The above frames were from two television commercials for a Sushi and Hibachi restaurant. The original idea was to have one featuring Sushi Ninjas and the other featuring Hibachi Samurai. Ultimately the Samurai proved difficult to caricature, and still keep the entertainment smiles of a typical Hibachi chef going, so we opted to make the second commercial a cartoon Hibachi chef. This still provided plenty of fun in studying some typical Hibachi tricks. The highlight being the onion volcano at the end that blazes up in a stylized pattern subtly inspired by Japanese characters.
A small discussion also included anime influences vs. Japanese art. Ultimately a soft blend between the two was used. Enjoy the Hibachi video below!