DoCoMo 2.0: Super Sentai vs. Godzilla

This romantic commercial for DoCoMo stars Aoi Yuu and her fanboy boyfriend who dreams of attacking Gozilla while dressed up as a Super Sentai character. And here’s a cute video on the making of the commercial:

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Nicholas Cage Pimps Pachinko

Shown above is Nicholas Cage in a somewhat silly Japanese pachinko TV commercial. I may date myself but I still associate Cage with the 1983 film Valley Girl which had an amazing new wave soundtrack.

Found via JapanSugoi.

Gogo Yubari & Green Tea Ice Cream

Chiaki Kuriyama is best known to me for her role as Gogo Yubari from the film Kill Bill, but shown above is a recent ad she did for Glico Ice Cream in Japan. The commercial is sweet, but as a fanboy I wish it had some martial arts action!

September 13th, 1999

Between the era of Star Trek re-runs (maybe 1974?) and the dawn of Star Wars (1976) my favorite show in the universe was Space:1999. I must have only been nine years old when the show came out, but man did it make an impression on me for years to come. Every year when it’s September 13th I always think of the first episode which was titled Breakaway.

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Two Word Reviews: Bionic Woman

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Kamen Rider Card Commercial

Shown above is a Japanese TV commercial for Kamen Rider bubble gum cards from the 70s.

Shimura Zoo: Monkey & Bulldog Exercise

Shown above is a cute clip from Shimura Zoo showing a monkey and an English bulldog in an exercise class.

Ultra Q: Challenge From The Year 2020

Shown above is a clip from a 1966 episode Ultra Q titled “Challenge From The Year 2020”. Ultra Q was a sci-fi/horror tv series which was like a cross between the Twilight Zone and the Toho monster movies. When this came out it was the most hight budget tv series being produced.

Aki Hitomi Camera Commercial

Shown above is a 1979 National camera commercial starring singer Aki Hitomi and a few of her fanboys. There’s something very innocent about this commercial, it’s not like the slick stuff you see today.

Kamen Rider Toy Commercial

Shown above is a 70s Japanese commercial for a Kamen Rider toy.

Beneath the Sci Fi Channel

You know when the Sci Fi channel is at it’s best? Not when it’s churning out remakes of old shows, but when it’s showing them. Right now I’m enjoying a healthy bit of early 70s nastolgia thanks to a reshowing of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. My childhood seems to be filled with tons of Apes related memories, everything from the spin-off TV show (which was pretty much Starsky and Hutch with a bunch of apes) and even record albums.

Reading up on the movie it was the first sequal of the series, or the first step from being a cool 60s art film to a schlockmeister 70s sequel. Although the film has everything a fanboy could want: apes on the war path, mutant humans, the ruins of New York City, a few minutes with Charlton Heston, some gun action and horses, and the world blowing up at the end with a left over atomic bomb from the 20th century. And as with any apes flick the music is half the fun!

I think what makes this film work (and why it stuck in my head) is that they were willing to tell a story that would keep you going. Also not only were they willing to kill of the main character, but also blow up the entire planet. Of course this didn’t stop them from making prequals to bring back the apes for more entertainment. Besides how can’t you love a film that ends with:

“In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead.”

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Lotte Almond Chocolate

The above commercial stars Japanese “super idol” Aya Ueto, who got her start ten years ago by winning the All-Japan National Young Beauty contest.

Boss Rainbow Mountain Blend

I like this commercial for the rainbow blend, but my favorite Boss coffee flavor will always be “Cafe au Lait”…

The Loch Ness Monster of Japan

The commercial above is for Toyota in Japan…

Special thanks to James Kaposztas (the man who invented the anime music video genre) for finding this gem for me!

Urahama Alisa meets the Baskin Robbins Snowmen

This computer animated snowman commercial (perfect for August viewing!) stars up-and-coming model Urahama Alisa.

Oreo Cookies

The above commercial for Oreo Cookies in Japan stars actress Narumi Riko who got her first beak with the tv series Trick which was sort of like X-Files meets Scooby-Doo.

Two Word Reviews: Get Smart

And just in case you don’t belive me:

Was that suppose to be funny?

Farscape to Return

It looks like Farscape is coming back to the Sci Fi channel, although they’re not quite sure in what form:

Exclusive Interview: Sci Fi Channel Executive Vice President Dave Howe Talks ‘Farscape’ Webisodes & ‘Flash Gordon’

“The biggest announcement was that FARSCAPE would be returning care of SCI FI Channel and Jim Henson Productions via a new 10-episode webisdoe series, but there were some other questions we needed answered about projects on one of our favorite networks.”

Pote Long Commercial

Shown above is silly commercial that showcases young romance and Pote-Long, which is a potato based snack from Japan produced by Morinaga & Co.

Beer Drinking Penguins

This commercial is like Rocky, but with beer drinking penguins…

Japanese Sake Commercials from 1959 to 1980

Shown above are some very surreaistic animated commercials for Kizakura sake from 1959 to 1980.

Go Go Tea

This is a very silly commercial for Go Go Tea starring Aya Matsuura, who’s J-pop arists and actress associated with the Hello! Project. Aya’s favorite food is cookie dough ice cream.

Modern Battlestar Galactica Minimates

If the new Galactica is to gritty for your tastes these cutie-pie Minimates might change your mind about the show. You can pre-order them here:

BigBadToyStore.com

Found via Toy News International.

Recent Japanese Commercials

Yummy yummy bread chips! Dogs jumping rope! A Harry Potter chess game! And mega teriyaki burgers! What else could you want? Although I think the animated stop motion soy bean commercial my favorite.