Wataru Yamazaki

　　　 　∧＿∧　
ﾋﾟｭ.ｰ　(　　＾＾ ）
　　＝〔~∪￣￣〕
　　＝ ◎――◎

Wataru Yamazaki was a meme spammed on 2ch in 2003. Trolls would use bots to write "Wataru Yamazaki" in the name field and "(^^)" in the comments. The bots would comment on irrelevant posts. Eventually, 2ch users turned it into an AA character.

Wataru Yamazaki (the person)

There is a manga artist, a football player, a jeweler, and a professor all named Wataru Yamazaki. None of them are related to this meme at all.

Sources:

• 2ch AA Illustration Project