Fans have long treated it as meme-worthy, and now the official "Crayon Shin-chan" spin-off manga, "Hiroshi Nohara's Lunch Style," has finally hit TV screens as an anime this October, leaving many curious about its adaptation.
But who knew the animation team's "uniquely dedicated" production would turn this Hiroshi Nohara — affectionately dubbed "Fake Hiroshi" — into an internet sensation? Not only do his subtle, hilarious expressions crack everyone up, but the official opening theme even features bizarre, MMD-like dance moves that unexpectedly blew up online.
As of October 15, the first episode of "Hiroshi Nohara's Lunch Style," titled "The Way of Curry / The Way of Tuna Don," has already racked up over 690,000 views and an astounding 140,000 comments, seizing the top spot on Niconico's overall rankings.
Many netizens who've seen it are raving: "To get this kind of traffic on Niconico these days? This is god-tier stuff!" and "The interaction between the anime and the comments is hilarious, the vibe is amazing! Pure meme gold."
The OP animation, in particular, has Hiroshi Nohara's subtle dance moves being hilariously compared by many netizens to "Jujutsu Kaisen"'s Domain Expansion – it's absolutely wild.
What's more, while the animation might look simplistic, even featuring live-action food shots, this "cheap" aesthetic, brimming with an abnormal vibe, has ironically become a major talking point. Its sheer absurdity has generated incredible buzz, causing viewership to skyrocket and making this spin-off, once dubbed "Fake Hiroshi," a viral hit that many are now rediscovering.
In this internet age, it's wild to see how such a meme-infused anime production has successfully exploded into a viral sensation. It just goes to show that the "Hiroshi Nohara's Lunch Style" animation team really gets it – they've clearly mastered the art of generating buzz this way, perhaps even more effectively than a conventional, by-the-book production.