>>43318207Watamelon has had a presence ever since the /jp/ days, but it was after the migration to /vt/ in January 2021 that Watamelon threads started popping up daily. Photoshops started to pop up, and the melon threads began to thrive and repeatedly reach bump limit. Eventually, a mega folder, twitter account, fan game, and patch all followed suit in the months after.
As for Watamelon itself, cute smug sheep + simple round shape = instantly recognizable and incredibly versatile for photoshopping in a variety of situations. Watame's full-hearted embrace of Watamelon is a tremendous boost as well.