Table-Kun
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About
Table-Kun is a nickname given to a table from the anime series Code Geass, the corner of which is used by the character Nina to masturbate as she looks at a photograph of Euphemia. The scene appears in episode 12 of the series, and awarded the table the nickname "table-kun" as people began shipping the two characters, often referring to Nina as "Table-chan" or "Table girl." Desk-Kun is a similar nickname for the desk in Hololive streams, often abused by the streamers. Although the two are not directly related, jokes about the table or desk being abused are common in both circles, and "table-kun" is sometimes used interchangeably for "desk-kun."
Origin
In a scene from season one, episode 12 of Code Geass,[1] the character Nina is seen in a full silhouette violently rocking back and forth as an image of the character Euphemia sits on the table. Nunnally then comes in the room and asks if everything is okay, where it is implied that Nina masturbated with the corner of the table to Euphemia's photo. The episode aired on January 5th, 2007. One of the earliest uploads of the clip was to YouTube[2] on March 2nd of that year titled "Nina do something in darkness," garnering over 600,000 views in 14 years (shown below).
The scene inspired controversy among viewers, with many seeing it as unnecessary. People soon began making memes and fan art about the relationship between Nina and the table. One of the earliest memes about the scene was posted to DeviantArt[3] on April 30th, 2008, by Breepants (shown below).
The table gained the nickname "Table-kun" as early as 2008, although the exact source of the nickname is unknown. One of the earliest posts using the name was made in the Crunchyroll[4] group "Nina must Die" by bzyku92 on June 16th, 2008, where it is used many times to make fun of her in a post hating on Nina and wishing she would die, mostly for being racist against the Japanese (shown below).
Spread
Jokes about Table-kun and table-chan, a nickname given to Nina, spread over the course of the following months and years. On July 31st, 2008, a member of MyAnimeList[5] made a forum post about the scene. On September 28th, ProtoBlues posted a fanfiction to FanFiction.net[6] about the incident in which Table-Kun recounts being raped by Nina (sample shown below).
The joke continued to prove popular among Code Geass fans over the following years, still being referenced over a decade later in memes (examples from Reddit,[8][9] 2018, shown below).
Related Memes
"Desk-Kun" Hololive
Desk-kun is a similar nickname for any given desk used during Hololive virtual influencer streams, particularly when the streamers can be heard hitting the desk in reaction to certain content, such as in-game jump scares. On August 12th, 2020, YouTuber Holoclip uploaded a compilation of "Desk-kun" clips, garnering over 300,000 views in a year (shown below). Table-kun is sometimes used in place of desk-kun.
On October 16th, Redditor u/Schyphrus posted a meme to /r/Hololive connecting the Desk-Kun and Table-Kun memes, garnering over 6,400 upvotes in nine months (shown below).
In October of the same year, the Twitter[10] page @officialdeskkun opened, a parody account playing Desk-kun. On December 15th of that year, Redditor[7] u/Not_GorDoN posted "POV: You're Desk-kun" along with a GIF of Ame punching, garnering over 8,000 upvotes in seven months (shown below).
On July 5th, 2021, YouTuber Vtube Tengoku uploaded a video of Kanata "beating up Desk-kun," garnering over 42,000 views in a week (shown below).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Code Geass Fandom – Episode 12
[2] YouTube – Nina do someting in darkness
[3] Deviant art – nina and the table
[4] Crunchyroll – nina must die
[6] Fanfiction – the melancholy of table-kun
[8] Reddit – Table kun over it's issues
[9] Reddit – RIP Table-kun
[10] Twitter – officialdeskkun