May 31, 2005

Manga ad captures imagination of the world!

Originally posted by THE BEAT from MILE HIGH COMICS presents THE BEAT at COMICON.com, reBlogged by ts

kodansha.jpgOver the holiday weekend Danica Patrick wasn’t the only petite young woman kicking ass a particular bit of video caught fire on the internets, showing that everyone loves a girl in a plaid kilt who can break a man’s neck . In the truly international way of the net, the video showed up on this Russian news site and purported to show a Japanese elevator security camera tape of a would-be purse snatcher getting served by a young woman who knew kung fu and a lot more.

While most people seemed to doubt the video was real the use of the wrestling move the “supplex”, and the defenders perfect “bridge” position on the landing raised The Beat’s suspicions it did cause quite a lot of comment. One clue to the truth was the name “Kodansha” in the corner. Kodansha is one of the largest publishers in Japan, leading those who could read neither Russian nor Japanese to believe the attack had taken place in their building. Or had it?

Thankfully, Internet sleuths did not take the holiday weekend off, and the truth has been revealed via The Museum of Hoaxes, and elsewhere. The video is actually an ad for Kodansha’s Gekkan Shounen magazine.

You can see the video and another one in which a male convenience store clerk thwarts a robber by kissing him on the Kodansha site. According to the Museum of Hoaxes thread, above, the slogan translates to “Unexpected twists, you can read every month.”

Kodansha publishes such manga as Love Hina, Akira, Seraphic Feather, Ghost in the Shell and countless others. You can see their English language cite (minus the cool videos) here.