This isn’t the first time that anime has been used to advertise safe sex practices in Japan, and it won’t be the last.
About a year and a half ago, Okamoto Industries released four short episodes of a fictional anime titled Condom Battler Goro. Over the course of the four episodes (taken from various points in the series), Goro did battle against some nasty villains with the help of some friends along the way. If you’ve never hearded of this campaign before or just need a refresher, let’s watch all four episodes right now…
Episode 1:
Episode 19:
Episode 45:
Episode 56:
As you can tell by the animation style and story descriptions found in each video, the advertising campaign was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek way of getting the youth of Japan to remember to use condoms when having sex. Well, apparently the youth didn’t listen closely enough (or something along those lines) because Okamoto Industries is back with another two commercials starring our new favorite shounen hero, Goro.
Taking place over five years in the future, Condom Battler Goro: Revive features a brand new gritty animation style and a hero who is struggling with his legacy at the age of 30. Essentially, the brand new message is that even if you’re older, you should still practice safe sex, and talking about condoms is nothing to be embarrassed about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD4aOgFxvA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkH88T1cf04
I have to be totally honest at this point, while I acknowledge that this is nothing more than a silly advertising campaign made entirely to sell condoms, I would watch the hell out of Condom Battler Goro if they turned it into a full-length series. Not even ironically either, I would fully endorse and support a series promoting safe sex from start to finish. Not just because it’s a good message to spread, but also because all of these videos have me convinced that the presentation would be hilarious (if not a little on the nose).
Please Okamoto Industries, give us more Condom Battler Goro!
Source: Otaku USA
