Kingdom of Predators

About

Kingdom of Predators is a theme song from the 2011 anime adaptation of Hunter X Hunter. In early 2020, the theme began to be used as background music in meme videos for its dramatic nature. Starting in June 2020, the theme was often paired with the Wait, It’s All Ohio? Always Has Been meme.

Origin

The Kingdom of Predators theme comes from the Chimera Ant arc in Hunter X Hunter, which began on April 23rd, 2013 and ended on July 2nd, 2014. The theme was used in dramatic sequences several times throughout the arc. Credited to Japanese composer Yoshihisa Hirano, the Kingdom of Predators theme was officially released on July 24th, 2013 on the Hunter × Hunter (2011) Original Soundtrack 3.^[1] YouTube user DMPlace uploaded the theme to YouTube on August 4th, 2013, where it received over 3,200,000 views in just under seven years (shown below).

Spread

On February 10th, 2014, YouTube user Leon – Music Videos used the Kingdom of Predators theme in an anime music video (AMV) that gained over 26,000 views in six years (shown below, left). On July 28th, another AMV set the theme by the same user received over 170,000 views in just under six years (shown below, right).

2020 Resurgence

On January 19th, 2020, Twitter user @LunaTheCloud used the theme in a fail video from Super Smash Brothers Ultimate with the characters Cloud Strife and Dr. Mario. The video gained over 59,000 views, 5,300 likes, and 1,000 retweets in just under seven months.^[2]

A Tragedy pic.twitter.com/BkE96Sk40Q

— Luna*// (@LunaTheCloud) January 20, 2020

On March 6th, iFunny user Ctenophore posted a video using the theme gained over 19,000 smiles in five months (shown below).^[3] In the video, a man flips a pancake and falls onto a coffee table.

On April 3rd, Instagram user buzz_lighthole used the theme as music in a Fail compilation ending with the Coffin Dancers, gaining over 55,000 views in four months.^[4] iFunny user Can_i_touch_ur_wenus reposted the video to iFunny on the same day while crediting buzz_lighthole, gaining over 43,000 smiles in the same period.^[5]

Wait, It’s All Ohio? Always Has Been

Starting in June 2020, the Kingdom of Predators theme began to be used with the Wait, It’s All Ohio? Always Has Been meme for dramatic effect.

An early example is from a June 8th TikTok by user thatguatemalan in which the Kingdom of Predators theme is used with the "Always Has Been" meme (shown below, left). The TikTok gained over a million views and 260,000 likes in a month. On June 10th, TikTok user rydog813 used the same sound for a similar video and received over 870,000 views and 180,000 likes (shown below, right).

On June 29th, content creator largetrap combined Always Has Been and Kingdom of Predators with Rango (2011), gaining over 120,000 views on YouTube in two weeks (shown below, left). YouTuber Lessons In Meme Culture uploaded a video on July 3rd in which he noted the Kingdom of Predators theme’s use with "Always Has Been" (shown below, right).

Various Examples

External References