Naruto was the fun, little anime series that, at one point, was that edgy Toonami show that helped show kids that not all cartoons had to be childish. However, after years of filler episodes, repetitive tropes, and uneven animation, the very same kids Naruto helped raise went back to their childish roots and started memeing the pants off the series.

While there are certainly plenty of gems that have come out of the community, the strangest and perhaps the most pervasive meme the fandom has ever made is the infamous "Boruto's Dad" meme, a notion that essentially boils down Naruto's once praised main character to just a side note in the new journey of his young son. This meme has taken some fun turns, some strange turns, and some downright exhaustive ones. For the sake of alleviating the burden of anyone wanting to hunt a few of them down, this list decided to pick out some of the best ones.

10 The Anime That Started It All

Every good show needs a good poster advertising everything that is to behold, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. It displays what this series is exactly about: The adventures of Boruto's dad. In all seriousness though, Crunchyroll joining in on the Boruto's dad meme got a few more people riled up than the initial joke had any right to and what the internet gave the company in return was more than a few good jabs.

If anything, all Crunchyroll needs to do to appropriately respond is just change the thumbnail on their website. That is bound to get a reaction.

9 Did You Mean...

The meme has broken the zeitgeist in more ways than one. There's getting a Hollywood star. There's getting statues. There's getting thumbs up from every world leader. As good as all that stuff is, however, what could possibly be a greater honor than Google personally correcting people?

Somewhere along the line, either in this fictional post or a very close future, Google's various algorithms picked up the association between Naruto Uzumaki and "Boruto's dad." The latter here appearing enough to ascend to default status.

8 When He Was Just a Child

Forget being Hokage, Pirate King, Pokémon Master, King of the Saiyans, or even the greatest hero of them all; the greatest aspiration for any and every Shonen protagonist is the opportunity to become Boruto's dad.

This right here is the true end game and everything all young ninjas dream of accomplishing. However, there really could only be one, as Naruto finally reached his goal, showing those who doubted him that he truly could do it all.

7 Boruto' Grandad

Like alien predators or the worst diseases known to humankind, this meme has evolved beyond our powers. Stepping beyond just referring to Naruto as "Boruto's dad," this meme is slowly turning all beloved Naruto characters into just distant relatives of Boruto.

Somehow, what was once the fabled Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village is now subject to just being a grandfather. Not that being a grandfather is all that low of a job, but Minato certainly lost something in this exchange.

6 Green Boruto's Dad

Oh, no! It's spreading to other anime. No one is truly safe, as the Boruto's dad meme has now gone airborne and can be found in trace amounts of other Shonen protagonists.

Be on the lookout for Asta or Tanjiro, as it is already too late for poor Midoriya. The green-haired hero-to-be has lost all chance of being an original series of his own, as Boruto has also claimed him. So long Deku. Hello, Green Boruto's Dad.

5 Old Rivals

This is totally how that scene went, right? Sasuke, a boy trying to find power on a path to revenge, clashes with his greatest rival and friend, Boruto's dad. Just imagine Sasuke seething in jealousy of his rival's progress or brooding in Orochimaru's caves, thinking of the friend that he left behind. Now imagine him just thinking of that person as Boruto's dad.

"I have to catch up to Boruto's dad!"

"I'm sorry for doing this, Boruto's dad!"

"You were my best friend, Boruto's dad."

Good stuff.

4 I'm Here Too...

They got Sakura, too. The immature boy who pined for her but later earned her respect and admiration is now but a memory. Once Boruto was born, Naruto essentially went back to his old, annoying side status within Sakura's radar.

In any case, Sakura contributing to the Boruto's dad meme has possibly been the most useful and productive that she's been in quite a long time. Managing to get some laughs here has probably been the strongest reaction that she's ever gotten from (some) fans.

3 Genji's Dad

Good for this meme for managing to get an Overwatch tie in. Rewriting the entire lore and connections of the Overwatch Universe, this Boruto's dad meme has managed to overtake Soldier 76, silently replacing him with this odd, lightly edited figure known simply as "Genji's dad."

Like everything else this meme has touched, this is only an upgrade to a higher status for the character. If anything, all the internet can do at this point is to wait for all the [BLANK]'s dads to team up for the greatest crossover in history.

2 Boruto's Dad's Son

Literally, no one is safe. Not even Boruto himself. Instead of just being called Boruto, because, you know, that's his name, every character must now do an entire runaround of names, connections, and possessive phrases. What are even names anymore? All one can remember or say is Boruto's dad + 10 random entries from a dictionary.

1 Now This Is Just Ridiculous

This is it. The meme is nearing its peak, in fact, it might have already reached and surpassed it. At this point, all this meme needs to survive is just enough space on the screen to put all of its words there.

All original dialogue is mute in the face of a meme that seems to endlessly up the ante like a snobby middle schooler or that one scene in Looney Tunes where characters kept pulling out bigger guns. Boruto's dad is now an ouroboros, infinitely eating itself. Goodbye, Japanese Anime. Hello, Japanese Boruto's Dad.

NEXT: Naruto: 5 Reasons Why Naruto & Hinata Are The Best Couple (& 5 Why It's Sasuke & Sakura)