SpongeBob SquarePants is one of those rare pieces of pop culture gold that has managed to travel far beyond its initial standing as a children’s cartoon, and is beloved (ironically or not) by kids and adults alike. Even if it’s been a while since you’ve seen the show, chances are you can still sing its theme song by heart, recalling all the lyrics about the absorbent and yellow fry cook who lives in a pineapple under the sea.
In fact, SpongeBob‘s firm place in pop culture has led to a wide range of bizarre, clever, and downright creepy fan interpretations and reimagining of the show. In that vein, an animator and YouTuber called Narmak decided to reimagine the show’s theme as if it were an anime. Not only did the opening song get an anime makeover, but the tone of the show and the characters themselves did, too. We saw it first over at i09, and thought the results were nothing short of hilarious. Take a look for yourself:
Narmak gives Bikini Bottom quite the dramatic makeover as an anime, turning SpongeBob and Patrick into grizzled warriors for good (and protectors of the Krabby Pattie Secret Formula, I imagine). Meanwhile, Squidward morphs from an unhappy employee of the Krusty Krab to a vengeful assassin (who looks similar to the Handsome Squidward in the episode where Squiddy gets facial reconstructive surgery) who literally slices Patrick into pieces. #RIPPatrick
The video also does a great job of pulling in some of anime’s most used tropes while still managing to make the title sequence relatable to SpongeBob fans–let’s just take a moment to appreciate the “A R E Y O U F E E L I N G I T M I S T E R K R A B S???” note from Squidward. And though this is contrary to what you usually hear in regards to regular internet survival, the YouTube comments are just as hilarious as the video itself, and keep the “Spongebob is anime” joke going. It’s a delightful internet find, and we wouldn’t judge you at all for watching this video on repeat for a while.
What did you think of the anime title sequence? What other cartoons would you like to see get an anime makeover? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
Feature Image: Narmak/Youtube
