Hand on Shoulder Meme: Akakichi no Eleven Redraws Explained

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How this 70s anime clip became the internet’s new art project

Co-authored by Mansour Mansouri and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: December 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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Meme Explained

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Origin

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Examples

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Usage

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Hand on Shoulder Meaning

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More Memes

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The hand on shoulder meme shows an anime character placing his hand on the shoulder of another man, presumably to reassure him. People use the meme as a tongue-in-cheek reaction image when someone says they're dealing with something tough, like a minor inconvenience or annoyance. In this article, we explain what the hand on shoulder meme is, where it comes from, how to use it, and more. Read on to learn everything you need to know about this popular online meme (including how it became one of the more popular redrawn memes of recent memory). Beware: There are Bleach and Dragon Ball Z spoilers ahead.

The Popular Hand on Shoulder Meme Explained

The hand on shoulder meme from Akakichi no Eleven depicts a large-chinned man putting his hand on the shoulder of another man in reassurance. The meme is used in a tongue-in-cheek way to playfully poke fun at someone's tough situation, letting them know that the odds are against them.

Section 1 of 6:

What is the hand on shoulder meme?

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The meme shows an anime character with his hand on a man's shoulder. The meme is typically used as a way to playfully comfort and poke fun at someone when they're facing a situation that doesn’t look good for them. For example, if your entire class period just bombed a test and one of your friends from next period asks if the test was easy, sending the hand on shoulder meme would send the message that it wasn’t easy in the slightest.^{[1]
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- The image used in the hand on shoulder meme originates from Akakichi no Eleven soccer anime.
- The hand on shoulder meme isn’t typically used to comfort someone when they’re in a legitimately tough situation, like going through a breakup or tragedy. It's used in more low stakes situations, like minor inconveniences or annoyances.

Section 2 of 6:

Where does the hand on shoulder meme come from?

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The meme originates from the 1970s anime Akakichi no Eleven. The Akakichi no Eleven soccer anime featured a frame from episode 43, where a large-chinned man put his shoulder onto another character in front of him and smirked. He was accompanied by another man, who stood behind him and also smirked at the other character. This gesture eventually caught the attention of the internet, becoming a meme in late 2023.^{[2]
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- Although a hand on the shoulder is typically comforting, in Akakichi no Eleven, it was used ironically. This ironic use was soon picked up by the internet and applied to other anime.
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The meme got popular in France in 2023 and went viral in 2024. French X users started to use the Akakichi no Eleven image in late 2023, and soon caught the attention of the rest of the internet. In 2024, users on X, Instagram, and TikTok began redrawing the frame with renditions of characters who fit their interpretation of the meme. Some used the meme to reference Ichigo and Kisuke’s fight against Aizen in Bleach, while others used it to refer to the Saibaman’s fight against Yamcha in Dragon Ball Z.^{[3]
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- The meme became so popular that one TikToker boasted about their collection of anime-related Akakichi no Eleven memes.
  - On September 16, 2024, @noschoolsaturday posted a TikTok of various anime characters in situations where they soften the blow of defeat, like Dragon Ball’s Majin Buu and Babidi consoling Dabura (who Buu later turned into chocolate).

Section 3 of 6:

Examples of the Hand on Shoulder Meme

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The meme spawned many other memes across social media platforms. The Dragon Ball Z renditions of the hand on shoulder meme are classic, with X user @fh4dr’s redraw gaining over 25,000 likes in five days. There were also renditions with popular Attack on Titan characters, Naruto characters, and One Piece characters. Other examples include:^{[4]
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- Reddit user u/C_h_i_m_e_r_a’s redraw with characters from the Gintama comedy anime.
- Reddit user u/This_Weeb_is_ded’s redraw with Sonic characters Doctor Eggman and Silver the Hedgehog.
- Reddit user u/FishComplex6549’s redraw with Higuruma, Yuji, and Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen.

Section 4 of 6:

How to Use the Hand on Shoulder Meme

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Use it to let someone know an outcome may not favor them. Whether you know that you won’t be able to make it to pre-scheduled plans or you know an outcome isn't going to go the way your friend hopes, like a potential rejection by a crush or sports team, send the hand on shoulder meme to casually let them know. If they’re aware of the context of the meme, they’ll likely get the hint and realize the situation isn’t going their way.
- Say something like “Options looking slim, bro,” or “I don’t think it’s looking good,” to affirm the message.
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Send it it to playfully comfort someone in annoying situations. When you know someone’s in a situation that they won’t be able to get out of, like someone stepping on their shoes, or a movie date with someone they don’t necessarily like, use the hand on shoulder meme to playfully comfort them. It will let them know that the situation isn’t great, but there’s not much to do about it.
- Avoid using this in serious situations when someone is actually upset. While you may intend to poke fun, it can make the person feel worse about the predicament they’re in.
- GIFS & Memes to Use:
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Redraw the meme with your own characters to customize it. This is a popular format for the hand on shoulder meme. Take the original image, trace over the characters’ bodies and general features (face shape, arm placement, etc.), then redraw specific features to fit the anime characters in the moment you’re trying to refer to. The drawing doesn’t have to be a 1:1 copy from the anime. It’s better if most features resemble the original image.
- For example, to refer to the moment when Ulquiorra Cifer revealed his rank as the 4th Espada (rather than the first, like Ichigo thought), draw Ulquiorra as the one putting his hand on Ichigo’s shoulder and draw Orihime as the background character.

Section 5 of 6:

What does it mean when someone puts their hand on your shoulder?

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They’re trying to support and comfort you. Most of the time, a hand on the shoulder is a comforting gesture. It can be used in exciting, scary, and romantic situations, applying to all different types of emotional settings. For example, if you just found out that you got your dream job, your friend may put their hands on your shoulders as they jump in celebration, letting you know how happy they are for you.^{[5]
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- On the other side of the coin, if you just went through a hard breakup, your friend may put their hand on your shoulder as they give some words of comfort and encouragement.
Sometimes, the hand on the shoulder is followed by a soft let-down. In this case, the hand on the shoulder is a comforting body language tactic that lets you know that there’s no hard feelings, but the outcome isn’t going to turn out the way you like.
In some contexts, a hand on the shoulder can be a dominating gesture, especially when it’s done by someone that you don’t know or who is superior to you. For example, if you’re talking to a coworker about something that’s not safe for work and your boss comes up from behind and puts their hand on your shoulder, they’re calmly letting you know that they’re in the room and won’t tolerate that kind of talk.^{[6]
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If you’re starting to get heated or too emotional in a particular situation, your friend may come down to your eye level, put their hand on your shoulder, and try to bring you back down to earth. They may tell you to calm down or take a second to breathe, doing their best to try and rein you in before tensions get too high.^{[7]
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They enjoy your presence and feel comfortable around you. If the person you’re talking to casually puts their hand on your shoulder and starts rubbing it or doing the thumb thing, they likely feel comfortable around you and safe in your presence. This is most likely to be done by a love interest or partner, as the thumb thing and soft touches tend to be more romantic.^{[8]
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Mansour Mansouri
Communication Coach and English Professor

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- If you and the person rubbing your shoulder are close friends, it may be a platonic expression of their comfort.
- The thumb thing is a flirty, romantic gesture where someone rubs your hand or thigh with their thumb. They typically rub up and down or in a circular motion.

Section 6 of 6:

Other Popular Memes

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It’s Not Clocking to You The It’s Not Clocking to You meme originates from a video of Justin Bieber telling off the paparazzi. While Bieber intended to let the paparazzi know that “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business,” social media users have used clips of the video to make fun of his butchering of AAVE slang.
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If Not Friend, Why Friend Shaped The If Not Friend, Then Why Friend Shaped meme is used to refer to animals that are cute but wild, and in some cases, deadly. While these animals aren’t safe to get close to, many people recognize their cuteness and ask themselves (and the internet) the question, “If not friend, then why friend-shaped?”
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Old Man Yells at Cloud The Old Man Yells at Cloud meme originates from The Simpsons when a newspaper published a story of Grandpa Simpson with the headline “Old Man Yells at Cloud.” The meme is used to poke fun at people who have outdated or out-of-touch opinions. For example, if you have a grandparent who insists on getting angry because people use pronouns, you could use the Old Man Yells at Cloud meme to joke about them.^{[9]
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My Shayla The My Shayla meme is a TikTok meme where users post videos of their cute pets and partners with the sound “Oh my God, My Shayla!” It’s used to show how cute their pets and partners are, especially when they do something that upsets the person posting, as they remember the cuteness in their moments of anger.^{[10]
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- For example, on December 30, 2024, @augustthatgolden posted a cute TikTok of her puppy under the sound with the caption, “When I get annoyed at my puppy but remember this is who I’m talking to.”