Phillipine Prisoners Perform the “Hare Hare Yukai Dance”
The anime-based internet meme that is the “Hare Hare Yukai Dance” keeps on rolling now heading smack into an entirely different internet meme, the dancing prisoners of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Not content with their new found fame and internet stardom, the Prisoners have taken on the holy of holies amongst anime fans, the Hare Hare Yukai Dance. “The Dance” was originally based on the actual end credit dance of the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Since then it has become its own amazing thing.
The anime and the dance have inspired a level of dedication that borders on obsession. According to Wikipedia:
“Fans of the series call themselves “Haruhiists” (in the same manner that Star Trek fans are Trekkies), and the collective fandom is known as Haruhiism (ハルヒ主義, Haruhi shugi?).[22] The concept of Haruhiism is portrayed by fans to be somewhat of a pseudoreligion, with Haruhi as “God.”
Here’s a clip of the original dance to give you some background. Nothing special (unless you know the series) but it does have 1.25 million views on YouTube.
The innmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center definitely do it proud.
BTW, this video gives a sneak peek into the worldwide fan obsession with the dance. Pretty incredible.
As I’m a newcomer to the phenomenon, I’m sure I’ve left a lot of the story behind the dance out. If you’ve got anything to add be sure to leave info in the comments. I’ll update this post with more info as I get it.
[...] [Video and this ABC article about the dancing prisoner phenomenon via TV in Japan] [...]
September 15th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
[...] [Video and this ABC article about the dancing prisoner phenomenon via TV in Japan] [...]
September 15th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Not so fun once you’ve seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDTCKS4qXM8
September 16th, 2007 at 6:42 am
If you think that’s bad… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L3RWqA1U10
Original material: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR2SPlqRt6k
Incidentally, here’s the original hare hare yukai animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2HpAE-QcQA
Both were made by kyoto animation, and got a lot of attention due to the high-quality animation and realistic choreography of the dance. The lucky star OP one came after, though. The lucky star OP isn’t as popular to do in real life, I think, probably because it’s more embarassing :)
PS, you really ought to make this comment form wider, I can barely see what I’m typing.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
[...] Original post by gavinpurcell [...]
September 20th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Alot of us fans don’t think of this dance like a religious thing.It’s more of a dance that most anime fans just love preforming. I don’t watch the anime but i love the song and dance “the dance”. It’s fun when you start dancing it alone and then random anime fans join you!
October 13th, 2007 at 11:17 am
This video is very popular. I love watching the dance steps….
Junior
http://www.goodtolove.com
December 11th, 2007 at 1:32 am
Haruhiism has gotten to these guys…
Ahhh… I wonder if Shiraishi Minoru would dance it with them?
December 31st, 2007 at 2:33 pm