Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Hayabusa (Vacuum Cleaner Lady) Commercial + Butanohana Toys



The cross section between products, toys, and pop culture can produce some fun and interesting outcomes. The above commercials have been on the Net for a while, but I just spotted them. (Anyway, the classics never go out of style!) They were made by National Panasonic in the 1970s to sell a new line of vacuum cleaners.

Each vid starts with the town being terrorized by Gomira ("Garbage-ra"). As the dust bunnies swirl and panic ensues among the town denizens, the heroine is called into action. And who can save the town from the trash swirl? Hayabusa! At first glance, she's a mild-mannered housewife. But with a spin and a twirl, she dons a very Ultramannish outfit and sprouts wings (hence her name: Hayabusa - "Peregrine Falcon," which also appear on her chest: 隼).

Butanohana has made a couple of versions of the character. (I haven't got either, but I am on the lookout, so if you want to let either go, give me a shout out. :O)  Here are a couple of pics gleaned from the Googlesphere:

[Butanohana] Hayabusa (Red Falcon)
From "khunter's" toy flickr page.

Source page
Butanohana is certainly in their own world and seems to move from figure to figure depending on what inspires their imagination. I've seen the couple and their daughter at a few shows. Props to the team for keeping sofubi fun!
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4 comments:

  1. ultrakaijuDecember 7, 2011 at 5:59 PM

    Great summary Andy. It is always nice to know a bit of the history on these. And thanks for tracking down the link to that video. For the record, I don't think you are alone in hoping to find one of these guys (or gals ^_^).

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  2. andy bDecember 7, 2011 at 11:35 PM

    Thanks! Yeah I can imagine this is probably up there on some Buta collectors' lists, but eh, just putting it out there just in case. On that note, we're also looking for a Griffin and Ultra Belial. :O)

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  3. scott vanden boschJanuary 27, 2012 at 6:30 PM

    haha ..vacuum cleaners plus is right on the money !
    I have one of these figures but was always unsure about its origins so thanks !

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  4. andy bJanuary 27, 2012 at 9:44 PM

    Totally. The commercial made me want to get one too - luckily I was able to track the standard version down. :)

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