One-Punch Man, Attack On Titan Creators Are Embracing All The Memes

Anime fans have basically seen it all. The medium is an all-inclusive one, and there seem to be no boundaries when it comes to what creators can bring forth to the public. If you want to write about ninjas or pirates who venture on amazing quests, then by all means do. Should magical girls be what you’re after, then there are all kinds of fantastical storylines to put your glitzy heroines in.

Seriously, you can even make harem anime titles about tin cans who turn into doe-eyed girls on a whim.

In the meta world of anime, there are no rules, and it looks like the creators of One-Punch Man and Attack on Titan have embraced that rule. Or, well, the lack thereof it.

Recently, Attack on Titan premiered its second season after a few years of hiatus, and Hajime Isayama had been busy promoting the anime. As for ONE, the anonymous artist has been busy fleshing out his popular web-comic whilst the second season of One-Punch Man gets underway. The two men are beyond busy bringing art to the masses, but who says they can’t have fun while doing so.

Over the last week, both Isayama and ONE have sent fans into fits of laughter with their random art updates. Both creators have embraced meme culture to give their fans some funny updates on their favorite titles. They’re so good that even Doge would have to approve.

You can check out the creators’ pieces of meme-inspired artwork in the following slides.

​

If you haven’t heard of Salt Bae, then it’s time you got schooled. Memes pop up everyday, and it looks like ONE is always on top of the trending jokes. Over on Twitter, the artist recently posted a crossover photo of One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100. In the drawing, fans can see Saitama being sprinkled with salt by Reigen while Mob and Genos look terrified in the background.

The picture is a clear nod to the popular Salt Bae meme. The phenomenon began early this year when a photo of chef Nusret Gökçe went viral. A video was taken of the culinary fiend as he flamboyantly added salt to a carved steak he was preparing. And, now, it looks like Salt Bae has come to season the anime community as well.

​

When it comes to Attack on Titan, Isayama wanted to go old-school with his choice of meme. In a recent promotional image for the franchise’s comeback, the artist drew a picture for Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine that looked awfully familiar. The picture showed characters like Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and Levi looking off in the distance with varied expressions of excitement. However, fans were quick to point out that the characters had been drawn after the meme of the famous ‘four gaijin’ meme.

Of course, meme-lovers will be familiar with this particular photo. The aging joke dates back to the early 2000s and is based on a photo of four IGN reporters who reacted over-enthusiastically to Nintendo’s announcement at E3’s annual conference.