Halcyon Realms - anime|photography|film » Japan

Jamiroquai Cup Noodle / Nissin Light commercial

yonghow — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:52:05 +0000

Folks who have been following my blog for a while will know that I used to work on Sunrise’s Nissin Cup Noodle’s “Freedom Project”, so naturally any new commercials from the noodle maker is sure to pique my personal interest.

The latest commercial sees Nissin pulling in the famous UK Acid funk/electronica group Jamiroquai to plug the brand, and what better music video to use for the advertisement than the legendary “Virtual Insanity” ? ( the original was directed by Jonathan Glazer, who also shot the controversial, yet astounding looking film “Birth” ).

I’ve included both the original MTV (top) and the Nissin Noodle version below for your enjoyment :

Next up are the Nissin “Light” commercials, touting ostensibly noodles that offer less calorie intake per serving; think a noodle version of Coke Light, if you will. These ones they went unabashedly for the “sex sells” tactic , but hey, I don’t hear you guys complaining.

You folks here eat Nissin Cup Noodles too right ? Light or not, Cup Noodles aren’t too nutritious, so go get some real food, please !

Kamen Cider – The preferred drink for Masked Rider

yonghow — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:22:34 +0000

Hot on the heels of “Ultraman Cider“, Japanese beverage maker Dydo is quick to release “Kamen Cider”, an obvious play on the words “Kamen Rider”, more commonly known as the Mask Riders to fans outside of Japan.

Each can comes with a colorful, extravagant design of the respective rider’s front costume and power belt, as well as bite-sized Masked Rider/Shocker trivia, guaranteed to send fans into a morbid collection frenzy. What are you waiting for ??

My all time favourite Rider has always been Super One, but Black’s design isn’t looking too bad either.

Also check out this elaborate and tastefully executed advertising campaign for the most recent Kamen Rider film.

Kazuo Oga Artbook – “Akita, Asobi No Fukei”

yonghow — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:12:14 +0000

A quaint and delightful collection of watercolor paintings await the reader in Kazuo Oga’s latest artbook, “Akita, Asobi No Fukei”. ( the title refers to the many sights and scenery of places where he used to play ) For those unfamiliar with his work, Oga-san is the renowned background artist who gave us such unforgettable backdrops in many a Ghibli film like Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, just to name a few.

This is Kazuo-san’s most personal artbook to date, for all the illustrations are based on memories of his childhood, growing up in the villages of his hometown Akita. ( a prefecture situated in the northeastern part of Japan. )

Peppered throughout the book are deft pencil sketches of every day items used for the preparation of meals, as well as self made toys and tools, all a joy to look at.

(above) What a happy sight ! ! Bentos ( lunchboxes ) suspended above a firewood stove used to warm the classroom in winter. How can one concentrate in class with all that tasty food in plain view !

A copy of the book is available for purchase here.

Kamen Rider galore, Shinjuku Station

yonghow — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:06:06 +0000

The Masked (Kamen) Riders and their arch enemies Shockers turn out in force in Shinjuku to promote their latest film “All Riders VS. Great Shocker”, celebrating a decade run of the latest ( Heisei period ) Kamen Rider series. A whopping total of more than 20 different Riders are set to appear in the film.

I was never a hardcore fan of the Riders and can only name 3 or 4 of them – (above) Riders “Black” and “Black RX”, their series were both screened on Malaysian television when I was a kid. Singapore never had such luck. (below) The Rider in the middle is “Super One”, in my opinion one of the more classy looking riders and probably my favourite.

(above) I’m not too familiar with that feral looking Rider – or is he a Shocker ? (below) Some funky looking costumes.

(above) This particular Rider must feel kinda shortchanged having been bestowed only half a shoddy mask – anyone know his story ? (below) Ssup Dawg ?

So which is your favourite Rider/Shocker ?

With hundreds of thousands of commuters passing through every day, this stretch of underground walkway near Shinjuku Marunouchi station is an advertising hotspot – check out this older Kanebo ad, Maquillage, MGS – Guns of the Patriots launch, Kimura Takuya selling Nissin Cup Noodles, and Freedom Project.

Coke + Vodka = Kirin’s “Cola Shock”

yonghow — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:22:11 +0000

The lovely Kuroki Meisa endorses Kirin’s latest alcoholic beverage “Cola Shock”, a mix of Coca Cola and Vodka. Only just recently Coca Cola also gave us the Green Tea Coke, but unfortunately it didn’t taste too good.

Kuroki Meisa, one of the more popular faces on tv as of late, is an exotic mix of Okinawan and Panamanian descent. We also saw her last year selling the hair product Tsubaki.

Just in case you are scratching your head wondering why the drink is called “Cola Shock”, its actually taken from Kuroki Meisa’s latest single, titled “Shock”, ( check out the PV for the song below ), and of course the song is also used for the drink commercial.

I’ve never been much of a drinker and so the taste didn’t really appeal to me ( Akihabara News reports the Vodka as been really terrible. ), but it might just suit those looking for a little more kick in their Coke.