Kyubey

2011characterclassic

Published September 5, 2026

Kyubey (キュゥべえ), the white cat-like mascot from the 2011 anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, debuted looking like an innocent magical companion before the show revealed his role as a manipulative alien harvesting the souls of teenage girls. That bait and switch turned him into a target of obsession on Japanese image boards, spawning the catchphrase 'Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!' and a wave of fan art dedicated to punishing him.

anime mangavillain memescatchphrase memesotaku culture memesbait and switch memes

Overview

Kyubey fan art tends to run in one of two directions. The first is the 'Everybody Hates Kyubey' pattern, a running joke where illustrators draw him being maimed, crushed, or dismembered by the show's magical girl cast4. The second flips him into either a grotesquely muscular parody or a hyper-cute version, often paired side by side with a disturbing edit to remind viewers that his angel face is a lie4.

The catchphrase 'Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!' became the character's calling card, remixed by fans into 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' for whatever absurd role the poster wanted to swap in4. Kyubey also spawned the Shift JIS emoticon ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼, used on 2channel and Twitter as shorthand for creepy-cute menace4. Between the ASCII face, the pleading contract line, and the pattern of drawing him getting punished, Kyubey works less as a single image macro and more as a toolkit of interlocking bits.

Origin & Background

Platform
Japanese TV anime (Puella Magi Madoka Magica), viral on 2channel, Tumblr, Danbooru
Creator
Magica Quartet / Studio Shaft; meme popularized by anime fans on 2channel and Tumblr
Date
2011

Puella Magi Madoka Magica premiered on Japanese TV on January 6, 2011, produced by anime studio Shaft3. The first ten episodes aired weekly through March 10, with the final two delayed until April 21 following the Tōhoku earthquake3. Kyubey shows up in episode one, offering the schoolgirl protagonist Madoka a contract: he will grant any wish she wants in exchange for her becoming a magical girl and fighting witches3.

The trailers and opening credits sold Kyubey as a standard cute mascot in the vein of Kero from Card Captor Sakura, so viewers went in expecting a light magical girl show. Episode 3's abrupt tonal shift, and later episodes confirming Kyubey's alien indifference to human suffering, is what turned the character into a meme rather than a mascot, with the 'Kyuubey is Evil' fan theory becoming the dominant reading on the Puella Magi wiki and 2channel threads2.

How It Spread

By late February 2011, Kyubey was everywhere in Akihabara. Sankaku Complex documented storefront displays, computer shop desktops, and mannequins across the district all repurposed to have Kyubey ask passersby, 'Will you make a contract with me?'1 The invasion coverage ran on February 24, less than two months after the show premiered1.

Fan communities picked up the character just as quickly. The single-topic Tumblr blog 'Fuck Yeah Contract' launched on February 27, 2011 to collect Kyubey art and edits, and a curated tag on Danbooru called 'Everybody Hates Kyubey' passed 300 images by April 18, filled with fan art of the mascot being tortured by the show's cast4. Speculation threads on 2channel and the Puella Magi wiki dissected every scene for clues about his motives, including the 'Ponzi scheme' reading that Kyubey recruits far more magical girls than can ever be sustained2.

Crunchyroll later reported that 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' placed third on the list of top Japanese internet buzzwords of 2011, behind only the 'Nadeshiko Japan' nickname for the women's World Cup team and the AC Japan 'Popopopo~n!' PSA jingle4. Even the Urban Dictionary entry captured the fan mood, calling Kyubey 'something everyone is memeing the shit out of'5.

How to Use This Meme

The Kyubey format typically works one of two ways. Fans either draw or edit him in some cute pose and then punish him for it (crushed, exploded, or being kicked by Homura is common), or they swap the ending of his catchphrase to fit any bit: 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' works with roles the poster finds absurd, from tax accountant to crypto trader. When you want the vibe without drawing anything, the ASCII face ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ often stands in on its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kyubey

2011characterclassic

Published September 5, 2026

Kyubey (キュゥべえ), the white cat-like mascot from the 2011 anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, debuted looking like an innocent magical companion before the show revealed his role as a manipulative alien harvesting the souls of teenage girls. That bait and switch turned him into a target of obsession on Japanese image boards, spawning the catchphrase 'Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!' and a wave of fan art dedicated to punishing him.

anime manga villain memes catchphrase memes otaku culture memes bait and switch memes

Overview

Kyubey fan art tends to run in one of two directions. The first is the 'Everybody Hates Kyubey' pattern, a running joke where illustrators draw him being maimed, crushed, or dismembered by the show's magical girl cast4. The second flips him into either a grotesquely muscular parody or a hyper-cute version, often paired side by side with a disturbing edit to remind viewers that his angel face is a lie4.

The catchphrase 'Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!' became the character's calling card, remixed by fans into 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' for whatever absurd role the poster wanted to swap in4. Kyubey also spawned the Shift JIS emoticon ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼, used on 2channel and Twitter as shorthand for creepy-cute menace4. Between the ASCII face, the pleading contract line, and the pattern of drawing him getting punished, Kyubey works less as a single image macro and more as a toolkit of interlocking bits.

Origin & Background

Platform
Japanese TV anime (Puella Magi Madoka Magica), viral on 2channel, Tumblr, Danbooru
Creator
Magica Quartet / Studio Shaft; meme popularized by anime fans on 2channel and Tumblr
Date
2011

Puella Magi Madoka Magica premiered on Japanese TV on January 6, 2011, produced by anime studio Shaft3. The first ten episodes aired weekly through March 10, with the final two delayed until April 21 following the Tōhoku earthquake3. Kyubey shows up in episode one, offering the schoolgirl protagonist Madoka a contract: he will grant any wish she wants in exchange for her becoming a magical girl and fighting witches3.

The trailers and opening credits sold Kyubey as a standard cute mascot in the vein of Kero from Card Captor Sakura, so viewers went in expecting a light magical girl show. Episode 3's abrupt tonal shift, and later episodes confirming Kyubey's alien indifference to human suffering, is what turned the character into a meme rather than a mascot, with the 'Kyuubey is Evil' fan theory becoming the dominant reading on the Puella Magi wiki and 2channel threads2.

How It Spread

By late February 2011, Kyubey was everywhere in Akihabara. Sankaku Complex documented storefront displays, computer shop desktops, and mannequins across the district all repurposed to have Kyubey ask passersby, 'Will you make a contract with me?'1 The invasion coverage ran on February 24, less than two months after the show premiered1.

Fan communities picked up the character just as quickly. The single-topic Tumblr blog 'Fuck Yeah Contract' launched on February 27, 2011 to collect Kyubey art and edits, and a curated tag on Danbooru called 'Everybody Hates Kyubey' passed 300 images by April 18, filled with fan art of the mascot being tortured by the show's cast4. Speculation threads on 2channel and the Puella Magi wiki dissected every scene for clues about his motives, including the 'Ponzi scheme' reading that Kyubey recruits far more magical girls than can ever be sustained2.

Crunchyroll later reported that 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' placed third on the list of top Japanese internet buzzwords of 2011, behind only the 'Nadeshiko Japan' nickname for the women's World Cup team and the AC Japan 'Popopopo~n!' PSA jingle4. Even the Urban Dictionary entry captured the fan mood, calling Kyubey 'something everyone is memeing the shit out of'5.

How to Use This Meme

The Kyubey format typically works one of two ways. Fans either draw or edit him in some cute pose and then punish him for it (crushed, exploded, or being kicked by Homura is common), or they swap the ending of his catchphrase to fit any bit: 'Make a contract with me and become an [x]!' works with roles the poster finds absurd, from tax accountant to crypto trader. When you want the vibe without drawing anything, the ASCII face ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ often stands in on its own.

Frequently Asked Questions