"SHE DID THE CR7"— VTuber Legend anime's reference to Ronaldo's viral gesture has fans in splits

Modified Jul 09, 2024 22:30 GMT

VTuber Legend anime references Cristiano Ronaldo (Images via Studio TNK, X/Twitter @FIFAWorldCup) — VTuber Legend anime references Cristiano Ronaldo (Images via Studio TNK, X/@FIFAWorldCup)

The VTuber Legend anime premiered on July 7, 2024, and soon became one of the most unexpectedly popular anime. Most anime fans expressed their anticipation for returning titles like Tower of God season 2, Oshi no Ko, and Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest. However, the VTuber Legend anime reached similar levels of popularity due to the sheer amount of references and funny moments scattered throughout its first episode.

While fans have expressed how this anime somewhat accurately captures the humor and spirit of VTubers with its numerous references, many have also noticed that the references included Ronaldo putting away Coca-Cola bottles from June 2021.

VTuber Legend anime references Ronaldo's gesture that plumetted Coca Cola market value

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Episode 1 of the VTuber Legend anime premiered on July 7, 2024. The anime follows Yuki Tanaka, a 20-year-old former office worker who joins Live-One, one of Japan's most popular VTuber companies. To her surprise, a few of her audio clips go viral overnight, leading her to start her new career as an unfiltered VTuber.

Although the subtitles of the first episode have become memes and garnered fans due to their humor, many viewers haven't noticed that the VTuber Legend anime also references Ronaldo's gesture from 2021, where he moved Coca-Cola bottles out of the camera frame during an interview.

This action led to Coca-Cola losing a substantial chunk of its market value. Fans still reference this moment when discussing the influence of celebrity athletes.

Fan reactions to the Ronaldo reference

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A few fans took the opportunity to point out how this very brief sequence was a reference to Ronaldo. Although anime has referenced many real-life events and memes throughout the years, very few have referenced an event that occurred as recently as 2021.

This has further added to the anime's allure. Another fan commented on the absurdity of the situation and mentioned how Yuki doing the Ronaldo reference has become a reason to watch this anime.

"WAIT SHE DID THE RONALDO COKE MOVE I NEED TO WATCH THIS," one fan said.

One fan mentioned how the VTuber Legend anime has actively made an effort to reference Western memes. The memes and references used in anime throughout the years have mostly been jokes that hold meaning in Japan and the Japanese language, preventing them from being relevant to English-speaking and overseas audiences. The VTuber Legend anime is one of the few anime in recent times that has actually referenced a meme that went global.

"They're going deep for international memes! Holy c***!" another fan said.

Yuki as shown in the anime (Image via Studio TNK)

Another fan mentioned that Yuki's gesture mimics Ronaldo's but in a very unhealthy way. While Ronaldo replaced Coca-Cola bottles and encouraged drinking water, Yuki did the same with alcohol.

"She's just like Ronaldo but in an unhealthy way fr fr," another fan said.

VTuber Legend anime currently has only one episode released and is available for streaming on Crunchyroll and Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel. It is being animated by Studio TNK who has previously worked on earlier seasons of Highschool DxD.