The oi oi oi meme is a bit of absurdist humor combining misinterpreted song lyrics from an obscure Japanese band with a character from a bizarre South Korean animated series. Internet users can find the trend on TikTok most often as a red and orange striped worm making a skeptical face with a speech bubble making him say “oi oi oi,” which comes from the lyrics of the song that plays with the image.
Where is the oi oi oi meme from?
The image of the worm comes from the children’s series Larva from South Korea starring two larvae of different colors—one yellow and one red. The character in the meme is simply named Red Larva, who is described as hot-tempered and prone to moments of irritation, which seems to be reflected in the expression he gives in the meme.
The song, meanwhile, was created by the band La Memerano and is titled “OI OI OI Bakugou.” It’s a tribute to the character Bakugou from the popular anime series “My Hero Academia” and repeatedly uses the phrase “oi oi oi” to declare the singer’s appreciation.
OI OI OI Bakugou, you’re the spark that lights my fuse
With your explosive personality, you always refuse to lose
In a world that tries to bring you down, you rise above
Bakugou, you’re the hero I truly love
Red Larva oi oi oi meme origin
The Red Larva oi oi oi meme traces its origins back to a TikTok video posted on March 30, 2024, by user @lxvqlin. The video shows an image of Bakugou fading in to the sound of the La Memerano song with a top caption that reads, “How i feel after typing accidentally ‘Oi’ instead of ‘Oh.’” The TikTok entry went viral with over 1.5 million views.
The first instance of the combination of the song “OI OI OI Bakugou” with Red Larva appeared on April 8, just over a week later. TikTok user @jmystify posted a similar video with the word “ok” mistyped rather than “oh” and displaying Red Larva instead of the My Hero Academia character to the same song. This one gained over 19.1 million views and launched the meme.
Meme spread
The Red Larva oi oi oi meme spread rapidly on TikTok and soon began to appear on other platforms. One TikTok user posted a video just days after the meme’s birth showing that they sent the image of Red Larva to someone on WhatsApp after they messaged the phrase “oi oi oi.”
@kentut_mendydihhh Oi oi oi 😏😏 #oioioi #larvamerah #sound #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #taggarena #taggarena #munculberanda @v4ni-♡ 😏😏
♬ おいおいおい – Gram With
Less than a week later, the oi oi oi meme was transforming into a misheard song lyrics speech bubble trend. TikTok user @.omegamilk posted an entry on April 17 with an image of Red Larva under a speech bubble as “OI OI OI Bakugou” played and incorrect lyrics flashed across the bubble, mostly consisting of nonsense words, with “oi oi oi” being the only correct lines.
As time went on, people edited and stylized Red Larva to make him increasingly absurd, following the path that many Generation Z memes take today. You can now find him in various wigs representing other anime characters or in high-quality drawings and other works of art, including baked goods.
People began to see Red Larva in everyday objects like ice pops and were soon inserting the character into other memes. You might see the weird little oi oi oi meme guy pop up out of context in just about any online situation.
Meme examples
- Arson Frog is a bizarre meme—and we have Gen Z to thank for it
- ‘Sbeve’ is the result of memes getting weirder
- The NSFW #GreySweatpantsChallenge evolves into absurd memes
- “Jorking it” (my peanits) at the stripped club
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*First Published:
Lindsey Weedston
Lindsey is a Seattle area writer interested in all things society, including internet culture, politics, and mental health. Outside of the Daily Dot, her work can be found in publications such as The Mary Sue, Truthout, and YES! Magazine.
