Zundamon
SeriesTohoku Zunko Project→Tohoku Zunko & Zundamon Project
SpeciesFairy of Zunda
Gender
  • Female (official media)
  • Various (derivative works)
Lbl 31Specialty
Transformation into a Zunda arrow

Zundamon is a mascot character from the Tohoku region, created by SSS LLC and based on zunda-mochi, a Japanese confectionery that popular in Tohoku region. It was developed as a related character to Tohoku Zunko, with its setting refined through content creation.[1] The character was designed by Niniko Edomura. In August 2021, alongside the release of the speech synthesis software Voicevox, Zundamon's voice data based on Yuina Ito's voice was made available. This led to a surge in popularity and recognition, with numerous user-generated videos created on video-sharing sites. Around 2023, the Tohoku Zunko Project itself was renamed the Tohoku Zunko & Zundamon Project (abbreviated as the ZunZun Project).

Description

Zunda Fairy, who possesses the bow "Zunda Arrow"[a] and (in settings after June 2021) can transform into human form. Eating zunda mochi is said to increase her intelligence.[2] She often finds herself in unfortunate situations.[3] Her first-person pronoun is "Boku". While she is officially designated as a girl, user-generated works often assign her various genders due to her androgynous appearance. Her hobbies include wandering around aimlessly and making herself appear larger than life. Her birthday is December 5th. She speaks with the suffix "~ (na) no da" at the end of her sentences.[4] The "mon" in its name is short for "monster." When it first appeared in early novels, it was set as a legendary existence, even among the Mochi Mon. Other details in official works vary across different titles, intentionally allowing greater freedom for derivative works.[5]

History

2010s

Zundamon was conceived by Yasuo Oda, Shoji Murahama, and Masamune Sakaki as a "yuru-kyara" aimed at users and municipalities resistant to moe characters, to differentiate it from the moe character Tohoku Zunko.[4][6][7][8] The character design by Niniko Edomura and official novels by Toshio Sato helped establish the character settings and content for the Tohoku Zunko Project, including Zundamon.[1] Since around 2015, similar to Tohoku Zunko, Tohoku Itako, and Tohoku Kiritan, the project has permitted companies registered with headquarters in the Tohoku region to use the characters commercially free of charge and without application.[9][10] In 2017, the anime work Zunda Horizon from the Tohoku Zunko Project, along with the simultaneously released UTAU voice library for singing synthesis software, featured Yuna Ito's voice for the character. From this time onward, Ito expressed her desire to develop voice synthesis software for reading aloud using her own voice.[11]

2020s

By the 2020s, a strategy emerged to utilize Zunda-mon's voice when verifying cutting-edge technologies such as speech synthesis. First, on June 17, 2021, the ITA Corpus Multi-modal Database was released based on funds raised through prior crowdfunding.[12][13] In addition, at the same time as the database was released, the human figure was released.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Arrow means arrow, not bow

References

  1. ^ "SSS代表小田さんの見解について". Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  2. ^ "ずんだもんは、四国めたんも「ささやきたい」「歌いたい」音声合成制作！". GREEN FUNDING. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  3. ^ "合成音声「ずんだもん」がブームの予感！ 中毒性の高い動画が続々" (in Japanese). KAI-YOU | POP is Here .. 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  4. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  5. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  6. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  7. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  8. ^ すさのひろき (2025-09-20). "『東北ずん子』アニメプロジェクトや『火星ゾンビ』を手がけた村濱章司氏、京都での講演決定". KYOTO CMEX（京都シーメックス）ポータルサイト. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  9. ^ "ずんずんPJ　キャラクター利用のガイドライン". zunko.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  10. ^ "東北ずん子　キャラクター利用のガイドライン" (in Japanese). zunko.jp. Archived 2015-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  11. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  12. ^ "研究者向け　マルチモーダルデータベース　ログインページ". zunko.jp. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  13. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  14. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Archived 2024-08-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.