Chara Expo 2018: The Details Behind Kenny Omega’s ‘BanG Dream’ Commercial
Back in July, I was lucky enough to attend the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special In San Francisco show. Expecting to walk away with some amazing live matches from the likes of Hiromu Takahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and the newly crowned IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega, the show delivered on each of those fronts.
However, what I didn’t expect, was to get hooked on a new mobile game by NJPW’s parent company, Bushiroad. During intermission, a hilariously absurd commercial kept playing of Omega intensely playing a rhythm game in the ring in between performing his signature wrestling moves. Simultaneously showing off the skill needed to be the best all-female band and the level of physical fitness needed to full clear a Roselia song, the absurd premise stuck with me. Soon after, a friend sent me the commercial to make sure I had seen it, and suggested I try playing the game since he was already a big fan of the game. The game was BanG Dream: Girls Band Party, which is unironically one of my favorite games of the year. As for the commercial… See for yourself.
Fast forward to Chara Expo 2018, a convention that housed both NJPW AND BanG Dream fans in celebration of everything Bushiroad. After being victorious against David Finlay and cutting a BanG Dream related promo, Omega moved on to a meet and greet autograph session with his fans. Not one to pass up a “golden” opportunity, I made sure to tell him that I got into the game because of his commercial in San Francisco. To my surprise and delight, he took an extra minute or so to tell me some details behind the commercial that reflected on his well known love of video games and anime.
- Despite being part of the same parent company, Omega didn’t know what BanG Dream was until he was approached to do the commercial.
- Omega was asked to learn how to legitimately get a full clear on Louder by Roselia, the song featured in the commercial.
- The footage in the commercial was really him playing the featured song on Hard difficulty. As a fan of rhythm games, this lined up with his typical interests.
- After preparing for and shooting the commercial, Omega became a legitimate fan of the game and the music behind it, to the point where he would later perk up and try to catch Roselia on stage during their concert a few feet away.
- During his post-match promo, he said he had requested to wrestle at Chara Expo specifically so he could bring together fans of NJPW and BanG Dream, since he’s apart of the anime, wrestling and gaming fandoms himself.
Kenny Omega with Aiai Aiba (AKA Yukina Minato of Roselia) at Chara Expo 2018. Photo source: @kennyomegamanx on Twitter
As a fan who was only expecting to exchange pleasantries and an autograph, it was so cool to geek out as gamers with the world champion of one of the biggest pro wrestling companies in the world. Big thanks to Kenny for providing the details behind the commercial, which was a gesture that went above and beyond the typical autograph experience.
Omega is looking to “change the world” through wrestling, so maybe it’s anime girl bands that can help him take that next step towards world domination. Until then, I’m waiting for someone to make their full fledged wrestling gimmick a J-Rock goth girl who intensely plays mobile games while wrestling.
