by A high school girl shouted that she was late for school and started running with “Omusubi” in her mouth. Niigata Prefecture has started a project to make such a new heroine appear in the video to promote rice, and it has become a hot topic.
This “late rice ball girl” was expressed in animation, and Manami Igashira (20), an actor who won the special jury prize in the national beautiful girl contest, was also appointed.
“It’s too late!” Mr. Inoue runs hard toward school while holding a rice ball wrapped in seaweed in his mouth. He also wrote a note saying, “Let’s eat rice balls without running.”
Next, a narration such as “I want to connect with the school of my choice” is played by the gun-carrying on the “rice ball,” and the video ends with a call to “Let’s get started, morning rice ball.”
The 50-second video was posted on the official YouTube channel of Niigata Rice PR on January 24, 2022.
In Niigata Prefecture, the distribution was started under “Late Omusubi Shoujo Project,” This video, “Late High School Girl Edition,” is the first of these.
The prefectural food and distribution section explained the reason for this project in an interview with J-CAST News on the 25th as follows.
“The Japanese people are moving away from rice, and the per capita consumption decreases year by year. Also, the demand for eating out is sluggish due to the corona sickness, and I felt a sense of crisis that I wanted to do something about it. It is also important, but the number of people getting information from SNS is increasing, especially among the younger generation. 80% of the dinner is still eating rice, but breakfast is only 50%. I wanted to create a new culture with “Morning Omusubi” and consume it. “
The idea was the existence of a “late bread girl” who also has an item on Wikipedia. In anime and dramas, a scene where a heroine who seems to be late starts running with bread and sometimes falls in love at a corner appears. It is said that it was hypothesized that the image of “bread in the morning” was formed by accumulating it, which led to the departure from rice.
Some people wondered, “Even if you publicize with this kind of moe illustration.”
Therefore, Niigata Prefecture launched a new heroine called “Omusubi Girl who is late.”
In a planning competition held by the prefecture, the idea of a major advertising company focusing on Wikipedia items was adopted. The official website of the project was also created. The video is scheduled for the fourth installment with titles such as “A fateful encounter on Valentine’s Day morning !?” and will be delivered every Monday until February 14.
Various opinions, including pros and cons, are written on the net regarding the first video.
There were also positive voices such as “Something interesting!” And “It’s rice in the morning.” On the other hand, “Even if you publicize with this kind of moe picture, no one can catch it anymore” “Who holds it, she’s bread because she doesn’t have that time” “Is it rice flour bread?” There were also voices questioning.
The prefecture’s Food and Distribution Division explained that some questions were raised about “moe-e” from a gender perspective.
“I chose this name because there was an item” Late Bread Girl “on Wikipedia. I’m thinking about various projects, including the appearance of men in the second and subsequent videos. “
In addition, he explained the point that making rice balls is difficult as follows.
“I also find that cooking rice on a busy morning can be a hassle. Bread is convenient, but for example, salted rice is not difficult. The advantage is that you feel like you’ve eaten well and you’re hungry. The prefecture is also promoting rice flour, which is another initiative. “
It is said that the term “rice ball” is also common in Niigata. Still, since the project introduction video was distributed on “Omusubi Day” on January 17, it was said that it was called “Omusubi.”
