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Sony & Shoji Kawamori's Smartwatch Gets Anime Video With Bump of Chicken Song

Sony unveiled its new wena wrist smartwatch's "kawamori Edition" with Macross anime director and mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori on Tuesday, and naturally, it comes complete with an anime ad. The video features many of Kawamori's aesthetic and design tropes, and it even boasts the BUMP OF CHICKEN song "Sirius."

The aircraft shown in the video closely evokes the forward-swept-wing YF-19/VF-19 variable fighter designs first seen in Macross Plus and Macross 7, but appears to also draw inspiration from real-life fighter craft, with canards common in European fighters, and an air intake similar to the F-16. The iconic motif of hands in the shape of a fighter also first appeared in Macross Plus.

Kawamori designed the case that will ship alongside the Wena Wrist product. The watch itself is a mechanical design, evoking pilot watch-style elements. The dial's design evokes the attitude indicator/artificial horizon seen on fighter instrument panels, with one side being an open-heart design showing the mechanical movement. The 12:00 position is indicated by a white arrow, common to many pilot watches.

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Sony's wena wrist product is a smart wristband or bracelet that attaches to most conventional watches. It is Sony's attempt to pair smartwatch functionality with classic luxury watches. The "kawamori Edition" set ships in March 28 in a limited run of 600 units in black, red, or blue with a suggested retail price of ... hold your wallet, 79,000 yen (about US$724). 40 "complete sets" with all three colors and hand-autographed case will set you back 149,000 yen (about US$1,370).

Kawamori is perhaps most famous for being a key creative planner in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series. He designed most of the franchise's iconic transforming "variable fighter" mecha, and oversaw most of the main installments in the franchise, including the latest, Macross Delta. Kawamori has also created the Aquarion, AKB0048, and Arjuna series, and most recently was chief director on Jūshinki Pandora at Satelight, the anime studio for which he serves as a board director. He is credited as the original creator of The Vision of Escaflowne, Basquash!, and Nobunaga The Fool.

Outside anime, he designed one of Sony's Aibo robot dog variants and contributed to the designs of Takara's Diaclone Car Robot toys, which eventually became Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ironhide, and other toys in Hasbro's Transformers line. His game contributions include the original mechanical designs for the Armored Core franchise and the Devil Breaker weapons in Devil May Cry 5.

Source: AV Watch (Kentarō Yamazaki)