pucca does not belong to the alt-right
stolen or not—give her back!!!!!!
Editor’s note: Today’s post briefly mentions alt-right ideology. Although I don’t speak about these things in great detail, I want readers to understand how seriously I take these issues—especially when they infringe upon the safety of Black/undocumented/trans people in America. My tone in this post may be casual, but do not mistake that as indifference towards bigotry.
Another note: Everything in this post concerning Pucca is alleged. I recommend watching this video which goes into detail.
For members of the Asian diaspora, Pucca is a big deal. Originally owned by Vooz, Pucca is a South Korean character that was first created for an E-card service, but was later turned into a cult-favorite TV show in 2006. If you watched Pucca, you know her as clingy, emotional, sweet, and badass. Her simple character design—consisting of space buns, a red t-shirt, and tons of over-expressive facial expressions—is an ode to childhood innocence. After all, we loved Pucca as kids because she reminded us of ourselves.
For most of us, Pucca makes us feel nostalgic. She reminds us of our childhood, because that’s when she played a big role (or any role at all, for that matter) in our lives. Even though we also grew up with Hello Kitty, many of us still purchase Hello Kitty merch—or at the very least, acknowledge that she exists. As sad as it sounds, we remember Pucca so lovingly because she’s merely a memory. She’s a character we used to like.
weaponized nostalgia
It’s no secret that nostalgia has become a huge marketing tool in recent years. (I mean, the newsletter you’re currently reading is all about nostalgia.) People love feeling nostalgic—reminiscing about things they used to like, when they were people they used to be. But often, nostalgia can cloud our judgement. That reboot of your favorite ‘90s sitcom sucks because it’s not the ‘90s anymore, and frankly, you hate sitcoms. The same goes for a childhood icon like Pucca. We love her, but at the same time, most of us weren’t exactly knocking down Vooz’s door to get a new season of her show.
Enter, the crypto bros. I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty, but basically—Pucca was mysteriously stolen by men that merely saw her as an opportunity to make money while simultaneously pushing the alt-right agenda. How is this possible? Nostalgia baiting. Pucca’s new owners acquired her (or didn’t, I’m still not sure about the legal specifics of how this all came to be) in hopes that her fans would jump at the opportunity to spend money on her. However, rather than resuming production of T-shirts and plushies like any sane person would, she was turned into crypto currency.
pucca is crypto currency and the world is falling apart
Pucca’s social channels have been inactive for quite some time. So naturally, when fans noticed new posts on her Twitter and YouTube accounts, they didn’t know what to expect. That excitement quickly turned into anger after fans realized the crypto bros had animated a bunch of pro-Trump videos and memes in her art style. (Which was, of course, super confusing for fans that had no idea what was going on .) The most popular video depicted Pucca in the crowd of a Trump rally as he dodged bullets—with the words "Let’s Go Trump!” flashing on the screen at the last second.
Not only is this completely out of character for Pucca (like are we meant to believe she wouldn’t be the one defeating Trump with a giant noodle?), but it just straight up disrespects her character. Pucca is a 10 year old girl that’s obsessed with her crush Garu and delivers food on a scooter. She frankly has no business being at a Trump rally, and the crypto bros would know this if they knew anything about her. But they don’t.
Sadly, that Trump video isn’t even the worst of it—Pucca has also been depicted as an IDF soldier, and her signature space buns were photoshopped on Elon Musk. (Truly a hideous image.) Pucca has become a vehicle for white nationalist propaganda. And for what? To sell crypto that’s currently valued at $0.002205? (I mean, I know nothing about crypto, but there’s no way that’s a good thing.) The crypto bros promised that a new season of Pucca was in the works, and that the money made from her crypto currency was its main source of funding. But when Pucca fans asked for updates about the show, the crypto bros had nothing to say.
Rather than let our childhood icon peacefully fall into obscurity, she’s been poked and prodded at in the most demeaning way possible. As melodramatic as it sounds, it’s painful for fans to see Pucca being depicted in such an awful way. No one wants to see a character they loved as a child turn into a vehicle for the alt-right. It’s like reading M.I.A.’s tweets for the first time after listening to Paper Planes on repeat.
Pucca went where no character should ever go. While it’s easy to blame Vooz and argue that they should’ve never let this happen, it’s not so black and white. Yes, Vooz should’ve respected their creation enough to prevent her from falling into the hands of weirdos, but after she’s been inactive for so long—are we really surprised they didn’t do anything? The truth is, characters like Pucca are created for money. And even though we have fond memories of watching her show as children, our childhood is gone and so is the Pucca that we once knew.
I had no idea this was happening 😭. I love pucca and grew up with her, I even have a pucca purse, and its so sad to see how she's been handled :(
I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS HAPPENING, WHAT