NTR—Similar to GTR, this term is also common in works with a "racing" theme, generally used to describe the following specific genre:
The male protagonist of the work owns a supercar with bright headlights, powerful engine, loud roar, and a rounded C-pillar, but due to his average driving skills, he cannot fully utilize the vehicle's performance.
By chance, a professional driver with excellent skills comes into contact with a supercar and quickly reaches a state of unity between man and machine, becoming unstoppable. In the end, the car's original owner can only hide behind the garage door, watching the supercar and the professional driver speed away, shedding helpless tears...
Moreover, in NTR-themed racing works, there are four god-like figures: the Fat Guy, the Little Boy (not the explosive kind), the Blondie, and the Dark-Skinned/Black Guy, collectively known as the "Bull-Head Squadron Bull-Rangers." Friends who enjoy observing these genres to assist their solo driving know that these four appear in almost every work within the genre, with at least one of them making an appearance.
However, this "common sense" occasionally has exceptions. For instance, this character from Shenbing Xiaojiang (Magic Boy) possesses all four god-like elements, wields a water cannon capable of massive bursts as his exclusive weapon, and even has the surname "Ximen," yet he is the purest Pure Love Warrior...
Of course, that's not the main point. Today's focus is: I can understand the Fat Guy, the Little Boy, the Blondie, and the Black Guy, but why are the characters appearing in recently shared NTR works becoming increasingly bizarre? I mean, what exactly is Valstrax? Is this really something that should appear in a modern urban setting?
Not long ago, artist "tanimaniYURI" first shared this meme on their X account—the NTR Manga Character Four-Panel, consisting of an introverted victim, the neighbor's older sister, a villainous child who likes to bully the victim, and a fourth person who seems completely unrelated but has enough power to end the tragedy. Due to its absurd and abstract nature, it was quickly distilled into a meme template. While keeping the first three characters unchanged, everyone can unleash their imagination to freely create the fourth character.
Due to the vast creative space it offers, this meme template quickly sparked a wave of fan creations across the entire internet.
For example, among the first to arrive on the battlefield is undoubtedly Yujiro Hanma. As the "Strongest Creature on Earth," whose testosterone levels are ten times higher than average and who sees everyone as the opposite sex, he is clearly more interested in Takashi-kun, who possesses sufficient fighting spirit, than in the neighbor's older sister who has trained herself into a feminine figure.
For another example, a villainous child who would commit NTR is obviously not a good person. Besides bullying classmates, he probably often abuses cats and dogs. So, if he happens to abuse a beagle named "Andy" by chance, I don't need to say what will happen next.
Moreover, once you accept this premise, you'll find that it's no surprise when anything bizarre appears within this template.
Now, the "intruding fourth person" you can see includes, but is not limited to:
Tyrant Monster Tyrant, who sends the Ultra Five Brothers to their deaths one by one like "Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather"—at this point, forget about those matters; escaping is the priority.
Super Earth's "most loyal soldiers," the Helldivers, who abhor anything that disrupts the happy and harmonious lives of citizens and thus take up arms.
And the twin-seat supersonic fighter-bomber, the F-15E Strike Eagle.
Besides the most conventional "coercion-style" NTR, even if the villainous child awakens supernatural powers or becomes a ninja, a counter-force capable of subduing them will inevitably appear as the fourth person, ensuring that "justice is never absent."
But then again, Takashi-kun, who awakens so many abilities just for NTR and has to deal with various strong opponents, is indeed quite a character.
It's worth mentioning that "tanimaniYURI," the artist who pioneered the "NTR Four-Panel" meme and brought Valstrax into the battlefield, created a follow-up full comic after their post went viral.
Of course, as expected, this part of the content is quite simple: Act 1, Valstrax discovers Takashi-kun preparing to do something bad; Act 2, Valstrax unleashes its "Cute Star Flying Crash," nipping the tragedy in the bud. That's it.
It's reasonable to suspect that introducing absurdly powerful characters through the "NTR Four-Panel" meme is actually his excuse for slacking off.
Beyond deconstructing the "NTR" genre itself, after the "NTR Four-Panel" meme went viral, people discovered that similar examples of "complex interpersonal relationships being disrupted by an unexpected person/object, leading to an unforeseen outcome" are common even in serious works. Thus, under a new wave of fan creations, the "NTR Four-Panel" meme has been endowed with meanings far beyond its original scope.
For instance, the Axis Drop Operation, which showcased the light of humanity, moved countless people to tears (and incidentally created the famous scene where the Commander acknowledges a mother figure).
Another example is from Bloodborne, where Orphan of Kos, Maria, and Gehrman, the "First Hunter," entangled in the affairs of ancient gods, encounter the "Despicable Outsider" who just wants to kill, loot gear, and earn trophies.
Also, the classic story from Water Margin that all Chinese people are familiar with—Spare your life easily, but give me back my brother's life! In my opinion, Ximen Qing was too stubborn. Clearly, if he had revived Wu Da, he wouldn't have died. I don't know why he refused to revive him.
Xiaoxitian cannot seal the True Great Sage...
Furthermore, the current "NTR Four-Panel" meme has almost completely broken free from its original "genre limitations." Any image composed of four characters and four short descriptive texts can be categorized under this meme—
Just kidding. Even without character images and text, it can still form a meme image.
Amidst this trend, some old memes from ancient times, such as "Ginger, the most successful cosplayer disguised as a potato" and "How a passerby with a plunger deals with the trolley problem," have also been reborn in the "Four-Panel" format.
As for why people are so enthusiastic about creating "NTR Four-Panel" memes and using various overpowered third-party characters to bypass plots that should unfold normally... In my opinion, it's simply because "Pure Love Warriors" outnumber NTR enthusiasts.
DLsite's 2024 Year-End Data Statistics
DLsite's 2024 Year-End Data Statistics
After all, in DLsite's year-end data statistics from the past two years, although the "NTR" genre consistently ranked in the top five of the "Most Popular Categories," surpassing "Pure Love," when it came to user numbers, supporters of "Pure Love" held an overwhelming majority.
However, because the NTR genre inherently has more dramatic potential than the "Pure Love" genre, discussions about NTR have always far exceeded those about "Pure Love" on social media, creating an illusion that NTR has a wider audience. For the "Pure Love Warriors" who have long suffered from "NTR fatigue," now that there's an opportunity to reverse the NTR narrative using the "Four-Panel" template, they must go all out with every element.
Of course, as a "Pure Love Warrior," this is just my personal opinion. So, if you refute me from the perspective of a "Bull-Head" (NTR enthusiast), I won't have any objections.
Moreover, thinking carefully, I am clearly a "Pure Love Warrior," yet I had to write this column about NTR because "you don't want this week's work performance to fall short, right?" Isn't this also a form of NTR...