Damn, Momotaro

Japan has its fair share of folklore tales, but one of the most widespread and well known stories is that of Momotaro, the Peach Boy.

A story panel of Momotaro.

The tale is fairly simple. In short, an elderly couple find a peach floating down a canal. When they take it home to eat it, they find a boy inside, who explains to them that he was sent down to earth from heaven to be their son. They name the boy Momotaro (Peach "Taro", a name meaning firstborn son.) The child grows older, then hears of a band of oni (Japanese ogres) who weave destruction where they go. He sets out to defeat them, and along the way, befriends a dog, an ape, and a pheasant, who accompany him on his quest. Together, they travel to the island of demons, and force a surrender out of the oni.

 It's a personal favorite of mine, but in truth, I wanted to share that because Pepsi (yeah, the drink) have been releasing these amazing commercials, retelling the story. Shameless advertisement, ahoy! Here we go!

The original, "Episode 0" commercial, tells a part of the original story, with Momotaro assembling his companions.

The other episodes add to the story, with episode 1 having Momotaro learning swordplay from the master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, the wandering swordsman who wrote the Book of Five Rings.

Episode 2 tells the story of Dog, who, in this retelling, was a boy raised by wolves. His wolf pack is one day killed by the oni, and the boy's hair turns white from grief. From then on, he calls himself "Dog."

I really thought the commercials have great impact and are lots of fun to watch. And I'm usually so tuned out when it comes to Japanese TV. Great character design, great music, a fun twist on the original story. I'll be staying tuned for more.