Anime? Memes? Of course, you enjoy those things; you’re currently using the internet to peruse a website that includes content on anime. I see you’re a person of culture as well. Whether you’ve come from other corners of the internet to take a short break from continuously consuming other short-form content from continually scrolling Reddit or TikTok, while you’re here, we have a smorgasbord of tasty memes to quench your thirst for fleeting yet entertaining content before you eventually remember to touch some grass.
In the meantime, combining the two best interests of the internet, anime, and memes, this list makes for a great little divergence from your presumed previous pastime of perusing meme forums, video-sharing platforms, and anime streaming services. It may not be much of a divergence from probably similar quick dopamine-driven distractions, but perhaps these memes will give you a sense of nostalgia and inspire you to revisit creating more memes from these classic formats.
1) But You Didn’t Do Anything…
“My Job Here Is Done” is a 3-part meme compiled of images from Episode 1 of Sailor Moon, upon Tuxedo Mask’s first appearance to Sailor Moon’s first battle. Although the included text isn’t actually said in the anime, it portrays Tuxedo Mask attributing credit to himself for a victory he himself did not accomplish.
The meme, of course, plays on the exaggeration of how Tuxedo Mask seems to have a habit of appearing, making dramatic entrances and exits, encouraging Sailor Moon in her fights from afar, and then promptly disappearing without having intervened much, if at all, himself. The comic was first posted to Tumblr and quickly gained popularity elsewhere, taking on a life of its own.
2) Stating the Obvious
“People Die if They are Killed” is meme that features Shirou Emiya from the “Holy Grail” episode of Fate/Stay Night. Although the scene depicts Shirou explaining his body’s regenerative abilities via the relic Avalon, this quote became infamous for its redundancy as a strange translation from Japanese to English.
Although the quote originally appeared in the manga, it really picked up popularity after the release of the anime adaptation. The meme became a bit of a jab at other translations, similar quotes, or situations elsewhere where someone seems to state the obvious.
3) Pathetic.
This meme stems from a subtitled scene depicting Asuka from End of Evangelion, the alternate ending film to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The scene itself is of a more serious tone during Shinji’s existential crisis/ego death, the experience being a visual representation of Shinji’s introspective turmoil. Asuka vilifies Shinji for seeking affirmation from others rather than working on himself, consequently leading him to allow others to push him around verbally, physically, and metaphorically, for which Asuka calls him pathetic.
While the image for the similar Principal Skinner meme comes from The Simpsons Season 1, Episode 2 “Bart the Genius” which aired in 1990, preceding End of Evangelion which released in 1997, the episode itself doesn’t actually depict Skinner saying “pathetic” and the use of the “Principal Skinner’s ‘Pathetic’” meme itself wasn’t circulated until 2015/2016 starting on Tumblr. Even so, either image eventually garnered popularity as an exploitable meme depicting other characters making the pose, evolving to become legendarily apt for both eastern and western fandoms alike.
4) Put that Poor Fish Down!
“I’ll Now Proceed To Pleasure Myself With This Fish” is a meme featuring Suzaku Kururugi from Episode 19 of Code Geass. While the actual line in this particular scene is “Gotcha!”, this incorrectly subtitled meme version was originally shared in 2008 on a blog post titled “When Anime Fansubs’ Translations goes Wrong!” on globalwhelming.com by writer fupper which was posted alongside other badly anime fan subtitled screenshots.
Ever since, the hilariously absurd fake subtitles have floated around on the internet waiting for its next unsuspecting victim to stumble across it in silly confusion, questioning if it’s an actual screencap or even a scene from an abridged series like the infamous soup scene from Code MENT.
5) Surprised Pikachu
“Surprised Pikachu”, aka “Shocked Pikachu,” is a very zoomed-in screenshot of Pikachu from Pokémon Season 1, Episode 10, “Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village.” It was first used as reaction image in 2018 on Tumblr by the user popokko.
The meme has since been used in combination with captioned scenarios of a predictable, obvious set-up still somehow leads to a surprised reaction. The meme proceeded to spread to other websites like Reddit and Facebook as it garnered popularity.
6) JoJo References. JoJo References Everywhere.
As one of the most popular, widely known anime in the history of, well, anime, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a long-running franchise that has developed such a far reach in the media in general, from memes like “It Was Me, Dio!” and “Oh? You’re Approaching Me?”, its influence has pervaded pop culture to the point of possibly everything being questioned as to whether it’s a JoJo reference. Literally. Everything. Akin to how the “The Simpsons Did It” meme has permeated into even becoming meta at times, so too has the “Is This a JoJo Reference?” meme.
The earliest known use was in response to the statement “F-CK YEAH NAGARSUMI!” on a post on 4chan’s /a/ (anime & manga) board in 2009. Throughout the years, be they toward actual references or as a completely off-the-wall remark, the question “Is This a JoJo Reference?” has spread across the internet far and wide to the point of anything and everything being up for grabs as a potential JoJo’s reference. Although the rhetorical question is often used ironically, the series is actually often referenced in other anime and media, such as the art style changing to be similar to the style of JoJo’s or the inclusion of signature poses.
7) Anime Was a Mistake
“Anime Was a Mistake” was a troll quote/false fan subtitle misattributed to Hayao Miyazaki, an absolute legend in the anime community as a co-founder of Studio Ghibli and overall one of the most popular and influential directors, artists, and storytellers in Japanese animation history. The images themselves are taken from the 2013 documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. The meme was shared on Tumblr in 2015 by the aptly named old-japanese-men as two animated GIFs stating, “Those who identify as ‘otaku’, they sicken me deeply” and “Anime was a mistake. It’s nothing but trash.”
While Hayao Miyazaki does express some sense of disdain towards the art of anime and its fanbase at large, the made-up quote isn’t exactly a great summation of what he was trying to convey. The quote stems from the transcript of Miyazaki’s 2014 interview with the Japanese news site Golden Times. During the interview, Miyazaki said:
“You see, whether you can draw like this or not, being able to think up this kind of design, it depends on whether or not you can say to yourself, ‘Oh, yeah, girls like this exist in real life.’ If you don’t spend time watching real people, you can’t do this, because you’ve never seen it. Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves. Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It’s produced by humans who can’t stand looking at other humans. And that’s why the industry is full of otaku.”
What’s your favorite animeme? Let us know in the comments below!
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