It turns out that Olympic medalists aren’t only amazing at sports – they’re also great cosplayers.
Japan loves skating (especially considering they took home the gold medal in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics), and Japan loves gaming. You may have seen the nation’s love for anime and ice skating mashed together in Yuri on Ice, but what happens when you try to combine skating and gaming?
This enchanting advertisement happens. In a creative marketing strategy, the producers of mobile phone game Magia Record made a commercial for the new release starring the 2018 Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova and two-time silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva. The two athletes appear as popular Magia Record game characters Madoka (Zagitova) and Homura (Medvedeva), playing out a scene where the pair reunite.
▼ The commercial is sure to entertain game fans and skate fans alike.
Zagitova said she was happy to have the opportunity to perform as Madoka (probably almost as happy as she was to receive her Akita Inu last year). Medvedeva was equally as delighted to play the role of Homura, saying she loves watching anime (like–surprise!–Yuri on Ice).
▼ Zagitova makes a pretty darn cute Madoka.
It was Zagitova’s second commercial appearance for Magia Record (the previous one aired in August 2018), but this was the first time for Medvedeva to appear in a Japanese commercial. She’s already a bit famous for her cosplays of characters like Sailor Moon and her striking kimono outfit.
▼ And Medvedeva is equally stunning as Homura.
Netizens were unsurprisingly enthralled with the dynamic duo and had a lot to say about it.
“What is this beauty?”
“They’re real witch girls.”
“Amazing! Their costumes are so cute, I could cry.”
“Nice casting.”
Of course, not everyone was in agreement, with one netizen commenting, “It’s a mystery why they spent so much money on this.”
Well, considering there are a fair number of Japanese people that spend between 10,000 yen (US$91.36) and 50,000 yen (US$456.82) a month on mobile games, it may be safe to say the gaming industry isn’t in financial trouble. Perhaps that’s why Magia Record producers decided to go big and beautiful for this ad.
Sources: Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko, PR Times
Images: YouTube/maidigitv
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