‘Ningen’ humanoid sea creatures of the Antarctic
Over the past few years, rumors have circulated in Japan about the existence of gigantic humanoid life-forms inhabiting the icy waters of the Antarctic.
Hello, Ningen
Reportedly observed on multiple occasions by crew members of government-operated "whale research" ships, these so-called "Ningen" (lit. "humans") are said to be completely white in color with an estimated length of 20 to 30 meters. Eyewitnesses describe them as having a human-like shape, often with legs, arms, and even five-fingered hands. Sometimes they are described as having fins or a large mermaid-like tail instead of legs. The only visible facial features are the eyes and mouth.
Artist's rendition of a Ningen standing upright
According to one account, crew members on deck observed what they initially thought was a foreign submarine in the distance. When they approached, however, it became clear from the irregular shape of the thing that it was not man-made -- it was alive. The creature quickly disappeared under water.
Ningen?
For the most part, the existence of the Ningen is considered an urban legend. Much of the information about this rumored creature can be traced back to a series of posts on the 2channel forums, written by a person describing the experience of a friend employed on a government "whale research" vessel. (Read the full Japanese text of the original story that first appeared on a 2channel forum.)
Ningen?
The popular thread attracted the attention of many readers from outside the 2channel community, and the November 2007 issue of MU magazine, a Japanese publication devoted to the study of paranormal phenomena, featured an article about the Antarctic humanoids.
The article speculated on the possibility of unidentified creatures inhabiting the southern seas, and it included a Google Maps screenshot showing what looks like a Ningen in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Namibia.
To date, no solid evidence has been presented to confirm the existence of the Ningen. The government is believed to have kept detailed records of the sightings, but they have released no information to the public and have reportedly instructed eyewitnesses to remain silent.
Two videos claiming to show Ningen under water have been posted on YouTube.
+ Video
+ Video
Ningen sightings seem to occur most frequently at night, making them all the more difficult to photograph. In still images, the sea cryptids mostly just look like icebergs, though it is said that their smooth, human-like skin can be seen when the photographs are enlarged.
Artist's rendition of a mermaid-like Ningen
In any case, no convincing photographs have been made public, either because they do not exist or because, as some argue, the government does not want to invite undue scrutiny and tarnish the scientific reputation of the whale research program.
[Note: This is the first in a new series of weekly posts about urban legends and unexplained phenomena from Japan. Check back next week for another report.]
Very interesting! I love reading about unexplained stuff so it'll be great to hear about Japan's theories etc. Can't wait for the next one!
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The third one is most likely modeled after the Didarabocchi from Mononoke-hime. But the videos are scarily real. ^^
BTW, if you're gonna do an urban legend series... I'll seriously stop my browser from loading when Kuchisake-onna shows up. Freaks me out everytime, even with being a longtime horror movie fanatic.
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Vivi, you're lucky that Kuchisake-onna isn't your own mother. There was a nice manga about that: Kuchisake-onna densetsu by INUKI Kanako.
Confront your fear. *_*
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Now I understand some of the inspiration between the angels of Evangelion and the importance of the south pole in the series :)
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Oh man, that's exactly what I thought when I saw this! Even the south pole thing too!
I know about a lot of cryptids, but this is the first time I've ever heard about Ningen. I think the idea of cryptids posssibly inhabiting Antarctica/the surrounding waters is perfectly viable, which is why this intrigues me so much.
2012 Second Impact?
hahaha just kidding, I don't believe in 2012 ;)
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@lv I was coming here to say the same thing! That's totally an angel!
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"or because, as some argue, the government does not want to invite undue scrutiny and tarnish the scientific reputation of the whale research program."
I spat my coffee out with laughter. The Japanese "Scientific Whaling Program" is a complete and utter joke. In over 20 years they have yet to publish a single peer-reviewed paper in any major Scientific Journal, because their "Research" is carried out by factory vessels, which process the whale meat for sale once they have been slaughtered.
Methinks this story is a bunch of bulls**t cooked up by a Japanese PR firm to divert its own people's attention from the fact that Japan is breaking International Law in International and Australian waters under the thinly veilled guise of "scientific research".
Read the news today - they rammed and destroyed a protest vessel, callously ignoring the seamen's "Mayday" calls for over 10 minutes.
This is sick, vile, and an utter load of crap.
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i know u have your own opinion but dont be so quick to jump to conclusions, we naturally dont believe in wat we've never seen before. i'm not really sure if this is real but u can never be too sure
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ME :- 20-30 meters long ? a SEA creature, which can also stand upright ??? Yeah, right.
HIM:- Sure, its heart is a turbo one; and its bones are made of titanium. No wait, it's 2-3 meters long, sorry
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The third one is a 'shopped beluga whale. The head has been clonetooled three times over, as evidenced by the numbers of eye we can see.
See this:
http://www.nickgains.com/photos/photos.jpg
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Agreeing with above saying it looks like an Angel from Evangelion. In fact, the artist rendition looks specifically like Lilith and above that, 2 above the videos, looks like Adam's back. And it only makes the argument that Evangelion is real since Japan's "Scientific Whaling Program" could just be code for Gehern/NERV or SEELE. Well, we'll see if Anno was right about the end of the world and was just wrong about the dates.
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Damn you guys for mentioning Kuchisake-onna. Had to look it up on Google. Goodbye sleep :'(
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Have the Japanese never seen Deep Ones before?
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The third one down is kinda reminiscent of one of the final EVA/Angel units in Evangelion.
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Obviously this is a sign of the impending Second Impact.
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The Japanese should consume fewer whale meat and hentais. Seems to affect the state of mind... in a negative way...
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There are some logical explanation about this,
My Version:
I think it's the tortured souls of every whales the japanese have killed, the souls are gathering in the ocean and currently discussing about what kind of form they should take when they're going to attack tokyo later, then one of the dead whale who watched his meat got eaten by some evangelion fan in japan suggest they should use something scary, gigantic, but familiar to the japanese.
4chan Version:
It's the combination of drinking too much sake and fapping to too much hentai, probably some very bad guro monster hentai.
Conspiracy Theory Version:
The Greenpeace shot them with hallucinogenic chemical during their last whale killing session. To see if their experiment in creating mind control drugs have succeeded or not. They intent to use it on the USA so everyone will become hippies and protect the nature.
A more realistic and make sense version:
It's a chunk of ice or a polar bear who got stranded in pacific ocean or a white megalodon or a white whale or perhaps it's an evolved whale due to the stress the japanese put on them for years.
Lol, why do strange things mostly came from japan?
What happened to that nation?
I guess it's because they've been taking too much hentai :D
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Whoa, what? Lost polar bear? A polar bear got lost and travelled to the opposite pole?
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"Lol, why do strange things mostly came from japan?
What happened to that nation?"
Hiroshima? Nagasaki? Ring a bell?
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Ha ha ha of course polar bear won't be there :D
I was just kidding :D
and yes... japan is really full of strange things, I got relatives who worked there, and they always tell me strange tales about japan everytime they go back from japan. Maybe because of the atomic radiation? who knows?
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if these things were real they would have already hunted them down and served them to kids for lunch just like they do the dolphins.
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As stated a few comments above, it looks pretty much like the Evangelion manga.
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If they were seen by whale """research""" ships why did they not kill it for """research""". Maybe they could tell us what it tastes like.
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interesting... I'd like to see it myself... I'm going to visit japan...
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seems to me to be a frozen bow wake from a large ship. how mysterious.
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this is cool but it also seems like viral marketing for the Evangelion movie that WETA is working on. then again, maybe that is just my read on it but if the movie is going to be popular in the US for people who have no idea about the series then it makes sense to do this a la "cloverfield"...people will totally go for it.
if this *is* connected to the Eva movie, then i hope they don't change the story too much and try to dumb it all down...
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当时我就震惊了！
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Way to go retards, does no one else see this as a "Bigfoot of the South Pole"? There is NO proof here whatsoever that these creatures exist. I'll believe it when one is actually caught, photographed, or filmed, as several of these are labeled artists renditions or they claim to be real when they have obviously been fabricated.
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Maybe the huge white creature appearing at the end of edgar allan poe novell "arthur gordon Pym" is one of theese
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I love everything under the 'unexplained phenomena' umbrella! Im only 13 but i have stacks of books :) id like to belive in these things but the photographs look suspiciously like ice bergs, made that shape as a result of the tide. They sound awesome though!
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The Second Angel-Lilith?
Oh my god.
The second impact is coming!
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Looks like the pokemon "Deoxys" in his defensive form =)
i must go catch =)
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funny that everyone is so incensed about eating whales & dolphins, but continue to eat "normal" meat - cows, pigs, chickens, etc. - on a daily basis, without a second thought.
go veg!
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These are blatantly an extreme form of mushi ;)
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Image #2 is definitely a fake, you can see a blue blur across the back where the artist has tried to blend the superimposed figure in with the background water.
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