If there is one thing the anime fandom knows how to do, it is taking things too far. This can be in the best of ways with cosplay and fan-projects, but there are times when things spiral out of control. For instance, a once-innocent troll event asking the public to raid Area 51 with some help from Naruto has gotten out of hand as of late... and the anime fandom is living for it.
For those who do not know, a Facebook event page went viral last week after a known troll asked for the public's help to raid Area 51. The event, which amassed more than 400,000 supporters, was asking for fans to meet up in September outside of Area 51 to storm the base.
"If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let's see them aliens," the page read.
Using Naruto to guide them, fans had hoped they would be able to make it into Area 51 to put the truth out there. While the event was started as a clear joke, nearly 800,000 people have RSVP'd to the event. In fact, the U.S. military has had to release a statement on the event to warn anyone who should try to raid the private base would be pursued by the extent of the law for trespassing.
"[Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces," Air Force spokesperson Laura McAndrews said in a statement via Yahoo . "The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets".
Of course, the anime fandom has taken this spiraling meme to the next level with Naruto jokes. After all, fans of the anime just want to make ninja proud, and they'd do just about anything to prove the Otsutsuki clan is hiding out on Area 51. As you can find in the slides below, Naruto fans are wilding out with their reactions to this ever-growing prank, but there's no telling how many of them (if any) will show up to go Space Ninja Hunting later this fall despite all their warnings to avoid doing so.
So, what do you make of this anime meme's unexpected popularity? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!