KYM Mods Top Meme Picks 2021

As 2021 wound down and 2022 started to get up and running, it ended on a pretty flat note. Between the several celebrity and internet icon deaths and the increasing reach of the Omicron variant, the first week of 2022 is not off to a good start. However, compared to last year, things are going about as expected, as 2021's memes didn't really kickstart until the January 6th Storming of the Capitol.

Despite the slow start, it's possible for 2022 to produce just as many good memes as 2021 did. Looking back on last year's top memes, here's a tasteful selection of the top 2021 memes as chosen by the KYM moderators themselves.

Year of the Lake

Saddam Hussein's Hiding Place

Year of the Lake went with this meme because of how versatile it is, as well as just being a bit of fun. Truly, what greater fun is there than photoshopping the body of the now-deceased former president of Iraq into various places? Honestly, there really isn't too much that can beat that, as the meme truly was versatile and lasted a lot longer than some others on this list.

GuAgIsOrAb

For The Better, Right?

GuAgIsOrAb chose this meme because it's the best four-panel meme of the year, with versatility and simplicity that can not be matched. The sheer, raw, uncontained power that this template has is impossible to truly describe, as it even managed to find itself useful as a three- and two-panel meme as well, blurring the lines on what a panel-template meme is supposed to be. The best part? That isn't even the real dialogue.

Freakenstein

Pondering My Orb

Freakenstein poetically described his reasoning with "Reminds me of the good ol' days of Photoshop exploitables with the meme concepts of today. Everyone has their own take on what was just a scrap from a LOTR book — even going so far as to draw their own versions. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one," and honestly that's just perfect.

JuicyDeath1025

Do I Amuse You? / I Said Watch Yo Tone / Watch Yo Tone MF

JuicyDeath1025 had a beautiful little story as to how this meme entered their life: "I came across this meme while scrolling through my recommended on YouTube and I'm glad I clicked on it. Having never seen Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil, I was in for a treat! That utter joy and laughter of watching that scene for the first time is something I wish I could experience again, which I kind of did with the other versions people created. Some ended up being better examples in animation quality when compared to the actual scene from Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil."

Iwazaru

Thalasin

If you haven't heard of it, Iwazaru described it as, "It's an Analog Horror video made by Gooseworx that stood out by avoiding the 'unidentified threat from the outside' formula usually applied in AH, rather relying on themes of body horror and dehumanization, which also lead to becoming an exploitable." He's absolutely right, what later became a meme was one time a road less traveled, and one that needed Thalasin to act as a pioneer and guide.

Twist

GOD FUCKING damnit KRIS where the FUCK are we!?

Twist had the most accurate description possible with, "Extremely widespread and a lot of high-effort examples, what's not to love?" Which is truly the best way to judge a meme by today's standards. The examples were incredibly high effort, and you couldn't go on a meme website without seeing something from the Deltarune: Chapter Two game, this meme especially.

J. The Perverted Summoner

Buck Breaking

J. The Perverted Summoner chose this meme because of how it went from an unintentionally hilarious documentary to being a mainstay part of 4chan culture, and outside of the chans still sees consistent, long-lasting meme potential. It's even gotten its own NFT series, much to the absolute dismay of everyone who likes the meme.

Jill

All Tomorrows

Actually advocating for a book in 2021, Jill gave a description that would make the Barnes and Nobles marketing director quit out of inadequate frustration, "I actually read this in 2016, and had it among one of my favorites of the Speculative Evolutionary genre. It was surprising to see a community pop up around it this year out of almost nothing, even if it was a flash in the pan. Horror-themed, creative designs, inspired by science with an ending that, while somewhat frustrating, is itself based on frustrations in real science."

3kole5

GameStop Short Squeeze

3kole5's take on this crazy, economic revolutionary event, is best summed up in a quote he supplied: "But, in general, the protective system of our day is conservative, while the free-trade system is destructive. It breaks up old nationalities and pushes the antagonism of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie to the extreme point. In a word, the free-trade system hastens the social revolution. It is in this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, that I vote in favor of free trade." – Karl Marx, "On the Question of Free Trade," 1848.

Kotor

Think, Mark

On speaking of the topic of the show Invincible Kotor had this to say. "Pretty much every meme from Invincible was because of Omni-Man, including a quote he never said. The edits of Think Mark when it blew up reminded me of the TLOU2 edits from last year that I enjoyed so much. Give Omni-Man a medal. He deserved it."

Autumn Able

Spamton G. Spamton

Autumn Able picked another meme from Deltarune: Chapter 2, this time the most lovable character from the chapter, Spamton. The amount of times you meet Spamton depends on your choices in the story, but to call him a central character is itself not doing him enough justice, as he is paramount to the story and what might lie beyond.

RandomMan

Astolfo Monster Cock

We'll leave RandomMan to explain the reason there is he picked this one. Maybe he really likes cosplay and respects the attention to detail on the Astolfo costume? Perhaps he's an avid player of Fate/Grand Order and loves using an NP5 Astolfo in a Double Skadi System to farm nodes?

Tequila Sunset

Activision-Blizzard Lawsuit

Tequila Sunset gave an apt reason for this one with, "Over the past few years, we've been seeing an increasing backlash against the video game industry for workplace practices and anti-consumer decisions, and Blizzard, in particular, has been a focal point in these discussions. This lawsuit and the fallout from it online and offline has been enormous, and I do not think the impact of this one is gonna fizzle out quite like those in the past have," and we have to agree.

Doeoeod

Uohhhhhhhhh! 😭

There are no real words to describe this onomatopoeia, as it is something you have to feel deep down inside to get, only real cunnysseurs understand.

Some Buddy

MordeTwi

Some Buddy explains their love of MordeTwi so eloquently with, "I love crack ships, I especially love deviantart furry crack ships from two completely unrelated shows. Watching this thing go from an obscure old genuine pairing to go on to have a massive ironic(?) fanbase in the blink of an eye was just funny to me, seeing so much high-effort art go to a silly shitpost like this is always a treat, as well as seeing it branch out into various other ships and characters. To top it off you also have the cheesy pop music and both Hayley Williams and Tara Strong acknowledging the meme."