Ayumu Kasuga (Osaka)

About

Ayumu Kasuga is a fictional high school character from manga and anime series Azumanga Daioh. She is often called by the nickname Osaka by her friends, the city Ayumu from which she transferred. She is also known in memes as Osaker after a resurgence in popularity in 2023. She and the show have been the subject of several memes in the 2010s and 2020s.

Origin

Between March and April of 1999, the second chapter of the Azumanga Daioh manga series debuted in Gekkan Komikku Dengeki Daioh magazine.^[1] In part 1 of the chapter, Ayumu is introduced as a transfer student from Osaka (shown below).

Spread

The memes related to her started gaining popularity in the 2020s. For example on April 21st, 2023, Twitter / X^[2] user @rytuwil uploaded fan art of Osaka based on the Say the Line, Bart! meme. The post received over 800 reposts and 5,800 likes in nine months (shown below). On July 2023, X^[3] user @StreetPassSaji uploaded Osaka fan art based on the Now We Are Homeress meme. The post was deleted (shown below, right).

Related Memes

Osaka Shoe Kick

Osaka Shoe Kick refers to a scene taken from the sixth episode of Azumanga Daioh wherein Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga, a dim-witted character in the series, kicks her shoe off as a means to foretell the weather and has it accidentally fall on top of a truck that quickly drives away. This scene has been parodied in many different ways with something surprising happening to the shoe as it falls back down to the ground (examples shown below).

Hello Everynyan / OH MY GAH

Hello Everynyan, also known as OH MY GAH, refers to a humorous scene and viral video in which Chiyo-chichi from Azumanga Daioh meets Ayumu Kasuga (also known as Osaka) and attempts to greet her in broken English. The scene became popular years after the episode aired, as many social media users have shared, parodied and re-enacted it (examples shown below).

Osaka "Sata Andagi!"

Osaka 'Sata Andagi!' refers to a scene from episode 21 of the anime series Azumanga Daioh in which Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga excitedly and repeatedly says "sata andagi" while holding sata andagi. Sata andagi is a type of deep-fried bun similar to a doughnut. The episode originally aired in 2002 and became the subject of edits and memes throughout the 2000s. In October 2023, memes using the clip became popularized on TikTok after the release of the song "fwyb" by Juanono!, which prominently features the audio clip of Osaka saying "sata andagi" (examples shown below).

"Who Can It Be Now?" Osaka

'Who Can It Be Now?' Osaka refers to a series of videos and fan art drawings that show Azumanga Daioh character Ayumu 'Osaka' Kasuga dancing and playing the saxophone with the song "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work. The videos were posted on Instagram and TikTok in early 2024, predominantly made in Roblox (examples shown below).

Search Interest

External References