Hero-turned-villain enters the celebrity endorser stage of his character arc. Over the course of Final Fantasy VII and its associated spinoffs, Sephiroth goes on one of video gaming’s most iconic hero

Hero-turned-villain enters the celebrity endorser stage of his character arc.

Over the course of Final Fantasy VII and its associated spinoffs, Sephiroth goes on one of video gaming’s most iconic hero-to-villain arcs. He starts off as the most powerful and accomplished member of the organization Soldier, dispatched to cull dangerous monsters and idolized by the common people as a symbol of strength and protection, but descends into madness and becomes a self-fashioned would-be cleanser of the planet, willing to adopt some very violent methods to achieve his ambitions.

Honestly, the guy really needed to find a better way to blow off some steam. Like, maybe instead of trying to erase mankind, he should have just clocked out of work and cracked open a nice relaxing drink, like he does in this video.

Yes, Sephiroth is now Japan’s newest celebrity** canned cocktail** endorser. It makes sense. Since he’s no longer a member of Soldier, he’s not getting paychecks from Shinra Electric Power Company anymore, but he’s still got to earn a living, so why should he turn down an offer from Asahi and their Future Lemon canned cocktail line?

▼ The on-screen text here, “Please drink after chilling in refrigerator. Please be careful of spilling when opening the can” was likely added by Asahi, but we suppose it could also be Sephiroth’s internal dialogue as he knocks back his Future Lemon.

Future Lemon’s selling point is that it isn’t just made with fruit juice, it has an actual lemon slice floating inside the can. The video has some fun with that, showing Sephiroth using his famed Masamune sword to make the necessary cuts, accompanied by his narration of:

Slice through the lemon. This is the real thing. Not just drinking. So happy. Future Lemon, with real fruit.

▼ Yes, Sephiroth, one of the gloomiest video game characters ever, has found happiness in a canned cocktail. He also reminds you to enjoy alcohol in moderation and recycle your empty cans, as per the text here.

While the primary purpose of the sliced lemon is to add extra fresh flavor to the drink, Asahi also recommends eating the fruit from the Future Lemon, and makes sure to include some close-ups of Sephiroth’s lips in the video.

This isn’t Future Lemon’s only tie-up with Final Fantasy VII either, as there’s also a real-world version of Tifa’s Seventh Heaven bar set to open in Tokyo this week, though there’s no word on whether or not Sephiroth himself will show up or if he’s more of a drink-at-home guy.