This article is the content of Part 2. If you haven't read Part 1 yet, please read it first.



https://precipitation24.newgrounds.com/news/post/1509632

#441 Gambare Gambare Senpai

Aoi: “Gambare ♡ Gambare ♡”

Akane: “Adding a heart mark changes the meaning. This is a song that's trending in short videos and TikTok. It's especially popular overseas, often used for dancing and such.”

Aoi: “So it's more of an overseas meme, maybe?

Akane: “This song was made by someone called Bemax, using sampled voices from the anime ‘Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro.’”

Aoi: “At first, I thought it was Marine-sencho (Captain Marine).”

Akane: “Well, some people probably think that. The number of videos using this song is insane—on YouTube alone, there are at least 690,000 videos featuring it.”

Aoi: “Shugoi (Amazing).”

Akane: “Anyway, that's my introduction to it, but what I really want to say is... Nagatoro-san is freaking adorable!”

Aoi: “Hoe~”

Akane: “Out of all the rom-coms I’ve watched in recent years, there hasn't been a character that got to me more than Nagatoro-san.”

Aoi: “Hoe~”

Akane: “Her blushing scenes are literally a national treasure.”

Aoi: “Hoe~”

Akane: “Some people might avoid it because she’s a gyaru-type character, but I swear, it’s top-tier!”

Aoi: “Hoe~”

Akane: “So yeah, everyone, go watch it!”

Aoi: “Hoe~”

Comment

Would the English translation be "Cheer up, cheer up, Senpai!"? This is my first time hearing this song, but it's super cute and cool! Since I'm an old-school person, I personally felt like it might have been inspired by Funkytown by Lipps Inc.

Also, the "Marine-sencho" mentioned in the video refers to the VTuber Houshou Marine, who is a popular VTuber loved for her boyish-sounding voice.

Additionally, the idea of "Geek-friendly gal (オタクにやさしいギャル)" was a popular genre in the Japanese anime market at one point, and this anime is likely one of the works that followed that trend.

By the way, I've seen a girl who looks very similar to this character but with slightly lighter skin. However, I can't remember who she was. If anyone knows, I'd be grateful for the information.

#718 I’m a Super Geek Too!

Aoi: “Oh, this is from ‘Dol:Men X,’ isn't it?”

Akane: “What? You knew about it?”

Aoi: “W-Well, yeah.”

Akane: “This is from Volume 1 of Yuna Takagi’s ‘Dol:Men X.’ It’s often interpreted as a scene where the protagonist looks down on casual geeks...”

Aoi: “...But if you own every volume of ‘One Piece,’ that’s pretty solid proof you’re a geek, right?”

Akane: “Yeah, especially now that it's over 100 volumes, and the anime’s quality has been insane in recent years. Anyway, on the internet, this panel has been edited a lot to create hardcore ‘geek gal’ characters. A lot of different hardcore geek gals have been created, but the most famous one is this image of a hardcore FromSoftware fan gal got especially popular.”

Aoi: “Playing all FromSoftware games is seriously over the top, isn’t it?”

Akane: “If a girl like that existed, I’d marry her on the spot.”

Aoi: “I’ll play all the FromSoftware games too!”

Akane: “That’s the spirit! Start with SEKIRO, then.”

Aoi: “Okay!”

Comment

This meme probably emerged as a reaction to the over-saturation of the "Geek-friendly gal" trend, serving as a warning against it. Since the characters are speaking to a Japanese audience, they don't explicitly explain the manga’s context, but I believe this scene shows a hardcore geek protagonist reacting to the recent trend of gals saying:

"I’m a super geek too! I own every volume of One Piece and totally love it!"

The protagonist then responds with something like:

"People like that make me not want to talk about geek stuff at all."

In other words, this gal doesn’t actually exist within the story—she's just a fictional construct of the protagonist’s imagination. Since she doesn’t exist anywhere, she only appears in this single scene.

However, I felt that the artist did an amazing job of capturing her facial expression, making her look like a sincere girl who is earnestly trying to understand something she doesn’t fully grasp. It’s a really appealing illustration.

#427 Aura, K-ll Yourself

"You are standing in front of a mage who has lived more than 1,000 years. Aura, k-ll yourself."

Aoi: "Because Himmel is long gone."

Akane: "This is one of the so-called 'Aura Syntax' phrases. It comes from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, specifically Episode 10 of the anime or Volume 3 of the manga. Even before the anime adaptation, this line was popular on X (formerly Twitter), but once the scene aired, the meme exploded in popularity."

Aoi: "Since it's a 'syntax-type' internet slang, people on X have been holding ōgiri contests by modifying it."

Akane: "It’s become a template, like 'Aura, [do something],' completely turning Aura into a joke character."

Aoi: "Well, she is a 500-year-old m*sug*ki character, so it can’t be helped."

Akane: "Another line, 'Because Himmel is long gone.' has also been modified into different variations, making it another part of the 'Aura Syntax.' Right now, Aura memes are all the rage on X."

Aoi: "Actually, Frieren in general has been turned into a meme factory."

Akane: "There are still Frieren-related memes we haven’t covered yet, so maybe we’ll introduce more before the end of the year. Anyway, feel free to hold your own ōgiri contest in the comments!"

Aoi: "If he had been there, it's what Himmel the Hero would've done."

Comment

'Syntax-type (構文系) internet slang' is probably a concept unique to Japanese online culture. When a specific phrase like 'Aura, [do something]' becomes a meme, users create their own versions by filling in the blank with different commands and posting them online.

Another term that might be unfamiliar to English speakers is ōgiri. This refers to a joke format where participants respond to a well-known prompt with witty or creative answers. A comparable concept in Western comedy would be Knock Knock Jokes. In fact, in the context of Japanese humor, Knock Knock Jokes could be considered a form of ōgiri.

For example:

A: "Knock, knock!"

B: "Who’s there?"

A: "Goat."

B: "Goat who?"

A: "Goat to the door and find out."

With that said, everyone is welcome to try their hand at an “Aura Syntax ōgiri contest!“

#515 Puncchiki Payappa~ (゜∀゜)ノ♪

Aoi: "Eat the tomato!"

Akane: "That reference definitely won’t make sense to today’s kids. This is part of a so-called hand-drawn animation series that uses the song Caipirinha by Carinho. The original video, considered the main version, was posted in 2007, and even now, new videos in this series are still being made. The nickname comes from a part of the song that sounds like 'Puncchiki Payappa' in Japanese."

Aoi: "The character in the original video is Tomo Takino from Azumanga Daioh!"

Akane: "Azumanga Daioh is actually a legendary four-panel manga by Kiyohiko Azuma, who is still publishing Yotsuba&! today. This series is popular on NicoNico, but it actually seems to have originated overseas—the oldest known upload was on YouTube."

Aoi: "Apparently, some people outside Japan actually perform this dance and call it the Caipirinha Dance!"

Akane: "So this was actually a globally popular meme all along, huh?"

Comment

So there are memes like this besides Caramelldansen.

In Japan, there's a word for the playful act of fitting random phrases to foreign lyrics that sound like Japanese words—it's called soramimi (空耳; lit. misheard ears). Apparently, a similar concept exists in the U.S., where it’s called "misheard lyrics." A friend told me about it, and I couldn’t stop laughing when I read the actual English lyrics of this song. But when the original song is in Japanese and it gets misheard in another language, it just feels... weird. Maybe this is how Swedish or Korean people feel when Japanese speakers assign strange lyrics to their songs.

#600 Bad Apple!!

Aoi: “Celebrating our 600th episode with love from everyone!”

Akane: “Can you believe Bad Apple!! is turning 15 years old this year?”

Aoi: “Fern, that’s obviously a lie.”

Akane: “This is a video that was posted on NicoNico Douga in 2009 and became a massive hit. It holds the number one spot in total play count across all categories and, excluding any cheating, was the only video on NicoNico to surpass 30 million views last year.”

Aoi: “Congratulations!”

Akane: “The original song of the same name was the background music for Stage 3 of Touhou Gensokyo from the classic series.”

Aoi: “The classic series refers to the Touhou games that were released on PC-98 before the Windows era!”

Akane: “The vocal version of this song was distributed by the doujin circle Alstroemeria Records. Then, in 2008, someone posted a storyboard video titled 'I want to see a PV like this!', and just over a year later, a user named Anira created and uploaded the famous shadow art PV.”

Aoi: “The person who made that storyboard must feel really lucky.”

Akane: “This PV had an enormous cultural impact as a meme, inspiring countless parodies and remixes.”

Aoi: “Honestly, there’s still so much more I want to talk about…”

Akane: “…but there’s no way we can cover it all in just one minute. So why not take a nostalgic trip back and revisit this classic?”

Aoi: “I mean, let’s go!”

Comment

By the time I realized it, characters like Marisa, Reimu, and Cirno—commonly known as Touhou characters—had already become famous. I had heard that they originated from a certain shooting game of the same name, and apparently, this video showcases all those recognizable Touhou characters in one place. It’s incredible how such beautiful and captivating animation can be expressed using only silhouettes!

I won’t go into too much detail, but for me, Marisa and Reimu are strongly associated with the Yukkuri’s Explanation series—an educational video format where various knowledgeable creators use them to teach history, culture, mathematics, music, and so much more.

#636 Funabori Parody

Aoi: “Are you trying to bully her?!”

Akane: “This is a parody series based on an image of Funabori from D-Frag!, a manga serialized in Monthly Comic Alive. It’s from a scene where she gets overwhelmed with embarrassment after being excessively praised by her classmates.”

Aoi: “Funabori-chan’s modesty is seriously adorable.”

Akane: “This parody series has quite a bit of history—it’s been around since at least 2010 and is still being used in memes today. By the way, this image was even referenced as a joke in the official anime adaptation.”

Aoi: “It’s one of those images that any internet veteran has probably seen at least once, but not many people actually look up the original source.”

Akane: “A lot of internet meme culture is like that. Sometimes, just seeing an image doesn’t give you enough clues to even know what keywords to search for.”

Aoi: “True.”

Akane: “By the way, we accept requests even if you don’t know the exact name of what you’re looking for.”

Aoi: “Just describe it roughly, and we’ll try to figure it out!”

Comment

I’ve seen similar expressions in various places, but I never imagined there was an original source behind them!

To explain how this scene unfolds: first, the student council president, Chitose, tries to make the protagonist, Kenji, eat food that has fallen on the floor. Kenji refuses, exclaiming, “I can’t eat that filthy thing!” In response, Chitose introduces Funabori to the entire class, highlighting her profile and virtues. Upon hearing this, the entire class starts showering Funabori with praise—leading to the scene in the video.

#652 Are You Taking Your Lactic Acid Bacteria?

"Don’t get mad. Your blood pressure will rise. Are you taking your lactic acid bacteria?"

Aoi: “Wow, this is super nostalgic.”

Akane: “Most people probably haven’t thought about this in at least ten years. This is a famous quote from Suigintou in the Rozen Maiden anime. Believe it or not, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the anime.”

Aoi: “Back then, every anime fan knew this line.”

Akane: “Exactly. Suigintou, who’s dark, elegant, and cool, saying something so completely out of character made it really memorable. By the way, this line was completely original to the anime. It’s said to have been written by Mari Okada, the famous scriptwriter behind Anohana and other works.”

Aoi: “Her sense of language really shines here.”

Akane: “Honestly, younger people today might be like, ‘What’s that from?’ But for those from that generation, hearing this line again probably brings back a ton of excitement.”

Aoi: “I bet in 20 years, ‘Move it! I’m big bros!!’ will be treated the same way.”

Akane: “Also, the association between Suigintou and lactic acid bacteria became so strong that people often drew her together with Yakult in fan art.”

Aoi: “By the way, Rozen Maiden is available on dAnime Store, so if you’re interested, go check it out!”

Comment

I’ve occasionally heard characters in Japanese anime and dramas provoke someone by saying, “Are you not getting enough calcium?” when they’re irritated, but “Are you getting enough lactic acid bacteria?” is completely new to me.

Interestingly, lactic acid bacteria, commonly found in yogurt, play a crucial role in maintaining gut health, which is so significant that scientists sometimes refer to the gut as the “second brain.” Recent studies have even shown that improving gut function can help alleviate daily stress.

So, for a healthy life, let's eat yogurt every day!

#676 "S" stands for?

"Smile, sweet, sister, sadistic, surprise, service..."

"SASAGEYO! (DEVOTE (YOUR HEART)!)"

Aoi: "This again?"

Akane: "This is a MAD series that uses the opening of the anime Blend S. It plays on the 'S' in the opening by linking various clips together."

Aoi: "Seems pretty easy to make."

Akane: "The title literally means 'What does S mean?'. By the way, the video title of the Attack on Titan version you saw first was exactly that, and it just ended up becoming the meme's name. Since then, tons of MAD videos have been made."

Aoi: "As long as there's an 'S', anything goes. No risk of running out of ideas."

Akane: "A lot of different versions have been popular, but one that matched APEX's Spitfire had some serious energy."

Aoi: "Wasn't that using a song from Initial D?"

Akane: "Not Initial D, technically—it's from MF GHOST. Apparently, they used it because the weapon name matched, but since the song's sudden high-energy vibe really caught on, MADs using the same track have kind of become their own subgenre."

Aoi: "Guess everyone’s loved Eurobeat since the DAISUKE days!"

Comment

The version I saw was the one where a Russian guy yells "S-ka bl-at!", and the hilarious contrast between cute anime characters and gopniks wildly dancing made it even better.

Now that you mention it, "What's your favorite word that starts with S?" is actually a pretty fun question! For me, my favorite word is "survive".

#138 Senator Armstrong

Aoi: "Apologize to Maria†Holic fans."

Akane: "Sorry to get your hopes up! This is a meme that became popular around May 2022. A muscular guy suddenly appearing in certain overseas scenes gained a lot of attention."

Aoi: "Completely unnecessary."

Akane: "Even in Japan, BB materials of him became popular."

Aoi: "This feels incredibly familiar."

Akane: "This macho guy is..."

Aoi: "Macho guy?!"

Akane: "...the final boss of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. After a lineup of super cool bosses, the last one turns out to be this guy, and when I played it back then, I was like, 'Eh?'"

Aoi: "I think it's great, though."

Akane: "On top of that, he’s ridiculously strong."

Aoi: "Wow."

Akane: "By the way, the game was released in 2013, and in the West, this character had already been a meme long before this particular trend."

Aoi: "So it actually has a pretty long history."

Comment

Are there different types of these "Kawaii Jumpscare" memes? It’s interesting because, just like how an illustration that looks plain when sitting in a corner of an anime shop can suddenly seem incredibly captivating when you spot it in a subway station or on a city street, this meme really enhances the impact of certain scenes. (In my hometown, Kyoto’s subway has a lot of that kind of thing.)

#690 Nya Arigato Dance

Aoi: "Nya."

Akane: "This is Tokyo, a track released by Leat’eq in May 2018. Some people might know it from this MAD featuring Food Girls (食用系少女), a game by Simon Creative."

Aoi: "So cute."

Akane: "Besides this, the song also became popular in hand-drawn animations, but the most famous version is the TikTok dance trend."

Aoi: "I saw this on YouTube."

Akane: "In 2021, a TikToker named papadragun made a dance routine for it, and hot babes everywhere started copying it."

Aoi: "The way you say 'hot babes' makes you sound like an old man."

Akane: "Well, this dance is already three years old, so it had lost some popularity in recent years. But for some reason, it's now making a comeback—among middle-aged men."

Aoi: "Ohhh."

Akane: "If you want to see some adorable middle-aged men, go look it up!"

Comment

Adorable middle-aged men, LOL.

I don’t know much about this game, but since there’s a phrase like "You can eat the girl", I assume it's a kind of anthropomorphized concept where each character represents a different type of food. The second half of the video really feels like a TikTok-style dance, which I think is pretty cool. But at the same time, it's so cutting-edge that it makes me feel like I can’t keep up with the times.

To be continued in Part 3.