Red Zone

2009Music remix / MAD video / YTPMVclassic

Published July 28, 2026

Also known as: レッドゾーン · 【レッドゾーン】

RED ZONE is a Speed Rave/Euro Beat track from the rhythm arcade game beatmania IIDX 11: IIDXRED that became one of the most heavily remixed songs in MAD video and YouTube Poop Music Video (YTPMV) culture. The song exploded on Nico Nico Douga in early 2009 after a mashup video called "HON ZONE" kicked off a massive wave of remixes, eventually spreading to YouTube where it racked up tens of thousands of derivative videos.

Overview

Red Zone, a high-energy Speed Rave/Euro Beat song written by Japanese composers Tatsuya Shimizu (known by his alias tatsh) and Naoki Maeda1. The track was designed as the lead song for beatmania IIDX 11: IIDXRED, titled after the game's concept color "Red"3. In MAD and YTPMV culture, creators take the song's driving beat and layer it over heavily edited footage, often syncing characters, animations, or real-life clips to the rhythm in absurd and technically impressive ways. Videos typically feature the Japanese tag 【レッドゾーン】(RED ZONE written in Katakana) in their titles3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Nico Nico Douga (meme format), beatmania IIDX arcade (original song)
Key People
Unknown, tatsh, Naoki Maeda
Date
2009 (meme breakout; song released 2004)

The song itself debuted in beatmania IIDX 11: IIDXRED, released in Japanese arcades on October 28, 20041. beatmania IIDX is a DJ-simulation rhythm game produced by Konami as part of its BEMANI line, where players hit seven buttons and spin a turntable in time with music2. RED ZONE quickly became a fan favorite within the BEMANI community. An edited version of the track later appeared in Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2, released in August 20073.

Before the meme took off, the song had a few scattered appearances online. A YTMND page titled "SPEED RAVE" used the track as early as 20053. An Initial D parody featuring the anime/manga series Lucky Star was posted to Nico Nico Douga in 20073. Neither of these gained significant traction at the time.

How It Spread

The breakout moment came on January 3, 2009, when a video titled "HON ZONE" was posted to Nico Nico Douga3. This mashup combined the RED ZONE track with the Hissu Amoto San phenomenon, a popular Japanese internet meme at the time. The crossover appeal drew massive attention from NND users, and by early February 2009, MAD editors across the platform were creating their own RED ZONE videos at a rapid pace3.

The trend snowballed quickly. Over 2,400 videos tagged with RED ZONE were posted to Nico Nico Douga3. YouTube Poop creators discovered the song through videos reuploaded from NND and began incorporating it into their own YTPMVs, similar to how other MAD staples like Gourmet Race had crossed over before3. The YouTube RED ZONE library eventually grew to over 70,500 related videos3.

A notable sub-genre called "Shift Change RED ZONE" emerged on February 9, 2009, inspired by a MAD video featuring a person playing with a car's transmission gear while imitating engine noises3. This spawned a series of hand-drawn animated videos depicting various characters driving vehicles in exaggerated, over-the-top fashion while the original MAD mix audio played over them3.

The meme's popularity did eventually cool off. As with many YTPMV staples, RED ZONE became overused by creators who relied on tutorials rather than original editing skill, producing lower-quality remixes that lacked the creative spark of earlier entries3. The enthusiasm faded, though the song's legacy within MAD and YTPMV communities was already cemented.

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