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What's The 'OH MY GAH' Meme From 'Azumanga Daioh'? How Did The 'Hello Everynyan' Scene Became A Viral Meme On TikTok Explained
"America Ya :D" has been a growing meme on TikTok since March 2024, which comes from the 2002 Azumanga Daioh anime. But before the Osaka in America scene became a viral success, another memorable moment of the series was already going viral on the internet, the OH MY GAH meme.
Before explaining the OH MY GAH meme, a bit of context in anime / manga culture is needed, especially because the scene from the anime involves a flying talking cat, who speaks a mix of English and Japanese and finishes almost all his sentences with "nyan," the "meow" sound in Japanese.
To put it simply, "nyan" is an onomatopoetic pun frequently seen in anime featuring cat or cat-related characters where they replace some words to insert pleasing-sounding cat puns. Hence why the character says "Hello Everynyan" in the meme.
Let's explain how this funny scene went viral and what are some of the memes about it on social media.
What's The Original 'OH MY GAH' Scene From Azumanga Daioh?
The "OH MY GAH" scene aired in Japan in September 2002 on episode 25 of Azumanga Daioh titled "Course Discussion / Pray for Success / Fight! / Study Session / Tomo and Osaka's Day of Fate." In the episode, the cat-like creature named Chiyo-chichi greets Ayumu Kasuga in the class while speaking in Engrish. On May 19th, 2010, YouTuber Brolita uploaded the scene with the title "OH MY GAH" (shown below).
Hello, everynyan! How are you? Fine, thank you. I wish I were a bird.
Who Started The 'OH MY GAH' Meme From Azumanga Daioh?
The scene only became a memeable source in 2017, after YouTube user Yami Ch. Amatsuno Yami uploaded a Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan parody adding Chiyo-chichi instead of the Titan. In February 2021, YouTube user AzumangaLupinIIIFan06 uploaded a manga version of the scene based on chapter 37 (shown below, right).
Why Is The 'OH MY GAH' Scene A Popular Meme On TikTok?
After a TikTok user uploaded the "OH MY GAH" scene on the app in mid-2023, users parodied the moment using drawings of cats and other anime characters. For example, on June 1st, 2023, TikTok user @imsoyfine uploaded a video of cat drawings reenacting the scene and TikTok user @wweva_75 uploaded similar drawings that quickly went viral on the platform (shown below, right).
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7239716901801315611
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7241214704386215174
For the full history of "OH MY GAH," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
