Well, that was unexpected. Microsoft posted a video on its Internet Explorer (IE) YouTube channel today personifying its popular browser as an anime heroine called Inori Aizawa. Bizarrely, she’s also the new official mascot for IE.
During the short advert, she flees from a group of laser-touting robots in a post-apocalyptic city, eventually transforming into some kind of Super Saiyan form with Microsoft branding and new combat abilities. Expect magical shields, force-fields, jet propelled footwear and some over-the-top combat sequences that feature robot-destroying internet browser tabs.
A typical anime, then.
It ends with a giant robot that wouldn’t look out-of-place in Pacific Rim or Neon Genesis Evangelion, before suddenly panning out to reveal Inori Aizawa sitting at a regular desktop PC. It’s all rather confusing, really.
The end of the video highlights www.internetexplorertan.com which, once clicked, will send you to a Facebook page dedicated to Aizawa. If you click on the About tab, you’ll find her personal attributes (that’s a bit weird), an email address and this odd biography:
“When I was younger, I used to be a clumsy, slow and awkward girl.
However, just like the story of ugly duckling, people told me that I have really matured and changed over the years. I feel confident in my abilities now, and I’m eager to show you what I can do.
Why don’t you get to know me a little better?”
The page also claims that Inori is the new, official mascot for IE. You can also download a special ‘Inori Version’ of IE for Windows 7, 8 and Windows 8.1 right here.
If you want to know more about Inori Aizawa, you can check out the full back story written by her creators, Collateral Damage Studios.
It’s certainly different to old Clippy.
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