Egyptian Trend

2025Animation meme / video trenddeclining

Also known as: Egypt Trend

The Egyptian Trend is a TikTok animation meme format where a character appears beside a pyramid, gets covered by a wall of hieroglyphics, and then a beat drop reveals an ancient Egyptian-styled version of that character dancing. Created by TikToker @isetekh on March 24, 2025, and set to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven, the trend spread rapidly across TikTok and YouTube Shorts through early April 2025, with a popular template version pulling in over 8 million views in ten days2.

Overview

The Egyptian Trend follows a three-beat visual formula. First, a character is drawn in a simplified hieroglyphic style and placed beside an Egyptian pyramid. Then a scrolling wall of hieroglyphics washes over the screen, obscuring the image. When the bass hits on "Screwbot Factory 2," the hieroglyphics clear to reveal a fully detailed, ancient Egypt-themed version of the character performing a stylized dance1. The dance pose drew immediate comparisons to Ankha Zone, a notorious 2021 NSFW animation featuring an Animal Crossing character in a similar Egyptian setting1. Most versions of the trend function as thirst traps, with the final reveal showing the character in a provocative or exaggerated pose1.

The format's appeal lies in its simple three-part structure. Like the Harlem Shake before it, which blew up in 2013 partly because its locked-camera-plus-one-jump-cut format was dead simple to reproduce2, the Egyptian Trend gives animators a clear template while leaving room for creative expression in the final reveal.

On March 24, 2025, TikToker @isetekh uploaded an animation featuring their Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh1. The video opened with a hieroglyphic-style drawing of the character, transitioned through a wall of hieroglyphics, and dropped into a detailed Egyptian dance sequence timed to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven1. The video pulled in over 4.9 million views within two weeks1. This was the first known instance of the format.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok
Key People
@isetekh, @amy_yayxd
Date
2025

On March 24, 2025, TikToker @isetekh uploaded an animation featuring their Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh1. The video opened with a hieroglyphic-style drawing of the character, transitioned through a wall of hieroglyphics, and dropped into a detailed Egyptian dance sequence timed to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven1. The video pulled in over 4.9 million views within two weeks1. This was the first known instance of the format.

How It Spread

Five days after the original post, the trend picked up serious momentum on March 29, 2025. TikToker @amy_yayxd posted a reusable template for the format that racked up over 8 million views in ten days, making it easy for other creators to plug in their own characters1. That same day, @sygi.x posted a Suguru Geto thirst trap version that hit 7.2 million views in the same timeframe1.

By early April, the trend had jumped from TikTok to YouTube Shorts. On April 1, YouTuber RAND0M_Alexandra posted a collaborative version where two OCs merged together, picking up over 740,000 views in a week1. Two days later, @sandeaterq brought live-action into the mix with a cosplay version featuring Light from Death Note, which reached 550,000 views in five days1. That video crossed over to X (formerly Twitter) on April 4 when user @sillaydotto reposted it with the comment "I hate that egyptian trend but this one genuinely made me laugh," collecting over 44,000 likes in four days1.

The trend kept building through the first week of April 2025. On April 5, @izontknoo posted a James Charles version that blew up to 2.2 million views in just three days1. The following day, X user @L9ngkkk posted Catnap fan art styled after the trend, pulling in 6,700 likes in two days1.

How to Use This Meme

Creating an Egyptian Trend video typically involves three stages:

1

Draw your character in hieroglyphic style. Pick any character, real person, or OC. Simplify them into a flat, side-profile pose mimicking ancient Egyptian art. Place them next to a pyramid illustration.

2

Add the hieroglyphic transition. Animate or overlay a wall of Egyptian hieroglyphics scrolling across the screen, covering the initial drawing.

3

Reveal the detailed version on the beat drop. Time it to the bass hit in "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven. The reveal usually shows the character in a more detailed Egyptian-themed outfit performing a dance. Many creators lean into the thirst trap angle for this final frame.

Cultural Impact

The Egyptian Trend fits a pattern of music-driven meme templates where a simple formula and a catchy audio track combine to create mass participation. The Harlem Shake followed the same playbook in 2013, hitting 1 billion views within 40 days of its first upload and even pushing Billboard to change how it calculated the Hot 100 chart2. While the Egyptian Trend didn't reach that scale, it demonstrated how animation meme culture on TikTok can generate millions of views within days through a combination of a recognizable template, an infectious audio track, and the thirst trap angle that drives engagement.

The comparisons to Ankha Zone gave the trend an edge of notoriety. That 2021 animation had gone massively viral partly because of its NSFW content set to a similar Egyptian aesthetic1. The Egyptian Trend skirted the line, with many versions being suggestive but platform-safe.

Fun Facts

The audio track "Screwbot Factory 2" comes from Rhythm Heaven, a Nintendo rhythm game series, giving the trend an unexpected connection to family-friendly gaming1.

The original video featured a Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh, tying the trend's birth to the long tradition of Sonic fan character culture1.

The template video by @amy_yayxd outperformed the original, hitting 8 million views compared to the original's 4.9 million1.

At least one X user who reposted the trend openly admitted to hating it while acknowledging a specific version was funny, capturing the love-hate relationship many people had with the format1.

Derivatives & Variations

Live-action cosplay versions:

Creators like @sandeaterq adapted the format using real costumes instead of animation, with the Death Note Light cosplay version being a standout example[1].

OC collaboration versions:

YouTuber RAND0M_Alexandra and Serinity_.Dear. created a version where two original characters merged in the final reveal[1].

Character thirst trap edits:

The Suguru Geto and Catnap versions pushed the trend's thirst trap angle with popular fictional characters[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (2)

  1. 1
    Harlem Shake (meme)encyclopedia
  2. 2
    Egyptian Trend - Know Your Memeencyclopedia

Egyptian Trend

2025Animation meme / video trenddeclining

Also known as: Egypt Trend

The Egyptian Trend is a TikTok animation meme format where a character appears beside a pyramid, gets covered by a wall of hieroglyphics, and then a beat drop reveals an ancient Egyptian-styled version of that character dancing. Created by TikToker @isetekh on March 24, 2025, and set to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven, the trend spread rapidly across TikTok and YouTube Shorts through early April 2025, with a popular template version pulling in over 8 million views in ten days2.

Overview

The Egyptian Trend follows a three-beat visual formula. First, a character is drawn in a simplified hieroglyphic style and placed beside an Egyptian pyramid. Then a scrolling wall of hieroglyphics washes over the screen, obscuring the image. When the bass hits on "Screwbot Factory 2," the hieroglyphics clear to reveal a fully detailed, ancient Egypt-themed version of the character performing a stylized dance1. The dance pose drew immediate comparisons to Ankha Zone, a notorious 2021 NSFW animation featuring an Animal Crossing character in a similar Egyptian setting1. Most versions of the trend function as thirst traps, with the final reveal showing the character in a provocative or exaggerated pose1.

The format's appeal lies in its simple three-part structure. Like the Harlem Shake before it, which blew up in 2013 partly because its locked-camera-plus-one-jump-cut format was dead simple to reproduce2, the Egyptian Trend gives animators a clear template while leaving room for creative expression in the final reveal.

On March 24, 2025, TikToker @isetekh uploaded an animation featuring their Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh1. The video opened with a hieroglyphic-style drawing of the character, transitioned through a wall of hieroglyphics, and dropped into a detailed Egyptian dance sequence timed to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven1. The video pulled in over 4.9 million views within two weeks1. This was the first known instance of the format.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok
Key People
@isetekh, @amy_yayxd
Date
2025

On March 24, 2025, TikToker @isetekh uploaded an animation featuring their Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh1. The video opened with a hieroglyphic-style drawing of the character, transitioned through a wall of hieroglyphics, and dropped into a detailed Egyptian dance sequence timed to "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven1. The video pulled in over 4.9 million views within two weeks1. This was the first known instance of the format.

How It Spread

Five days after the original post, the trend picked up serious momentum on March 29, 2025. TikToker @amy_yayxd posted a reusable template for the format that racked up over 8 million views in ten days, making it easy for other creators to plug in their own characters1. That same day, @sygi.x posted a Suguru Geto thirst trap version that hit 7.2 million views in the same timeframe1.

By early April, the trend had jumped from TikTok to YouTube Shorts. On April 1, YouTuber RAND0M_Alexandra posted a collaborative version where two OCs merged together, picking up over 740,000 views in a week1. Two days later, @sandeaterq brought live-action into the mix with a cosplay version featuring Light from Death Note, which reached 550,000 views in five days1. That video crossed over to X (formerly Twitter) on April 4 when user @sillaydotto reposted it with the comment "I hate that egyptian trend but this one genuinely made me laugh," collecting over 44,000 likes in four days1.

The trend kept building through the first week of April 2025. On April 5, @izontknoo posted a James Charles version that blew up to 2.2 million views in just three days1. The following day, X user @L9ngkkk posted Catnap fan art styled after the trend, pulling in 6,700 likes in two days1.

How to Use This Meme

Creating an Egyptian Trend video typically involves three stages:

1

Draw your character in hieroglyphic style. Pick any character, real person, or OC. Simplify them into a flat, side-profile pose mimicking ancient Egyptian art. Place them next to a pyramid illustration.

2

Add the hieroglyphic transition. Animate or overlay a wall of Egyptian hieroglyphics scrolling across the screen, covering the initial drawing.

3

Reveal the detailed version on the beat drop. Time it to the bass hit in "Screwbot Factory 2" from Rhythm Heaven. The reveal usually shows the character in a more detailed Egyptian-themed outfit performing a dance. Many creators lean into the thirst trap angle for this final frame.

Cultural Impact

The Egyptian Trend fits a pattern of music-driven meme templates where a simple formula and a catchy audio track combine to create mass participation. The Harlem Shake followed the same playbook in 2013, hitting 1 billion views within 40 days of its first upload and even pushing Billboard to change how it calculated the Hot 100 chart2. While the Egyptian Trend didn't reach that scale, it demonstrated how animation meme culture on TikTok can generate millions of views within days through a combination of a recognizable template, an infectious audio track, and the thirst trap angle that drives engagement.

The comparisons to Ankha Zone gave the trend an edge of notoriety. That 2021 animation had gone massively viral partly because of its NSFW content set to a similar Egyptian aesthetic1. The Egyptian Trend skirted the line, with many versions being suggestive but platform-safe.

Fun Facts

The audio track "Screwbot Factory 2" comes from Rhythm Heaven, a Nintendo rhythm game series, giving the trend an unexpected connection to family-friendly gaming1.

The original video featured a Sonic the Hedgehog OC named Setekh, tying the trend's birth to the long tradition of Sonic fan character culture1.

The template video by @amy_yayxd outperformed the original, hitting 8 million views compared to the original's 4.9 million1.

At least one X user who reposted the trend openly admitted to hating it while acknowledging a specific version was funny, capturing the love-hate relationship many people had with the format1.

Derivatives & Variations

Live-action cosplay versions:

Creators like @sandeaterq adapted the format using real costumes instead of animation, with the Death Note Light cosplay version being a standout example[1].

OC collaboration versions:

YouTuber RAND0M_Alexandra and Serinity_.Dear. created a version where two original characters merged in the final reveal[1].

Character thirst trap edits:

The Suguru Geto and Catnap versions pushed the trend's thirst trap angle with popular fictional characters[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (2)

  1. 1
    Harlem Shake (meme)encyclopedia
  2. 2
    Egyptian Trend - Know Your Memeencyclopedia