Jon Finkel is a god among Magic nerds. He’s in the Magic: The Gathering hall of fame, he’s won Pro Tours and world championships, and he was the subject of the 2005 biography Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids.
On Japanese social media, though, he’s suddenly part of a very strange meme. Apparently, some Japanese fans are joking about Finkel being kind of “moe”—an anime fandom term for something precious, cute and feminine, in a way that inspires affection. So they’ve started posting meme pics comparing him to Kaede Takagaki, a sexy top idol from the video game and anime franchise Idolmaster.
The hashtag #高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる— “put a picture of Kaede Takagaki next to a similar pose of Jon Finkel”—has become A Thing on Japanese Twitter.
so cool#高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる pic.twitter.com/k5m2Tw4OYn
— ましんめいかー (@machinemakerP) May 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/luv_kraft/status/731413541647876096
https://twitter.com/6world/status/731389399120760832
https://twitter.com/volcs_night/status/731347456470831104
#高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる pic.twitter.com/rJYmXwgwpm
— 松谷康德 (@luv_kraft) May 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/StoneRapid/status/731302920038178816
i now legit think jon finkel and kaede takagaki could make it to a first date, thanks japan
— Gray Embrace (@gray_embrace) May 14, 2016
This hashtag is genius. #高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる @wizards_magic @blakepr @Jonnymagic00 pic.twitter.com/xWusMNiN08
— Perfect 10 on the Venser Scale (@Hackworth) May 14, 2016
Am I doing this right? #高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる pic.twitter.com/37aVN3v7fF
— Gray Embrace (@gray_embrace) May 14, 2016
But how is Finkel the same as Kaede? It’s not the physical resemblance: If anything, the obvious humor of the meme is that the two look nothing alike. Here are the possible reasons, as near as I could figure out from Google Translate and Idolmaster fan sites:
First, the idol characters in Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls are represented as trading cards in a Magic-esque collectible card game, with various cards at different levels of rarity. So there’s the Magic connection. Loose as it might be, it explains all the pics of Kaede holding cards.
But why Finkel, and why Kaede? Well, they’re both the “final bosses” and top idols of their respective arenas. In the Idolmaster anime, Kaede is the experienced, mega-popular idol that the younger girls look up to—much as Finkel is the most-cited role model for new Magic players.
Oh, and Finkel is also one of the few competitors in Magic history to appear on his own card. (Unlike Kaede’s though, it’s a not a super-rare.)
Now it all makes sense. Well, as much as anything like this is going to make sense.
Finkel and his professional Magic friends have discovered the popularity of Pretty Sailor Finkel-Senpai, Japanese Pop Idol, and they seem to be loving it.
フィンケル本人がRTしてるのもウケるんだけどオーウェンまでRTしてるのホント草#高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる pic.twitter.com/wuf4z227dI
— なうち (@sionowchi) May 14, 2016
Meanwhile, others just want Finkel-senpai to notice them.
Finkeru-senpai, notice me! uwah~ ٩(♡ε♡ )۶ (๑♡⌓♡๑)#高垣楓の画像を貼るとそれに近い構図のジョンフィンケルの画像が送られてくる
— MountainMage, Signature Wizard ⛰️🧙🖊️ (@MountainMage) May 17, 2016
Good game, Japan. Well played.