# [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`)
A set of confessional 2channel threads from April 2011 in which an anonymous college-age Japanese poster documented his escalating obsession with a girl he nicknamed Denko. After Tumblr user vgperson translated the threads in April 2012, the story turned into an alternate reality game played across a network of in-character ask blogs.
## Origin
The first thread appeared on April 6th, 2011 on 2channel's /news4vip/ (Breaking News for VIP users), where a self-declared second-year college student asked for advice about a girl he called Denko who had stopped answering him for three days[3]. Across the five threads that month, he said he had known her since high school, had hung out with her only once, and did not know how to handle 'three-dimensional' women[1]. Nearly every post closed with (´･ω･`), and Japanese blogs archived the entire run through April before English readers found it[1].
- **Platform:** 2channel / Tumblr (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2011
## Overview
The story runs on the gap between the poster's shy, self-pitying tone and the alarming behavior he casually admits to. Every message closed with the emoticon (´･ω･`), which English readers adopted as shorthand for the whole saga once vgperson's translations landed on Tumblr[1]. His posts read like a diary of small confessions: he hung out with Denko once, sent her 600 emails, and showed up at her apartment, while replies from other 2channel users tilted into deliberate troll bait[3].
By the fifth thread, OP had escalated to threatening anyone who suggested he back off, and had paid around ¥700,000 (roughly $8,700 USD) for a paid girlfriend named A-ko before going silent[1]. That mix of pathetic tone, actual stalking, and unresolved ending is what let the material stick on Tumblr as an ongoing character study rather than fade with the thread.
## How It Spread
The English spread began on April 22nd, 2012, when Tumblr user vgperson started publishing translated versions of the 2channel threads[1]. The first installment picked up more than 3,700 notes within a week and pulled readers into tagging replies with #(´･ω･`) and #denko[1].
On April 27th, 2012, the blog I am Denko launched an alternate reality game across a network of in-character ask blogs, including ask-op, o--p, askdenko and aska-ko, with entries collected under #helpdenko and #iamdenko[2]. The translations also jumped to NeoGAF[4], The Colorless, Bleach Platinum Hearts, MyAnimeList, Beast's Lair, DateHookup and a League of Legends forum during April and May 2012, alongside a Pastebin repost of vgperson's text[5].
In January 2013, vgperson found an older 2channel post from OP dated two weeks before the Denko threads, in which he described sending 600 emails to a girl called A-ko after worrying about her following an earthquake[1]. That earlier thread received only a handful of replies and never picked up the way Denko had, and OP has not been heard from since.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`)?
A set of five confessional threads posted anonymously to 2channel's /news4vip/ board in April 2011, in which a self-declared college-age Japanese poster described his escalating obsession with a girl he nicknamed Denko[3].
### Where did [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`) come from?
The threads first appeared on 2channel starting April 6th, 2011, then reached English-speaking readers when Tumblr user vgperson began translating them on April 22nd, 2012[1].
### What does [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`) mean?
The title is the OP's opening plea, and the trailing (´･ω･`) emoticon became shorthand on Tumblr for his shy, self-pitying tone once vgperson's translations spread[1].
### How do you use [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`)?
Readers tagged responses with #denko or #(´･ω･`) and roleplayed the characters through Tumblr ask blogs like askdenko and ask-op after the I am Denko ARG launched on April 27th, 2012[2].
### Is [Help!] The Girl I Like Won't Respond to My Emails (´･ω･`) still popular?
Activity mostly wound down after OP went silent following the A-ko thread and vgperson's January 2013 discovery of an older related post, and the story is now referenced as an early example of a Tumblr-driven ARG built from translated 2channel material[3].
## References
1. [https://vgperson.tumblr.com/]()
2. [https://iamdenko.tumblr.com/]()
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/help-the-girl-i-like-wont-respond-to-my-emails]()
4. [https://www.neogaf.com/]()
5. [https://pastebin.com/]()
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