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Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Designs Characters For New Kitsune Udon Anime Ad

Nissin Foods' anime ads keep pulling the stops for the anime and manga world's biggest talents. The newest anime ad for the Donbei Kitsune Udon debuted on Thursday, featuring character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Evangelion, Summer Wars).

Inori Minase voices the kitsune fox girl, and Nobunaga Shimazaki plays the bespectacled boy. Studio Studio 4°C and Shirogumi produced the animation.

The new ad is an animated version of Nissin Foods' live-action ad with the same story. A kitsune fox girl student feels insecure as she watches the bespectacled boy eat Donbei Kitsune Udon. She asks why he is only eating the noodles instead of the deep-fried tofu, the part which distinguishes "kitsune" udon from other forms of udon. The boy replies that he likes to save the best for last. The girl is touched but tries not to show it, even though her tail wags.

The first Donbei Kitsune Udon ad featured a bittersweet romance between a young man, played by Kikunosuke Toya, and a fox girl, played by Anne Ogawa. Manga artist Eisaku Kubonouchi (Chocolat, Carole & Tuesday) designed the characters. The second ad featured Saori Hayami as a jealous kitsune fox girl and Kenshō Ono as a young man who deliberately eats tempura soba instead of kitsune udon to rile her up. Manga artist Taishi Mori (Radiation House) designed the characters.

In 2017, Nissin Cup Noodle launched its "Hungry Days" ad campaign, a series of commercials that starred famous anime characters at the precipice of their youth to invoke a specific, nostalgic feeling. The first "Hungry Days" campaign concluded with a romantic confession against an apocalyptic backdrop. The next campaign focused on the One Piece characters in their school days. Kubonouchi also designed the characters for those ads.

Source: Comic Natalie