiguity allows us to inject our own horror and obsesions, they are obsidian mirrors held up to our mind and soul.

[@sensukeharashuin6896]

​@@Pseudiommaybe a "the darkness comes" playthrough?

[@wendysofficial]

Shmorky… I haven’t heard that name in a very long time. Almost makes me miss browsing Something Awful

[@derelictshouse]

The real horror is knowing what Shmorky did.

[@Asterati]

So the creepy posters in the hospital in Fatal Frame 4 aren't just there to be creepy???? They actually made posters like that for hospitals????

[@Wheresmy240]

Fatal frame was such a good game.

[@PabbyPabbles]

This is how old gods come back. They let people believe they are creating something, and pose as a weirdly attractive shitpost. Some ancient Japanese horror spirit is probably feeding of our energies, now

[@OG-uq9yb]

Lol

[@kathrineici9811]

Japanese Lila then?

[@mme725]

13:12 making tanasinn sound like some sort of analog horror or Cthulhu emotion. Sounds like it fits right in with "dorselessness" lol

[@Maralien99]

the fact the medicine that produced "dorselessness" in the video it came from was named "Thalasin" is probably a reference to this tbh similarity of the name cannot be accidental

[@Romanticoutlaw]

tanasinn feels like the estranged grandfather that western gen z humor takes after to a surprising degree. There's something about its essence

[@DaveBob96]

There is nothing in Ohio, yet everything happens in Ohio...

[@jasonblalock4429]

Just from playing it recently, I wonder if the lore was also somehow inspired by Shin Megami Tensei III, which first came out less than a year before the meme was born. And SMT3's plot is basically pure "tanasinn," especially the parts about remaking the world. (I'm also REALLY reminded of "Gorefield" memes in English realms, which seem oddly similar given their different roots.)

[@jpgextinction]

Since they're both based on corrupting a pop cultural cartoon cat it makes sense to be reminded of gorefield

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Also reminds me of these “corrupted childhood icons” memes: Dolan and Gooby (Donald Duck and Goofy) Spengbab (SpongeBob SquarePants) Sherk (Shrek) Demonic Dash (Dash (the male mascot of PBS Kids)) (Also, I’ve seen corrupted meme versions of Pikachu, Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dora the Explorer, the PAW Patrol, Arthur, and Kermit the Frog)

[@joemartin7451]

there's also the cursed mickey mouse too.@@nicholaslienandjaja1815

[@nshadex72]

I often compare tanasinn to that of Garfield, when it comes to the spread of horror image distortion and overall internet lore/ethos. Though from what I've watched Garfield does seem to have a more ironic shitpost type kind of vibe to it. But the similarities are all there, even how both Doraemon and Garfield are hand drawn fictional cats. Watching this reminded me of that so I thought I'd comment.

[@leelubell9080]

I remember seeing this in a “top # mysterious websites” video a while back. Little embarrassed to say it spooked me good, mostly because it was listed alongside things like morgellons so I thought it was earnest. Not necessarily that it was true, but that the author believed it and created the site to spread information they thought would be harmful Pretty funny to realize that I basically fell for an old Japanese 4chan creepypasta

[@Pseudiom]

I mean, there's a thin layer between reality and irony with Tanasinn. It is basically the Japanese equivalent to "FNORD". You just feel.

[@leelubell9080]

@@Pseudiom knowing the broader picture, that makes sense. The video I saw only covered the website itself with no context from the wider web, so I figured that it was a delusional person’s pet theory (ala time cube) and some sort of cognitohazard. I found it disturbing that the website had audio repeating “tanasinn” despite that supposedly killing mice. The full story is so much more interesting. (Love your videos, btw! Fascinating analyses of such broad and unique topics!)

[@runeanonymous9760]

At a glance morgellons seems to have been a mother overreacting to contact dermatitis and also some of those skin problems people just get from losing the genetic lottery, then it became a whole culture war and honestly the whole thing could have never been a thing if she just went to a dermatologist, who would have told her to use different soaps lotions shampoo etc and have him exfoliate. which is weird for a kid that little to need, but once I made those changes the problem went away for the most part- post-Lyme fucks with the immune system, potentially giving you allergies, and if you don't test for those changes then you don't notice it and could get caught up in some conspiracy theory

[@leelubell9080]

@@runeanonymous9760 that makes sense, but from my understanding of delusional parasitosis, professional opinions don’t make much of a difference (unless they agree with them) because they feel that whatever they have is either too new for doctors to know about or is being suppressed for some reason.

[@hadanestesiada]

@@runeanonymous9760 Morgellons tends to show up in addicts / people who frequent certain drug usage the most, I suppose it is just paranoia induced.

[@tikimillie]

The thing about japan (that i kinda really love in a morbid way) is the polished surface, where everything looks perfect, and its quite beautiful. But you don’t gotta dig very far before you start digging up bones.

[@akiradkcn]

Thats just every society

[@kaksikymmenta3]

Eternal September began 30 years ago. Anything before that is The Ancient Internet.

[@naturalistmind]

One interesting thing is that "Shin" means spicy in Korean but "to die" in Japanese

[@somerandomname3124]

It means both within 13 hours of eating a very spicy meal for me after it digests.

[@tantiancai7536]

Writing a word is one thing. But in Asian languages, it's how you pronounce a word that matters. That's because many words are homophones. They are pronounced the same, sounds the same, but have very different meanings depending on the context. 'Shin' may mean 'Spicy' in Korean. It may indeed also mean 'To Die' in Japanese. But, it also means 'New'. Depending on how you interpret it, especially if you apply Eastern mysticism, it could be taken to mean 'With dead comes rebirth' or 'With destruction comes renewal'. Confused yet? 🤪

[@jdee0]

@@tantiancai7536Asia is a continent. With thousands of languages. Wtf are you on about.

[@jdee0]

It means New mate.

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Actually, “shin” means “new” or “reborn” (think Shin Godzilla). “To die”/“death” is “shi” (and now you know why the number 4 is unlucky among superstitious Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans, just like how Westerners view 13 and 666).

[@itryen7632]

Holy shit. I remember Tanasinn. I used to frequent the 4ch ASCII board for a REALLY long time until a couple years ago. I thought only i and some other autists knew about this thing. This thing was a STAPLE in that place.

[@carriefernandez8705]

did you ever make it over to SAOVQ? they brought lots of AA with them and had a whole series of community-made albums. my favorite album title is "Tabitha 'Tablecat' Catherine's Super Off-Table Formula VIP"

[@noxxyy]

@@carriefernandez8705 oh hey a comment mentioning viptronic. didn't expect that. old internets were a better time

[@thelucidcollection1138]

I absolutely love your work and I have to thank you for topping off my halloween. It actually means alot. Stayed in this round (halloween) and thats half way to lame and seeing a upload from you reassures me that I didn't waste what is to me my most holy of holidays.

[@giovannidipierfrancescodim3058]

Every couple of months i find your channel and it always makes me so so happy to do so

[@carlcouture1023]

So it's Gorefield but surreal AA instead of eldritch body horror?

[@hylacinerea970]

the funny thing about the haloperidol doll mascot is that haloperidol is an antipsychotic. most users of haloperidol are schizophrenic

[@coreyander286]

Antipsychotic medication that comes with a free CD of quiet, nearly-intelligible whispering.

[@SpookeyGael]

the way tanasinn is described as this barely describable aesthetic/philosophical concept reminds me a lot of the modern obsession with "liminal spaces" and "-core" aesthetics.

[@puppperoni]

I feel blessed every time Pseudiom uploads!

[@mtosta2861]

So Lain is really “post tanassin” then(?)

[@MillywiggZ]

Tanasinn is tanasinn reminds me of am old western “good boy image board for adult discussions” meme “desu”. Desu is a Japanese word but became a meme from formal speaking characters in anime. There was an anime with living dolls I can’t remember the name of with a character having red and green eyes. She would over-use “desu” and now the meme had a character and an image. Whenever anyone asked what “desu” actually meant people would just mess with them saying “Desu is desu. Everything will be desu. Desu desu desu desu.” etc. I have no idea if it’s related to Tanasinn.

[@Szriko]

No, Tanasinn predates that particular Suiseiseki meme by a couple years.

[@Bran40519]

also the anime is rozen maiden desu

[@Nesiclor]

This is literally just a Japanese 'I'm sorry Jon' and you can't tell me otherwise.

[@twotothehalf3725]

Oh, tennessine? That's my favourite element: younger me once saw an IUPAC periodic table with all elements filled in except "ununseptium" and thought "that's cool!", and that got me into chemistry. What's it gotta do with Japanese horror tho?

[@sourgreendolly7685]

The music was driving me nuts because it seemed so familiar but I couldn't place it. Seeing 'Okage: Shadow King' brought back a lock of nice memories playing while my gram watched/nagged me for talking to everyone before doing whatever task. Thank you for that! Nice lil trip down Memory Lane

[@peterdinkler4950]

I think the Doraemon Akria crossover sums it up perfectly, lol. love Ligotti's work, Cool to see him being recognized.

[@MrElbowsmash]

I remember when a certain (EN) image board and its (EN) BBS offshoot caught onto tanasinn for, like, a couple of months. good times

[@eternalgreed8935]

I remember that I first saw that tanasinn meme because of a hack of super mario world called Vip Mario 5, it has a boss fight against 5 forms of tanasinn

[@plasmawolf7960]

Represents a pain behind my eyes with every recitation of the word, an aching in my ears at its sight. The curling of my fingers into a fist at the sensing of an old blasphemy

[@Esirre]

12:30 is it possible "Nyan Cat" the one with the poptart body has it's origins here? 19:26 those heads are made from the cover art of Underworld's album 100 Days Off

[@blindedjourneyman]

nyan cat was made by someone that just really loved their cat, the cat its based off of sadly died years ago and the creator made a sadder version of if to pay homage to the poor bugger 😢

[@Esirre]

@@blindedjourneyman ah can't believe it's dead, but yeah that was long time ago now maybe 10 years

[@Silver_Roll]

hey, this videos super cool, but id also like to shoutout your use of so much okage music, finally someone recognzies that ost for the banger it is!

[@retroroy8720]

Hope you have a Happy Halloween today

[@Pseudiom]

Happy Halloween to you too Roy!

[@retroroy8720]

@@Pseudiom Thanks! I had a great Halloween

[@spilledink849]

So old school japanese posters made a proto-imsorryjon/zalgo mist creature

[@o.liveil7111]

It’s like Tanasinn was the proto ‘Gorefield’/I’m sorry Jon

[@kurganfigs9924]

Damn Ben tenassin took on a whole new meaning after watching this

[@mme725]

Jesus, the breathy TTS whispers give me the creeps. Good video, I'm new here! 👋

[@BurbleBenis]

reminds me of the old weegee/weegee time meme that used to be about during that similar timepoint

[@coyoteartist]

Somehow this tanasinn sounds like quantum mechanics of the soul

[@moonlitbear9863]

This whole thing basically reminds me of that manga about a comic book character being a product of humanity's collective subconscious

[@yaboi3839]

What comic? I feel like I should know but I forgot

[@yosuvarley415]

@@yaboi3839I think they’re talking about Billy Bat by Naoki Urasawa

[@akiradkcn]

Sounds like Serial Experiments Lain, or that girl from Magical Index

[@adrianinha19]

Like Ino from Guilty Gear

[@Prodambien]

Back with another banger!

[@Datadog-1]

So this is massively overstated and misleading?…

[@vze1ruuh]

This is why scientists say don’t use your phone before bed 😂😂. Now i need 2 more videos to wipe this from memory

[@Percevaus_Li_Galois]

Huh, I remember seeing tanasinn around 4ch and other such boards a couple years ago for the first time, and stumbling upon the website as a result. I didn't "get" it though and just skimmed everything and moved on to the next thing. Didn't realize there was all this lore that went along with it. Seeing this video and having it explained more in depth reminded me of another obscure internet property, this time from the Western web. There's a podcast I used to listen to, not sure if it's still around, called Tanis. It was one of those fictional investigative docupodramas that popped up in the wake of Serial like Limetown and The Black Tapes. Very similar idea to tanasinn, it's about this concept: "Tanis", that's apparently been around for thousands of years, from the Sumerians to the Romans and Aztecs and Germanic tribes. What the hell Tanis even is though is never really explained, and in fact it's made clear from the start that it's not really anything in particular. It's been locations and people and cities and the sky at night also once a cat. It's an expansive mystery with no resolution, and in the show seems to consume all other mysteries and strange people and events into itself: from Rasputin and the Tunguska Event, to Jack Parsons and Aleister Crowley and the Salish Sea Feet and A858- basically anything weird and mysterious the creator googled. I stopped listening because it was just constant mystery and connections, nothing was ever really resolved and what few answers were given only just lead to more weird shit that didn't seem to have much to do with anything; let alone anything with what the show started with. It got rather tedious. At best I figured that Tanis was some kind of pretentious embodiment of the concept of mystery itself, and the draw it has on people and how it can make some obsessed trying to find clues and make connections where there are none, but idk. I don't know if the creator of the show was inspired by tanasinn, the similarity in the name and idea of the concept and the weird connection to cats is probably just an odd coincidence considering the creator doesn't seem all that internet savvy, and if so it's interesting how that arose naturally on two different sides of the Pacific. Though tanasinn strikes me as a better version of this since it's a memey shitpost that doesn't take itself anywhere near as seriously and doesn't promise you any kind of progressing narrative or even really entertainment. tanasinn simply is. Anyways, great vid!

[@Jake_Hanrahan]

Still don’t get what Tanasinn is meant to be at all? Also why he read the quotes like his mouth is full lol?

[@Aresojp]

But have you heard of the infamous Sameshima incident?

[@nytrodioxide]

I've spent like 2+ hours just going through the image forums and scavenging for good quality memes/cursed images

[@Optimusprime917]

tanasinn reminds me of that SFM santiago meme from a few years back.

[@retroroy8720]

Awesome!

[@pablowentscobar]

It's like the thing the guy in the movie Altered States evolves(?) into.

[@StyleshStorm]

Happy Halloween 🎃🍂🖤

[@Pseudiom]

Happy Halloween!

[@FarCritical]

"Tanasinn" starts to sound weird after hearing it being repeated a certain amount of times

[@niclasneziru1854]

Just like every word that gets repeated too much

[@r_jd279]

This was cool. Thanks.

[@TriplicateTrey]

Did you just give me a mind virus

[@TriplicateTrey]

The solar plexus clown gliders will save me

[@coreyander286]

The opening where tanasinn is said to be a Sumerian word reminds me of the linguistic viruses in _Snow Crash._

[@auggie8958]

12:48 Spurdo Spärde bros... Its over

[@elneco4654]

FUG :::DDDDD Probably for the better. After seeing what wojak went through...

[@studyman99]

22:51 That image looks like a room in the game Yume 2kki like almost exactly. its cool to see that it was a reference XDD

[@cronialpaler]

🙋‍♂ Is LSD Simulator for the PS1 and Seamen for Dreamcast Tanassins?

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

So, Tanasinn is basically the Japanese equivalent of Dolan and Gooby (Donald Duck and Goofy), Spengbab (SpongeBob SquarePants), Gorefield (Garfield), and Demonic Dash (Dash, the male mascot of PBS Kids)?

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

23:02: Giant Claw? Was this inspired by the infamous monster movie?

[@bippaasama]

Don't think. Feel and you'll be tanasinn

[@UndercoverNormie]

what the hell am i watching

[@coreyander286]

tanasinn

[@deepblue1846]

I’m halfway in and still have no clue what you are talking about

[@PattPlays]

"popular right now!" wojack goes back to krautchan..

[@tylleulenspiegel]

I have no idea what's happening here.

[@OrganHats]

wait so it's just entropy

[@jellymop]

Idk why but tanasinn makes me think of Chim from TES, for some reason.

[@thishandleistacken]

That last part had my skin crawl before I started laughing. I'm an ex Thelemite so recognized Crowley's lines from Liber Samekh but having the last words switched for unto Tamasinn was hilarious. P.S: Thelema is mostly a waste of time, mostly. Remove Crowley from it and it's got something to it I suppose but the ego on that man stands in the way of all his magick

[@georgewilson7432]

Every day is Halloween. It's the same in the whole wide world.

[@close2metvthebluesquare279]

Don’t think Feel and you’ll be tanasinn

[@KaitoKaze]

why there are no music? I read bunch of music, is it got removed?

[@aa-ml6ur]

you should also cover the daijikko meme

[@akiradkcn]

Whats that

[@retsz]

Ah, I see someone’s been reading Know Your Meme lol. Great video as always and happy Halloween!

[@chaoseraphim]

Holy shit lol, that site has been haunting me since i originally saw it years ago.

[@donutlordband24]

The Soft Doctrines Of Tanasinn

[@Captain1nsaneo]

Reminds me a bit of Zalgo. edit: 20:34 YEP

[@purplegalaxies2149]

The malformed Doraemon reminds me of the demon Garfield what was around for some time lol

[@Tarodenaro]

Oh wow, haven't heard Futaba nor 2ch since such a long time ago. I know this sounds scary and mysterious but this is just a corruption of Doraemon, kinda like Spengbeb or deep fried variation of Spongebob lol.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

okage awesome

[@boscorner]

Yume NIkki is tanasinn

[@SaltyCrabOfficial]

i love this meme!

[@PattPlays]

2:30 ..sithis?

[@batrachian149]

"ancient Aztec ruins" bro what The Aztecs are younger than Oxford University.

[@boscorner]

That seems so wrong but I know you're right. Tripping my out 6 am on a monday

[@runeanonymous9760]

Japan likes to imagine them as older than they are, and everyone likes to equate all of Mesoamerica. The Olmec, who *were* ancient, are unrelated and it doesn’t seem like the Olmec even lived in the same place that the Aztecs would. Although I think they were trying to conquer the territory the Olmec used to live on? But the Olmec civilization had fallen like two thousand years before the Aztecs were even a thing.

[@batrachian149]

@@runeanonymous9760 Not just Japan either, tho I imagine Japan's cultural and physical distance from Mesoamerica makes it worse. Mayincatecs are *ubiquitous* in media.

[@operator-chan1887]

Oxford is ancient too as far as I'm concerned

[@louschwick7301]

i think it has less to do w/ age and more w/ distance. like, if tanassin was in sumer, then its old. but if both the ppl who were separated from the part of the world where sumer is 2000 yrs before sumer came into being also had tanassin, then it must be older than civilization

[@DaturaReapicusJones]

Ah some classic internet

[@nullbyt]

So tanasinn is Garfield 🤔

[@justmyselfcn]

Runner available, anyone?

[@verstrahlt1907]

why are you doing this to the end(s) of the sentences[ььь]

[@johnkeller2952]

So basically, Whatever.

[@yourdemiseishere]

Laplace's demon.

[@terribledog]

..tanasinn...

[@whyisevrynamtaken]

Ben Tanasinn

[@georgewilson7432]

I wish I couid celebrate Halloween.

[@zach123101]

tanasinn

[@terryechoes3192]

What?

[@izzydarkhart4144]

I completely forgot what i was watching and questioning why I was still watching but still watched, lol. So, pretty much, just a creepy pasta meem. I do not care if it technically is older. That is all it is, lol.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Pronunciation is cringe. NOT TAN-a-sin. It's tah-nah-sheen, with no accent.

[@NaNa-wb8ze]

This is the most stupidest video are watching a long time

[@johnnicholas1488]

Who else is bored with this arrogant vain voice?

[@coreyander286]

Nice username Lord Edge

[@namebrandmason]

The tanasinn that can be named is not the tanasinn?