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Japanese Skater Yuzuru Hanyu Gets Animated Portrayal in Red Cross Ad

Competitive figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu got an anime portrayal of himself for the first time in a commercial by the Japanese Red Cross that's scheduled to run on Japanese television from January 1 to February 28. The commercial is part of the Red Cross' "Hatachi no Kenketsu" campaign that encourages people on or between the ages of 20 and 30 to donate blood. The ad notes that an average of 3,000 patients need a blood transfusion everyday, and that in the past decade, there has been a shortage of around 900,000 blood donors between the ages of 20 and 30.

The song in the ad is "Kimi o Ukabete" by the band KANA-BOON. The ad has 60-, 30-, and 15-second versions.

In the ad, Hanyu comforts a child that needs a blood transfusion, and utters the campaign slogan of "One step on our part is someone else's life."

Hanyu has appeared in previous commercials for the campaign since 2015.

While this is the first time that Hanyu has gotten an animated version of his likeness, Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano previously drew the skater in his signature style last year.

Meanwhile, Hanyu isn't the only skater getting into anime. Fellow Japanese skater Nobunari Oda played himself as a commentator in the recently concluded Yuri!!! on Ice anime, and Swiss skater Stéphane Lambiel made an appearance in the show's final episode. Other figure skaters have been getting into the show.

Source: The Mainichi Shimbun, Oricon Style