Japanese KitKats get Japanese anime video from Kyoto Animation director【Video】

Nestle wants to turn fans’ sweet stories into future installments.

Pretty much the whole world enjoys KitKats, since what’s not to like about chocolate and wafers? Japan’s love for the sweet treats, though, is of an especially deep level. Not only does the country get a ton of special regional/seasonal KitKat flavors, the Japanese pronunciation of KitKat, “Kitto Katto,” sounds similar to the phrase “Kitto katsu,” which means “I believe you will win/you can do it.”

That linguistic quirk has made KitKats a sort of edible good luck charm, with people carrying them or giving them as gifts for big days such as school entrance exams. Now, Nestle Japan is tapping into that emotional element with a new anime KitKat promotional video.

The video is part of KitKat’s new “Kikkake wa Kit Kat de,” or “Kit Kat Creates the Chance,” theme. It opens with a freshly formed couple holding hands around a wrapped Kit Kat, transitions to a group of newly made friends sharing some snacks at the spring start of the Japanese school year sharing some snacks, and then shows us the desk of an aspiring manga creator, whose munchie stash includes a KitKat where someone has written “Go for it! First prize in the competition!” in the wrapper’s message space. Accompanying the scenes is the narration “A chance to tell your feelings. The chance to have your heart stirred by meeting someone new. The chance to make your dream come true.”

The particularly poignant animation was directed by Naoko Yamada, a name that fans of esteemed anime studio Kyoto Animation will recognize. Yamada has served as a director and animator on several of KyoAni’s biggest hits, including K-On!, Sound! Euphonium, and A Silent Voice, with her most recent project since parting ways with the studio the recently wrapped The Heike Story. There’s also some star power in the audio, as vocals for the song that plays during the video, “First Time,” are provided by J-pop artist Ai, with backing vocals from Riehata.

▼ Naoko Yamada

Best of all, there’s going to be more Yamada-directed KitKat anime to come, as Nestle is asking fans to share stories of times when KitKat provided the chance for a happy moment or uplifting moment in their lives, which will then be incorporated into Yamada’s next KitKat animated video. Strangely, they haven’t said how those stores are supposed to be submitted, but tweets with the hashtag #きっかけは、キットカットで (“kikkake wa Kit Kat de”) seem like a likely bet.

Meanwhile, if you you’d like to combine KitKats not just with Japanese animation, but Japanese castles too, there’s a KitKat for that also.

Source: PR Times via Anime News Network/Kim Morrisey
Images: PR Times
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