You Can Now Bring Your Favorite Japanese Characters to Life With the Google App
These days, we’ll take every little bit of amusement we can get to break the monotony of staying home 24/7. Luckily, Google Japan has just made it possible for everyone to view their favorite Japanese characters in AR.
The list of characters includes Hello Kitty, Pac-Man, Little Twin Stars, Evangelion, Ultraman, Gundam, and more. Fun fact: According to Google, Pac-Man is the most-searched Japanese character in the world, except for in the Philippines. For Filipinos, that honor goes to Hello Kitty.
All you have to do is search any of the 14 available characters on the Google app. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see an option to view that character in 3D.
Tap the button to “view in your space,” and move your phone around until your chosen character appears. Some characters like Hello Kitty and Pompompurin will pipe up with a greeting in both Japanese and English. Others including Pac-Man, Ultraman, Kiki and Lala, and Taiko no Tatsujin emit sound effects. You can adjust the characters’ size and position by dragging on the screen with two fingers, or tap the option to “view in actual size.”
We tried viewing the Evangelion AR, and we have to say it’s pretty cool seeing Shinji’s Eva Unit-01 lurking in your neighborhood. That said, if you try viewing an Eva or Gundam in actual size at ground level, they’re so huge that you’ll only be able to see their feet. We imagine it would be pretty cool if you try viewing them from your balcony, or in a wide-open space like a field or track oval.
Check out the full list of Japanese anime, TV, and video game characters available in AR, and watch the video below for a better look.
- Hello Kitty
- Pac-Man
- Kiki and Lala
- Pompompurin
- Evangelion
- Gundam Odysseus
- Gundam Penelope
- Xi Gundam
- Ultraman
- Ultraman Belial
- Ultraman Zero
- Taiko no Tatsujin
- Gomora
- Cogimyun
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