Kokichi 2020 (Kokichi Ouma for President)

Red Square and the candidate's sash

The background is a photo of Red Square on a clear day: St. Basil's Cathedral on the left, Spasskaya Tower with its clock and a brick wall on the right. In the foreground stands a flat figure pasted into the photo: a young man with dark tousled hair, in a white suit, with a checkered scarf around his neck. A tricolour sash runs across his chest with the number “2020” on it.

The collage is deliberately crude, and that is part of the humor: the character looks like a cut-out figure, but with an official sash, like a contest winner or someone at an inauguration.

Who Kokichi Oma is

He is a character from the video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (in Russia it is more often called simply “Danganronpa”). Kokichi is a liar and a prankster who calls himself the supreme leader of a secret organization. It is exactly this claim to power that gave rise to the political jokes.

The joke does not require knowing the game's plot: the caption and the sash are enough. For those who know the character, it adds another layer, because he seriously declares his leadership.

Where the president joke came from

Sources differ on the details. According to one description, the joke flared up on Twitter on 15–16 April 2020: Russian-speaking users asked a fan account for Kokichi to declare the character president of Russia, the account responded, and the hashtag #Kokichi2020 appeared. An earlier example is a Reddit post from 27 February 2019 that proposed the character as a US presidential candidate. The meme became a mass phenomenon specifically in April 2020. The creator of the image itself is unknown, and the joke apparently has no single author.

The format quickly spread beyond one country: versions appeared with other characters from the series and other countries. Flags and election years were added to the character's image, forming a kind of template: “a fictional character as a state leader”.

What the joke is really about

The meme is built on a deliberately absurd premise: a fictional teenager from a Japanese game runs for the highest office. The laugh comes from the mismatch of scale and from light satire: the fictional character would do no worse than real politicians.

It is important not to read this as a political call to action: most posts are perceived as a play with the genre, a fan joke with a flag and a backdrop of famous landmarks.

Captions and use

The examples are invented for illustration.

“New office, new sash.” The caption stresses the solemnity and the absurdity.

“Your candidate, if you missed the registration.” A joke about the obvious lack of real options.

“Lie to everyone and smile: my campaign platform.” A play on the character, who is known as a liar.

“The workday has started, and he's already in Red Square.” Suitable for a story about a boss who turns up unexpectedly.

How to repeat the format

For your own version you need three things: a character, a recognisable sash or flag, and a backdrop tied to a state. It is best to choose a character whose role in the original is at least loosely connected to power or deception. Keep the joke light: if you use real politicians, the format turns into something entirely different, whereas in this template the key elements are the fictional character and the absurdity.