Japan’s Prime Minister Almost Unwillingly Helps With Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Marketing With Incredible Dress-up
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has received the unlikeliest of marketing assists from Ishiba Shigeru.
- The highly anticipated Sparking Zero is going to launch in less than two weeks on October 11.
- As Dragon Ball fans look forward to the next Budokai Tenkaichi, the game just got some unexpected marketing help.
- Japan's newly appointed prime minister, Ishiba Shigeru, dressed up as Majin Buu at an inauguration event.
Whether one is an anime fan or not, it is highly unlikely that they are unfamiliar with the Dragon Ball franchise, because even if not knowing much about it in great detail, iconic characters like Goku, Vegeta, and more have ensured that almost every pop culture enthusiast is aware of their existence. With Sparking Zero set to continue the Budokai Tenkaichi series in all its glory in less than two weeks, it does not seem like the popularity of the IP is going away anytime soon.
However, a viral post showing Japan’s newly elected prime minister bringing out his inner Dragon Ball fan with an interesting cosplay choice has proven to be an amazingly unintentional marketing assist for the upcoming Spike Chunsoft-developed video game.
The Massive Impact of Dragon Ball Reaches the Japanese Government
Although Sparking Zero would not have been a completely satisfying Dragon Ball experience without the inevitable inclusion of the Majin Buu saga, considering its importance to the overall lore of the franchise, the confirmation of Fusions making their way to the upcoming Budokai Tenkaichi title all but assured the fanbase that Spike Chunsoft and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment will not be skipping over the extremely significant story arc.
With the developer confirming that the Majin Buu saga and all of the major characters featured in the arc will be included in Sparking Zero, a couple of images of Japan’s recently appointed prime minister dressed up as the beloved pink anti-hero have served as unexpected marketing material to build the hype for the next Budokai Tenkaichi even further.
There is not any doubt that anime has had a massive impact on Japan as a country, opening it up on a global scale with people all across the world, but Dragon Ball reaching the Japanese government in such a fun way is a feat on its own for the franchise.
Ishiba Shigeru, the newly appointed president of the Liberal Democratic Party and set to assume the prime ministerial office on October 1, was invited to inaugurate a figure museum in 2018, and he carried the process out in spectacular style.
Although the costume was given to him by the organizer of the event, Shigeru went all in and came out dressed up as Majin Buu, and while the images are now more than half a decade old, them going viral recently because of Shigeru’s new appointment works perfectly with Bandai Namco’s marketing phase for Sparking Zero.
Ishiba Shigeru Earns the Respect of Fans Looking Forward to Sparking Zero
While Majin Buu may not be the character that instantly comes to mind when one thinks of Dragon Ball, he has enough of a fanbase that has brought a lot of goodwill toward Ishiba Shigeru for putting a bigger spotlight on the adorable villain who turned into a lovable hero later on.
Majin Buu fans think that this was the absolute perfect way to open up a figure museum, as although characters like Goku would have been more appealing to the masses, the pink magical life form deserves an equal status among the most popular Dragon Ball fighters.
The Dragon Ball fanbase has also acknowledged that it definitely takes quite some confidence to pull the Majin Buu costume off at such a public event, which Japan’s new prime minister has done spectacularly.
Although Bandai Namco Entertainment clearly needed no help to market its next Budokai Tenkaichi installment, with the marketing team smashing it by mixing nostalgia with action-packed footage, unintentional endorsements like these can potentially add to the ever-increasing hype leading up to its highly anticipated launch on October 11.
