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Earlier this year, AKB48—Japan's biggest girl group—released a candy commercial that grossed out pretty much the entire country. This year, AKB48 is back with a new ad that won't gross everyone out. It'll freak them out instead. Progress!




In the commercial, the members' heads were superimposed on the bodies of six-year-old children. The concept behind the commercial is that it's supposed to be like the NHK kiddy shows that feature adults singing and dancing with children. Here, AKB48 member Yuko Oshima is the "big sister" type character.

Online the reaction in Japan is ranging from, "This is creepy" to "Holy crap, this is creepy."


You can watch the commercial in the above TV clip. It starts about 26 seconds in; there's also a making-of.

AKB48の「ぷっちょ」新CMが気持ち悪すぎると話題 / ネットユーザー「吐きそうになった」「生理的嫌悪感を抱く」「口移しよりダメ」 [ロケットニュース]

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.