Bowsette ( ) or Koopa-hime (), is a fan-made, moe anthropomorphized and gender-swapped version of the Mario franchise character Bowser, in which he is transformed by the Super Crown power-up to resemble the franchise character Princess Peach. The character was originally created on 19 September 2018 by Ayyk92, a Malaysian online artist, as part of a comic strip which he posted to Twitter. Bowsette subsequently became an Internet meme and rose in popularity internationally, with related hashtags in English and Japanese trending on Twitter; several professional Japanese artists contributed their own renditions of the character on the website. Bowsette is typically portrayed as a blonde woman with horns, fangs, a spiked collar with matching armbands and a black strapless dress, essentially combining Princess Peach with elements of Bowser's appearance. Journalists took notice of the trend and were surprised by its longevity, attributing it to various aspects such as the character's appearance and appeal or the possible desire by fans to shock Nintendo's social media handlers. While some noted much of the art that spawned from it was solely pornographic, others were quick to emphasize that some had a wholesome tone instead. Bowsette's rapid popularity led to other fan-made characters in a similar vein in a short timespan, each based on an existing Nintendo character. In Japan, concerns were raised about the legality of fan-made characters under Japan's copyright law. Background Created by Nintendo in 1985, Super Mario is a long running series of platform games. The series primarily revolves around the protagonist, Mario and other playable characters, such as his brother Luigi, rescuing the kidnapped princess Princess Peach from the primary antagonist, Bowser. As the player progresses, they can gather in-game power-up items that let the player character gain new abilities or forms. During a prerecorded Nintendo Direct presentation broadcast in September 2018, Nintendo showcased a trailer for their 'Deluxe' re-release of New Super Mario Bros. U for the Nintendo Switch, which featured their character Toadette as a new playable option, and a new power-up exclusively for her, the Super Crown. When picked up, it would transform Toadette into "Peachette", a form that resembled Princess Peach but with Toadette's hairstyle and other distinctive features. The unveiling of Peachette led to speculation and theories by fans over how the Super Crown item operates within the game's universe. Shortly after, artist Ayyk92 posted a four-panel webcomic on DeviantArt and Twitter with the