Anime and manga have come a long way since the ’80s and ’90s. It’s moved on from the derisive nickname of “Japanimation” to mainstream appeal. Social media has buzzed with a discussion of dramatic shows to popular shonen to even slice-of-life affairs. And of course, this widespread discussion has led to a presence in memes.
These memes become more than the characters who appear in them. They represent sentiments and ideas all of their own. So while the characters in these meme prompts are iconic, it’s not about any specific meme. It’s about what the visual of them in the meme has come to mean.
Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is perhaps the most over-the-top anime series ever made. The scenarios are ridiculous and the character is incredibly hammy. It was inevitable that a character from it would become a meme, and Dio is a great example. The series’ main antagonist was built in the classic mold of extremely hate-able and very hammy.
Right from his introduction, he belts outlines like the famous “It was I, Dio!” But later in the series when he gets his standability he becomes even more of a meme powerhouse. His hammy declaration of his ability and his time-stopping shenanigans made him even more exploitable. His cold yet hammy demeanor makes his memes perfect for expressing disgust.
Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Neon Genesis Evangelion is another anime all-time favorite that had a lot to do with the medium’s popularity. For the longest time, the biggest meme from it was “Get in the robot, Shinji.” But just behind it were debates about ranking Evangelion’s two female lead characters, Asuka or Rei, and which was better. Asuka won out, as she’s the one with the meme presence.
Asuka’s more than a bit of a mean girl, often acting smug and superior to others. As such, she often got paired with memes from the belittled people or the reader. But recently she’s had an uptick in surreal memes, appearing in memes about Wednesday or Candice. This serves as a kind of anti-joke, as the mean humor expected from Asuka turns out to be absent.
Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan)
When Attack on Titan first premiered, it had its memes. But they were memes of a similar sort to those about Game of Thrones. They were about events in the show and didn’t leave the fandom often. That was except for protagonist Eren Yeager, whose titan-killing obsession was exaggerated to extremes.
Though perhaps the exaggeration wasn’t extreme enough. As the character shifted to a darker role, memes based on scenes like the one above followed suit about his gray morality. But perhaps the most recent is “You smell like a baka, Eren Yeager.” This meme lampoons poor translation and the commonplace mention of smell in anime.
Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
Memes don’t only arrive from beloved characters, but also from controversial ones. And Naruto’s rival Sasuke is one of the most questionable anime characters around. His rivalry with the lead grew and grew until it consumed the entire narrative. And while some liked it, some were glad to see Sasuke getting choked out become a meme.
Sasuke’s cold and edgy attitude made him a poster boy for tryhard memes. But he still has a cool factor, as his Sharingan ability also made frequent appearances. But his relationships probably got the most traction. Fans and detractors alike can’t help but poke fun at his distant relationship with his wife Sakura and his intimate relationship with his hated enemy Naruto.
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
If the average person has heard any anime meme, it’s likely to be “It’s over 9000!” This line is said by Vegeta, but it’s about Goku. Since Goku is the most popular anime character of all time, it’s obvious that the Dragon Ball monkey man would become a meme. And there’s plenty of memetic mutation around his iconic attacks and his dialogue.
But there’s also a bit of ironic Goku portrayals as well. The character’s fanbase tends to portray him as stoic and serious, despite his playful nature. This leads to memes that portray him seriously posing popularly, or fighting cartoon characters. There are also plenty of non-flattering Goku memes, lampooning his fight-addiction and poor parenting.
Light Yagami (Death Note)
Death Note was one of the breakout anime of the aughts. Its success saw spin-offs, adaptations, fan translations, official translations, and tons more. The villain protagonist, Light Yagami, is the poster boy for memes from the show. While not usually providing comic relief, Death Note’s Light is so self-assured in his intelligence that he often is unintentionally hilarious.
There’s no better example than his “I’ll take a potato chip… and EAT it!” line. But his wild freakouts and posturing have also become popular. Going back a bit, Light has also become a focus on memes satirizing unofficial translations. His line about everything going “according to keikaku” is an iconic example of this.
Hayase Nagatoro (Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro)
Hayase Nagatoro is one of the many anime girls that have become memes. Her appeal comes as the natural endpoint of the Tsundere trope. This trope simply refers to a character who is cold or mean to express their affection. Some find the trope exhausting, and Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro is controversial because of it.
But the character is often associated with the “smug anime girl” movement. These reaction images convey superiority. The character also became notable due to an incident where the subtitles for the character said “sus.” This attached her with the video game Among Us’ meme culture.
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, being a classic shoujo anime, is the equivalent of Dragon Ball Z. It was immensely popular with all audiences and helped make the magical girl genre a juggernaut. It got plenty of memes as well. These would poke fun at the show’s poor original dun, or the do-nothingness of Tuxedo Mask
But the most popular trend for the character was the Sailor Moon Redraw, where many artists all over social media recreated a frame of her. The pose was somewhat demure and determined, which was somewhat ironic given Usagi’s personality. While redraws aren’t uncommon, the Sailor Moon Redraw became a massive trend. The character was reinterpreted in different art styles and even different characters.
Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
The second rival character on this list, and perhaps the more over-the-top of the two. In the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, Seto Kaiba was a parody of hardcore gamers who make it hard for casuals to play. He was a recurring antagonist, but ultimately a minor one. The anime bumped him up to a fated rival, giving him a lot more screen time and more importance.
Seto Kaiba is the CEO of a massive conglomerate that he turned from making weapons into making games and toys. But he never lost his arrogant nature as a smug elitist gamer. As such, quotes from the character have wormed his way into gaming culture. He represents elitists and rage quitters with his famous quote “You’re a third rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck!”
Speed Racer
The granddad of all modern anime is Speed Racer. It’s the biggest worldwide success of anime studio Tatsunoko and builds on the aesthetics of landmark anime like Astro Boy. It was one of the first to ever air in the West with an infamously bad dub. For better or worse, this would color American perception of anime for years to come.
The dub famously contained extremely quickly delivered dialogue. The actors would deliver their lines without even taking breaths, and would often interject vocalizations in odd places. While some would enjoy this take, the story of Speed and his family would be better served by other adaptations like the live-action movie. Even now, more than 40 years after its original broadcast, the stilted delivery and odd framing of Speed Racer remain popular in anime memes and parody.
