Manga series “Boku no Hero Academia” (“My Hero Academia”) hit its 100 million mark of copies including electronic books with its 40th volume published from Shueisha Inc. on Thursday.
The manga is currently serialized in the publisher’s weekly Shukan Shonen Jump manga magazine.
The action-packed manga by Kohei Horikoshi that tells the story of a high school student striving to become the greatest hero has also garnered popularity overseas, including in the United States. According to Shuiesha, over 40 million of the 100 million copies have been printed outside Japan.
For a limited time from April 19th to May 7th, Burger King will open the Burger King Dongfeng Shopping Street Store'' that expresses the world view of the animeWIND BREAKER'' at the Burger King Shibuya Center Gai store. Open.
"Burger King Tofu Shopping Street Store" is a limited-time store that expresses the world of Makochicho Tofu Shopping District, the setting for the TV anime "WIND BREAKER." Inside the store, Haruka Sakura, Kyotaro Sugishita, Akihiko Nasui, Junhi Su, Hajime Umemiya, and Touma Hiiragi, members of "Boufuurin" who attend Furin High School, are "working as staff," so there is a special atmosphere inside the store. A visual is provided. Also appearing are Taiga Tsugaura, Miki Kiryu, and Kotoha Tachibana, an employee of ``Cafe Potos''.
In this collaboration, three limited-time "Buddy Burger" products with new sauce combinations will be released under the theme of "Buddy makes burgers delicious." You can choose from three products: A set BBQ x Spicy'', B setTeriyaki x Raspberry'', and C set ``Aurora x Cheese.''
In addition, if you purchase any of the 3 products in the "Buddy Burger" set, you will receive a "WIND BREAKER" acrylic stand (*while supplies last, 6 designs in total, 1 design per store). The design of the acrylic stand is a limited edition design featuring six characters wearing Burger King uniforms.
សម្រាប់រយៈពេលកំណត់ចាប់ពីថ្ងៃទី 19 ខែមេសាដល់ថ្ងៃទី 7 ឧសភា Burger King នឹងបើកហាង Burger King Dongfeng Shopping Street Store'' ដែលបង្ហាញពីទិដ្ឋភាពពិភពលោកនៃ animeWIND BREAKER'' នៅហាង Burger King Shibuya Center Gai ។ បើក។
នៅក្នុងការសហការគ្នានេះ ផលិតផល "Buddy Burger" ដែលមានកំណត់ចំនួនបីជាមួយនឹងការផ្សំទឹកជ្រលក់ថ្មីនឹងត្រូវបានចេញផ្សាយក្រោមប្រធានបទ "Buddy ធ្វើឱ្យប៊ឺហ្គឺឆ្ងាញ់" ។ អ្នកអាចជ្រើសរើសពីផលិតផលចំនួនបី៖ A set BBQ x Spicy'' B setTeriyaki x Raspberry'' និង C set ``Aurora x Cheese''។
The Japanese manga character "Chiikawa" has gained explosive popularity among young people in China.
MINISO, a major Chinese lifestyle retail chain that operates the "MINISO" brand, developed character merchandise such as plush toys in collaboration with Chiikawa. When they launched pop-up stores in shopping malls in Shanghai and Beijing, they attracted far more fans than expected.
According to MINISO, the first pop-up store, which opened in Joy City in the Jing'an District of Shanghai on March 29, achieved sales exceeding 8 million yuan (approximately 167.52 million yen) in just three days. The average spend per customer was over 1,000 yuan (approximately 2,941 yen).
On April 1, additional pop-up stores opened in Joy City in the Chaoyang District of Beijing and Hopson One in the Yangpu District of Shanghai, where long lines of fans seeking Chiikawa merchandise formed.
To prevent accidents and other incidents, MINISO limited the number of people in the pop-up stores to 60 at a time and restricted shopping time to 10–15 minutes. According to signs in front of the stores, those wishing to enter needed to reserve through a smartphone app by 8 PM the previous day and also queue up on the day.
MINISO plans to sell Chiikawa collaboration products not only in pop-up stores but also throughout its chain stores across China.
Chiikawa, which was animated for Japanese TV in 2022, sparked a boom among anime fans in China towards the end of 2023.
Until this collaboration with MINISO, no one in China had acquired the domestic rights to use the Chiikawa character. As a result, Chinese fans had been paying high fees to Japanese purchasing agents to import Chiikawa goods personally.
Based on a licensing agreement with Chiikawa’s rights management company, MINISO was able to develop and sell original merchandise for the Chinese market, significantly reducing prices compared to personal imports. This reduction in cost has greatly contributed to the overwhelming turnout at the pop-up stores.
Meanwhile, there has been a surge in reselling the products from the pop-up stores at high prices. A Caixin journalist searching China's largest flea market app, Xianyu, found Chiikawa plush toys in pajamas being traded for about 110 to 140 yuan, nearly double the original price of 69.9 yuan.
Recently, MINISO has been rapidly launching collaboration products with popular characters both inside and outside China. This collaboration with Chiikawa appears to be an exceptionally successful venture among these efforts.
However, acquiring the rights to popular characters also leads to increased costs. According to MINISO's disclosures, the expenses related to sales and distribution, including intellectual property licensing fees, for the second half of 2023 (July to December) totaled 1.322 billion yuan, a 70% increase over the same period the previous year.
Tokyo DisneySea is set to open the eagerly awaited new area "Fantasy Springs" on June 6, 2024. This new expansion area is based on the theme "A World of Disney Fantasy Led by a Magical Spring," and consists of three unique zones themed after the Disney movies "Frozen," "Tangled," and "Peter Pan."
Frozen Kingdom: Themed after "Frozen," this area allows visitors to experience the enchanting winter landscapes and magic portrayed in the film.
Rapunzel's Forest: Based on "Tangled," this area offers attractions themed around Rapunzel's adventures and her beautiful hair.
Neverland from Peter Pan: Set in the Isle of Neverland, this area lets visitors embark on a journey through the mysterious world of "Peter Pan."
Additionally, the "Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel" will also debut as part of this new area, providing guests with an even deeper experience of Disney movie magic.
At the entrance of the area, "Fantasy Springs Entryway," there is a "Magical Spring" composed of rocks shaped like Disney characters including Peter Pan, Anna and Elsa, and Rapunzel, enchanting all who visit. This spring serves as an artistic representation of the stories woven by each character, enhancing the overall fantasy feel of the area.
Get ready to experience a new world of Disney magic in the summer of 2024.
តំបន់ថ្មីរបស់ Tokyo DisneySea គឺ "Fantasy Springs" ដែលផ្អែកលើប្រធានបទ "ពិភពនៃការចម្លងផ្ទាល់នឹងរឿងបុរាណដឹកនាំដោយប្រភពទឹកវេទមន្ត" និងមានបីតំបន់ប្លែកៗដែលមានរចនាបថតាមរឿងភាគ Disney ដូចជា "Frozen," "Tangled," និង "Peter Pan"។
The first preliminary results of the Sanrio character popularity voting event "2024 Sanrio Character Award", which will be held from April 11, 2024 (Thursday), have been announced.
The first place in the initial ranking was Pochacco, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year! It was the first time that "Pochacco" ranked first in the breaking news, and it was an eventful beginning.
2nd place went to last year's 1st place Cinnamoroll'', and 3rd place went to last year's 2nd placePom Pom Purin'', with dog characters dominating the top rankings. It will be interesting to see how the consistently popular 4th place Kuromi'', 5th placeHello Kitty'', 6th place My Melody'', and 7th placeHangyodon'' catch up in the future.
In addition, "Hanamaru Obake", which just debuted last year through the user participation project "NEXT KAWAII PROJECT" and was the first entry this year, ranked 8th. Fresh characters are showing momentum.
Duck Peckle'', which came in 9th place, made a huge leap forward from 16th place last year and entered the breaking news top 10 for the first time. Also pay attention to the trends ofKogimyun'', which is ranked 10th (11th place last year).
The voting period ends on Sunday, May 26th. We are accepting lottery applications for the character designer autograph session and greeting event until April 18th (Thursday)! Intermediate rankings will be announced on May 9th (Thursday) at 13:00!
A novel based on the manga ``Funeral Freeren'' was released on April 17th.
Under the supervision of the original author, Kaneto Yamada, author Mei Yamoku has written a novel as a prequel based on a story that takes place shortly before Freelen goes on a journey to "get to know people", which is not depicted in the main story. ification.
It is a collection of short stories consisting of 5 episodes featuring the characters of Freelen, Fern, Stark, Lavigne & Kanne, and Aura.
“Funeral Free Ren” has been serialized in “Weekly Shonen Sunday” since April 2020, and is a “sequel fantasy” that depicts the aftermath of a group of heroes who defeated the Demon King. The story is about the magician Elf Freelen, who goes on a new adventure with his new friends in a world after the death of the hero.
The story, which unfolds in an innovative chronological order "after the defeat of the Demon King," is woven by characters, including heart-rending drama and lines, battles with magic and swords, and humor that will make you laugh, and has won many readers. It is a popular work that won the grand prize at the Manga Awards 2021, and the comics have sold over 20 million copies in total.
"Charimera" is a product inspired by a unique episode from the popular manga "Chiikawa." It originated from a scene where Hachiware mistakenly calls the instant ramen "Charmela" as "Charimera." This endearing mistake led to a collaboration with Myojo Charmela in April 2021.
This collaboration has been a great success, and by February 2024, it had produced up to its third iteration, becoming a beloved item among "Chiikawa" fans. The latest collaboration features flavors such as "Myojo Charmela Soy Sauce Ramen," "Miyazaki Spicy Noodles," and "Barikata Tonkotsu Noodles," each offered in a limited edition "Charmela × Chiikawa" collaborative design package.
The package design is special, themed around a Charmela street food stall and features characters from "Chiikawa." Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi are depicted holding Charmela, and the inclusion of characters like Kurimanjyu and Momonga adds a fun element of searching for where they are located. The brand name on the package is not the usual "Charmela" but "Charimera," in reference to the episode, adding an extra touch of exclusivity for fans.
Nagano, the illustrator behind the popular web comic "Chiikawa," made a comment several years ago in which he referred to Taiwan as a "country", which has been causing ripples both domestically and internationally since around April 2024.
Chiikawa'', which has an advanced media mix, is becoming increasingly popular in China as well, with a collaboration project being held in the same month with the miscellaneous goods chainMiso Yuhin'', known for its ``MINISO'' brand.
"Taiwan…it's a nice country…" What caused a stir was one frame of Nagano's illustrated essay depicting his memories of a trip to Taiwan, in which he expressed, Taiwan...it's a nice country...''. The picture was originally published in Kodansha's youth manga magazine "D Morning" in 2018, and the illustrated essay was later published as a book. This scene is included in the bookMOGUMOGU Eating Walking Bear (1)'' released in 2019.
In April 2024, this panel gained attention again and was widely spread on the Chinese social networking site Weibo. Concerning the expression of the word, there are voices that are speculating whether the word ``country'' refers to a region or not.
At the time the picture was announced, in 2018, Nagano visited Taiwan and while interacting with X users, he said, Taiwan was so much fun! When I was in Taiwan, I saw the message and said,There are people in this country who know bears.'' …! I felt strange," he also posted.
This too has been dug up in the same way as the picture, and over the past few years, users who appear to be from Greater China have asked, ``Do you mean China, or do you think of Taiwan as an independent country?'' "Taiwan is not an independent country. It's a province of China." "I love your chiikawa, but now many people in China are resisting chiikawa because you call Taiwan a country." Do you support Taiwanese independence? That's very important to Chinese fans.'' There have been a lot of comments asking whether Nagano is a supporter of Taiwanese independence.
The series of moves has also caused concern among Japanese fans. In relation to the Japanese entertainment industry, in 2020 there was an uproar in which the words and actions of talents belonging to the major VTuber group Hololive were criticized by fans living in China, who accused them of treating Taiwan as an independent country. . Although the agency issued an apology in support of "one China," and the person himself refrained from activities and returned, he continued to suffer from slander and slander, and although the causal relationship is unclear, some of the students graduated in 2021.
Established in 1972, the "Japan Cartoonists Association Award" recognizes outstanding works to promote manga culture and advance the manga industry. The award includes categories such as the Comic Division, Cartoon Division, and the Manga Division, along with special categories like the "Manga Kingdom Tottori Award," "Manga Kingdom Tosa Award," and the "Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award," covering a wide array of manga works.
This time, Mr. Nagano's manga "Chiikawa: A Small and Cute Fellow" won the grand prize in the Manga Division. The award was given for its depiction of beings who live in a mysterious and challenging world, finding joy and struggle in their coexistence, which resonates deeply with many people.
The "Japan Cartoonists Association Award" will continue to spotlight talented manga artists and support the development of manga culture. There is much anticipation for Mr. Nagano's future endeavors.
The popular manga "Chiikawa" and the beloved "Sanrio Characters" have collaborated for a UNIQLO original collection. Featuring cute characters surrounded by sweet treats, this collection is aimed at kids but offers sizes from 100 cm to 160 cm, likely becoming popular with women as well. It will be released in early May as a Summer 2024 collaboration.
