Witty Singapore dengue meme delivers ‘One Punch’ to internet’s heart

At left, a meme referencing a character from Japanese anime ‘One Punch Man,’ and its main character Saitama, at right. Images: ​​Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment/Facebook, Netflix
At left, a meme referencing a character from Japanese anime ‘One Punch Man,’ and its main character Saitama, at right. Images: ​​Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment/Facebook, Netflix

The meme game is strong at Singapore’s environmental agency as it pulls out all the stops to fight a dengue outbreak sweeping the nation.

A post referencing Mosquito Girl, a sultry demon character from popular Japanese anime One Punch Man gained the ​​Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment mad internet props for their witty humor.

“Didn’t know the Ministry’s social media handler has a one punchline humor,” Witono Halim wrote.

In a humorous attempt to get citizens to not breed mosquitoes at home, the ministry on Tuesday warned the public against the character they photoshopped on a dating app with a bio that read: “Looking for a homebody to hang out with in the evenings and mornings. Have the strongest affinity to blood type ‘O’ but anyone will do.”

The ministry also gave serious tips like emptying water from vases and clearing roof gutters regularly.

“This isn’t the kind of thirst trap you want to encounter. Unmatch yourself by making yourself less attractive to mosquitoes, and BLOCK them with these steps,” the ministry wrote.

Singapore recently ramped up efforts against dengue after the nation reported over 14,000 cases this year, which is three times what was reported last year. They will release millions more specially bred Wolbachia mosquitoes, which are male Aedes mosquitoes that disrupt reproduction when bred with females.

Users were impressed by the meme and told the ministry to “give a raise” to the person in charge and to “shitpost more.”

“[T]hat is NOT a reference I was expecting,” ​​Mason Lim wrote. 

“[Who’s] your content and social media manager??? I’m a fan!” Geraldine Lim wrote.

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