by The anime “TIGER & BUNNY 2” Part 2 is being distributed on Netflix from October 7, 2022. This time, along with the distribution of “Anime! Anime!”, we conducted email interviews with participating companies whose logos appear in their works. We asked him to discuss his thoughts on the job and his motivation for participating in this project.
In our eighth instalment, we interviewed “KINTO” (Mr Nakakita from the Marketing Planning Department and Mr Azuma from the Development Planning Department), whose logo appeared in Hero Wild Tiger.
8th KINTO
Did you know about the work “TIGER & BUNNY”?
Nakakita: Yes. Initially, when the first season was aired, a friend who was watching the work introduced me to it, saying, “There is an interesting anime that children are addicted to.”
Azuma: Of course. I watched it in real-time when it aired in 2011. If I remember correctly, I remember seeing it being introduced on a business news program as the first work in which a public company’s placement (the sponsor at the time) was attached to an anime character. Is strong.
Please tell us why you decided to apply for Character Placement this time and how you came to use it.
Nakakita: The impetus for applying was an announcement from the official Twitter account of “Taibani”. I was also in charge of KINTO’s official Twitter account, so I decided to apply because I thought it would be a unique opportunity to let as many people as possible know about our company and our services, which are still almost unknown.
What do you think is interesting about the placement measures of “TIGER & BUNNY” from the company’s point of view?
Nakakita: The world of animation (2D) and the natural world (3D) will give you the illusion of being connected.
Due to the nature of my work, I usually study a lot about promotional measures, including those of other companies. I feel that they are, and I think it’s interesting.
――After applying, did you make any adjustments inside or outside the company before you were selected as a placement company?
Nakakita At the time, when I saw the announcement of recruitment of placement companies on the official “Taiwani” Twitter, I immediately started preparing a proposal internally.
In the case of our company, due to internal rules, when applying for a placement, it is necessary to obtain approval at a meeting where the president participates. At first, when it came to drafting the post, everyone seemed hesitant, asking, “What is this?”
However, I was lucky that there was only one general manager who happened to know about Taibani, and he said, “(as KINTO) it is an ‘honour’ for the company to be placed in ‘Taibani’.” I was encouraged by remarks on the main point, and the president also said, “If Nakakita (who understands the work as the person in charge) said,” I managed to get approval on the spot. I applied to a placement company without any problems. I was able to do it.
By the way, what is the period?
Nakakita: It was only a week, so now that I think about it, it’s a pretty tight schedule, and I’ve been neglecting my other work, so I think it’s pretty impossible (laughs).
Please tell us your impression of the character Wild Tiger, for which KINTO is participating as a placement company.
Nakakita: I have a strong impression of Mr Hirata, the voice actor. Since I used to work in games, I have seen the work of various voice actors, and I think that Wild Tiger is a representative example of the “beard x wild” character that Mr Hirata has in mind. Rice field.
Higashi: Wild Tiger has a strong image of being a character loved by everyone, including the main character. I had the impression that Barnaby Brooks Jr., who had formed a duo with him, was also very popular at the time, but I liked Wild Tiger the most because he was excellent, but somehow he was missing. So I was happy to be there.
How did you feel when you saw the design of the hero with your company’s logo in the main story?
Nakakita: It was very moving. In addition to the character (Wild Tiger) that I will be placing this time, there was a lot of discussion within the company about where the logo should appear (right heel)… (sweat).
When I saw the design of the hero with the logo, I was relieved to be in charge (laughs).
Higashi: The company’s logo is attached, and the wild tiger is moving! It’s obvious, but I feel fresh. Of course, I could see it in the materials, but after all, the happiness was different when it became an animation. At the same time, I could see the logos of other placement companies, so I looked at them with a sense of camaraderie.
What do you expect from participating as a placement company? Also, what kind of reaction did you get?
Nakakita First of all, I would like more citizens to know about KINTO through the works of “Taibani” and Wild Tiger. “Car subscription” is still a new service, so I would be very grateful if someday, when citizens think “, Is it about time to buy a car?”, they will suddenly remember our company.
Azuma: Originally, I had the impression that the fan base of “TIGER & BUNNY” mainly were adults. I had high hopes for it, but I feel the response this time was even more positive.
I am a fan myself, but I think I was able to face the work with a stronger desire to liven it up together. Also, even after the broadcast, some fans talked about it through SNS, so I thought it was good to be involved again.
What is it about TIGER & BUNNY 2 that attracts you?
Higashi: When I first learned about “TIGER & BUNNY 2” production, I wondered if the characters from the previous “TIGER & BUNNY” would appear. I was worried and hopeful. After all, each character was an attractive work, so I felt a little reluctant to change it. As a result, the familiar characters are still alive and well, and I remember being overwhelmed by adding even more attractive characters.
When the previous work “TIGER & BUNNY” and “TIGER & BUNNY theatrical version” were being done, I remember having fun going to collaboration cafes and shops of sponsor companies in search of collaboration products with friends. So I could only expect what kind of interesting things would come out of this collaboration. I think that one of the attractions of “TIGER & BUNNY” is that many sponsors exist, and content that jumps out of the anime comes out, so I expect that it will be even more exciting in the future.
Nakakita: I think it’s because of the previous work (“TIGER & BUNNY”), but I felt that the sense of unity of working together with the fans of the work was attractive.
It started with the call for character placements, and there was a lot of excitement among the fans who were wondering which company it would be. I think that the person’s connection is unique to “Taiwani”.
We were a “newcomer” to the placement company this time. Still, due to preparations with members of the company’s Thai Bunny fans like Azuma, we were very grateful that the fans welcomed us so warmly. That’s right.
Also, the second season has been released this fall, so I would also like to enjoy that.
Netflix series “TIGER & BUNNY 2” works information
October 7, 2022 (Friday) Part 2 (episodes 14-25) will be exclusively distributed worldwide on Netflix!
Director: Mitsuko Kase
Series Composition/Screenplay/Story Director: Masafumi Nishida
Character design and hero design: Masakazu Katsura
Planning/Original/Production: BN Pictures
Kaburagi T Kotetsu (Wild Tiger): Hiroaki Hirata
Barnaby Brooks Jr.: Seiichi Morita
Carina Lyle (Blue Rose): Minako Kotobuki
Ryan Goldsmith (Golden Ryan): Yuichi Nakamura
Nathan Seymour (Fire Emblem): Kenjiro Tsuda
Keith Goodman (Sky High): Go, Inoue
Ivan Karelin (Origami Cyclone): Nobuhiko Okamoto
Antonio Lopez (Rock Bison): Daisuke Kusunoki
Huang Paolin (Dragon Kid): Mariya Ise
Lala Tchaikoskaya (Magical Cat): Tomori Kusunoki
Subaru Sengoku (Mr. Black): Shoya Chiba
Thomas Taurus (Heys Thomas): Nobunaga Shimazaki
Yuri Petrov: Koji Yusa
