The phrase comes from a Brazilian Portuguese version of a Dandadan trend circulating on TikTok and YouTube, built around the captioned moment de repente ele para, ele olha e ai ele ve. Dandadan began as a manga by Yukinobu Tatsu and became a popular anime in 2024, giving fan edits a recognisable source for dramatic first encounters. Portuguese speaking creators reused the narration outside the anime, applying it to crushes, pets, and everyday sightings, which helped the short line become a repeatable meme format.