The Paffendorf Dance is a series of fan-made animated videos featuring characters bobbing their heads and pumping their arms to a sped-up remix of "Under My Skin" by German dance act Paffendorf. The meme originated on a GeoCities page around 2006-2007 with a looping animation of Momoko Kuzuryū from the anime Sumomomo Momomo, and exploded across Japan's Nico Nico Douga in mid-2008 before spreading to YouTube and DeviantArt internationally[3]. Simple to imitate and powered by an infectious beat, it became one of the signature character-dance memes of the late 2000s alongside Caramelldansen[4].
Origin
Paffendorf is a German electronic dance music project from Cologne, made up of Ramon Zenker (also behind Fragma), Gottfried Engels, and Nicolas Valli, with Cologne DJ Christian Schmitz as the project's public face[4]. "Under My Skin" was the group's thirteenth single, released in 2005[4]. The track that actually powers the meme isn't the original club mix but rather the Jens O. remix included in the same release[3].
The earliest known version of the meme featured Momoko Kuzuryū, the martial-arts-obsessed heroine from Shinobu Ohtaka's manga and anime series Sumomomo Momomo[5]. The animation showed Momoko bobbing her head and imitating a train engine with her hands while jumping, set to a sped-up arrangement of the Jens O. remix[4]. This was first uploaded to a GeoCities webpage (now defunct) and later appeared on YouTube in April 2007[3].
- Platform: GeoCities (original animation), Nico Nico Douga (viral spread)
- Creator: Unknown (original GeoCities animator), community-created derivatives
- Date: 2007
Overview
The Paffendorf Dance follows a simple formula: take a character from anime, games, or any fandom, animate them doing a rhythmic head-bobbing and arm-pumping dance, and sync it to the Jens O. remix of Paffendorf's "Under My Skin." The song is typically sped up, giving it a high-energy, chipmunk-like quality that became the meme's sonic signature[4]. The animations are deliberately simple, usually featuring a character bouncing in place with minimal detail, making them easy to recreate in Flash or basic animation software[3].
The format sits in a family of late-2000s character dance memes that shared a common DNA: catchy European dance music, looping animation, and an open invitation for anyone to make their own version with their favorite character[3].
How It Spread
The Paffendorf Dance animation was imported to Nico Nico Douga (NND) by February 2008, where it found a receptive audience among the platform's music-savvy users[3]. NND viewers coined the onomatopoeic nickname "At-Uut-Uut-Ine-Ine" (アッーウッウッイネイネ(0ﾟ・∀・)), a phonetic interpretation of a scratch segment in the song[3].
The meme's real explosion on NND came at the end of June 2008 with two key videos. The first was a handmade animation featuring Tewi Inaba from Touhou Project, imitating the head-bobbing style of the original[3]. The second was a MAD-style remix video using characters from the anime Lucky Star[3]. Both reached large audiences quickly. Because the format was so simple to copy and the song so infectious, other users started churning out their own character versions at scale[3].
The Lucky Star remix developed its own sub-identity. NND users gave it the separate nickname "At-Pu-Pu-Pue-Pue" (あっーぷっぷっぷぇぷぇ(0ﾟ＝ω＝.)), based on the voice of Konata that appeared in the video, and it gained independent popularity within the NND community[3].
By October 2011, more than 700 Paffendorf Dance videos, spanning both the original style and the Lucky Star variant, had been posted to NND[3].
Internationally, the meme spread through videos imported from NND to YouTube starting in late 2008[3]. DeviantArt became another major hub, with users creating their own character animations and art based on the format[2]. The DeviantArt community produced dozens of Paffendorf-themed animations through the early 2010s, featuring everything from Vocaloid characters to original furry designs[1][2]. The meme's format was frequently compared to Caramelldansen and Caipirinha Dance, two other European-dance-track-meets-anime-animation memes that thrived in the same era[3].
How to Use
Creating a Paffendorf Dance video typically follows these steps:
- Pick a character from any fandom (anime, games, cartoons, or original characters)
- Animate them doing the signature head bob and arm pump. The motion is simple and repetitive, usually just a few frames looping
- Set the animation to the Jens O. remix of "Under My Skin" by Paffendorf, usually sped up
- The animation is commonly done in a chibi or simplified art style, since the format rewards quick production over polish
Cultural Impact
The Paffendorf Dance was part of a specific wave of late-2000s memes that bridged Japanese internet culture with the global web. Alongside Caramelldansen, it helped establish the template of "European dance track + anime character animation = viral loop" that defined a generation of Nico Nico Douga content[3]. Wikipedia's entry on Paffendorf specifically notes "Under My Skin" as having become an internet meme, particularly through its success on NicoNico Douga in Japan[4].
The meme also marked one of the early examples of a Western music act gaining significant Japanese internet fame through fan-created content rather than official promotion. The Jens O. remix of "Under My Skin" became far more recognizable online than the original mix thanks entirely to the meme community[3][4].
Fun Facts
- The song that powers the entire meme is technically a B-side remix. The Jens O. remix was included alongside the original mix on the "Under My Skin" single, but it's the remix version that went viral[3].
- NND users gave the meme two different onomatopoeic nicknames depending on which version they were watching, essentially creating a naming fork within a single meme[3].
- Sumomomo Momomo, the anime that provided the original character, was written by Shinobu Ohtaka, who later created the hit series Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic[5].
- Paffendorf's biggest Western hit was "Be Cool," which reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart in 2002. "Under My Skin" never charted in the West but became their most internet-famous track[4].
- The original GeoCities page hosting the first animation is long gone, making the April 2007 YouTube upload the oldest surviving copy[3].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Paffendorf Dance?
The Paffendorf Dance is a meme format where animated characters bob their heads and pump their arms to a sped-up version of the Jens O. remix of "Under My Skin" by the German dance act Paffendorf[3].
Where did the Paffendorf Dance come from?
The original animation appeared on a GeoCities webpage featuring Momoko Kuzuryū from the anime Sumomomo Momomo, later uploaded to YouTube in April 2007 before going viral on Nico Nico Douga in 2008[3].
What does the Paffendorf Dance mean?
It doesn't carry a specific message. It's a participatory format where fans animate their favorite characters dancing to an infectious beat, celebrating fandom through simple looping animation[3][4].
How do you use the Paffendorf Dance?
Pick a character, animate a simple head-bobbing and arm-pumping loop, and sync it to the sped-up Jens O. remix of "Under My Skin"[3].
Is the Paffendorf Dance still popular?
The meme's peak was 2008-2011 on Nico Nico Douga, with over 700 videos posted by October 2011. New animations still appear on DeviantArt and YouTube, though at a much lower frequency than during its peak[2][3].
What is "At-Uut-Uut-Ine-Ine"?
It's the Japanese nickname for the Paffendorf Dance on Nico Nico Douga, written as アッーウッウッイネイネ. The name is a phonetic interpretation of the scratch sounds in the song[3].
What anime is the original Paffendorf Dance from?
The original animation used Momoko Kuzuryū from Sumomomo Momomo, a manga and anime series about a martial artist girl, created by Shinobu Ohtaka[3][5].
Who is Paffendorf?
Paffendorf is a German electronic dance music project from Cologne consisting of Ramon Zenker, Gottfried Engels, and Nicolas Valli, known for hits like "Where Are You" and "Be Cool"[4].
How is the Paffendorf Dance related to Caramelldansen?
Both are late-2000s memes pairing sped-up European dance tracks with looping anime character animations. The Paffendorf Dance was often compared to Caramelldansen due to their similar format and overlapping popularity on Nico Nico Douga[3][4].
What was the Lucky Star version?
A MAD-style remix using Lucky Star characters that gained its own nickname, "At-Pu-Pu-Pue-Pue," and built a dedicated following on NND separate from the original Momoko version[3].
