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Attack On Titan & Gintama Voice Actors Star As Talking Cats In Panasonic Homes’ New Ads, Earns Netizens’ Praise

Famous voice actors voicing cats in new ad


Seiyū (voice actors) are extremely popular in Japan and they even have devoted fan clubs. They are the ones who voice anime characters, video game characters, and commercials. In short, their presence is ubiquitous. Now, famous voice actors Tomokazu Sugita and Yuki Kaji have gone from voicing anime characters to voicing cats in Panasonic Homes’ short commercials.


Famous voice actors Tomokazu Sugita & Yuki Kaji


Tomokazu Sugita and Yuki Kaji are 2 of the most famous seiyū in Japan. Tomokazu is the voice behind Sakata Gintoki, the main character of Gintama, while Yuki Kaji voiced Eren Yeager in Attack On Titan.

talking cats panasonic ad - Tomokazu Sugita
Image adapted from: MyAnimeList and Hero Fandom

Tomokazu’s role as Sakata Gintoki topped the ranks and was the most popular male character at the 33rd Anime Grand Prix in 2009. That same year, he was awarded the Best Supporting Actor at the 3rd Seiyū Awards. Tomokazu has also voiced various supporting characters in other popular anime series, such as Bleach, One Piece, and Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma.

talking cats panasonic ad - Yuki Kaji
Image adapted from: @yuki.kaji and Attack on Titan Fandom

Yuki’s role as Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan won him the Best Actor Award at the 8th Seiyū Awards in 2014. He has also voiced other notable characters like Shoto Todoroki in My Hero Academia, Kenma Kozume in Haikyuu!!, and Haruaki Yachi in C3.

talking cats panasonic ad - Yuki Kaji cat
Yuki Kaji posing with a cat soft toy
Image credit: @KAJI_OFFICIAL

Now, instead of voicing anime characters, these 2 famous seiyū are voicing a pair of cute cats having a casual conversation about earthquakes for the 3 latest Panasonic Homes ads.


Panasonic Homes’ 3 new ads


talking cats panasonic ad - gif of earthquake
Image adapted from: Panasonic Homesチャンネル

The new ads are meant to promote Panasonic Homes’ earthquake rebuilding guarantee. The ads assure customers that homes built by Panasonic Homes won’t collapse even if there’s an earthquake. If the building collapses, Panasonic Homes will rebuild it for you, for free. This guarantee is only applicable to rental housing and detached houses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceaVcYeyCWc

 

These 3 new ads about the earthquake rebuilding guarantee come as a continuation to the 4 ads released in January this year. Those 4 ads promoted Panasonic Homes’ air-conditioning system.

talking cats panasonic ad - senior and junior cat
Image credit: @oricon_anime

All 7 of the ads are 15-second clips featuring 2 adorable cats. The senpai (senior) cat on the right is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita while the kohai (junior) cat on the left is voiced by Yuki Kaji. The commercials are humorous and cute a sure way to capture viewers’ attention.

talking cats panasonic ad - screenshot of oricon compilation
Image adapted from: Oricon

Oricon’s video compilation of all the ads has already garnered 1.7 million views. One of the original clips posted by Panasonic Homes has reached 3.4 million views.

talking cats panasonic ad - screenshot of panasonic ad
Image credit: Panasonic Homesチャンネル

There is also a version with English subtitles.


Talking cats steal the hearts of netizens


The short clips of the 2 cats quickly stole the hearts of netizens and many reacted positively to these ads.

talking cats panasonic ad - cute reply tweet to Yuki Kaji
Image adapted from: @DpO4X8PBjBqK2ZG

User @DpO4X8PBjBqK2ZG commented that the clips were cute and fun, and that she wanted to see more. 

talking cats panasonic ad - YouTube comment
Image adapted from: Oricon

On Youtube, user Dorinkū~ left a comment under Oricon’s video compilation and suggests that Youtube could take a leaf from Panasonic Homes’ book and make similar ads of their own.

talking cats panasonic ad - healing tweet to Yuki Kaji
Image adapted from: @rena_kaji0831

talking cats panasonic ad - healing and cute reply tweet to Yuki Kaji
Image adapted from: @poedom

After Yuki Kaji tweeted about the new clips, users @rena_kaji0831 and @poedom replied that the ads – especially the pairing of Yuki’s voice and the kohai cat – were “healing” as it helped them to de-stress and lift their mood.

talking cats panasonic ad - bonus for producer tweet
Image adapted from: @myan_cat38

User @myan_cat38 tweeted asking for the bank account numbers of everyone involved in the planning and production of these ads, saying that they will transfer the bonus over.

talking cats panasonic ad - exaggerated bonus YouTube comment
Image adapted from: Oricon

User Reddosaatin on YouTube commented that the producer should get a bonus. He received an exaggerated reply from user Seiyū Daisuki Ojisa, suggesting that the bonus should amount to ¥100,000,000 (~USD948,055).


Famous voice actors voicing cats


Judging by comments on both Twitter and Youtube, the ads were well-received by the Japanese public. It seems like famous voice actors Tomokazu and Yuki might now receive more opportunities to voice talking animals in addition to anime characters. Looking at the success of these ads, perhaps this series of talking cats might continue in the future.

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Cover image adapted from: Panasonic Homesチャンネル