Umacha
is a new chilled tea from the Asahi
Beverage Company that went on sale March 12, 2001. Studio Ghibli
produced the animated
TV commercial. There is also a
live-action
version of this commercial, and both versions began airing in Japan on
March 5th (one week before the drink arrived in stores). The watercolor
animation style used in My Neighbors the
Yamadas was used in the animated commercial, but the characters are
a bit more realistic than those in Yamadas.
A second animated TV commercial, also Ghibli produced,
has been aired. You can see still images of it
here. As was
the case with the previous commercial, there is a "live-action version" as
well. This time, the main character is played by Takeshi Naito, who did
the voice of Chihiro's father in Studio Ghibli's newest film
Spirited Away.
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