What I Watched/Expected/Got (2007)

About

“What I Watched, What I expected, What I got” and its derivatives are used as an easy way to describe a certain subject (usually an anime or a game) using images. It does not elaborate, it simply shows what the viewer thought the show would be like by comparing it to something else, and then showing their idea of what they got.

Origin

Possibly originating in 2007 from this thread on Something Awful, the most well known of these image reviews is one for the anime ‘Princess Tutu’, which also spawned another meme Guitar Ninjas which is well-known for being the definition of awesome. The review was a simple one, showing the viewer’s expectation to be a simple magical girl series akin to ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’, albeit with ballet. However, what the viewer actually got was something beyond magical, beyond ballet… it was… AWESOME. The only way to sum up how awesome this series was in one image was to use the mighty guitar ninjas.

Spread

Summarizing a series using simple image concepts was an instant hit, as many results ending up either witty or hilarious. As the meme spread, it evolved. First moving from reviews of a show’s plot to other subjects such as animation quality to the translation of a series into English. From there it went further into other subjects such as video games, parodies of certain communities, and politics.

The meme is popular on 4chan’s /a/ and numerous forums.