Over the past two years, if you've been on anime Twitter (and especially if you're French), you've likely encountered an image of a man with a very large chin, looking encouragingly (or sneeringly) at another guy. Specifically, you've probably seen this image, which comes from Akakichi no Eleven.

Or you may have seen something that looks like this image, as it has been redrawn countless times by users who make all the gentlemen in the frame look like characters from various anime and TV shows. Here's how this frame became a meme.

What Is 'Akakichi no Eleven'?

Akakichi no Eleven is a soccer anime that aired from 1970 to 1971. In late 2023, French Twitter users started using a frame from the ancient anime as a reaction image, usually indicating a patronizing sneer.

After months of seeing the frame used as a meme, user @FullSaphir tracked its origin down, finding it in episode 43 of Akakichi no Eleven. The character with the big chin is identified by MyAnimeList as Kojuro Yamagata.

How Did The 'Hand On Shoulder' Scene From 'Akakichi No Eleven' Become A Meme?

After @FullSaphir's discovery went viral on French Twitter, the meme exploded, as artists began creating redraws of the keyframe in droves.

Two hours after @FullSaphir's post, user @fh4dr posted a redraw featuring the characters in the scene drawn as Dragon Ball characters.

From there, it was off to the races, as seemingly every popular anime franchise found itself redrawn as the Akakichi no Eleven scene.

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen were just a few of the dozens of anime that became enshrined in the Akakichi no Eleven meme.

As of January 16th, the meme continues to see use, particularly on French Twitter, but it has spread to some other communities on social media.

If nothing else, it's proved to be a quality start to the memes of 2024, as well as an enduring format years later.

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For more information, check out the 'Akakichi no Eleven' redraws entry on Know Your Meme.