This clip comes from Chiikawa, the Japanese manga and anime franchise about small, cute characters in everyday comedic situations. Short voice moments from the series spread widely in anime meme circles because they are expressive, easy to reuse, and recognizable even in very short edits. “Iya” became popular as a reaction sound for refusal, avoidance, or nervous disagreement, especially in captioned clips and cute edit formats. Its staying power comes from how quickly it communicates a lovable, non-serious kind of protest.