It's The End Of An Era For YouTube's ‘Lofi Girl'
YouTube's Lofi Girl, who stars in 'lofi hip radio beats to relax/study to' playlists and live streams, has officially graduated, after 8 years of a hectic study schedule.
Lofi Girl (also known as Jade), the anime-inspired face of a French YouTube channel, has long been a comforting presence for those who require a bit of background noise to concentrate.
On July 30, the official Lofi Girl account on TikTok posted a clip of Jade closing her laptop, dubbed with dialogue lifted from a sitcom that has become a popular TikTok meme:
'Finally finished with all my homework. I don't know what I learnt, but I know I'm done learning!'
Commentators wished Jade well and offered their congratulations, while others wondered why Jade's send-off was drawn in a completely different art style to the original image.
Many commentators wanted to know if the Lofi Girl 'study/relax' live streams had finally come to an end. Are YouTube's 'Lofi Girl' Study/Relax Live Streams Over?
Turns out, fans had no reason to fear, as the Lofi Girl YouTube channel is still streaming 'lofi hip-hop radio beats to relax/study to,' with the reassuring presence of Jade still studying away, despite having graduated.
Jade's 'graduation' isn't the first time that the Lofi Girl has taken a break from her studies. Back in 2020, when the Lofi Girl YouTube channel was known as Chilled Cow, Jade's long-running 'study/relax' live stream received a false copyright strike that broke the channel's 13,000-hour streak.
After YouTube corrected the error, the live stream continued, and Jade went back to her books. A year later, Chilled Cow was renamed Lofi Girl, embracing Jade as the official mascot of the channel.
Over the years, the Lofi Girl channel has become something of a hub for lonesome workers and students, with the live stream boasting a very active chat room.
YouTube might be flooded with similar channels streaming background 'concentration' music, but something about Jade seems to draw listeners in—perhaps she's something of a digital body double. Where Did The Lofi Girl Come From?
While Jade has become an internet icon and popular meme, her image is very much inspired by the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart .
Those 'study/relax' lo-fi streams originally featured a GIF of the Ghibli film's protagonist Shizuku Tsukishima, doing her homework, lifted directly from the film.
Once the channel grew in popularity, a copyright takedown request from Studio Ghibli forced the channel to commission a similar image with an original character.
Artist Juan Pablo Machado then created the now-iconic animation of the Lofi Girl, Jade, in 2018, adding a ginger cat and a city backdrop to the image.
In the years since, the Studio Ghibli aesthetic has only grown more common, and has become associated with AI-generated imagery thanks to a popular ChatGPT filter, much to the dismay of animation fans.
While Jade is officially graduated, but still studying, it remains to be seen if the channel will post another plot twist, adding to the lore of the Lofi Girl. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes The AI-Generated Studio Ghibli Trend, Explained By Dani Di Placido Forbes YouTube's 'The Duck Song' Has Finally Come To An End By Dani Di Placido Forbes The AI-Altered 'Wizard Of Oz' Controversy, Explained By Dani Di Placido Forbes How Labubu Dolls Took Over The Internet By Dani Di Placido
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