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Haruhi Suzumiya, Actor Toma Ikuta to Appear in Gum Ad (Updated)

Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: The character Haruhi Suzumiya and the actor Toma Ikuta (live-action Akihabara @ DEEP, Honey and Clover) will "collaborate" in a new commercial for Lotte's Acuo gum starting on April 5. In the commercial, a woman who gets breathed upon by Ikuta's "nice breath" will transform into the anime character Haruhi. The Haruhi Suzumiya franchise characters Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato will also appear in the commercial.

In the "Boutique" commercial, Ikuta is chewing Acuo gum when he spies an item that is sold out at a boutique. When he blows his "nice breath" onto the boutique clerk, she transforms into Mikuru Asahina. The boutique manager comes over to scold Ikuta for "turning people into anime characters." Ikuta says "Suimasen" ("I'm sorry") with his fresh breath, and the manager turns into Haruhi. Confused, Ikuta runs out of the store and runs into an alley cat … who transforms into Yuki Nagato.

Source: Oricon, Sankei Sports, NTV News 24

Update: More background and story information added. Lotte posted an earlier "Gōkon Kaeri" ("Returning from Mixer Party") commercial that Ikuta did.

Little, Brown Young Readers is publishing the third Haruhi Suzumiya light novel volume in North America this July. Bandai Entertainment released the initial run of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime series in North America, and it has licensed the second season for DVD release. Yen Press is publishing both Gaku Tsugano's main manga adaptation and Puyo's The Melancholy of Suzumiya-Haruhi-Chan (Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yūutsu) "official gag manga." The anime film adaptation of the fourth light novel, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, film opened in Japan just last month. The Day of Sagittarius III game seen in the light novels and anime was actually produced and officially released for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices in English.

Update 2: A television show ran the commercial before the official release: