I just thought this would be a funny post to write about because it feels a little relevant in our current time period. Have you guys seen the Taco Bell Commercial centered on the reappearance of Nacho Fries? What is this commercial? It’s a commercial based around mecha anime. All kinds of mecha anime and general anime things. There are the obvious influences of Gundam and Evangelion, but I bet there is much more going on then one would think in this one minute commercial. I haven’t spent all the time analyzing it and I don’t want to because it’s a commercial, but there is some real energy and passion behind it that goes behind most commercials. It’s gotten a lot of attention for a reason. Also, Gura Gawr is there, but you know…
There is even a story to it as well. As cliche as it is, it features a girl Rei who lost her brother to the monsters that are after their fries and here she is in the commercial fighting against those monsters who wants them. Eventually towards the end, Rei faces off against her brother in a joust that we don’t see. For one minute of a commercial, it’s pretty powerful. It’s even well animated and has great character designs. They are very modern character designs that look somewhat like what Studio Mir puts out to me and the animation on the action scenes and mecha fights vs monsters are incredible. Studio Psyop and Taco Bell both enlisted some talent for this. Even the voice actors are high caliber here. I can see why people are so interested in this becoming a full anime even if that is never going to happen.
So, what does this commercial mean? I think the most obvious one is that Taco Bell knows how to get some attention. They also pay attention to some trends that are going on. For instance, I have mentioned Gura already right? She is the most popular v-tuber ever right now. It also means that anime has such a huge audience right now in the United States. I mean, western cartoons have been influenced for years and years and years at this point from Teen Titans to so many other things, but it hasn’t gotten the mass market appeal for it until now. Newer anime movies have appeared in movie theaters and streaming services in shorter periods of times then ever before because they sell well now. Even if Taco Bell’s Nacho Fry’s don’t sell well, they tapped into something here.
What is even better then just being trends and it being “anime” is how genuine the commercial is. It’s apparent that Studio Psyop knows anime tropes and isn’t just aping off of them. They love them. This isn’t just a “look at the mecha anime or anime in general we are referencing”, the story and style in this commercial is fill with all sorts of anime love and energy. The character drama is simple but impactful, the action has all the energy in the combat scenes is kinetic and wonderful in the way the best anime scenes are. I can keep going on this. They even made a 20 page manga of Fry Force that you can find online. If you are going to sell something in an anime style, then do it as well as Taco Bell and Psyop are doing it here. Do it with love and passion, not a quick cash grab that fans will be disappointed with in the end. Leaving fans wanting more is a good thing. I hope these Fry Force commercials are a series that builds on its story. Only time well tell if that is true.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 
Yes, the first time I saw this commercial, I was a little confused because I had never seen an anime commercial on broadcast TV. The second time I saw it, I burst out laughing. Taco Bell often has fun playful commercials, but they out did themselves this time! I love it! I wonder how many Fry Force Halloween costumes will be showing up this fall?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Oh, I hope there are a lot of costumes and such. And honestly, had the same reaction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knew this commercial would catch your eye!
I saw it and loved it, even if itās not quite āanimeā style artwork. But I hadnāt listened to the audio (my innate hatred of dubbed animeā¦I canāt help myself); oh lord, this sounds (and looks) like NGE and Gundam and Fire Force (no kidding) and Code Geass all wrapped into a commercial! Iāll give them credit on their fluency in anime!
I think the anime movement in America is growing in strength. I think this coinciding with the Olympics in Tokyo is not a coincidence. At least a a few more eyes are on Japan now than before, and I hope anime can make its move during this time. I donāt know what it would mean for anime to become very popular in the USA (or elsewhere), but Iām not averse to it happening. We will see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course I did :D. Yeah, this production team obviously watches anime which is great! Such good passion for knowing their stuff and doing what they wanted.
I agree with that since of movement. It had to be well timed because the commercial has been playing a lot during the Olympics to a lot on purpose. Definitely a great time for culture clash considering the many cases of the BBC getting things wrong with the RX-0 in the background or One Piece poses.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Even if I don’t care for their food all that much (though the fries are all right honestly, I’ll go that far) respect to Taco Bell for putting actual effort into its ad campaign instead of just handing out the usual no-effort garbage or something irritating like most other big chains. The Gura cameo alone certainly shows they know what’s up — or at least their ad people noticed that their kids watching her streams or something. The fact that she got such a spotlight over being shoved in the background of the ad for half a second says a lot for her popularity anyway.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yeah. I haven’t watched a lot of Gura’s streams myself, but she certainly has some great comedic appeal to her when I’ve watched her with other people. Still, very happy to see where she goes from here.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Its a good idea actually. It will reach to maximum number of people which is good. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 2 people