"You Are Already Dead" / "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru"

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Part of a series on Fist of The North Star. [View Related Entries]

About

"You Are Already Dead" (Japanese: お前はもう死んでいる; Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru) is an expression from the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star (Japanese: 北斗の拳; Hokuto no Ken). The catchphrase is often combined with an image of the lead character Kenshiro pointing at viewer, which has gained usage as a reaction image in arguments on image boards and discussion forums.

Origin

Originally premiered in Japan in 1983, the series Fist of the North Star centered around the protagonist Kenshiro, a master of the martial art style Hokuto Shinken. Unlike other martial art styles, Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken attacked the opponent's body through pressure points. Upon unleashing his attack, including his signature move Hokuto Hyakuretsu-ken, his victims would be told that they were "already dead" before their bodies would erupt from the inside.

Spread

On August 5th, 2010, a page titled "You Are Already Dead" was created on TV Tropes,^[1] describing it as a martial arts trope involving finishing moves that have a delayed effect, including diagonal sword cuts, pressure point and ki attacks. On August 8th, DeviantArt user inui submitted an illustration of Kenshiro with the caption "You are already dead" (shown below).

On June 11th, 2011, NeoGAF Forums^[4] member Nekofrog submitted a thread asking other members what memes they were getting tired of, citing "you are already dead" as a meme that is sometimes used inappropriately. On August 16th, 2012, YouTuber UrbanSLUG uploaded an animation in which Kenshiro pokes a man and says "you are already dead," causing the man's head to explode (shown below).

Remix Videos

On December 29th, 2016, YouTuber Tulo Sky uploaded a clip from the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dubbed with audio from the Fist of the North Star scene (shown below).

During the summer of 2017, video remixes featuring the audio from the anime began trending on YouTube. On June 13th, 2017, YouTuber Нукенин Деревни листа uploaded a compilation of "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru" remixes (shown below).

Lil Boom – "Already Dead"

On September 22nd, 2017, music producer Deadman uploaded an instrumental version of the song "Already Dead" to YouTube.^[5] On April 6th, 2018, a rap version of the track, featuring vocals by Lil Boom, was released on YouTube and Soundcloud.^[6]^[7]

The song, which includes the "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru" sample at the start, is a remixed version of "Tiny Little Adiantum" by ShibayanRecords. The instrumental version reached over 4.5 million views on YouTube and over 270,000 listens on Soundcloud^[8] in two years, while the rap version achieved over 750,000 views on YouTube and 5.7 million listens on Soundcloud.^[8]

On July 10th, 2019, Instagram user animescoop used the instrumental version of the remix for a meme (shown below), with the post gaining over 48,400 views and 9,600 likes in one month.^[9] On the following day, Lil Boom^[10] and Deadman^[11] reposted the video on their Instagram accounts, with the post receiving over 263,300 views and 3,200 views, respectively.

In the following weeks, multiple Instagram users submitted edits which used the composition, including notable versions by igotsilver,^[12] x.azoth^[13] and sirswen.^[14]

In mid-August 2019, the track achieved number one position on Spotify's United States Viral 50 chart until on August 13th, 2019, the streaming service, as well as Apple Music, removed the song for undisclosed reasons.^[15]