Nevada-Tan is an Internet meme character that began appearing in the wake of a Japanese news story.

An 11-year-old schoolgirl was charged with murdering her classmate Satomi Mitarai (御手洗怜美 Mitarai Satomi) on June 1, 2004 by slitting her throat with a box cutter. This evidently happened over an insult about the girl's weight posted on an online forum. Since the killer is a minor, her name has not been released to the public. The killer is believed to be a girl wearing a pullover hooded sweatshirt with the word "NEVADA" emblazoned across the chest in several class photographs taken before the murder. As of the present day, this is the only identification the public at large has for her.

For unclear reasons at this time, the 2ch web community fixated on this story and "adopted" the girl, turning her into a cute "chibified" character dubbed "Nevada-Tan" (after the sweatshirt the real girl was wearing). Inevitably, this spilled over into 4chan and other English language imageboards, and introduced Nevada to the United States.

The Nevada-Tan character is often depicted with short brown hair, the trademark pullover, and a crazed, murderous smile. She is almost never seen without a box cutter or other sharp implement nearby. A common representation of Nevada-Tan is as ASCII art, similar to Giko, Mona, and other such characters. She can often be seen "slashing" idiot posters on the 2ch and 4chan boards, or at least ASCII representations thereof.

At this time, it does not appear as though the existence of Nevada-Tan is intended to condone or lend support to the real girl's actions; it is simply another meme, albeit one with a basis in real life.

The Japanese court has ruled to institutionalize Nevada-tan, putting aside her young age due to the severity of the crime.

External links

• Girl kills classmate at Japan school The State, June 2, 2004.
• 11-year-old girl says Internet, TV behind slaying of classmate SFGate, June 3, 2004.
• An 11-year-old Japanese girl to be placed in juvenile center over classmate's slaying Boston Herald, September 15, 2004.
• EDITORIAL: The tragedy in Sasebo Asahi, September 18, 2004.
• All About Nevada-tan
• Shrinemaiden.com article