Social media users are having flashbacks to the Ankha Zone meme thanks to a viral animation meme taking over YouTube and TikTok lately.

The so-called "Egyptian Trend" has animators flexing their skills to put an ancient Egyptian twist on their original characters, favorite characters and even notable figures from popular memes.

But how exactly did the Egyptian Trend start, what song is it set to and how is it done? Here's what you need to know.

@gisi42 Neferti Egyptian trend 😺 #animalcrossing #neferti #fyp #pourtoi #nefertianimalcrossing #viral #gisi42 #videogame #edit #animation #nefertianimation #nefertiedit ♬ screwbot factory 2 rhythm Heaven fever – lancelqt

What Is The 'Egyptian Trend' Meme?

The Egyptian Trend was started on March 24th, 2025, by TikToker @isetekh. On that day, the user posted a meme set to the song "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven meant to show off their OC Sonic character Setekh, an ancient Egyptian hedgehog. The animation shows the character as a hieroglyph, then transitions to them dancing.

The video garnered over 4.9 million views in the next two weeks and gained a lot of interest from other animators.

Over the next few days, the video turned into a trend in which animators did the same thing to other characters. It even started spreading to YouTube and X.

@isetekh drops and runs away, BTW THIS ISNT SONIC ITS MY OC AND HIS NAME IS SETEKH please stop calling my oc Sonic. its very disrespectful towards my months of work on this character and id like if yall could stop and actually acknowledge that hes my own character with his own lore and personality. he is infact from sonic universe but NOT the same person as sonic. also im pretty sure i didnt start this trend but among the sonic community i guess i did but i dont take the original credits! unfortunately i dont know who the original credits belong to but i wanna reassure that im certainly not the original. ,, #sonicoc #oc #setekh #sonicthehedgehog #art ♬ screwbot factory 2 rhythm Heaven fever – lancelqt

How Do You Do The 'Egyptian Trend'?

If you're marginally skilled in animation or editing, or you're looking to learn, the Egyptian Trend is a good place to test your skills.

Animators are taking part in the trend by following a format similar to the original example of the meme, but with a twist.

Most examples of the trend show the character they're basing the meme on next to an Egyptian pyramid, with a plus sign between them. A wall of hieroglyphics then drops and the images are replaced with a more detailed video of the character in an ancient Egyptian costume, dancing.

Some are even using the meme to combine two characters, replacing the "pyramid" after the plus sign with a second character.

@lore_kd queria probar este trend, pero modo gatito :) – - #cat #gatos #miau #paratii #100k #gatos #fyp #capcup #humor #ibispaint #gatitos #si #gracias #cat #agypt #egipcio #trend #gatos #edit ♬ screwbot factory 2 rhythm Heaven fever – lancelqt

hana_yoru sorry if the quality is bad.ハンナ • ʜᴀɴᴀ [ 100k+]:I know for you it's been good. but I think it's still lacking for me. I'm not asking for attention or compliment. it's just that the quality is not what I expected 🥀💔 #gachatrend #egypttrend #jointrend #foryou #myart #art #meme #alightmotion #tweening #egypt #gachalife2 #gachalife #digitalart #fyp #animation #trend #ibispaint #fypp ♬ screwbot factory 2 rhythm Heaven fever – lancelqt

@angelo.3548 Egyptian Cat 🔥 #fyp #foryoupage #egyptiantrend #egypttrend #edit #capcut #dance #meme ♬ Originalton – Yongbok Lee🐥

@gus_o0000 Аааа#shadow #sonicthehedgehog #rougethebat #meme #shadow #shadowthehedgehog #egupt #trand ♬ screwbot factory 2 rhythm Heaven fever – lancelqt

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For the full history of the Egyptian Trend, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.