Mashimaro

Mashimaro (마시마로), also called Yeopgi Tokki (엽기토끼, meaning "bizarre rabbit"), is a South Korean cartoon character that looks like a chubby rabbit. Kim Jae In (김재인) created it.

The character first appeared in a series of wordless Flash animations online. Today, Mashimaro appears much more often on merchandise, much like Hello Kitty, and is often considered Korea's equivalent of a Sanrio character. You can find Mashimaro products on the internet and in Korean communities worldwide.

The original cartoons rely heavily on toilet humor, which sometimes carries over to the merchandise. Mashimaro is frequently shown with a plunger stuck to his head.

When the character was first designed, several directors rejected it because they thought cartoon characters should have big eyes and a positive attitude—unlike Mashimaro's narrow eyes and gloomy personality. Kim Jae In then made a series of Flash animations for an online cartoon site, and they became popular. A few years later, a company started marketing Mashimaro professionally.

Mashimaro has a brown look-alike named Chocomaro. Chocomaro appears in two parody episodes (Episodes 2 and 3), where he tries to do what Mashimaro normally does but always fails and gets hurt. It is unclear exactly how Chocomaro is related to Mashimaro, though most people think he is Mashimaro's brother.

The name "Mashimaro" came from the creator's niece or nephew mispronouncing the word "marshmallow," and the character was modeled after that same nephew. A Chinese-Korean animated series based on the character was made in 2018. In 2020, a live-action movie called Detective Mashimaro was announced and released on April 6, 2022.