Kimura Takuya to star in 2 new CMs for TeaO, one to be in 1st in 3D

Asahi Soft Drinks has announced on Monday that 37-year-old SMAP band member Takuya Kimura (Howl's Moving Castle's Howl) is stepping into an anime world in two commercials for the new TeaO drink brand this week. One of the commercials is "KimuTaku's" first 3D commercial.

The 30-second "Cup Dance" commercial premiered on Japanese airwaves on Tuesday morning. In the commercial, Kimura becomes Tea-Ō, the king of black tea and dances with the animated characters of the Land of Black Tea (Kocha no Kuni).

Another commercial, "Episode Zero," will premiere in Japanese theaters in stereoscopic 3D on Saturday. It is slated to run for only two weeks. As in "Cup Dance," the 3D commercial features Tea-Ō and the animated characters of the Land of Black Tea.

Kimura is starring in a new live-action television series called Tsuki no Koibito (Moon Lovers), which premiered on Monday night. This December, he will headline a live-action film adaptation of the space opera anime classic, Space Battleship Yamato (adapted as Star Blazers in English).

The selling point of the Tea-Ō black tea drink is "zero sweeteners, zero calories." There are two new flavors that are launching on Tuesday: TeaO Golden Straight Tea and TeaO Golden Milk Tea.