It's no secret that the Japanese people, when taken as a whole, can be slightly odd. That might be understating it a little. Sometimes the entire damn island looks to be completely off their nut. But I could be wrong. I've yet to go there, so I can only paraphrase them sociologically, as with any culture one comes across mostly anecdotally.

You say to yourself, "I might only be looking at Japan through the lens of the Internet, and that might distort the picture a bit. I'm sure they're just like you or me, with few minor little differences here and there." Then you see something normal, everyday and benign, such as an advertisement for soy sauce which leads you to believe that the entirety of the Japanese people are, in fact, from space.

Trey, no stranger to the strange (or the Japanese), sent me the above Flash movie. He even got me to install Flash in order to see it. "It's worth it," he said. Boy, is it ever. Jumpin' Jesus on a bento box, it's friggin' weird. And it's for kids! This is an advertisement to get kids to use soy over other condiments. And watch the white cat! Now you're eating your soy sauce, aren't you? It's like the Brothers Grimm were born in the anime age. And were Japanese. And drug abusers. And from space.

Kikkoman's the cigarette-smoking superhero who can beat up ketchup and maybe salt. He needs a Shaft-esque theme song even. "Who's the number 1 motocycle-riding soy sauce superhero who's a hit with all the chicks? Kikkoman! Right on..."

Watch it a couple times. I really want a t-shirt with Kikkoman riding the "#1 Soy Sauce" motocycle. Or a shirt with the white cat. Or one of Kikkoman getting a little horizontal soy-based refreshment.