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Monster Strike Game's Fullmetal Alchemist Campaign References Buddhist Item Ad
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The Monster Strike smartphone game launched the Monster Strike Alchemy Campaign in collaboration with the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise on Friday.
To kick off the collaboration, XFlag began streaming several television commercials that surprised some net commenters. Two of the commercials feature "Game Girl Yuka-chan," who explains in the videos that putting one's hands together brings happiness or becomes game practice. The terms used to mean "happiness" and "game" sound very similar in Japanese. The hand move is the same as Ed's technique of performing alchemy without a Transmutation Circle, and he makes an appearance at the end of the commercials.
Fullmetal Alchemist fans may be worried about the health and safety of Yuka-chan's mother not only because of the fate of Trisha Elric. When first viewing the commercials, some people who commented online at first thought they were viewing an ad for Buddhist prayer items. Hasegawa Company debuted a commercial (embedded below) starring "Happiness Girl Yūka-chan" last year. In the commercial, the girl explains that putting one's hands together can bring happiness, and she starts a Buddhist prayer. Hasegawa Company produces Buddhist items such as household altars used to pray to deceased family members, altar equipment, and tombstones.
The Monster Strike and Fullmetal Alchemist collaboration is also partnering with brothers and Nakagawa-ke comedic duo members Reiji Nakagawa and Tsuyoshi Nakagawa. The pair play Monster Strike and find themselves transformed into Ed an Al in collaboration commercials.
In the first commercial above, the elder Nakagawa brother Reiji becomes the younger Elric brother Al and tells his brother Ed about the collaboration. Ed (Tsuyoshi) then tells Al (Reiji) he is already playing, but he wonders what happened to his body. Ed says he wants to return to his original body. Suddenly, the brothers transform (transmute?) back into their anime forms, and Al says "I went back to my original body!" Ed responds, "Aren't you still armor?"
In the second commercial, Tsuyoshi (Ed) asks Reiji (Al) if there is something strange with his body. Reiji replies that his body has become armor. Tsuyoshi wonders if it's because of the Monster Strike and Fullmetal Alchemist collaboration. Reiji thinks his brother is wrong, but the pair suddenly transform back into real-world non-animated humans. Tsuyoshi wonders if the transformation was because they played Monster Strike too much.
The Nakagawa brothers have previously had guest voice roles in several anime such as Soreike! Anpanman Omocha no Hoshi no Nanda to Runda and Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction.
Edward, Alphonse, and 12 other Fullmetal Alchemist characters are available through the Monster Strike collaboration's gacha during the campaign. Each character has unique special abilities. Monster Strike is streaming a video that introduces the in-game versions of Ed and Al.
In addition, the collaboration is streaming the first 10 episodes of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime for a limited time. The television anime series premiered in 2009.
People who participated in the collaboration's "Fullname Alchemist" Twitter campaign, which ran from July 10 to 14, had a chance to win various themed prizes. The prizes are ten special boxes with Amazon gift cards worth 50,000 yen (about US$447), 1,000 different special boxes with Amazon gift cards worth 1,000 yen (US$9), and ten complete sets of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga in a collaboration box. People participated in the campaign a total of 25,756,486 times and earned in-game rewards for all players including items and the character Winry.
The live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film will open in Japan on December 1. Original manga creator Hiromu Arakawa is drawing a "special-edition comic" that people who attend theatrical screenings in Japan will receive.
[Via Nijimen]
