To celebrate the release of volume 3 of the Dandadan manga series, participating Tower Records locations in Japan will be selling some collaborative merchandise starting on December 3. The items will also be available to purchase on Tower Records Online. 

Acrylic Keychain (8 varieties): ¥715 (Tax Included) 

*This product is limited to 16 per person.

Square Pins (6 varieties): ¥605 (Tax Included) 

*This product is limited to 12 per person. 

Sticker (Momo Ayase, Okarun, Aira Shiratori & Turbo-Granny, 3 Varieties): ¥880 each

Tiny Pin: ¥660 (Tax Included) 

Sticky Note Set: ¥880 (Tax Included) 

Towel:  ¥2,200 (Tax Included) 

Reversible Reuseable Bag: ¥2,200 (Tax Included) 

T-shirt (Okarun, Turbo-Granny, 2 varieties): ¥3,850 each

©︎龍幸伸 / 集英社

Saki Ashizawa, a member of the virtual music production company RIOT MUSIC, will perform at Sanrio’s first-ever event in the metaverse ‘SANRIO Virtual Fes in Sanrio Puroland.’ The music and entertainment festival will take place on December 11 and 12, with Ashizawa taking the stage on December 12. 

Chosen as the second artist to perform on the 12th, Ashizawa will appear during the B3: FUTURE STAGE, which will blend both kawaii and futuristic space elements. Fans can also look forward to the Saki Ashizawa x Badtz-Maru collaboration figures for sale at the event’s digital store. 

Saki Ashizawa

With a sharp and aggressive voice filled with passion, Ashizawa’s performances are one-of-a-kind. Singing since before she can remember, she’s said that singing is now the only way she knows how to live. Initially singing for fun, after meeting her current producer, she realized that even if she wasn’t perfect she could still connect with people through her music. In 2020, she decided to go pro and joined RIOT MUSIC. She continues to perform to connect with the audience’s heart.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saki_ashizawa
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPZgBtMYoFKypEG2SCvBN9A

©‘21 SANRIO　著作（株）サンリオ

Legendary shojo manga artist Macoto Takahashi is collaborating with Tsudanuma PARCO in Funabashi, Chiba, for the 2021 Christmas event from November 19 until December 25, 2021. The creator recently released an art book featuring many of his works titled ‘Macoto Takahashi’s Jewelry Box.’ An exhibition featuring mini-prints and mini-panels of works featured in the book will also be held, and merchandise will be on sale both on-site and online. 

Main Visual

Window

After his debut in 1953, Takahashi published the manga series Arashi wo Koete and Princess Anne. His signature style of depicting glittering stars in the eyes of his protagonists would have a lasting influence on other manga artists. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was at the helm of many magazine covers and illustrations for popular girls’ manga magazines like Nakayoshi, Shojo Friend, and Margaret. Despite his classic style, his works are still largely popular today. The main visual for the event ‘Lucky Star’ features a girl in a red Christmas-themed costume surrounded by animals, blue snowflakes, and delicate lace.

A new collection of goods featuring Sakura Kinomoto and popular Sanrio characters is here! The collection features everyone’s favorite magical girl combined with beloved characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, and Kuromi. 

The Cardcaptor Sakura manga series was serialized from 1996 until 2000 in the monthly girls’ manga magazine Nakayoshi. In 2016, a new version of the series was released titled Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card and the magical girl series is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021. An anime series aired from 1998 to 2000, with a Clear Card adaptation airing in 2018. 

Costume Design

This is the second collaboration between Sanrio and Cardcaptor Sakura, with the first coming in 2018 with Little Twin Stars. In these collaboration designs, each Sanrio character wears costumes made by Sakura’s best friend Tomoyo, and Sakura wears a special costume with Hello Kitty and My Melody ears. One of these designs is only available at official Sanrio stores. 

Sanrio Store Designs

The Sanrio Characters x Cardcaptor Sakura series will be available starting November 26 at Sanrio stores and November 25 at the Sanrio online shop. 

Drawstring Bag Set: ¥1,980

Secret Acrylic Keychains (6 varieties): ¥715 each

Acrylic keychains and charms will come in blind packaging. Five of the designs have been revealed, but there is a sixth secret one to find!

Fluffy Designs

Square Tags (5 varieties): ¥660 each / A5 Clear Folder (6 varieties): ¥385 each

Special Rubber Mascot Keychains

These keychains will be available in capsule machines nationwide, and in March 2022, Cardcaptor Sakura x Sanrio plushies will also be available!

©️C,ST/K,EP,N ©️’21 SANRIO 著作(株)サンリオ

Manga series Mononogatari is finally getting an anime adaptation. The series began in Shueisha’s Miracle Jump in April 2014, switching to Ultra Jump in January 2016. Onigunso, the manga’s creator, drew an original illustration to celebrate the announcement and posted it to Twitter along with a comment. 

Comment from Onigunso

“Thanks to the support of so many people, Mononogatari is becoming an anime series. Thank you to all of the readers, and thank you to everyone involved in this project! As a manga artist, I draw the character’s movements and words, but it can be hard to visualize exactly how it would look in motion. As the author, I’m looking forward to seeing how the characters appear on screen. I hope you’ll continue supporting both the manga and anime series in the future!”

Mononogatari Synopsis

As objects get older, they eventually get worn-out and rusty. When this happens, they develop a ‘soul,’ becoming a tsukumogami. Hyoma Kunato hates these creatures for stealing something important from him. Traveling to Kyoto, he meets Botan Nagatsuki, a girl who loves tsukumogami and lives with six of them as her family.

©オニグンソウ／集英社

The two-person musical unit NOMELON NOLEMON was created in August 2021. Its music is composed by popular Vocaloid producer Tsumiki, who has caught people’s attention with his down-to-Earth lyrics, guitar-driven tracks, and catchy melodies. His first album, SAKKAC CRAFT, was released in February 2021 and ranked #12 on the iTunes album ranking chart. The Vocaloid song Phony, released in June 2021, is about to reach 10 million views on YouTube.

Yellow – NOMELON NOLEMON Official Music Video

Maria Miki provides the vocals for NOMELON NOLEMON. Previously, she joined the acoustic unit PLUSONICA in 2019, also known for producing Rira Ikuta and Nishina. With her charming personality and airy vocals, her voice is instantly recognizable, and she has amassed a sizeable fanbase after releasing her first mini-album ‘PARFAIT’ in August. Her first solo concert will be held on December 20, her 20th birthday, at SHIBUYA TAKE OFF 7. 

NOMELON NOLEMON released their second single Yellow on November 12. In a Tweet, Tsumiki wrote “Dear my Jpop: I want to write something everyone can understand.” The track is mellow, a complete turnaround from the pair’s previous track INAZMA.  The music video, now available on the group’s YouTube channel, was created by illustrator and animator aika inagaki, who also worked on the song’s jacket illustration.

The popular manga series Love of Kill is getting an anime adaptation in January 2022, and the first image and trailer have been released. The key visual shows the members of Ritzland Support, the organization to which the main character Chateau Dankworth belongs, and the people targeting Son Ryang-ha. In the first trailer, you can see a glimpse of the fierce battles between hitmen to expect in the series set to Toshiki Masuda’s theme song Midnight Dancer.

Key Visual

1st Trailer

More cast members have also been announced: Kenyu Horiuchi will play Ritzland Support owner Euripedes Ritzland, Kohei Amasaki will play Jim (named Indian in the manga), Tomoaki Maeno will play Hou, and Hochu Otsuka will play Donny. Each actor has also provided a comment about the upcoming series. 

To celebrate the release of the first trailer, a special campaign is taking place on Twitter now, with the winner snagging a script signed by the aforementioned actors as well as Saori Onishi (Chateau) and Hiro Shimono (Son Ryang-ha). Don’t miss it!

Cast Comments

Kenyu Horiuchi (Euripedes Ritzland) Comment
When I was chosen to perform in the Love of Kill anime adaptation, I quickly fell in love with the series. I expected it to be about this twisted love between killers, but it’s much deeper than that. So many characters are intertwined, and their pasts are continuously being unraveled. There’s a love between two incompatible people, and it is portrayed with such heartache. The story is so action-packed and full of content. I play the role of Euripedes Ritzland, who is unreliable but who gets things done when he has to. There is so much kindness in his heart. I just hope that everyone who sees the show enjoys it–it’s a wonderful work of art.

Kohei Amasaki (Jim) Comment

I’ve loved Jim as a character since I read the original manga, so I’m super excited to play him. There was a lot of trial and error while I tried to find the best way to express him, and I hope you’ll enjoy what I came up with! The story is addicting, the characters are fascinating, and Jim is a major player in the story…Please watch!

Tomoaki Maeno (Hou) Comment

This is a super impactful character. Ho has his own personal beliefs and objectives, and these drive his every action. My first impression of Ho was that he was a somewhat unlikeable character, but I grew to love his cunning. He knows that he could be killed if he isn’t careful at every moment. Please enjoy his story.

Donny (Hochu Otsuka) Comment

I am so excited to portray Donny in Love of Kill. Donny was born in noir and lives in noir. I absolutely love noir novels, so this is my dream role! It’s ruthless, it’s cruel, it’s filled with sorrow. I hope you’ll look forward to the first episode!

Toshiki Masuda (Opening Theme) Comment

This is the first time I’ve ever performed an anime theme, so I’ve really been feeling the pressure. While creating this song, I wanted it to express the world of Love of Kill without spoiling anything. Please enjoy the song as much as I do!

Aika Kobayashi (Ending Theme) Comment

I’m so proud to announce that I will be performing the ending theme, Makoto Period, for the Love of Kill anime series. I read the original manga before starting the project, and I ended up binging it in one go. While reading, I couldn’t help but wonder–what is true and what is false? It’s sad, it’s filled with love and pain. I created this song with those feelings in mind. Please enjoy the show!

Last week, it was announced that the popular manga series SPYxFAMILY would receive an anime adaptation by Wit Studio and CloverWorks in 2022. Animate locations across Japan will be celebrating this amazing news with a special SPYxFAMILY anime-themed fair from November 27 until December 12, 2021. Certain goods will also be available online!

Written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo, SPYxFAMILY has been running in Shonen Jump+ since 2019. With over 11 million copies in circulation, it has been growing more and more popular over the past two years, with volume six recently becoming the series’ second consecutive volume to debut at number one on Oricon’s weekly list of best-selling manga. SPYxFAMILY tells the story of a spy who must ‘build a family’ to complete a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as his daughter and the woman he agrees to fake marry are a mind reader and an assassin. 

Merchandise

Clear Folder (3 varieties): ¥440 each (Tax Included) 

Acrylic Keychain (3 varieties): ¥715 each (Tax Included) 

Acrylic Stand (3 varieties): ¥1,650 each (Tax Included) 

Tote Bag: ¥1,980 (Tax Included) 

For every ¥1,000 spent on SPYxFAMILY goods during the event, visitors will receive a random clear bookmark (3 varieties). A bonus illustration of Loid, Yor, and Anya will also be gifted as a bonus. 

Are you excited for the upcoming anime adaptation?

(C)遠藤達哉／集英社・SPY×FAMILY製作委員会

Kuromi is taking over the fashion headquarters of Japan! The #WorldKuromificationProject x SHIBUYA109 Autumn Campaign featuring My Melody’s punk rival is currently underway until November 21, 2021!

Original Apparel

Novelties

Kuromi Pop-up Shop: Let the #WorldKuromification Process Begin!

Sticker

Mask Case

Decorations

Sculpture

Kuromi came up with the #WorldKuromificationProject to inspire people to become their best possible selves. It’s also a way to create more ‘Kuromies’: what Kuromi calls her fans. SHIBUYA109, a hotspot for trending fashion and new styles, is the perfect spot for the character to help people find themselves through fashion and pop culture. 

During the event period, the famous building will be decorated from top to bottom in Kuromi swag, and original collaboration goods with popular brands will be available for pre-sale. A pop-up store will be selling unique Kuromi items, so don’t miss out on these before they disappear! A campaign will also be held to give away tickets to Sanrio Puroland, and visitors will discover plenty of photo spots and other surprises as they explore SHIBUYA109. 

Get ready for your trip to Virtual Sanrio Puroland! For the first time ever, Sanrio is teaming up with U.S. company VRChat for an entirely virtual music festival, SANRIO Virtual Fes in Sanrio Puroland on December 11 and December 12, 2021. Guests will be able to enjoy the event using a VR Headset, a PC, or a smartphone. 

The concert space will feature both live and virtual artists (VTubers), as well as popular Sanrio characters in a massive five-story underground space beneath Virtual Sanrio Puroland. Participants will also be able to transform their avatar into the Sanrio character of their choice during the event! High-fiving other concert-goers will result in an explosion of Hello Kitty bows, and there will be plenty of surprises during the music performances, so don’t miss it!

The lineup for the event includes Kizuna AI, Hatsune Miku+PinocchioP, AKB48(Team8), CHiCO with HoneyWorks, Haneru Inaba, Kaede Higuchi, KMNZ, VALSHE, Hakushi Hasegawa, YuNi, Pasocom Music Club, Mom, Megu Shinonome, AMOKA, Yukichi Kasaku/men, LAUSBUB, and Kinu. Plenty of Sanrio characters will also make appearances, including Hello Kitty, Cinnomoroll, Kuromi, Cogimyun, and Hapidanbui. 

Who are you looking forward to seeing perform in this adorable virtual space?

©‘21 SANRIO　©’21 SANRIO　SP-M　© ‘21 SANRIO S/F・G 著作(株)サンリオ
©AKB48　©Kizuna AI　©BANDAI NAMCO Arts Inc.　 ©ANYCOLOR, Inc. Art by KEI　©Crypton Future Media, INC.

Celebrate the Christmas season in the sky! From November 1 until December 26, 2021, the Roppongi Hills Observation Deck will transform into a red and green holiday wonderland for the Christmas in the Sky 2021 event.

This year’s theme for the Sky Deck, located on the roof of Mori Tower, is ‘Sky Chill.’ Guests are invited to just chill out while 270 meters above sea level enjoying a 360 view of the Tokyo cityscape. On Christmas Day, the annual Christmas Star Garzing Event will be held, featuring commentary from various astronomy experts. 

Tokyo City View, located inside on the 52nd floor, is currently holding the 60th anniversary Sanrio Exhibition: The Beginning of Kawaii. The main art piece for the exhibition, the Unforgettable Tower, will be lit up with Christmas decorations, so be sure to snap a picture!

The restaurant in Tokyo City View, THE SUN & THE MOON, will be serving a limited-time Christmas menu as well. 

A photo spot on the Sky Deck will feature a Sanrio Christmas design starting November 20!

You’ve likely seen Macoto Takahashi’s artwork before. Imagine a girl with large, starry eyes, clad in over-the-top elegant clothing. For the past 68 years, Takahashi has been drawing princesses and girls to turn heads, each of them full of life and captivating coquettish energy. 

After his debut in 1953, Takahashi published the manga series Arashi wo Koete and Princess Anne. His signature style of depicting glittering stars in the eyes of his protagonists would have a lasting influence on other manga artists. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was at the helm of many magazine covers and illustrations for popular girls’ manga magazines like Nakayoshi, Shojo Friend, and Margaret. 

Since 1992, Takahashi has regularly held solo exhibitions of new works, and these activities have expanded overseas as well. His paintings were used in the 2018 Comme des Garçons SS collection, and there’s no sign that his style will fall out of favor any time soon. 

On October 28, an art book filled with Macoto Takahashi’s beloved images was released. The 232-page book features over 150 works from the 1960s to the current day and is compact enough to bring anywhere.