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I'd heard Kumoko was an unofficial name for the protagonist of _So I'm a
Spider, so What?_ , so I didn't expect to actually encounter it in either the
light novels but it's there. In Yen Press's translation of the first volume,
it appears on pages 199 and 200, in _Chapter 11: Still Clearing the Lower
Stratum_ :

> I mean, if I learned how to use these, I would basically be a magical
> girl... Well, a magical spider, anyway. Like "Kumoko the Spider Girl" or
> something.

> Damn. It looks like I won't be able to call myself Magical Girl Kumoko for a
> while yet.

The name also appears in the ending songs of the anime. If this is an
unofficial name, it seems it's been adopted. Do the original light novels
really have something different in place of this text and never use the name?
Or is the name merely considered unofficial because Kumoko's name appears as
"nameless" when she Appraises herself?


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2021-07-12T17:19:57.440
64192
2021-08-03T16:02:01.133
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question
so-im-a-spider-so-what
Is Kumoko really an unofficial name?


From what I have been able to gather, the name is at best a _late adaption_ of
a fan name, given to the character to make referring to her easier. Which is
why it's just the word for "spider" (Kumo), combined with a feminizing suffix
(-ko).

The web novel's Character Introduction 2 (as I found it translated) states
(minor name spoilers):

> Shiraori 白織 — nameless 名前なし The protagonist, referred to as Shiro within the
> story and Kumoko outside the story, but almost never called by her real
> name. It couldn’t be helped that her name didn’t come out for such a long
> time. [...]

As you noticed, it has later started to appear in the light novel as well as
the anime's ending.

And, of course, the name does seem _official enough_ to be use by merch.  
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/K5vdX.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/K5vdX.png)

Sources:  
[So I'm a Spider, So What? Wiki - Kumoko -
Trivia](https://kumodesu.fandom.com/wiki/Kumoko#Trivia) ( **heavy** spoilers)  
[Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? web novel - Character Introduction
2](https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7975cr/516/) ( **heavy** spoilers)  
[GoodSmile Company Nendroid Kumoko store
page](https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/10757/Nendoroid+Kumoko.html)


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