The Hanshin Tigers' TORACO promotion is returning this year with NMB being the faces of the promotion again this year. Obviously, with Haruna and Shuu graduating, they had to fill in the gaps, so in addition to Sayaka and Chihi, they added four new members: Aayan, Airi, Saepy, and Jo. http://hanshintigers.jp/news/topics/info_4827.html TORACO DAY will be May 27 & 28, but there will probably be a lot of TORACO stuff throughout the year if last year is any indication. http://hanshintigers.jp/toraco/toracoday/ Shuu will join Sayaka, Chihi, and Airi for the annual YNN baseball special, however. https://twitter.com/riichan24h/status/831129702945263621 The thing I really liked about NMB's involvement last year was that it was comprised entirely of members who were diehard Tigers fans, so I thought it made it a really genuine tie-in. I don't know how much Aayan likes baseball, but I honestly can't recall much from Airi, Saepy, and Jo regarding the sport, so I think that takes away from it, but maybe they'll all become big fans! I'll look forward to seeing how their TV appearances go with this promotion though. Last year, Chihi and Shuu were regulars on the Tigers recap show, but again, it was a natural fit due to their fandom. This is a difficult platform to get away with not being up to speed with what's going on. I really like the TORACO promotion though, so I'm glad it's coming back at any rate. You can follow TORACO on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook https://twitter.com/TORACO_TIGERS https://www.instagram.com/toraco_tigers/ https://www.facebook.com/pg/TORACO.TIGERS
Aayan has talked about how she likes Hanshin but she's probably on the low end of the scale (similar to Chihhi where its just influence from her dad). Jo, Airi and Saepii are complete newbies to the point that I doubt they even know baseball's rules but I guess the tact they're taking now is that Toraco is supposed to encourage girls to be baseball fans and what better way to do it than through the eyes of people who don't know baseball very well either. They're also doing another YNN special on Saturday (although only Airi is joining from the new members)
I saw some Japanese fans online speculating that Airi and Saepii got picked because they have that show in Okayama, where there are supposedly a decent number of Hanshin fans. Jo and Aayan are from Hyogo, obviously, and Jo seems sporty but I don't recall any specific baseball interest from her. I was hoping for maybe some crossover from the soccer fans (Moka, Isochan, etc.) and trying to convert them into baseball fans, but I guess they're not popular/pushed enough... I'm glad Shuu gets a few last chances to have Hanshin-related work before she graduates. I'm also excited because it might be a good chance for Chihhii to take the spotlight as the "veteran fan" when Sayanee isn't there and lead the new TORACO members. I personally discovered Chihhii from TORACO last year. I'm becoming a Hanshin fan myself thanks to TORACO (and just liking NMB and Kansai in general), but I also selfishly wish that they'd let Reinyan (and maybe Aapon) participate in the YNN baseball special. Can't do that now with the Hanshin tie-in now, though.
Reinyan, maybe, but Aapon's Hiroshima fandom is basically saying she likes the Carp since she's from there. Reinyan actually reps Nippon Ham (why she doesn't root for Chiba Lotte I don't know). If the Saepii Airi thing is a play for Okayama then it must have come from Hanshin themselves which bodes well for the relationship between NMB and Hanshin. I think Chihhi will be the regular in the Hanshin TV show for a while since the other girls don't seem like they even know the roster enough to not embarrass themselves which is great news for her.
The Fighters' farm team actually plays in her hometown, Kamagaya, Chiba. I guess she has gone to games there ever since she was little and became a fan that way. The Fighters also used to play in Tokyo before 2003, apparently. I think it's funny because she reps Chiba so much for everything else but never mentions the Marines lol.
So turns out Ayaan knows her shit. Saepi will probably learn fast so no worries there. Now Jo and Airin The yakyu joshikai will be a riot, I can already feel it.
Ah, so cute if the video does not show watch the video here if the video does not show watch the video here
Chihhii, Sayanee, and Jo try some of the new food offerings at KÅshien this year: http://hanshintigers.jp/toraco/special/movie.html Why can't American stadium food be so good and cheap...?
They seem to be doing quite a bit more promotion than they did last year. Hanshin must have really liked the feedback from the tieup last year so they are expanding.