Controversial anime is nothing new in Japan. But it’s rare for a commercial to become a subject of debate. A new spot for a packaged udon has some people asking how an ad for a seemingly simple product came out so…well, horny. Others, however, are defending the ad as cute and innocent – and telling critics to get a grip.
The male vs. female versions
The commercial is from instant noodle brand Maruchan for its akai kitsune instant udon (udon with fried tofu). It features a young woman watching a drama on TV with tears in her eyes. To relieve herself from the emotional scene, she peels back the lid of her Maruchan noodles and starts eating. The commercial shows her eating while a flush adorns her cheeks. She expresses her delight in low whispers.
There’s a male version of the same commercial for the company’s parallel soba noodle product – and it differs dramatically from the female version. It shows a hardworking guy still working after the last person at the office has gone home. He downs his Maruchan gratefully (and he only blushes very slightly).
The video post on X by parent company Toyo Suisan currently has 73,000 likes, 34,000 reposts, and a whopping 160 million views. Comments and reposts have filled up with debate, as some feminists in Japan have labeled the commercial as designed for the male gaze. Others have outright labeled it as pornographic.
Commercial consultant Rika Holden Nakamura, whose X account EnjoCheck specializes in studying commercials that draw controversy, summarized the major objections in a post on X: “It displays a woman unrealistically; the color in her cheeks is different than the one in the male version; in other words, this ad is designed for the male gaze.”
“In this age, given that anime is strongly grounded in sexualizing women, companies need to manage risk when using animation in their commercials.,” she concludes.
Was it made with AI?
Others vehemently disagreed. Comments have piled up on X and on the original YouTube video supporting it and saying they don’t see any sexualization at all.
A summary article by LASISA has racked up over 6,000 comments on Yahoo! News JP with people debating the appropriateness of the spot. In one comment, IT journalist Takahashi Akiko argues, “This commercial doesn’t show a lot of skin or have sexual language. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Others found a completely different reason to diss on the spot: the poor animation. One poster pointed out problems such as the woman’s seemingly broken fingers, the poor rendering of fingers in some scenes, and the lack of anything but a seatback for the “couch” she’s sitting on to argue this was a sloppily-produced – and possibly AI-generated – piece.
Others have also noted (which you can see in the third shot above) that the table she’s using doesn’t appear to have any rear legs. Her pinky finger also seems to be excessively long.
Others have argued that the chopsticks in the scene are placed incorrectly. The chopsticks are off to the side parallel to the dish, which is the custom in South Korea. In Japan, you set your chopsticks in front of the dish.
CHOCOLATE Inc., the company that created the video, has since denied it used AI in the creative process.
Is there fire here?
To be sure, Japan has seen its fair share of anime tie-up controversies. Campaigns involving titles such as Norin and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out have brought accusations of unwarranted public sexualization of women. A JA campaign involving Love Live! even brought charges of child exploitation. Advocates also took aim at an ad in Nikkei from Kodansha for the manga Getsuyoubi no Tawawa, which frequently sexualizes its minor characters.
Other feminists in Japan have worried openly about the impact of kawaii culture on women. Some lambasted NHK when the station featured virtual VTuber (VTuber) Kizuna Ai asking empty-headed questions of (mostly male) scientists.
Does this commercial rise to that level? That’s in the eye of the beholder, of course.
On the UJ Discord server, discussion was split. Some thought it was obvious the commercial was given to “the horniest director alive.” Others thought it was pretty tame and not worthy of controversy.
My own household is somewhat divided. My wife, an avowed feminist, thinks the spot isn’t anything to get worked up about. I agreed with her until I saw the male version of the video. The two spots, taken together, obviously reinforce standard gender stereotypes. Men are hardworking and serious; women are frivolous and emotional. Men work harder than anyone else; women leave early (or stay home) and watch TV.
At any rate, this isn’t the first anime spot to go viral in Japan. It likely won’t be the last as the country continues to debate whether the mainstreaming of sexualized depictions of women encourages sexual harassment in the workplace.
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