Mei's "No"

Submission 41,040

Part of a series on Reaction Images. [View Related Entries]

About

Mei's "No", also known as Mei's "Would You?", refers to a four-panel exploitable based in which character Mei of the Endro! anime series responds "no" to a hypothetical question, first with confidence, then reluctantly. First spread in January 2019, the format gained significant popularity in /r/animemes subreddit in November 2019.

Origin

On January 26th, 2019, episode three "Quest Practical!" of the anime series Endro! premiered.^[1] In the episode, the main group of characters are talking about their future as adventurers, with character Ellenoar Seiran (Seira) asking character Meiza Endust (Mei) whether she would wear a found Cartado, to which she confidently responds no. After being asked if she would do the same if the Cartado was rare, Mei avers her eyes and responds no hesitantly.

- Even Mei wouldn't wear Cartado she just picked up off the ground.
- I wouldn't.
- What if it was a rare one?
- I wouldn't…
- What was that pause for?

On January 27th, 2019, Redditor gabo2k4 posted a template based on the scene to /r/animemes subreddit, gaining over 90 upvotes in six months (shown below, left).^[2] Within one hour, Redditor Godot17 posted the earliest known meme utilizing the template, with the post receiving over 5,800 upvotes in the same period (shown below, right).^[3]

Spread

In the following days, the format received further spread in /r/animemes. For example, a November 27th, 2019, post by Redditor gabo2k4 received over 810 upvotes in six months (shown below, left).^[4] A January 29th, post by Redditor Arontful received over 5,200 upvotes in the same period (shown below, right).^[5]

The format did not see significant spread until on October 29th, 2019, Redditor TheNickaChew posted a meme based on the template to /r/animemes subreddit which gained over 9,500 upvotes in one month (shown below).^[6]

In the following weeks, the format gained significant popularity in the community. For example, an October 29th meme by Redditor Rimantoshi received over 13,700 upvotes in one month.^[7] A November 15th, meme by Redditor chaosgiantmemes gained over 11,600 upvotes in two weeks.^[8]