Meis No
Also known as: Mei's "Would You?"
Mei's "No" is a four-panel exploitable image macro from the 2019 anime *Endro!* in which the character Meiza Endust (Mei) answers "no" to a hypothetical question, first with confidence and then with visible hesitation when the stakes change. The template first appeared on Reddit's r/animemes in January 2019 and broke out to wider popularity within the anime meme community that October2.
Overview
The format uses four sequential screenshots from *Endro!* showing the character Mei being asked a hypothetical question. In the first two panels, she responds with a firm, confident "no." In the final two panels, the question is tweaked to make the offer more tempting, and Mei averts her eyes while giving a much less convincing "no." The humor comes from the gap between her initial resolve and how quickly it crumbles under slightly different conditions1.
The anime *Endro!*, produced by Studio Gokumi, aired from January to March 2019 on Tokyo MX and BS113. The show follows a group of adventurers in a comedic fantasy setting, with Mei as one of the main party members. The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll, giving international anime fans immediate access to the source material3.
On January 26, 2019, the third episode of *Endro!*, titled "Quest Practical!", premiered in Japan1. In the scene, the group discusses their future as adventurers, and character Ellenoar Seiran (Seira) asks Mei whether she would wear a Cartado they found. Mei says no without hesitation. Seira then asks if she'd reconsider if the Cartado were rare, and Mei looks away, giving a much weaker "no"1.
The very next day, January 27, 2019, Reddit user gabo2k4 posted a blank template of the four panels to the r/animemes subreddit, picking up around 90 upvotes over the following six months1. Within a single hour of the template going up, Redditor Godot17 posted the first known meme using the format, which earned over 5,800 upvotes in the same period1.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
The Mei's "No" template works best for situations where someone claims they wouldn't do something, but their resolve weakens when conditions change slightly. The typical setup:
- Panel 1-2: Present a question or temptation. Mei's confident "no" represents the person's initial stance. - Panel 3-4: Modify the question to make it slightly more appealing. Mei's averted gaze and reluctant "no" shows the person is clearly wavering.
Common uses include gaming scenarios (saying you won't buy a game, then seeing it on sale), food temptations, and relationship situations where someone's willpower is tested. The format works because the second "no" is so obviously unconvincing that the joke tells itself.
Fun Facts
The template creator gabo2k4 posted both the original blank template in January and came back ten months later during the format's peak popularity to post new memes using it.
*Endro!* received generally positive reviews from Anime News Network's critics during the Winter 2019 season, with Nick Creamer praising its "flawless understanding of visual humor and comic timing".
The character's full name is Meiza Endust, but the meme community only ever refers to her as Mei.
The gap between the template's creation in January and its viral moment in October 2019 is a textbook case of delayed virality on Reddit.
Frequently Asked Questions
References (4)
- 1Mei (Overwatch)encyclopedia
- 2Mei's "No" - Urban Dictionarydictionary
- 3Mei's "No" - Know Your Memeencyclopedia
- 4Endro! - Wikipediaencyclopedia