News

AKB48's Atsuko Maeda Plays Doraemon's Jaiko in New Ad

Atsuko Maeda, a member of the all-female idol group AKB48, will play Jaiko in a new live-action commercial inspired by the Doraemon manga for Toyota Motor Corporation. Like the three previous ads, the fourth ad depicts the characters of the classic children's manga in live-action, two decades after they grow up.

Maeda herself was a fan of the earlier ads and said that she never imagined in her wildest dreams that she would become part of the Doraemon family. Her character, Jaiko, is the bully Gian's younger sister who dreamed of becoming a shōjo manga creator.

The other cast members in the ads include international film star Jean Reno (Léon: The Professional, Mission: Impossible, The Da Vinci Code) as the robot cat Doraemon himself, actor Satoshi Tsumabuki (Dororo, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Smuggler) as Doraemon's hapless owner Nobita, mixed martial artist Naoya Ogawa as Gian, former News band member Tomohisa Yamashita (Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Kurosagi) as Nobita's friend Suneo, and actress Asami Mizukawa (Nodame Cantabile, Dark Water) as Nobita's female friend Shizuka.

The new "Nobita's What-If World" ad begins with Nobita giving up in defeat after failing the driver's license test. He wanted the license so he can take Shizuka on a car date, so he muses what it would be like if he had succeeded. Doraemon is munching on his favorite snack, dorayaki (sweet bean-filled cake) when he brings out his Moshimo Box ("What-If Box," a well-known device of his from the original manga). With the box, Doraemon shows Nobita the "what-if world" where he did earn the license. A compact hybrid car appears before Nobia in the "what-if world," but so does a mysterious woman who turns out to be Jaiko.

The Oricon site and Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web site posted more images in higher resolution from the upcoming ad.

Source: Oricon

Image © Fujiko Pro, Shogakukan, TV Asahi, Shinei, ADK