Back in the early 2000s, some ASCII artists on the web forum 2channel used Shift-JIS to create a parody superhero based on Kikkoman soy sauce. Soy Sauce Warrior Kikkoman was a muscular man with a head resembling the silver fish-shaped packets used for soy sauce in Japan, wearing nothing but a cape, gloves and boots, and a fundoshi, with the Kikkoman logo superimposed on his chest.

Then a user named Yogatori created a Flash animation based on the character, which depicted him fighting off other condiment-based superheroes. After an English translation was released, it quickly became something of a viral sensation.