“Where did card games like Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh originate?”

If you ask this question to most Japanese people, they might think of karuta (かるた), an ancient Japanese card game. However, I’m also aware that in the U.S., there is a strong culture of collecting baseball cards (and in Monsters University, even power company employees have collectible cards!). Personally, I think the direct origin of modern card games is more closely tied to that collecting culture.

That said, I’m not an expert on card games, and that’s not the main focus of this article. Instead, I’d like to introduce a Japanese YouTube channel called Kotonoha GGR Sisters (琴葉ggr姉妹). This channel presents internet memes in the form of karuta cards. Their content is updated almost daily, and their coverage of memes is so extensive that I personally use the channel like a dictionary—much like consulting a Pokémon Encyclopedia—to understand the memes I come across in my daily internet browsing.

In this article, I will translate and introduce some of their content. However, I should note that the channel covers well over a thousand memes, and even after narrowing it down, I still ended up selecting 25 to feature. This made the translation process quite demanding, especially for Japanese listening and accuracy checks (though I relied heavily on ChatGPT for translation). Because of this, I may have used different names for certain works or characters compared to common U.S. terminology, or there might be grammatical mistakes or awkward word choices. If you spot any errors, I’d greatly appreciate your feedback—it will help me improve my English in the future!

#257 Sad Cat Dance

Aoi: “Nya.”

Akane: “This is a meme of a woman with cat ears dancing. It’s going to be long, so I’ll just summarize the key points.”

Aoi: “Good Luck, nya.”

Akane: “First off, the very beginning is this scene from the manga Chainsaw Man.”

Aoi: “It’s included in volume 10 of Chainsaw Man, nya.”

Akane: “The scene where Kobeni-chan (who came on a date with Chainsaw Man [or so it seems]) dances while crying became a hot topic overseas, and that scene was turned into a video. Later, another meme that was popular at the time—called Ankha Zone—was merged with this to create an ultimate fusion video.”

Aoi: “Be careful, because the original source for Ankha Zone is something a bit ris---.”

Akane: “Then, in 2022, it was mixed with the song ‘gypsy in my mind’ by the Korean artist Dokun27. This video went viral worldwide and spawned various versions.”

Aoi: “By the way, this girl is named Warza. I couldn’t quite read the Korean, but she seems to be an original character of Dokun27.”

Akane: “According to Mossan (the operator of the channel), it’s all about ‘the irresistible tanned dark elf-tan!’”

Aoi: “F**k you!”

Comment:

It's no exaggeration to say that I wrote this article to introduce this. It refers to the Ankha Zone created by my beloved artist ZONE-SAMA. Unfortunately, this channel doesn't have any videos directly dealing with the Ankha Zone meme, but the reason is as implied in the video. Even though "Not Kobeni dance, but let's still make her dance" is famous, you rarely see anyone on YouTube - at least in Japan - discussing where the song used in it came from. Also, on Japanese meme explanation sites, almost no one ever mentions the name ZONE-SAMA. Almost every Japanese person knows the name, even though hardly anyone ever says it... It's kind of like the infamous person whose name is best left unsaid. But I love ZONE-SAMA so much!

#217 Ara Ara

Aoi: “Ara ara.”

Akane: “This is that popular Japanese interjection overseas—well, I guess you could call it that.”

Aoi: “Ara ara? You don’t even know that?”

Akane: “Shut up. Okay, I’ll explain anyway: it’s an interjection mainly used by older-sister type characters in anime when they speak with a kindly, affectionate expression.”

Aoi: “I imagine tsundere or lady-like characters use it as well.”

Akane: “Right. This phrase has become a meme overseas, and for some reason, it’s strongly associated with a sort of ‘ones---a’.”

Aoi: “Well, I suppose I get the idea—but still, it’s hard to pin down.”

Akane: “Then, there’s this illustration by the manga artist ‘Kemuri Haku’—known for works aimed at young men—featuring two older-sister figures flanking a young boy, which has been used as a template for images like ‘AraAa on a train’ and others. There are various other derivative memes too, so if you’re interested, look them up.”

Aoi: “Okay!”

Akane: “So, are there any boys (viewers) who want to get in between us?”

Aoi: “Not gonna let you in!”

Comment:

If I were to translate "あらあら" into English, would it best be rendered as "Oh/Ah" or "Uh-oh," or perhaps as the female version of "Well, well, well..." that rather Alastor of the Hazbin Hotel might say? Either way, if there's an expression in English that an older woman would use when surprised, and that would make a younger gentleman's heart skip a beat when he heard it, that would be the correct interpretation.

#395 Zemi Mama

Aoi: "Can you handle this all by yourself?"

Akane: "This is from a manga included in direct mail ads for Shinken Zemi. Apparently, it was distributed around January 2014."

Aoi: "And many men were captivated by this overwhelming maternal charm, huh?"

Akane: "Exactly. Especially, image edits that changed the dialogue from this scene became popular, and a lot of fan art was created. By the way, this mother looks like she has medium-short hair, but she actually has long hair."

Aoi: "I also thought she had short hair at first. Oh, and by the way, this manga was drawn by Shinichiro Nariie, and a special one-shot by the original author was even published on Nico Nico Seiga. And here’s how her hair length actually looks in that version."

Akane: "Maybe they made her hair this length on purpose because a lot of people mistakenly thought she had short hair."

Aoi: "That could be the case."

Akane: "Well, strictly speaking, this version isn’t Zemi Mama herself, but in this manga, there's actually a swimsuit version of Zemi Mama."

Aoi: "I'm not linking that in the description!"

Comment

She looks like the kind of mom who would say "Ara ara"!

This meme requires some explanation for English-speaking readers. In Japan, there is a type of service called "correspondence education," where educational companies send unique assignments by mail to students. The students complete them and send them back, after which professional instructors review and return the corrected work. Since this service places a strong emphasis on mail-based exchanges, the associated magazines are often well-developed.

Zemi Mama is a character from a promotional manga created by Shinken Zemi, one such correspondence education company. Well-known companies like this often hire professional manga artists for their promotional materials, and sometimes, these manga gain attention beyond their original purpose. Zemi Mama became a meme as part of this phenomenon.

#360 The Just Two of Us

Aoi: “What is this?”

Akane: “This might be the most sophisticated meme in the history of online meme karuta. It comes from a video posted on May 3, 2022, and the content is very simple. It features an image of Thomas Shelby from the popular drama Peaky Blinders standing next to Chika Fujiwara from Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and the song used is the classic R&B hit ‘Just The Two Of Us.’”

Aoi: “It’s a combination that makes absolutely no sense.”

Akane: “Right, but the two images share a faint connection—a ‘hat’ in common—with a sepia effect that brings them together, all tied together by music that seems as if it were meant to be there from the start. When three completely unrelated elements come together with a gentle sense of wonder and a soft, intriguing incongruity, it draws you in. Also, the fact that Secretary Fujiwara became popular overseas with the ‘Chika Dance’ likely played a part in boosting this meme.”

Aoi: “I think I kind of get it now!”

Akane: “Many similar videos have been uploaded, but the more popular ones tend to convey some sort of connection between the figures in each. That, I believe, is the essence of all the praise for this meme.”

Aoi: “Well, since sis is just saying random things, everyone, please go check out the videos for yourselves!”

Comment:

So this was a meme!

I only caught a glimpse of this meme on YouTube about two years ago, so I can't really go into too much detail - except to say things like "The impression of a song is surprisingly influenced by its cover or video images!" or "I really love this kind of culture that blends Western and Eastern elements!" However, if this is included in the Meme Karuta list, I wonder if memes related to "LOLI SHIGURE UI" might appear soon.

#115 Chikatto Chika Chika

Aoi: "Return to the forest."

Akane: "This is the ending of Episode 3 of the anime Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. It features a dance video of student council secretary Chika Fujiwara."

Aoi: "She moves so smoothly!"

Akane: "Yes, this incredibly smooth animation looks like CG, but it's actually all hand-drawn."

Aoi: "The animators really gave it their all!"

Akane: "Apparently, they had a real dancer perform the moves first and then used that video as a reference for the animation."

Aoi: "I heard that's called rotoscoping."

Akane: "By the way, this 'Chikatto Chika Chika' is said to be even more popular as a meme overseas."

Aoi: "Whoa!"

Akane: "Various parodies have been made worldwide under the name 'Chika Dance,' including '踊ってみた (I tried dancing)' videos and remixes with different music."

Aoi: "Secretary Fujiwara spreads her wings across the world!"

Akane: "I'll post a link to the original video in the comments, so let's all dance together!"

Comment

They're also talking about memes related to Chika Fujiwara!

Rotoscoping is a really fascinating technique. With just a little research, I found examples like CHAINSAW MAN #4 Ending and Telecaster B-Boy. It seems that this technique is more commonly used in music-related works rather than in anime episodes themselves. Perhaps this is because when movements need to be precisely timed to the strict rhythm of the music, rotoscoping proves to be particularly effective.

#405 Bowsette

Aoi: “There’s been a lot of Mario stuff lately.”

Akane: “That’s just a coincidence. This meme started from a manga posted in 2018 by the Malaysian-based illustrator haniwa (ayyk92). The manga depicts Bowser using an item called the Super Crown—which was introduced in the new Mario game just before the manga came out—that transforms the new Mario element ‘Toadette’ into ‘Peachette.’”

Aoi: “It’s a weird coincidence how these unrelated elements line up.”

Akane: “This gender-bending meme became wildly popular around the world, and illustrations and cosplay based on it really took off. In addition, other characters transformed by the Super Crown began to appear, so it seems that many people were "motivated" in various ways.”

Aoi: “What exactly is meant by "motivated" here?”

Akane: “Who knows?”

Comment

Sorry if the translation is inaccurate. But please listen: In America and Japan, the character names are completely different! クッパ (Kuppa) is called "Bowser" in English, and correspondingly, I've just learned that クッパ姫 (Kuppa-hime) is called "Bowsette". I can't even begin to imagine the origins of these names. Please forgive me - I'm only Japanese!

Come to think of it, I've seen a lot of art on Newgrounds, but I didn't really know who she was. I'm surprised to learn that there's such a complicated backstory. I don't know who Peachette is or what the Super Crown even is, but one thing I do know is that her black gorgeous dress is beautiful. I'd like to do some fan art in the future.

By the way, I translated the Japanese term "捗る" as "to be motivated," and I think this translation is not too far off the mark. But this word is what you might call "otaku jargon," and it's really hard to explain what it means. It's about as hard as trying to explain the meaning of the word "meme" to someone who has absolutely no idea what it means... In the future, I'd like to ask ZONE-SAMA how best to express this term in English.

#123 Don't stand up Sprigatito!!!

Aoi: "BBBBBBB!"

Akane: "This is an internet meme that became popular before the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet."

Aoi: "Why wasn’t he allowed to stand up?"

Akane: "Because people were worried that if Sprigatito evolved and stood up, he would lose his cuteness."

Aoi: "Well, but he would look cool, so that’s fine, right?"

Akane: "However, in Pokémon Sun and Moon, Litten—one of the adorable starter Pokémon—evolved into a buff pro-wrestler, Incineroar."

Aoi: "That’s awesome!"

Akane: "That’s just your personal preference. But that kind of 'trauma' lingered among Pokémon fans, so when this cute Sprigatito was revealed, people on social media were worried."

Aoi: "So, what happened when he actually evolved?"

Akane: "Well, since it's been a while since the game was released, I'll just say he stood up."

Aoi: "That’s disappointing."

Akane: "However, unexpectedly, its final evolution, Meowscarada, became super popular online."

Aoi: "Why?"

Akane: "Probably because it awakened the inner furry in everyone."

Aoi: "Huh, congratulations."

Akane: "Pokémon truly is the best."

Comment

This is another great example of a game where the character names are completely different in English and Japanese. I did my best to research the English names, but please let me know if I made any mistakes in translation.

I only played Pokémon when I was in elementary school, but my attachment to the characters still runs deep—maybe I, too, am a full-fledged furry. Personally, I find Sprigatito, Floragato, and Meowscarada all very appealing, and I imagine NSFW art of them is “motivated”.

#291 Gununu

Aoi: "Gununu."

Akane: "This is from a single frame in Episode 2 of the 2005 anime Ichigo Mashimaro. The girl here is Ana Coppola, who calls herself a girl from England."

Aoi: "She doesn't just 'call herself' that—she really is from England."

Akane: "It’s her frustrated expression when her name is being teased."

Aoi: "Ana Coppola-chan."

Akane: "This reaction image started spreading like crazy on Futaba Channel. In fact, the number of edited versions is honestly insane—possibly the most of any meme."

Aoi: "That many?"

Akane: "And now there's one more thanks to this video."

Aoi: "You didn't have to add to it… gununu."

Akane: "By the way, there was even a dedicated wiki cataloging this meme. Unfortunately, it stopped updating in 2014, but by that time, it had a total of 6,083 images."

Aoi: "Seriously?"

Akane: "Since it's been quite a while since updates stopped, there might be over 10,000 Gununu variations in existence by now."

Aoi: "Amazing… (gununu)."

#435 Ayaya

“Yuko, Shinobu, and...”

“Aya.”

“Ayaya?”

“One character too many. It’s Aya.”

“Ayaya!”

Aoi: "Ayaya two-ya!"

Akane: "That’s something else entirely. This is from Episode 3 of the 2013 anime Kin-iro Mosaic, where Kujo Karen gets the name of Kōji Aya wrong."

Aoi: "Karen-chan is adorable."

Akane: "Actually, this is more of an overseas meme than a Japanese one. Many parodies were made, mainly by international fans."

Aoi: "Moe is the center of the world."

Akane: "It’s also quite famous as a Twitch emote. A lot of people probably discovered it through that, meaning that overseas otaku also love Kin-iro Mosaic."

Aoi: "Moe will save the world."

Akane: "Sadly, Kinmoza has already ended its official content releases, but there are still plenty of unadapted episodes. I’d love to see a surprise third season."

Aoi: "Kinmoza is fully available on dAnime Store, so if you need some healing for your brain, check it out!"

Comment

For me, and many other Japanese people, when we think of "a British girl," the first image that comes to mind is someone like Ana Coppola or Karen. However, in today’s era of diversity, I’ve begun to imagine a broader range of women. That said, I still believe that the land of Ladies and Gentlemen—Britain—must surely have people like Lilly Rush from Cold Case. But interestingly, Cold Case is set in Philadelphia, and Lilly Rush was played by Kathryn Morris, an American actress from Philadelphia!

By the way, while Japanese anime is generally amazing, one of my few complaints is that they rarely cast voice actors who are native speakers of the nationality of the foreign characters (though I understand the practical difficulties). Karen, for example, is supposed to be from England, but her English is clearly not that of a native speaker. Similarly, scenes where Asuka Langley speaks German in Evangelion or the Russian dialogue in Roshidere always make me go, "Hmm..."

On the other hand, PUNCH PUNCH FOREVER! by speedoru uses real Japanese spoken by native speakers—everything from pronunciation to content is completely authentic! So when I watched this anime, I didn’t need English subtitles at all, and I truly enjoyed the series!

To be continued in Part 2.