This RPG’s TV commercials are creating awkward silences in households all over Japan

A post on X (formerly Twitter) in which a user voiced their complaints about the awkwardness of a certain mobile game’s evening-slot TV commercials has users all over Japan in a near-unanimous agreement. Users seem to resonate greatly with the OP’s sentiment, none being very pleased with the advertisement’s unfortunate contents and timing.

On August 26, a user posted about their dilemma surrounding the RPG game MementoMori and their family’s evening meals. The OP shares, “Whenever a MementoMori commercial plays on TV during a meal at my parents’ place, my food loses its taste.”

MementoMori is a popular Japanese RPG mobile game app that was released in 2022. In the game, girls, referred to as witches, fight against enemies, Curses, that have overrun their world. The art style of the game is often described as a bit gloomy, somber, and dystopian. The app’s popularity has spread overseas as well, gaining many international fans likely due to its large cast of female characters and laid-back gameplay.

MementoMori is currently running a series of TV advertisements where a female character is sitting alone in a white void with a faded, blurry setting, talking in a whispery voice. This series of commercials that many users found to be particularly awkward to sit through in the company of others is titled “You’re going to like me”, in which a new character Fia is introduced. Currently, there are four different versions of Fia’s commercials, in which she tells the viewers to look in one of four directions and then delivers lines such as “You’re not going to pay attention to me?”, “Aw, I lost”, ”You’re ignoring me?”, or simply gives a breathy sigh.

As popular as the game seems to be according to mobile game store rankings, there appears to be a great number of individuals who don’t seem to appreciate the app’s advertisements. Users strongly sympathized with the OP’s post, sharing their feelings regarding the commercials’ airing. One user posted “Even though I’m not interested and even find the ad unpleasant, I can’t help feeling like everyone’s looking at me like, “You actually enjoy this kind of thing, don’t you?”

Although the game’s OST features an extensive list of big-name Japanese music artists, in these commercials Fia’s lines are delivered to the viewer in complete silence. The character’s voice is seductive and cutesy, while soothing and clear like ASMR, however, not everyone is a fan. One poster agreed “I laughed so hard! I totally get what you mean. Stop whispering in silence! And for such a long time. It’s so awkward.” One fan of the game posted “I play MementoMori, but their taste in commercials is catastrophic… It’s a completely different level of terrible compared to Girl Friend Beta.”

It seems as though the commercial’s ending lines were also a point of frustration for some. One user complained “I relate. The combination of the gloomy childish whispering voice and lines reminiscent of prostitution such as “You can have this girl,” is absolutely terrible.” In this series of advertisements, the commercial concludes with the character delivering the line “You can have this girl” in third person, in reference to herself.

The evening time slot in which the advertisements for the game are shown is commonly used to air commercials for games, fast food, beer, and other products directed at people ready to relax from their busy day. Unfortunately for some, this means that the airing of MementoMori’s ads is likely to coincide with the time many people may be eating dinner with their families. One user shared “When she said “Look that way~” my grandmother made a face I’ve never seen before.”

According to some users, MementoMori isn’t the only offending mobile game advertisement on their TVs. Commercials for games such as Uma Musume, Fate/Grand Order, Princess Connect! Re:Dive and many more were also being called out for setting an awkward atmosphere for some.

While a considerable number of people expressed their dislike for MementoMori’s advertisements, several comments acknowledge that despite the awkwardness of the commercials, they still enjoyed other aspects of the franchise, such as its music. One user posted “I really dislike that commercial. I like Memento Mori, but every time it airs, I think, “They should really emphasize the fantastic music. Are they stupid?” It’s super cringy.”

Despite some praise for Memento Mori’s music and unique aesthetic, it appears that most users found the game’s evening commercials to be embarrassing and awkwardly silent. Perhaps If the commercials were to feature more of the music that users seemed to enjoy so much, the ads could create a slightly less unsettling atmosphere for those watching TV with family and friends at home.