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Despicable Me's Minions Make Cameos in Inazuma Eleven

The "minions" from the American computer-animated film Despicable Me are making cameo appearances during the soccer videogame-based anime Inazuma Eleven all this month. The cameos help promote Inazuma Eleven's upcoming timeslot move; starting on March 2, the anime will move from Wednesdays at 7:26 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. March 2 is also the same day that Despicable Me will ship on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in Japan.

The four "eyecatch" bumpers with the Despicable Me cameos tell a standalone short story. Over the four weeks leading up to the timeslot change, the minions are pitching in to help the Inazuma Eleven team move. Besides the minions, the Despicable Me characters Vector (voiced in Japanese by Mana Ashida) and Agnes (Kouichi Yamadera) also appear.

This is actually the second collaboration between Despicable Me and Inazuma Eleven. Last October, a trailer for the Inazuma Eleven: Saikyō Gundan Ogre Shūrai film ran before Japanese screenings of Despicable Me. To promote the collaboration, a 30-second commercial (pictured at right) with both the Inazuma Eleven and Despicable Me characters aired in Japan.

There is a separate television commercial promoting the timeslot change where the Inazuma Eleven characters join forces with the character from the new anime Danbōru Senki. Both anime are based on LEVEL-5 Inc. games, and Danbōru Senki will take over Inazuma Eleven's old timeslot.

Source: animeanime.jp

Images © Level-5/FC Inazuma Eleven Movie 2010 © 2010 Universal Studios