Interest

Densha Otoko Actor Takayuki Yamada Dons Batman's Mantle

Takayuki Yamada, star of the live-action versions of Densha Otoko, MW and the forthcoming Bakuman., goes batty in a commercial for Batman: Arkham Knight, the latest game in the Batman: Arkham series.

Yamada mentions that he's been caught up in his PlayStation 4 lately, and his friend guesses it's Batman specifically. When Yamada is surprised he could figure that out, his friend points out his Batman garb, which Yamada had apparently not noticed. When Yamada goes into the joys of flying freely through Gotham City, his friend tells him he's standing out too much, and asks him to quit cosplaying. Cue Yamada's dramatic announcement: "This is no cosplay. I am... BATMAN!" The commercial later calls him "Bottōman" — bottō being a Japanese term for obsession.

This making-of video shows some behind-the-scenes footage of the commercial's filming, including Yamada practicing his enthusiastic reactions. He also explains how excited he was to wear the Batsuit as a real-life fan of video games and American comics, despite how hot it is and how hard it is to move his arms. He loves the game and hopes to play it when he has free time.

This commercial for the PS4, which aired in February, shows Yamada trying to get out of work so he can play Dragon Quest Heroes and Final Fantasy Type-0, so he's no stranger to shirking work for video games. The "Bottōman" commercial will air with additional footage on July 12 on Nippon TV during Death Note.

[Via Kai-You]