Richly Deserved Accolades
Nintendo may have declared Bowsette non-canon, but the rest of the world will probably never stop idolizing this beautiful and bizarre phenomenon. To that end Bowestte creator (originator? Progenitor?) Haniwa, the artist behind the first comic, has been given an award for their work. It just goes to show that good work can always get recognized.
The award in question is from NicoNico and Pixiv, naming Bowsette the 20th most popular trend of 2018. If you’ve never heard of these sites, they’re basically the Japanese equivalent of YouTube and Deviantart, respectively. Haniwa showed off the trophy in a recent Twitter post.
Look, whatever side of this whole thing you land on, you have to admit that this marks a turning point for how we celebrate and digest pop culture. More than an idol/fetish/fad, Bowsette represents the fan art culture slipping into the mainstream spotlight. This is a one-way street, you guys. Thanks to Bowsette, we’re all collectively aware of this side of the internet forever. It won’t be long before fan creations, ships, slash fiction and more all worm their way into The Conversation in the same way nerd culture did all those years ago. Personally, I’m super excited to see what weird new heights we explore in the future.