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What Makes Japan Unique

Sunday, January 30, 2022 / No Comments
Japan is one country that I've always heard to be at the top of many people's to-visit list. When you think of Japan, you might think of anime, anime, and more anime. However, there's a lot more that makes Japan what it is today. Here are some unusual things that you might come across there!


1. TOTO WASHLET

"Atas toilet" is an understatement for Japanese washlets. They contain a mishmash of high-tech functions, with one catching my attention the most: backside sprays. Imagine that! 


To add on, you can control the temperature of the water and enjoy your stay with a pleasantly-scented atmosphere, thanks to the perfume function. Not only that - are you constantly worried about the noise emitting from your cubicle? If you use one of these washlets, fret not - they come with noise-covering sounds too. 

Impressive, right? Most of the time when you go on a bathroom break outside, it's an inconvenience. But in Japan, it's a whole luxury. 


2. $100+ FRUITS 

Toilets aren't the only "normality" that can be called "magnificent" in Japan. Fruits, too. Introducing their iconic square watermelons!


I've never seen a watermelon of this shape before. Doesn't it make you yearn for a taste? One can sell up to around 180 SGD! But that's not even close to the price of the jet-black Densuke watermelon. 


This very fruit has been sold for almost 6000 SGD. With that kind of price slapped on it, it really makes you wonder about the taste! 


3. FREE FOOTBATHS 

In Japan, if you're tired of walking and need to take a break, you can easily get free footbaths, also known as "ashi-yu", which are planted across the country's hot spring villages.


Being able to relax and not worry about a dime? Sounds like heaven to me!


4. WHERE ARE THE TRASH CANS?

As a country known for its sparkling cleanliness, Japan oddly has a lack of trash cans. You'd think it'd be the opposite, right? 


Infact, if you can find trash cans, they are mostly only limited to only plastic bottles and cans. 

It hasn't always been this way, though. Japan used to have more trash cans, but many got removed due to the counter-terrorism efforts after the Tokyo subway attack that occurred in 1995. 

Although this can be seen as more of an inconvenience, it also works as an environmentally-friendly way to help mother nature! 


5. MAID & BUTLER CAFES

Although I'm sure this is no secret, maid cafes are a common sight in Japan. Step into one and you'll experience wonderful hospitlality, alongside some quality entertainment. 


I would say these typically attract customers who are an avid watcher of anime, though anyone can enjoy the experience. For some cafes like the butler one, you can expect a sort of roleplay experience whereby you're a "princess", returning to your castle and getting served by your butler. Doesn't that sound like fun? 

Not only that, there are many different forms of entertainment you can receive there. The maids can dance, sing and perform for you. Some may even prepare skits that come along with your order, spicing up an already fascinating meal experience. 



Of course, not to forget the food. Get ready to be offered the cutest dishes you've ever laid eyes on. For example, take a look at this gudetama x maid themed cafe dish. It's the cutest! Really makes you think about the effort put behind each plate to please customers' eyeballs. 


With that, I hope you enjoy reading about the little unique parts of Japan that makes it such a popular tourist attraction. See you next time : ) 


Written by Potato.

Cosplayers of Instagram

Thursday, October 28, 2021 / No Comments

 Cosplayers play a huge part in the anime community as well as each and every fandom. They bring our favorite characters to life and make their own cosplays interesting and different from the rest. With the rise of social media such as popular video app TikTok and Instagram, it is now very easy to discover any different cosplayers around the world. 

As someone who is constantly active on Instagram, I often come across different cosplayers that appear on my explore page and their unique cosplays and photo editing skills. Having said that, here are 10 of my favorite cosplayers who you may or may not recognize. 



10. hakuyacoser 


The first cosplay I've came across of her was her Lisa Lisa (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) cosplay, although her Fushiguro Megumi (Jujutsu Kaisen) cosplay was what made her more well known. If you go through her Instagram page, you would be able to see her other cosplays such as Oikawa Toru from Haikyu!!, Bakugo Katsuki from My Hero Academia, Denji from popular manga Chainsaw Man and Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter x Hunter. 

What intrigued me was her makeup style, which isn't as harsh as compared to some other cosplayers when it comes to male characters. Because of that, it makes her cosplays look more simple and natural any yet pleasing to the eye. 

You can see more of her cosplays on her instagram page as well as TikTok. 



9. susuwatar.i 


If you are a fan of popular series Demon Slayer, you'd be pleased to know that this cosplayer has quite a few cosplays of Kanroji Mitsuri, Tokito Muchiro as well as Hashibira Inosuke. 

Some of her other works that are my favorites includes Shizuku from Hunter x Hunter, Bruno Bucciarati from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Tomie from the Junji Ito collection as well as Yosano Akiko and Dazai Osamu from Bungou Stray Dogs. 

Recently, she has also done cosplays of Zenin Maki, Gojo Satoru and Itadori Yuji from Jujutsu Kaisen. What I love about her cosplays is that no matter which character she cosplays, she manages to pull them off easily. 



8. alexy_sky_


A cosplayer and makeup artist from Brasil, this cosplayer has done many different characters which can be found on her Instagram page. From Toga Himiko from My Hero Academia to Haruno Sakura from Naruto, this cosplayer has done countless cosplays of different characters, including characters from games like Ahri, Evelynn and Kai'Sa from League Of Legends and different Geshin Impact Characters such as Hutao and Jean. 

If you are a Naruto Fan, you can also check out the various Naruto Characters she has cosplayed such as Anko, Hinata, Sakura, Sarada, Kushina, Kakashi, Kurenai, Kairin, Kunoichi, Kagua, Neji, Temari, Tsunade, Tenten, Yugito, Rin as well as Itachi. 

Another note-worthy aspect of this cosplayer is her photo editing apart from her cosplays. She edits her photos in a way to make the cosplay more accurate and unique.



7. kleinerpixel 


Another cosplayer with talented makeup skills, this cosplayer has done many different characters such as Misa Amane fro Death Note, Yuno Gasai from Future Diary, and Haru from Beastars. 

Kakegurui fans can look forward to seeing many cosplays of her as different Kakegurui chraracters like Sumeragi Itsuki, Ikishima Midari, Yomozuki Runa,  Yumemite Yumemi, Kirari Momobami, Yueko Jabami as well as Mary Saotome. 

Apart from Kakegurui, most of her cosplays of Demon Slayer characters can also be found. One of her more popular Demon Slayer cosplay would be the spider mother, which garnered her quite a number of new fans subsequently. 

She has also done cosplays of characters from games like Genshin Impact, Black Desert, League of Legends and Dragon Raja. 

Besides her photo editing skills to give her cosplays a special effect, this cosplayer also runs a Youtube channel where she posts cosplay makeup tutorials for anyone to follow. If you are an aspiring cosplayer and need some inspiration, you can check out her Youtube channel for makeup tutorials of even characters like Dabi from My Hero Academia. 



6. angry_jeager

If you are a fan of Shingeki No Kyojin, more commonly known as Attack On Titan, This cosplayer is for you. 

True to his Instagram handle, this nineteen-year-old cosplayer has cosplayed different Attack On Titan characters like Eren Yeager, Zeke Yeager, Levi Ackerman, Jean Kristen, and Armin Arlert. 

Although he has cosplayed other characters such as 707 from Mystic Messenger and Todoroki Shoto from My Hero Academia, he is more well known for his Attack On Titan cosplays. 

If you're interested, do check out his Instagram page for more Attack On Titan cosplays. 



5. zumiii_zhr 


Love Jujutsu Kaisen? Then check out this Japanese cosplayer. Although he has cosplayed different characters such as Adam, Reki and Langa from Sk8 the infinity, as well as a few other characters from Hypnosis Mic, his Jujutsu Kaisen cosplays easily stand out the most. 

This can be seen from his Geto Suguru cosplay, which is personally my favorite because of the accuracy of his cosplays. Apart from Geto, he has also done cosplays of Gojo Satoru as well as Fushiguro Toji, who have garnered many fans ever since his first manga appearance. 

The accuracy of his cosplays can also be found in his Fushiguro Toji cosplay, which left many of his followers in awe. Don't believe me? Head over to his Instagram page and see it for yourself. 



4. uzileks 


A cosplayer who loves hamsters, Uzi is a cosplayer who has a unique makeup look. If you scroll through her Instagram page, her makeup would definitely be the first thing you notice. Unlike other cosplayers, Uzi has a makeup style that enables her to have doll-like features. 

She has cosplayed many characters, such as characters from Kakeguruu, Demon Slayer, and Dangaronpa. At a glance, her colorful and eye catching feed is bound to pull you in. Even if it doesn't, her makeup style is bound to. 

Apart from cosplaying, Uzi is also a big fan of gaming and usually plays games like Apex Legends. From time to time, she entertains her followers with updates on things related to gaming. if you're lucky enough, you might even catch a glimpse of her setup and gaming clips that she posts on her stories. 


3. cospoxia 


Going by the name Ann / Li Ming, this talented cosplayer has over 96.8k followers on her Instagram page. If you are a big fan of popular miHoYo game, Genshin Impact, you would be thrilled to find that she has cosplayed different characters from the game, such as Xiao, Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya, Thoma and Ningguang.

 Besides Genshin Imapct characters, you can also find other characters from different video games like Resident Evil, NieR Replicant and Final Fantasy VII on her page. 

Not only do her cosplays have a unique touch, her photo editing skills are also to die for. With bright, focused and stunning visuals, you would instantly drawn to the intensity of her cosplays. Besides her amazing cosplays, her dedication and discipline is also something to look up to as she juggles her studies while producing such quality content for her fans. Every now and then, Ann would also feed her fans some behind the scenes of her photo shoot, so do keep a lookout for them on her story. If you ever want to support her, be sure to look through her cosplay prints that are available for sale. 



2. villain_lady


Big fan of villains? If that's the case, you might have heard of villain lady, also known as Klaudia in real life. This female cosplayer specializes in villains, courtesy of her Instagram handle. 

If you have followed her long enough or have just recently heard of her, you wouldn't miss out her cosplays that scarily resembles each character she cosplays. One of her more popular cosplay would be Hisoka Morrow from HunterxHunter. On her Instagram, you would be able to find numerous posts of Hisoka. Besides the infamous character of HunterxHunter, Klaudia has also cosplayed characters such as Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Oh Sangwoo from manhwa Killing Stalking, Ryomen Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen, Hanma Shuji from up and rising popular anime & manga series Tokyo Revengers and even Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. 

Besides having amazing content that will leave you wanting more, this cosplayer also frequently interacts with her followers, creating a cozy fanbase of 795K on Instagram alone. Occasionally, she also posts behind the scenes of her cosplays. If you're lucky, you might catch them on her story. 



1. Fukuwakuro   



Boasting a following of 41.2K fans on Instagram, this Italian cosplayer has done different characters from even lesser known shows such as Hypnosis Mic, and Dramatical Murder On their Instagram page, you can view seemingly accurate cosplays of characters such as Ash Lynx from Banana Fish, Undertaker, Joker and Grell Sutcliff from Black Butler, different Kimetsu No Yaiba charcters such as Giyu, Tanjiro and Zenitsu. 

Besides having a majority of Black Butler content, they also have many cosplays of Jujutsu Kaisen characters such as Zenin Maki, Fushiguro Toji, Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru. Most recently, they have also joined the Genshin Impact fandom and cosplayed popular Genshin characters like Diluc, Xiao and Zhongli. 

One of the most unique thing of this cosplayer is how they incorporated their own special touch with their piercings in most of their cosplays. While most cosplayers choose to follow the book and recreate each character as accurately as possible, this cosplayer would add their own touch to each character, which somehow seamlessly blend together.



That is all for this article, and i hope you enjoyed looking at some of my favorite cosplayers of Instagram. If any of them captures your attention, do check out their Instagram page. 

Until next time, 

Rika  

Spring in Japan: ways to spend it

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 / No Comments

 

Hello everyone! I am back with another article. Have you ever wondered what is it like to experience spring in one of the most beautiful countries in the world? With the ongoing global pandemic, travelling overseas is much more difficult now. In that case, here is an article that would allow you to experience what Spring in Japan is like that would hopefully be helpful if you ever want to visit Japan in the springtime. 

To ensure a smooth reading experience, this article will be separated into different sections that will cover various food and activities that the locals partake in. 

To start off, when does springtime in Japan start? In Japan, spring starts around March and ends around late June. Spring represents a sign of new life and a fresh start, which is why Japanese people celebrate this special period with various traditions and activities, and indulge in springtime food. 


1. Bamboo shoots



When it comes to springtime food, most Japanese people would indulge in bamboo shoots, the most commonly eaten spring vegetable. Not only is it delicious, but it can also be easily prepared and be eaten with almost anything, which makes it an all time favorite among Japanese people. Just eat is as it is or pair it with a bowl of steaming hot rice and you are ready to experience the flavors of spring.


2. Asari clams


In a country that boasts several beautiful oceans, it is no doubt that seafood would be among the list of food that the Japanese enjoy. As waters begin to grow warmer with regards to the arrival of spring, eager fishermen would fish out clams. Clams are one of the most versatile additions to daily meals. You can find them in miso soup, steamed with spring onions or fried in butter. Not only are these the only way to enjoy these clams, but the locals would also sometimes choose to steam the clams in sake, which helps to create a harmony of flavors when combined with mirin and spring onions. 


 3. Strawberries



Strawberries are undoubtedly the king of fruits during springtime in Japan. Called "ichigo" in Japanese, this fruit is so versatile that there are numerous food that you can create just from strawberries alone. In Japan, you can expect a wide variety of strawberries- from the commonly seen red strawberries to sweet, large, and even white strawberries. When spring rolls around, the aisles of Japan's supermarkets would be shining with brilliant shades of bright red, all full of the deliciousness like no other. 

Even though you can consume the fruit as it is, most Japanese would also choose to purchase food items that contains strawberries, such as ichigo daifuku, mochi filled with red-bean paste and stuffed with a strawberry in each mochi. This strawberry food can only be usually available between winter and spring, which is what makes it a special springtime food. 


 4. Sakura mochi


What is spring without sakura? Sakura plays a major part in spring culture in Japan, which is why you could easily find many things that includes cherry blossoms. Among all the cherry blossom sweets that the Japanese would indulge in, the strawberry mochi would be one of more well known sweets. The sakura mochi is a pink rice cake that is wrapped in salted leaves of the cherry tree and filled with a sweet red-bean paste. 


5. Hinamatsuri 


Hinamatsuri is an important festival in Japan that is celebrated on the 3rd of March, where it seeks to protect female children and to pray for their well-being and success in life. It is sometimes referred to as "girls' day" or "dolls' day" in English. 

To celebrate, locals would follow the tradition of setting up red carpeted materials that are used to display ornamental dolls and floating dolls down the river. The dolls are placed on different platforms according to the different levels of importance and categorization. 


6. Flower viewing 


Flower viewing, better known as hanami, is a festival that celebrates the blooming of the flowers and the arrival of spring. After the long winter, cherry blossoms bring joy to the locals with its beautiful and bright colors. 

Some people would choose to have a picnic under the sakura trees while enjoying a special hanami bento box, which are often eaten at flower viewing parties and feature items like sushi rolls that are known as makizushi, tamagoyaki, a Japanese style omelet, inarizushi (fried tofu pockets filled with rice), fish cakes known as kamaboko as well as fried and grilled dishes. 

There are many great spots in Japan for flower viewing parties including festivals and restaurants. Night flower viewing is also a great way to spend the night. Apart from just flower viewing, cherry blossom festivals are also usually held across the country, allowing locals and tourists to view the flowers while indulging in delicious food and drinks.


7. Cycling 


Cycling is a great way for anyone to explore the country, and spring is possibly the most ideal season for cycling in Japan. With perfect weather and a scenic view all around, cycling is one of the best ways to get around and do some sightseeing. 

In many regions of Japan, It is possible to do some long distance cycling- from easy roads to challenging uphill climbs that would provide cyclists with spectacular views of the nature Japan has to offer that can only be discovered through cycling. 


8.  Strawberry Picking 


Strawberry picking is a popular activity among families, couples and friends. This concept has been popular for quite some time, and many farms in Japan offers the opportunity for strawberry picking. Many hotels also hosts strawberry dessert buffets for a limited time. 

One of the most popular venue to indulge in an all-you-can-eat strawberry buffet would be at ANA Inter-Continental Tokyo, a hotel that serves at least over 30 different kinds of creative strawberry desserts. 


9. Festivals 


Known as "matsuri" in Japanese, there are plenty of festivals throughout Japan from spring to summer. In spring, the biggest festivals includes Sanja Matsuri, Kanda Matsuri, as well as Takayma Matsuri. The most popular festival would be Sanja Matsuri, which usually takes place over the third full weekend in May. The festivals are a great way to get to know more of traditional Japanese culture while getting to eat many delicious food. 


10. Camping


Spring is the most favorable time of the year for some outdoor camping. Camping is especially popular among younger Japanese and those young at heart. Camping around Mount Fuji to experience the moment where the sun rises on top of the mountain makes Mount Fuji a popular camping destination among campers. To date, there are at least 3,000 campsites across the country, making camping a popular spring activity in Japan. 


Thank you for reading this article! I hope that this article will help you gain a little more insight of what spring is like in Japan. 

Until next time, 

Rika 

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Virtual Youtubers: Hololive Members Highlight

Thursday, May 28, 2020 / No Comments
こんるし~~ (Konrushi)

That's a greeting routinely used by one of the many Virtual Youtubers (VTubers) in Hololive. As a matter of fact, each VTuber has their own way of greeting their viewers at the start of their fun and eventful streams every time. If you're still confused by the letters at the start, it's basically a form of Good Evening in Japanese, except that they replace some of the letters with part of their name, in this case, Uruha Rushia, in order to greet their audience in a more personal way. But that's not what I'm here today for! Ever since my last post on Virtual Youtubers, I've been itching to introduce more of them in a more personal and close way so that you all can further see the appeal in watching them for entertainment when you're bored with nothing else on your hands.


Hololive Members

So, today, I'll be introducing three VTubers, specifically from the Hololive agency, for you all to pick from in case you are intrigued by them, regardless of their personality or the content that they offer. Before I go on, I'd like to mention again that VTubers are essentially streamers with one main difference being that instead of showing their real appearance, a mascot is often used on the screen to portray their emotions towards their audience.

With that said, let's begin with the first member of this dedicated highlight!


Nekomata Okayu


A portrait of Nekomata Okayu

Also known as a mischievous prankster to her colleagues, you'll always be in for a laugh with her antics. Nekomata Okayu first joined Hololive on 22nd March of 2019, before debuting with her 3D model on stream on 4th of October that same year. I wanted to introduce her first because whether you're looking for a laid-back stream to kick back to or an adventurous and humorous stream, Okayu always has those moments to enjoy.

She's generally known for her relaxed and laid-back attitude, mostly derived from the way she talks. Thanks to this, her streams are always the ones that I open up if I ever want to relax or have background noise while I am doing work. Of course, there's always two sides of a coin. During some of her gameplay, she occasionally gets very emotional, like her Legend of Zelda stream where she needed a moment to recollect her emotions after finishing the game. Or when she got extremely spooked while playing a horror game. These moments showcases her rare side of being emotional, which I do find amusing as well as cute.


Okayu's playthrough of Super Mario RPG

Speaking of streams, her streams are mostly gameplay of various game across different genre, so you don't have to worry about a lack of interesting content as she'll always play many different games. My most memorable streams of hers are when she sings. You'd be surprised at how good of a voice she has, considering how deep her voice is compared to other VTubers. I can't help but get mesmerized by her voice, especially when she sings slow songs, where her voice shines the most.


Okayu's Karaoke Stream

With that said, I always have a great time watching her streams, be it actively or while I'm doing work. Okayu is definitely one of my favourite VTubers to watch due to her personality as well as her voice. If you're interested, I'll be leaving some funny and emotional highlight reels below for you to further pique your interest!



Her cover on Yonezu Kenshi's Lemon


A cute moment of a cat showcasing her pet cat

Moving on, we have someone who's from the first generation of Hololive VTubers, your friendly neighbourhood white fox, Shirakami Fubuki!


Shirakami Fubuki


A portrait of Shirakami Fubuki

When I first started watching this fox, I was surprised. Not by how adorable and funny she could be, but... from how she seems like one of us. What I mean by that is throughout her streams, I always find like-minded habits and personality traits that are within me, which made me feel a lot comfortable. Fubuki's not afraid of showing her full personality, which can be seen from her amusing covers of hit songs such as the infamous "Coffin Dance Song" as well as classics from the Final Fantasy series.


Fubuki "singing" to Astronomia (Coffin Dance)

As you can see, she's a really cheerful and trendy VTuber. That's not all though. She does have her cute and adorable moments, as well as some scary moments. What I do enjoy the most though are her interactions with her viewers. You see, fans of Fubuki occasionally tease her on her identity of a fox, and instead calls her another animal such as a cat. Her adorable retorts to these accusations always end up with the fans admitting defeat. In fact, Fubuki regularly streams herself playing games in the background while actually interacting and reading the chat.



A fox tries to communicate with a ghost

If you're looking for a VTuber for you to indulge while you're bored, her cheerful and entertaining personality will easily lift your spirits, even on a sunny day! Moreover, if that's not appealing to you, she will often set up collaborations with other VTubers for added spice in her streams. Like before, I'll include some clips of her being adorable as well as from her streams!



Fubuki incites jealousy from her viewers


Fubuki taking a step in the fast-food world

And lastly, I'd like to add a personal favourite of mine, someone that recently debuted as a VTuber from Hololive! Let me introduce to you, Watame the Sheep!


Tsunomaki Watame


A portrait of Tsunomaki Watame

As the last pick, I wanted to pick someone that I not only enjoy but also one that I regularly watch. Ever since she debuted on the 29/12/19, I was an avid fan of hers. What captivated at first was her soothing voice, one that was extremely pleasing to hear. Don't get me wrong, it's because most other VTubers in the scene has a certain way of speaking, which only makes it harder to understand. Another aspect of her that I adore is her unpredictability. If you happen to watch some of her videos, you'd notice that she uses her avatar as a medium to express emotions more than any other VTubers. Hence, you could really tell the changes in emotions and moods in her streams just by her expression on her avatar. As I once said in the previous article, VTubers use an anime mascot/avatar to express their emotions. By doing this, they can be at ease and showcase their unique personality to their audience. 

Watame does this on a different level compared to other VTubers. She would often make crazed expressions or just smile at times. Moreover, when she's enjoying herself, she would immediately go on a dancing rave by bobbing her head and swinging her body, especially when she's doing a karaoke stream.


Scary sheep on the loose

Her streams usually are of games, although she often does collaborations with Fubuki and the others. Watame's interactions with the other Hololivers are also something to look forward to as they are filled with jokes and laughs. One such joke is that the others frequently threaten to eat her just because she's a sheep. You would never think that her response would be her shrugging it off with the reassurance that she'll respawn after 8 seconds! All in all, I would definitely recommend her to anyone that's interested in the scene of VTubers as her voice and speech are generally easier to understand. She's also really humourous and entertaining! As always, if you're on the fence on whether to watch her or not, I'll include some clips below!



Cute interactions between a sheep and her senpai (ft Akai Haato)


She's also a really really great singer

And that's all for this highlight! I do hope that some of you decide to start watching and support these VTubers! Hopefully, these VTubers can help you take care of the spare time you have nowadays as well as comfort and entertain you in these turbulent times. Before I end off though, please do look forward to my next article on VTubers, where I'll be showcasing Nijisanji, another VTuber agency, and their talents! 


Written by Kai Yuichi

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Anime in Japanese Commercials

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 / No Comments
Hisashiburi, minna-san~ 

It's been a while since I've been on here, but now that the holiday break is here, I'm excited to catch up on anime I've missed out during the busy period in school. Speaking of a break, what do you all think of commercial breaks? Boring? Unmotivated? A waste of time? Well, some commercials are actually entertaining and probes us to get the product they tried to promote so I guess its to each their own. 


With that being said, I have always been fascinated by Japanese commercials, and how they make use of their key skill--animation, to blend in together with their commercials. Some are simply just wacky, while some actually go to the extend to touch your heart. Let's take a look at some, starting with a rather fun one first. 

Dragon Ball Z promoting KFC:

There's just something funny yet awfully wholesome at how Goku yells "KENTUCKY". Also, I'm craving some fried chicken now so I guess this commercial was actually pretty impactful.

Speaking of KFC, anime also played its part in Macdonalds (WCDonald or Wacdonalds in the anime world) commercial. 

Macdonalds Commercial: 

It is the kind of short commercial that is condensed to look like a cute, slice-of-life anime series. Honestly, I wished I could see a series on this too. And the food, oh, forget Kentucky Fried Chicken, now I want some McWings.


The commercial got so much love from the audience that they even made a part 2 of it later on: 

The animation quality and music in the second part was emphasized so much more that even I got cheated into thinking I was watching an episode of an anime series. Besides that, many others have noticed how the kouhai-senpai relationship became more evident here, and they've started shipping them together. Needless to say, even I did too... To make the commercial even more interesting, they even asked the audience to spot the hidden Ronald Mcdonalds inside the commercial. Such an interactive and heartwarming commercial to advertise Macdonalds~

Now let's look at anime food commercials on a more sombre, yet also heartwarming manner. Here's one of the many Marukome Ryotei-No-Aji commercials:

I cried. I really cried at this. It reminded me of the relationship I have with my dad--it's not a bad relationship, it's just the type of relationship where we hardly talk to each other at all. And I guess it's significant in some father-daughter relationships. But this commercial really made me emotional, and the idea of food bringing the father and daughter together is something so simple, yet impactful. It's amazing how this commercial can make you feel in a span of just 90 seconds.

I highly suggest you to watch the other Marukome Ryotei-No-Aji commercials they have, they are all truly heartwaming and dare I say--cinematic.

Now, let's liven it up a little with my favourite anime in a commercial: Love Live! School Idol Project and Watering Kiss Mint: 


Honestly, I don't exactly know what a Watering Kiss Mint is, neither have I actually seen it during my visits to Japan, but hey, if it's Love Live, I'll take it. It's always a good time to be in the LL fandom. 



Okay, maybe too much food commercials here. So, we all know Makoto Shinkai and his stunning works (5 Centimetres Per Second, Kimi no Nawa, Weathering with You etc.), but did you all know he had commercials too? This is one of it to promote Z-Kai, an education company: 



Like, wow. Suddenly we all want to be educational. I'm just kidding. This Makoto Shinkai commercial definitely exceeds all commercial expectations. It has everything--the stunning visuals, characters, and an idea of a storyline. Just imagine how it would be like in a movie form.


We all enjoy anime, but anime in commercials deserve to be enjoyed the same as well. They allow us to laugh, cry and even feel something in just 1-2 minutes. 

To end it off, here's another commercial for LUX starring Hatsune Miku and a guest cameo.... Scarlett Johansson: 





So, do you have any favourite anime commercials of your own? 


Written by: kimizomi