Nissin Cup Noodle's Hungry Days commercial series has made a mark by creatively re-imagining popular anime characters as Japanese high school students, often highlighting the ups and downs of the "spring time of their youth", punctuated by a delicious cup of noodles to keep them going through their trying times. That was on full display earlier this year in a beautifully animated short in the series, this time featuring the cast of mega hit anime and manga franchise One Piece as high school students, particularly Zoro's quest to rise to the top of his school's Kendo club.

The series, titled "One Piece: Aoharu" (the springtime or heyday of one's youth), and it's latest entry shifts focus to Nami, navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, and her struggles to make it through her life as a student.

Nami, who introduces herself as a 17-year old student who dreams of becoming a navigator, has her day start off poorly as she misses her bus after oversleeping.

She wonders to herself if the hard work she is putting in now will ever turn into anything, and tells herself she needs to work even harder, even when Arlong, the mean boss of the restaurant she works at, makes her life miserable. We then hear the voice of Bell-mère telling Nami not to over-exert herself.

Nami breaks down, asking for help, when a certain student approaches from behind and places a straw hat on her said, saying "Of course", recreating the touching scene in the series when Luffy trusts Nami with his prized hat as he heads out to take down Arlong.

The commercial's artwor is once again from manga artist Eisaku Kubonouchi (“Tsurumoku Dokushin Ryo”, “Watanabe” and “Chocolat”) and features a Bump of Chicken soundtrack. It's loaded with a colorful background of easy to miss One Piece cast characters re-imagined as school students, as well as a surprisingly touching motivation to get some cheese curry Cup Noodles.


By - Big Neko.