Doraemon Exilim camera smiles, makes you do it too

Collaborations between manufacturers and pop culture in Japan have a been a hit as of late, especially with electronics. Sure, Doraemon might be for kids, but Japan’s “Anime Ambassador” is popular across age groups (not to Hello Kitty levels of course). This new Exilim camera from Casio mixes smile detection technology with Dora-chan to create a new experience for snapshot taking.

In this case, Dora-chan’s face is used to give visual cues as to how the picture is going to turn out. If the picture is out of focus, Doraemon’s face isn’t happy, but smiles ear to ear once there’s good focus and your subject is smiling “properly”. Say what you will about being forced to smile by Doraemon, but the concept is unique.

While the body, case, and strap are also physically branded, the camera includes built in animations and menus based around the character. The result is an experience Doraemon and the camera simultaneously, adding value to both. Such collaborations are often hard to pull off without it seeming cheap, but the unique Japanese penchant for characters makes it work well here.

Pre-orders are already being taken for the camera, which will be officially released in December for about $350.