Dragon Ball Branding At Japanese Mini Stop Shops

If you know your manga (comic books) and anime (cartoons) and video games (video games), then you know that the image above is the coolest form of branding. Okay, maybe not. If you were in the packaging or advertising industry, you might know that the branding for the fries and container are awesome!

If you aren't, well I suppose you might just think it's brilliant and want one for yourself. I mean, French fries for hair of Super Saiyan from the extremely popular Dragon Ball series?! Brilliant.

Available from the Japanese convenience store Mini Stop, comes a whole range of Dragon Ball-related food stuffs as part of an advertising campaign for the soon-to-be released movie: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods (on March 30, 2013 - in Japan, I assume... later for other countries?)

Although I am quite a bit behind, I have watched the first 30 episodes of the VERY first Dragon Ball anime - and found it quite cute and funny and interesting. I can see why it has spawned numerous spin-offs and continuations.

Anyhow - from March 5 - April 18, 2013, if you stop of at any of the Mini Stop shops, you might be able to pick up any of the 13 available Dragon Ball 'food' items.

Spirit Ball Onigiri (rice ball) package

Some of the foods available look like they have had some thought put into them to give them a more Dragon Ball look, while others simply aren't trying as hard - like the Spirit Ball Onigiri directly above. Then again, the food below - the One-Star Ball at least looks like one of the epic Dragon Balls that the show's hero, Goku, was searching for in the original series (is he still looking for them in the Dragon Ball Z series? Don't you dare tell me!

One-Star Ball Tien Shinhan rice.

Below is a full list of the 13 Dragon Ball items available for a limited time. I did not present photos of all 13 - just the ones I deemed interesting.

• Dragon Ball Pizza Ball - so it's a mini panzerotti. It's going to shoot burning hot tomato sauce down my throat, isn't it?
• Super Saiyan X French Fries - That's the image at the very top. Best packaging job - EVER!
• Demon King Piccolo's Green Tea Cream Puffs  - any flavor but green tea! - but the packaging looks good!
• Dragon Balls You-Eat-With-A-Spoon - WTF?! I didn't even know Japan had spoons!
• Majin Buu Milk Pudding - Nope. Not even with a Japanese spoon.
• Goku's Nyoibo (Power Pole) Long Bread - Power Pole?!?! What does eating this say about a person?Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.
• Krillin Whipped Cream and Chestnut Cream Bread - I am intrigued by this. I have never had chestnut cream bread. Any good? It must be - it has whipped cream!
• 1-Star Ball Tien Shinhan Rice - now they are reaching. Boring.
• Spirit Ball Onigiri (rice ball) - see above. I think it's cool.
• Kamehame-han (rice) - you're just sticking a crappy image on the packaging now)
• Seven-ingredient yakisoba - ditto
• Master Roshi roll - ditto
• Vegeta's green salad - ditto

You can tell that the branding company was getting bored with having to come up with cool packages, because the latter ones were simply a printed image of a Dragon Ball character over a foil or plastic lid.They didn't even try! How can they make something as utterly fantastic as the French Fries hair and then cheap out on at least four of the 13 items?

Branding agency's lame attempts are as weak as my own forced 'ditto comments above!

Small bucket of Dragon Ball Pizza Balls.

I have to admit - while I am not that enamored by the pizza balls as food concept, I do like the name of Dragon Ball Pizza Balls - and I can only hope that the balls in the bucket each come with a different number of stars on them!

Goku's Nyoibo (Power Pole) long bread.

As for the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods movie, in case you were wondering (and someone always is), it is directed by Hosoda Masahiro (surname first) of TOEI, with the script written by Watanbe Yuuske (surname first).

If you are in Japan and have tried Goku's Power Pole, don't brag about it - just tell me if you liked it. The same for the Dragon Ball Pizza Balls.

I want an empty pack of the Super Saiyan X French Fries item! Someone over in Japan - buy a pack (or two), eat the fries and send me a package!

I can easily grow his hair out with new fries I bake myself. I wonder what he would look like as a redhead - sweet potato fries, of course!

I am series about the empty Super Saiyan X French Fries package!

Cheers
Andrew Joseph