Amongall the fantastic things anime is known for, memes are certainly one thing that has engraved anime’s spot in the world of pop culture forever. While anime is known for its beautiful art, unique storylines, catchy soundtracks, and loveable characters, anime memes are easily enjoyed even by those that aren’t diehard fans.
RELATED:My Hero Academia: All Might Memes That Are Beyond Hilarious
From outrageous poses to iconic, subtle ones, the realm of anime has some of the best meme poses for a picture-perfect recreation in real life. Here are some of the best anime meme poses from all corners of the internet.
10The Gendo Pose
Perhaps anime fans recognize this pose and have even seen it multiple times in their favorite shows. Truly a staple of anime poses, this “finger-tenting” pose, also deemed as the “Gendo Pose” is usually in reference toNeon Genesis Evangelion’s Gendo Ikari. Although this infamous pose may not have first originated from Gendo, it was definitely the instance that truly made its mark on the internet as a well-known meme.
This particular frame was meant to make Gendo seem threatening and evil but the internet took this pose and made it into something much more ironic and comedic instead. Even though the original pose was from the ’90s, current anime likeAttack On Titan’s Hange still pays homage!
9T-Posing, But Make It Non-Threatening
It turns out, that the notorious “T-Pose” isn’t justfound in the world of video gamesbut also is fairly common in anime as well. However, this particular meme has a different take on the “T-Pose” and its usual meme-usage. While the “T-Pose” is usually meme’d in a way in which makes others around them feel intimidated or uncomfortable, this meme contrasts the nefarious “T-Pose” with its counterpart, the “Hug-Pose”.
While the “T-Pose” asserts dominance and instills fear into its victims, trustfriendly VTuber Kizuna AIto welcome everyone with a warm “Hug-Pose” instead! It’s about time the internet found the “T-Pose’s” polar opposite!
8Attack On Dio
Dio’ssignature “over-the-top”, theatricalposes are certainly one of the first things that any fan thinks of when talking aboutJojo’s Bizarre Adventure.While the titans inAttack On Titanhave been known to strike a strange pose or pull a funny expression here and there throughout the series, this particular still from the anime seemed like more than just a simple coincidence.
Perhaps the artists were intentionally trying to referenceJojo’s Bizarre Adventure? It wouldn’t be the first time fans caught the series paying homage to another anime in a fun little Easter egg!
7Getting Into The Team Spirit
While trying to encourage fellow Karasuno teammate, Yamaguchi, Hinata, and the others decided to do a bit of a dance to cheer him on right before his big serve. This little pose the Karasuno team decided to strike quickly became a staple meme in theHaikyufandom. This specific pose even went on to be a go-to pose for cosplayers when taking team pictures!
RELATED:Greatest Sports Anime Of All Time
Whether or not this little cheer actually calmed Yamaguchi’s nerves is still up for debate.
Although a bit dark, trust the fans ofDragon Ballto take the terrible scene of Yamcha’s death and turn it into one of the most popular anime memes across the internet. Since then, this still of Yamcha has been photoshopped on every surface that even vaguely resembles a crater. This became such a well-known meme that Funko even made a special “Dead Yamcha” Pop figurine!
As if this joke wasn’t taken far enough, in J-World Tokyo, a popular indoor theme park in Japan, visitors can stop by a real-life replica of the scene of the crime and even lie down to recreate their own version ofYamcha’s embarrassing demise.
5OK
Sometimes, the best meme poses aren’t too flashy or extravagant; sometimes the funniest poses are the simple ones that require nothing but a stone-cold stare.One Punch Man’s Saitama was instantly a meme in both manga and anime form once this singular panel was released.
Fans couldn’t get enough of Saitama’s lifeless, uninterested demeanor. His indifference paired with the intense situation he was facing at the time makes his underwhelming reaction even more hilarious. A simple “ok” was undeniably enough from the egg-faced hero to have all of the internet in stitches.
4From One Anime Icon To Another
Even for those that aren’t fans of the series, it’s difficult to restrain oneself from striking a Jojo pose, andPokemon’s Meowth’s no exception!Perhaps the talkative Pokemonis a fan of the series or sees a bit himself in the gentlemanly Jonathan Joestar.
As it turns out, striking these hilariously fun poses fromJojo’s Bizarre Adventureisn’t just limited to us humans; surprisingly enough,Pokemon can’t get enough of themeither! It’s always great seeing fans create hilarious crossovers of their favorite series. Hopefully, now with Meowth’s aid, Dio will finally be stopped after all.
3All About Getting The Right (Or Wrong) Angle
This meme focuses more on the importance of angles rather than a pose itself but is still very much impactful. One of the earlier instances of this anglecoming from Rock LeeinNaruto,finding out the painful news that he canno longer continue to be a shinobidue to the severity of his injuries. Although the original context was incredibly heavy, this frame has more recently been taken into a new light.
Once impactful for its depiction of a character’s agony, loss, or insanity, the internet quickly decided to transform this pose and meme it into something much more comedic. While effective in the moment, it’s clear that this pose/angle does seem a bit silly when out of context and can easily be made intogreat meme material.
2A-Pose To Assert A-uthority
Thisinnocent little observationwouldn’t have had the comedic value it deserves without a side-by-side comparison doing it justice. The internet is known for poking fun at celebrities and this time it had to be U.S. Senator Ted Cruz this time around. The “A-Pose” is another “default” character pose commonly found in both video games and anime.
Fans ofDanganronpaare no strangers to this default pose and easily recognized Ted Cruz’s familiar pose as the go-topose for the series' character art. It’s always Twitter users that are the quickest to catch any fun little anime/gaming references or memes!
1Naruto Run For Your Life
Even reaching beyond fans of the actual series, theinfamous “Naruto Run"is easily one of the most popular and recognized anime memes out there. While it was already a bit of a running joke right from the momentNarutogained popularity among both Eastern and Western audiences, there was a certain event that grew its infamy to astronomical levels.
The Facebook event (which, of course, was one big joke) to storm Area 51, out in the Nevada desert was where it began. After word got out about the plan to “Naruto Run” at the Area 51 raid, it somehow became an even bigger overnight sensation; with the internet now cracking up at the idea of government officials literally teaching their staff about the “Naruto Run” just to further understand what the public was supposedly planning.
