‘These videos are so random, but for some reason, I can’t stop watching them.’

Her name is Magi. She enjoys reading, baking and nature. She is the 75th most subscribed to account in the history of YouTube. Magi is also at the center of one of the most intriguing mysteries ever to originate on the Internet.

Internet enigmas have been around for as long as the series of tubes themselves. We all remember the initial digital buzz surrounding “Blair Witch Project,” and whether it was a disturbing documentary or just a digital goldmine.

The amazing thing about the medium of the Internet is that one simply has to plant an interesting seed. The online community will take full control of nurturing the digital morsel until it grows into a tree with a life of its own.

Enter Magi.

A simple search for “MRirian” on YouTube will take users to her channel, where her entire archive of videos is only a click away. A few things are immediately evident upon viewing the videos.

First and foremost, Magi’s age is hard to pinpoint. At first glance she looks like she could be 12 years old. Yes, this makes initial viewings a tad bit creepy. Luckily, it turns out that the girl is 21 years old, and so the initial fear is swiftly alleviated.

The videos are presented in the form of bite-sized diary entries, each one spoken through a mix of silences and Magi’s meek Japanese voice. Each clip delivers a hodgepodge of emotions, ranging from curiosity to unwarranted sadness.

It’s difficult to place a finger on the exact reason why these videos have resonated with so many people. There really is nothing to them.

A vast majority involve Magi simply gazing into the camera, her planet-shaped eyes transfixing the viewer’s. She always appears to be a bit sad in her silence, as if she were the last person on Earth, and these videos were the mark that she would leave on the empty world after she was gone.

Some include Magi speaking in Japanese, the words never being translated for the viewer. Sometimes she plays a Nintendo DS, and at other times her attention is fixed on a Japanese commercial playing off-screen.

A link to her blog takes us to Yahoo Japan, the entire page filled with Kanji. The only English that appears on the front page is “snow.” Maybe it’s the “Lost”-phile in me, but I’m racking my brain trying to figure out the significance of this lone word.

In typical YouTube fashion, the voice of the people can be heard loud and clear. Comments range from scathing death threats to honest advice for Magi to pursue a career in acting. However, the most poignant and true comment is simply: “These videos are so random, but for some reason, I can’t stop watching them.”

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the entire situation happens to also be the most frightening. At http://magibon.com, a video has surfaced that details the psychotic visual rant of a gas-mask wearing figure who calls himself Frank. Filmed in black and white, with an experimental quality to it, the video shocks viewers with a disturbing series of phantasmagoric images.

It’s undeniably intriguing that these forces have come together and created a narrative without a single word. The entire thing resonates with a vaudevillian vibe.

So what does it all mean? Why is Magi here? My favorite theory is that the whole thing is the beginning of an online ad campaign for a new horror movie. By uploading the videos to YouTube and having their hits skyrocket into the millions, some studio might be advertising a movie to millions of people for free.

Or maybe what you see is what you get. Maybe the videos are just a young girl’s online journal, and the millions of hits are just due to the creepy voyeuristic animals that the Internet has transformed all of us into.

For some reason, I have the sneaking suspicion that whatever explanation lies behind the Magi phenomenon will be far less entertaining than imagining the possible scenarios. However, this bleak prospect doesn’t really bother me. The mystery surrounding this girl is completely unique to the Internet, and it perfectly highlights the strange and magnificent direction that technology is taking us in.

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