David Blecken
May 27, 2016

Film shows role of 'Robot Town' in shaping Japan's future

TOKYO - An initiative to promote Kanagawa prefecture’s expertise in robotics draws on Astro Boy to present a vision of the future with a sentimental film.

Film shows role of 'Robot Town' in shaping Japan's future

Developed by Tezuka Productions and Geometry Global, ‘Robot Town Sagami 2028’ is an animated short drama showing the positive impact robots can have on human lives.

Tezuka Productions is the company behind the original Astro Boy series. The film features a father involved in a seemingly tragic accident just before the birth of his daughter. At Astro Boy’s invitation, he awakens from a coma to travel forward in time, joining his family as a ghost as they go about their high-tech lives in ‘Robot Town’, apparently happy enough without him… We’ll leave you to watch the video.

In reality, ‘Robot Town Sagami’ covers 12 municipalities across Kanagawa. The name stems from the area’s focus on the development of personal assistive robotics. In particular, the work of its research centres and laboratories aims to help Japan cope with aging populations and natural disasters.

Masato Mitsudera, head of creative at Geometry Global, said that the challenges Kanagawa faces are the same as those faced by Japan and the world as a whole.

Where does Astro Boy come into it all? The character has a special place in the hearts of Japanese people in their late 40s and 50s for presenting the ‘Japanese dream’ that they worked hard to realise.

In a statement, the governor of Kanagawa prefecture, Yuji Kuroiwa, said he “wanted people, especially children, to picture the future we are heading for".

“As an iconic, much-loved household name, Astro Boy will enable people to feel and see the substantial future of ‘Sagami Robot Town’,” he said. “Our hope is that this animation allows children to think and dream about the future of society.”

Campaign’s view: Kanagawa, and Japan as a nation, are right to be proud of their achievements in robotics. For many though, robotics is still either a novelty, or at worst, something to be feared. It’s still difficult for ordinary people to imagine the role such technology can play in daily life, and this film does a good job of ‘humanising’ the whole scenario. The branding of ‘Robot Town Sagami’ is also subtle, which is a welcome change from a lot of regional promotions. But two quibbles are: international viewers are likely to associate the film simply with Japan rather than any particular prefecture; and people might be getting tired of animated dramas. There are other, more adult, ways to move people.

Source:
Campaign Japan

Related Articles

Just Published

12 hours ago

The anti-trend trend: How Starbucks aspires to use ...

THE CMO'S MO: Inspired by Apple, Starbucks Asia's marketing head, Samuel Fung, is blending tradition and innovation with a back-to-basics approach to build loyalty in a competitive market.

12 hours ago

STB partners with NBA to attract fans from the region

The Singapore Tourism Board seeks to make the city state an attractive destination for sport fans, as it looks further afield to boost its ambitious goals for inbound visitors.

12 hours ago

X partners with Magnite to boost programmatic ad sales

Magnite joins Google and PubMatic as official third-party sellers of X’s ad inventory which can help fill unsold inventory and attract more advertisers.

13 hours ago

Love looks different in Asia now, and so should ...

More people in Asia are choosing singlehood; it’s time brands moved beyond dated romantic tropes to catch up with times for V-Day marketing, argues this writer.