We had no idea that Malfoy’s name was so memeable in Japanese.
Children’s series Harry Potter is a huge cultural touchstone for all the kids who grew up alongside it – whether that be the original books, the films or the Fantastic Beasts continuation. While attitudes towards the initial run of the Harry Potter films can vary depending on which fan you talk to (some of us still aren’t over Harry’s eyes being BLUE when they should have been GREEN, honestly) there’s no denying that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the rest of the cast serve as Harry Potter incarnate to many.
To commemorate the films, the official Warner Brothers account over at social messaging service LINE have been releasing sets of stickers. The stickers feature the film cast in all their Hogwarts regalia, spouting a number of famous catchphrases from the films and striking instantly recognizable expressions.
Or…mostly. There are a few of the stickers that are a little odd, as Twitter user @osirukomama_x noted in this post.
▼ “A new Harry Potter sticker set came out. It’s official. How could they…”
ハリーポッターのスタンプの新作が出ました 公式です ひ ど い https://t.co/VYzVZwhKsI
—
おしるこマーマ (@osirukomama_x) July 04, 2019
Among the stickers selected for highlight are an unflattering shot of Harry letting loose a spell (or at least we hope that what he’s doing). But the truly curious stickers are the exuberant stamps of Tom Felton, the actor cast as Harry’s rival Draco Malfoy.
“Something is Foyne about your eyes,” announces Draco Malfoy, swirling a goblet like an elderly epicure. In another, he leaps in the air and yells a hearty “Foyyy!”, something I don’t remember from the movies. Actually, I don’t remember the self-serving flirtation in the movies either. Why is Malfoy talking like this in these stickers?
▼ Fear not, his typical “my father will hear about this!” is also localized here (as “my father won’t keep quiet about this!”)
There’s a reason, and it stems down to Malfoy’s name. In Japanese it’s converted to the phonemes Ma-ru-fo-i, and the “maru” part tends to come at the end of a lot of intransitive verbs (hajimaru – to begin; takamaru – to rise; tomaru; to come to a stop, etc.) One of the more common puns amongst Japanese fans is the damarufoi – where the verb damaru, to shut up, is blended with his name to make “Shut up, Malfoy!”
This resulted in the “foi” part becoming a kind of fannish verbal tic that can be added onto any sentence to give yourself a little Malfoy flair. The official LINE account has embraced this meme fully – Malfoy stamps are even available in earlier editions of the stamp sets.
▼ Vol. 1 brings “I’m getting Foyred up!” and “A Foy of Fofoys!”
▼ Vol. 2 has a pun on OK maru, or “Okay, got it” – Okemalfoy.
The best way to react to all of this Malfoy madness is helpfully included in Harry Potter’s Every Day Magic Vol. 3, in the form of He Who Must Not Be Named himself.
▼ “How did it come to this?!”
Not a Malfoy fan? That’s okay (Okemalfoy). Fans have been having a great time with the legendarily awkward Harry sticker, too.
▼ It’s a great feeling when the official company recognizes a legendary fandom meme.
You see, this particular pose is synonymous with “Earsplitting Potter”, a viral video. It’s named that for a reason, so please dial your volume down.
There’s a whole wizarding world of weird Harry Potter comments out there: to see the Boy Who Lived reimagined as an 80s anime hero, check out this article! And for the most expletive-laden subtitles ever put to a children’s film, check out this decidedly unofficial bootleg version.
Source: Twitter/@osirukomama_x via Hamusoku
Top image: LINE/Warner Brothers
Images: LINE/Warner Brothers (1, 2, 3)
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