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Rie Miyazawa Stars as Hello Kitty 25 Years Later in TV Ads

Actress Rie Miyazawa stars in two live-action chocolate commercials that imagine what happened to Hello Kitty in real life 25 years later. In a parody of documentaries like VH-1's Behind the Music show, the "Atarashii Yume" ("New Dream") and "Natsukashii Tomo" ("Old Friend") commercials show Sanrio's Hello Kitty mascot character all grown-up. Hello Kitty pursues her dreams on an unlikely (but appropriate) stage, and while auditioning, she meets an unexpected figure from her past.

The commercials promote the Almond Premio candy in Ezaki Glico's Otona Glico chocolate line "for adults," and the official website is streaming the commercials in Flash and Sanstream Acqulia formats. The "Atarashii Yume" commercial began airing in Japan on Tuesday, and the "Natsukashii Tomo" commercial will begin airing in October.

Miyazawa already appeared, alongside Tadanobu Asano, Eita, and Shun Oguri, in an Ezaki Glico television advertising campaign two years ago. That earlier campaign re-imagined what the Isono family (from the hit Sazae-san anime) would look like 25 years later. Ryo Kase, Miyazawa's co-star in the current campaign, starred in Honey and Clover and The Sky Crawlers.

Sanrio celebrated its 50th anniversary with a 8-meter-tall (about 30-feet-tall) balloon statue of Hello Kitty on Tokyo's artificial island of Odaiba from August 9 to 22. Hello Kitty celebrated her own 36th "birthday" with a "Hello Kitty to Daniel no Eiga Daisuki!! ~Space Battleship Yamato yori~" (Hello Kitty and Daniel Love Films!! From Space Battleship Yamato) show at Tokyo's Sanrio Puroland theme park. Yamato premiered in Japan in 1974, the same year that Hello Kitty was "born." (Miyazawa herself was born in 1973.)

Source: Oricon

Image © '76, '10 Sanrio Appr. No. G510643

Update: More background information added.