Animan Studios / Axel in Harlem

About

Animan Studios is an adult cartoon studio focused on gay, male content that gained virality in 2023 predominantly for the cartoon Axel in Harlem that featured a Black man walking down a sidewalk while other men were staring at his oversized rear end. The cartoon was mixed with the song "La Cumbia de Free Fire" by Bukano, specifically the lyrics "Vámonos De Fiesta A Factory."^[1] Also the song "Ballin'" by Mustard and Roddy Rich was used which has the primary lyrics "I Put the New Forgis on the Jeep." Both were used to create a series of video and image memes on TikTok, similar to other Thugposting memes like Ambatukam, Dreamybull, Thug Shaker and The Erotic Barber, among others. Additionally, redraws and fan art emerged on social media platforms like Twitter that redrew the screencaps of Axel's butt and the men staring by substituting characters from multiple fandoms into the template. Animan Studios was founded in 2016 on the website mranimanstudios.com and on Tumblr.

Background

Mr. Animan, the creator of Animan Studios, has been making his cartoons since 2011, evident in an interview with him published on November 6th, 2011, by the website the Seattle Gay Scene.^[2] The publication interviewed him for his film A Day at The Beach which had been accepted by the Hump! Film Festival (an "indie porn festival for every body").^[3]

In the interview, Mr. Animan revealed that he was American but living overseas and that his "retro 1960s style" was reminiscent of his time growing up in that era.^[2] Additionally, Mr. Animan did not reveal is true identity based on the fear that his job would not be accepting of his "porno animation gig." ^[3]

Online History

The Animan Studios website called mranimanstudios.com^[4] was created on February 22nd, 2016. The website hosts an array of gay, cartoon pornography that alludes to a Hanna-Barbera art style. The website started hosting adult content in 2017.

Prior to the website's creation, the Tumblr^[5] blog mraniman was active and is where the Animan Studios cartoonist started posting content dating back to 2016.^[6] On January 1, 2020, Animan Studios joined Twitter^[7] where the creator grew a large following of over 110,000 going into 2023.

Axel in Harlem

Origin

On April 27th, 2016, mraniman posted to Tumblr^[6] a download link to the trailer for his new cartoon titled "Axel in Harlem," gaining over 140 notes in seven years. On January 8th, 2018, he posted the full "Axel in Harlem" video to is website^[8] for download. On February 9th, 2020, Animan Studios posted a video to Twitter^[9] that was the trailer for "Axel in Harlem" which ultimately centers on "Axel, the neighborhood man-slut, [who] attracts men like a magnet." The video received roughly 105,500 views and 3,200 likes in three years (screenshot shown below).

Spread

Roughly three years later, on September 19th, 2022, the "Axel in Harlem" cartoon was shared in a Discord server dedicated to One Piece Cock Edits. A screenshot was provided by a Know Your Meme user (shown below).

On January 1st, 2023, the group "Venta y Reparación de Consolas y Videojuegos XIII: Tears of Piperos" shared^[10] a clip of the cartoon set to the song "Vámonos De Fiesta A Factory," garnering over 760 reactions in one month (shown below). The song in the edited clip, which later went viral known as "Vámonos De Fiesta A Factory," comes from a July 5th, 2020 parody song by the Peruvian YouTuber @Bukanoyt.^[11]

Vámonos De Fiesta A Factory

On January 6th, 2023, TikToker^[12] quepro_1019 posted a moldy version of a cowboy-themed Animan Studios cartoon with the caption, "España corrida de toro 2022," earning roughly 77,900 likes in one month (since deleted). The video used the song "Ballin" by Mustard and Roddy Rich as its sound. On January 15th, 2023, TikToker^[13] ambatukaan posted "Axel in Harlem with "Vámonos De Fiesta A Factory" as the sound, captioning it, "Meetings In Peru," and receiving roughly 161,500 plays and 6,200 likes in two weeks (since deleted).

Roddy Rich's "Ballin'" / I Put The New Forgis On The Jeep

Going into January 2023, various creators used both TikTok sounds for their own Animan Studios memes. For instance, on January 23rd, 2023, TikToker^[15] l_o_r_d_v_e_l_i_k_a_n posted "Axel in Harlem" set to "Ballin'," gaining roughly 1.3 million plays and 179,200 likes in ten days (shown below).

Redraws and Fan Art

The scene from the viral animation was later used as a template for other memes, like in a tweet by Twitter^[14] user Etan10954548, which replaces the men staring with Pokémon game protagonists and Vaporeon. The post received 15 likes in two weeks (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References