# Zelda's Response Zelda's Response is a six-pane reaction image from 2012 that pairs six different incarnations of Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda with wildly different replies to being told 'I love you.' Originating on Japanese art site pixiv, it crossed over to 4chan, Tumblr and Reddit within months and became one of the earliest widely circulated 'expression practice' reaction templates in Western meme circles. ## Origin The original image was uploaded to pixiv on January 31st, 2012 as one of more than 150 fan submissions to a blank 'response' template originally posted by pixiv user leopard on January 4th, 2010[1]. Leopard's template asked artists to draw a character's facial expressions and dialogue when told 'I love you,' and the six-Zelda illustration was one entry in that long-running expression meme chain[2]. The post was then mirrored to Safebooru on February 5th, 2012, which is where many Western viewers first encountered it before translations began appearing[2]. - **Platform:** pixiv (origin) / 4chan, Tumblr, Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown pixiv artist - **Date:** 2012 ## Overview Zelda's Response is a six-panel grid showing six versions of Princess Zelda from different Legend of Zelda games, each reacting in her own personality to being told 'I love you'[1]. The original Japanese version has each panel label the specific Zelda incarnation and give a line of dialogue that fits her game appearance, from the regal distance of early-series Zelda to the giddy teenage energy of Skyward Sword's Zelda[2]. The image works because it leans on the 'expression practice' format popular with amateur illustrators on pixiv and deviantART, where artists draw the same character across a grid of named moods to lock in a consistent style[2]. Fans quickly treated the grid as an exploitable, keeping Zelda's faces intact and swapping the dialogue to riff on everything from Link's silence to fan-shipping jokes[1]. Translated English versions circulated widely in 2012 and became a go-to way for Zelda fans to joke about how drastically each game recasts the princess's personality[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Zelda's Response? It's a six-pane reaction image showing six different incarnations of Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda, each giving a personality-appropriate reply to being told 'I love you'[1]. ### Where did Zelda's Response come from? It was uploaded to the Japanese art site pixiv on January 31st, 2012 as a fan response to a blank expression template that pixiv user leopard had posted in January 2010[1][2]. ### What does Zelda's Response mean? The joke is that The Legend of Zelda has rewritten Princess Zelda's personality so many times that her reactions to the same confession range from distant royalty to flustered schoolgirl, which the six-panel grid lays out side by side[2]. ### How do you use Zelda's Response? Fans typically keep Zelda's six faces intact and swap in new dialogue, treating the image as an exploitable template for in-jokes about the series or about Link's romantic life[2]. ### Is Zelda's Response still popular? It's a classic 2012-era reaction image rather than a currently trending format; it saw its heaviest circulation on 4chan, Tumblr and r/gaming in spring and summer 2012[2][3]. ## References 1. [https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/24743507]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/zelda-s-response]() 3. [https://www.halolz.com/2012/05/06/zelda-i-love-you/]() 4. [https://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=766465]() 5. [https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/7997502]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/zelda-s-response Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library