Interest
Gintama's Hijikata Spreads the Love for 'Mayo Beam' Yakisoba
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Many people in Japan have an exceptional love for mayonnaise, so much so that the egg-based condiment is even known to appear on pizza. Gintama's Tōshirō Hijikata is also known for his extreme obsession with mayonnaise. Accordingly, a brand of instant yakisoba (fried buckwheat) noodles is collaborating with the series to promote noodles that come with mayo packets.
Myojo Foods, a subsidiary of Cup Noodle maker Nissin Foods, offers a variety of flavors of Ippei-chan Yomise no Yakisoba noodles. Some varieties include a "mayo beam" packet of mayonnaise that lets people squirt "beams" of mayonnaise over the yakisoba noodles.
Unsurprisingly, the collaboration focuses on Hijikata and his enthusiasm for these packets. Myojo Foods began streaming a series of voice drama videos on Monday that introduce the collaboration and focus on each of the T-shirts the campaign is giving away. Hijikata stars in the videos with Gintoki Sakata and Sōgo Okita.
The collaboration is giving away a total of 3,000 exclusive T-shirts, 1,000 of each of three styles. The designs feature the Shinsengumi uniform, Hijikata himself, and text related to the promotion. Each design has components that glow in the dark, and the glow-in-the-dark part of the text-only shirt spells "mayo beam." Gintama fans can purchase the designated varieties of Ippei-chan Yomise no Yakisoba and mail in the barcodes for a chance to win a T-shirt.
The campaign kicked off on May 1, and it is running through August 31. A quiz on the collaboration website tells how much of a mayonnaise lover participants are and offers a special downloadable wallpaper.
The same noodle line is known for crazy concoctions such as shortcake- or chocolate-flavored yakisoba.
Hijikata and his love for mayonnaise also feature in a promotional video for a current collaboration between the Monster Strike game and Gintama.
[Via Nijimen]
