McDonald's Chiikawa Collab Causes Chaos and Controversy
Happy Set (Happy Meal)
collaboration with popular character series
Chiikawa
on May 16. It sold out— in just two days.
The collaboration features exclusive Happy Meal toys with various
Chiikawa
characters donning McDonald's staff uniforms. The first wave of toy releases — including a McDonald's cup-shaped pen holder with the titular character Chiikawa, a plastic calendar with the character Hachiware, a small container shaped like Usagi flipping a pancake and a rolling car featuring all of the characters — was scheduled to run from May 16 to May 22. However, McDonald's released a
statement
on May 18, notifying fans and customers that sales have ended prematurely due to most restaurants selling out of Happy Meals much earlier than anticipated.
And while fan frenzy during new merchandise release days is typically nothing to cause a double-take, this particular occasion sparked quite the controversy, as viral social media posts showed alleged scalpers bulk-ordering Happy Meals solely to acquire the limited-edition toys and resell them at a markup.
List of Contents:
Chiikawa Fever Sparks Chaos
Preparing for Upcoming Round Two
Chiikawa's Kawaii Empire
Related Posts
Chiikawa Fever Sparks Chaos
The promotion instantly became a chaotic event. An
X post
from release day got nearly 11 million views, after anonymously depicting a supposed scalper carrying a giant overflowing bag of Chiikawa toy boxes. The text translates, 'From a certain C-country…' — taking a Sinophobic turn for what was supposed to be a fun prize drop for children and fans to enjoy.
Below the post, comments flooded with similar discriminatory sentiments. The post's top comment, with 169,000 views and 2,600 likes, suggested implementing the
Kyokujitsu-ki
imperialist rising sun flag or statements like 'long live Japan' into product packaging to dissuade resale in China. Another user angrily remarked how these individuals are 'anti-Japan, but want Japanese products.'
マクドナルドの「ちいかわ＆マイクラ」ハッピーセットが中国人転売ヤーの爆買いにより即日完売。マックの中身は床に落ち、食べ物を何だと思っているのか？転売対策も虚しくフリマサイトに高額出品が相次ぎ、購入者から怒りの声。
ちいかわ公式サイトは販売終了を発表。
#中国帰れ
#Chikawa
pic.twitter.com/lODZChept6
— のうまにあ 願榮光 (@FreeAll_protest)
May 18, 2025
Tension and frustration grew throughout the weekend. Another
post
went viral on X with over 16 million views. The video shows a McDonald's restaurant overrun with Happy Meal bags covering every counter surface in sight. The text claims that scalpers placed bulk mobile orders, snatched the coveted toys out of the takeout bags — and then abandoned the orders. The toys can't be purchased by themselves, so customers must buy the meal to receive a
Chiikawa
toy. With food continuing to pile up and some even spilling on the floor, it appears that McDonald's employees were forced to dispose of some of the innumerable uneaten meals.
Many users reposted the video of food trays being chucked into the garbage bins, one X post with 24 million views perpetuating the narrative of Chinese resellers 'tarnishing childhood traditions.'
While unverified allegations and Sinophobia continued to run rampant amid the mayhem, other users added disclaimers through X's user-submitted
'added context'
feature to bring awareness to the fact that there is currently no evidence that the scalpers were of Chinese origin, or that all of the Happy Meals in the viral video were bulk-ordered solely for the toys.
While McDonald's policy limited each guest to buy four Happy Meals, it seems like that rule was quickly overlooked. Toys immediately started to pop up on resale websites such as Mercari, for about six or seven times their original retail price. Some listings raised their markups to jaw-dropping levels such as ¥100,000 for a complete set of the four toys. Happy Meals start at ¥510.
Preparing for Upcoming Round Two
To the dismay of fans who were looking forward to getting their own Chiikawa and friends toys, McDonald's announced that the first wave of the collection has been prematurely suspended. The official statement thanks customers for sales far exceeding initial expectations, but does not mention any of the weekend controversy pertaining to food waste and scalper loopholes.
The second installment of the collection release is still scheduled for May 23. The second wave features new exclusive toys, including a Chiikawa memo set, a Hachiware photo frame, an Usagi sticker dispenser and a Momonga pencil cap.
Round two is intended to run through May 29, though based on the previous release it does not seem likely that that'll be the case.
Chiikawa's Kawaii Empire
Chiikawa
originated as an online manga series written and illustrated by the
mangaka
known as Nagano. The series is named after the main character, Chiikawa (which translates to 'small and cute'), and follows adventures from daily life with friends like Hachiware, Usagi, Kurimanju and Furuhonya.
The printed version of the series now has seven volumes, and has sold a total of over 2.7 million copies. In 2022, an anime television adaptation produced by animation studio Doga Kobo premiered on
Fuji TV. Currently 260 episodes have been released.
Fans of the series often cite their love of Chiikawa's relatability — the series explores themes of friendship, growing up and the everyday struggles that come along with it. Chiikawa's failures and continued persistence resonate with viewers who are experiencing similar hurdles.
Related Posts
A Chiikawa Park Is Coming to Tokyo in 2025
Manga Manners: How Sailor Moon and Eren Yaeger Are Teaching Japanese Etiquette in JR Stations
Sonny Angels: The Viral Japanese Baby Figure Everyone Wants
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- The Mainichi
/番外編5 三島由紀夫と過ごした下田
2025年は作家、三島由紀夫（1925～70年）の生誕100年に当たる。ゆかりの地では企画展やイベントなどが開かれているが、静岡県下田市もその一つ。三島は晩年の7年間の夏を家族と一緒にここで過ごした。三島の伝説が今も生きている場所の一つである。 ドナルド・キーンさんと三島との縁は深い。最初に会ったのは京都大学に留学していた1954年の秋。すでに三島は若手作家として頭角を現していた。キーンさんは古典文学の研究だけでなく、現代の作家との交流も始め出したころで、年齢も近かった分、気はあったようだ。本編25，31，44とは別の自伝で読んでみよう。 I first met Mishima Yukio in November 1954 when his play Iwashi Uri Koi no Hikiami was being presented at the Kabuki-za. It is difficult to remember now our conversation or even the impression he made on me because these early memories have long since yielded to fresher, stronger ones. When I see photographs taken of Mishima about that time Ieven wonder -- did he really look like that? The closely cropped hair, powerful body, and up-to-the-minute sports clothes were so much a part of Mishima's appearance (and for so long) that the slender young man with wavy hair in a yukata gently smiling from the back of the American translation of Sound of the Waves seems a stranger. I cannot recall a single instance during all the years of our friendship when we had difficulty finding a topic of conversation. We often disagreed, even on literary matters. I never shared, for example, his professed admiration for conspicuously bad taste, whether in comic books or yakuza movies. I had trouble in understanding even his tastes in modern literature, and could not take seriously his political opinions, which seemed just as paradoxical and implausible as his praise for bloodthirsty novels of the Taisho period. But such divergences of opinion made it easier, rather than more difficult to converse. [MEETING WITH JAPAN] 2人の性格は一見するとかなり違うタイプに思えるのだが、交流は足かけ17年にも及んだ。現代文学の研究対象として三島をとらえたキーンさんと、最良の翻訳者としてキーンさんに期待した三島。それぞれに仕事上での思惑もあっただろうが、それを上回る見えない縁があったに違いない。最後の夏となった1970年の出来事はこうだった。 In the summer of 1970 Mishima invited me to Shimoda, where he customarily spent August with his family. He normally wrote every day from midnight to six, slept from six to two, then went to kendo practice or some other gathering until it was time to return home and start writing again. He spent little time with his children, but he made up for the neglect by devoting the month of August to them. I almost canceled my trip to Shimoda because of a painful attack of gikkuri-goshi (slipped disk), but I was instinctively certain that Mishima had planned every moment of my stay in Shimoda from arrival to departure, and I could not bear to upset his plans. On the train I debated whether or not to mention my gikkuri-goshi, but when I saw him on the platform, sunburned and cheerful, I decided I would act like a samurai and keep the pain to myself. We had lunch at a sushi restaurant. Mishima ordered only the most expensive fish. Later I was able to guess the reason: he had no time to waste on lesser fish. That evening we were joined by the journalist Henry Scott Stokes, who later wrote a book about Mishima. Mishima took us to a restaurant where lobsters were served out of season. He ordered five dinners for the three of us. But when the five dinners appeared, he ordered two more, not satisfied with the quantity. I thought this was peculiar, but no doubt he wanted to be sure we would have our fill of lobster at our last meal together. The next day Mishima and I went to the hotel pool. He did not go in the water, but he was pleased to display his muscular body. We talked about his tetralogy The Sea of Fertility, which was approaching completion. He said he had put into the work everything he had learned as a writer, adding with a laugh that the only thing left was to die. I laughed too, but I must have sensed something was wrong. Violating our pledge not to discuss "sticky" matters, I asked, "If something is troubling you, why not tell me?" He averted his glance and said nothing. But he knew that three months later he would be dead. That night in his hotel room he put into my hands the manuscript of the last chapter of the fourth volume of the tetralogy. He said he had written it in hitoiki (one breath). He asked if I would like to read it, but I declined, supposing I would not understand it without knowing what had happened in preceding chapters. Although it was written in August, he would inscribe the date November 25 on the manuscript, just before heading for the Self-Defense Headquarters. I left Japan for New York in September. Departure time for the plane was ten in the morning, and I was greatly surprised when Mishima appeared to see me off. He was unshaven and his eyes were bloodshot. He probably had not slept that night. It still did not occur to me that his unusual behavior, both in Shimoda and at the airport, foreshadowed a calamity. After my plane left, Mishima went to the airport restaurant with other friends who had seen me off. He startled everyone by suddenly declaring that he refused to die a "stupid death." That was the last time I saw Mishima.
SoraNews24
6 days ago
- SoraNews24
McDonald's Japan taps three '80s anime legends for a moving, nostalgic video【Video】
Three of the greatest anime series ever produced featured in video that's not quite as simple as it might look. Young diners are a big part of fast food chains' clientele, and so it's no surprise that McDonald's Japan often has tie-ups with popular contemporary anime series and characters. In just the past few months, we've seen collaborations with Pokémon, Chiikawa, and Hatsune Miku, for example. But for its latest anime endeavor, McDonald's Japan is widening its scope and looking back to the '80s, creating a heartwarming video featuring three all-time classics of Japanese animation. Things start off with a finger pressing down on a boombox play button, and it's not just the electronics design but the hand-drawn and hand-painted artwork that immediately tells us we've gone back a few decades, and we get further confirmation as Yusaku Godai and Kyoko Otonashi make their first appearances. The two are the main characters of Maison Ikkoku, a landmark romantic comedy from Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2) that aired on Japan TV from 1986 to 1988. Yusaku and Kyoko aren't the only '80s anime stars here, though. Next up are Madoka Ayukawa and Kyosuke Kasuga, hailing from Kimagure Orange Road, an anime series broadcast in 1987 and 1988. Kimagure Orange Road was also a romantic comedy, with Kyosuke being a recent transfer to Madoka's school who's trying to hide he fact that he has psychic powers, and Madoka herself having aspects of her life that she keeps just as tightly under wraps as Kyosuke does his secret. And finally, we come to Lin Minmei and Hikaru Ichijo, first seen in 1982's Macross TV series, and then in 1984's Do You Remember Love? theatrical anime retelling, from which the clips in McDonald's video are taken. For extra sentimental seasoning, the video is set to 'I Feel Coke,' a Japanese Coca-Cola commercial tune from the 1980s that's an unforgettable audio representation of the era within Japanese pop culture. ▼ An extended version of the video, with some different anime images. Like the shorter version, it preserves the anime's original aspect ratios. The title of the video is Ashita mo Waraou, Ano Koro mo Ima mo, which translates to 'Let's Smile Tomorrow, in Those Days and Now Too.' Interspersed with the cuts of '80s anime are scenes of people enjoying life and enjoying McDonald's, some of them old enough to have been in the target market for the featured anime when they were first airing, and others, like 25-year-old idol singer Rena Moriya, of Sakurazaka 46, considerably younger. ▼ Rena Moriya Japan is experiencing a wave of '80s nostalgia these days. Part of that is just the cyclical nature of pop culture, with styles and motifs from the era having progressed from feeling outdated to freshly retro in the minds of young people. Japan being in the midst of an economic slump also has more than a few people, regardless of age, looking longingly at the rosier business climate of the early to mid-'80s, when it looked like the boom times would never end. And yet, the video isn't just a way of saying 'The good old days sure were good, weren't they?' As fans of the featured anime know, while Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, and Macross are all fundamentally positive-minded series, none of them is all sunshine and rainbows. Each one has a love triangle as a major part of its storyline, and none of them take the common modern-day anime writing escape route of ending with a vague, non-conclusive final act that keeps all of the players' relationships in a will-they-or-won't-they balancing act so that viewers can create whatever head cannon they want for how the situation sorted itself out with no hurt feelings. There are characters who get their hearts absolutely crushed in Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, and Macross, and part of what makes them all incredible series is how they show that even when you put everything you've got into something and don't get the ending you wanted, you have to find a way to pick yourself up and find a new source of happiness. ▼ Shine on, Mitaka. And that's not even getting into all the other trials and tribulations the characters face, such as figuring out what your professional calling is in life, being trapped in a time warp, or fighting off an alien invasion. So yeah, on the surface the video can be seen as just a way to remind everyone that anime, burgers, and soda have all been very enjoyable things since the '80s, but there's also the message that even when times are tough, we can find a way to get through them with the help of friends, family, and the other people we love, including ourselves. Source: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan via Jin Top image: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan Insert images: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan, YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald's） ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow Casey on Twitter, where putting Macross, Orange Road, and Maison Ikkoku in the same ad makes it feel like he's being personally targeted by McDonald's Japan.
SoraNews24
25-06-2025
- SoraNews24
Brad Pitt reveals his favorite Japanese food, many Japanese people say they've never eaten it
Is Brad Pitt's favorite Japanese food really Japanese? Japan often gets Hollywood movies later than the rest of the world, but F1, starring Brad Pitt, is fittingly, arriving in Japanese theaters as quickly as possible, premiering here on June 27, the same day as it does in the U.S. To promote the movie's opening, the producers have released a promotional video in which Kenyu Horiuchi and Shintaro Morimoto, who serve as the dub actors for Pitt and co-star Damson Idris, ask Pitt, Idris, and director Joseph Kosinski some questions on behalf of Japanese fans. The first question involves special training the on-screen cast undertook for their roles, and the next deal with special efforts made during filming and the cast's most memorable scenes. The three interviewees also express regret that while F1 includes footage shot by a separate crew at Japan's Suzuka Circuit, none of them were able to travel to the country themselves for filming. The final question is a common one when overseas celebrities are making Japanese media appearances: What is you favorite Japanese food? Idris leads off with the predictable, but totally agreeable, answer of 'sushi,' with an expression of bliss washing over his face as he fine-tunes his answer to 'toro,' extra-fatty tuna. Kosinski goes a bit farther off the beaten path, saying 'I love a good hot shishito pepper,' a side-dish often found at yakitori restaurants, where they're usually grilled on a skewer over an open flame. ▼ Although, ironically, not every shishito is hot, as the number of seeds inside, which are where the heat comes from, can vary quite a bit from pepper to pepper. But it's Pitt's answer that's truly unique, as he replies, and very confidently, that his favorite Japanese food is: 'Whitefish with ponzu sauce. Always.' Pitt's answer was surprising to a lot of Japanese people. Yes, ponzu, a sauce made from mirin, bonito stock, and citrus juice (such as lemon, lime, or yuzu), and often mixed with soy sauce, is a popular condiment in Japan. ▼ Ponzu However, ponzu is most commonly used as a condiment for hotpot or other simmered foods, or as a dipping sauce for sashimi or gyoza. It's generally treated like a substitute for soy sauce, and thus isn't something that Japanese people ordinarily pour on a slice of cooked fish. So not only is it unusual to hear someone say that whitefish with ponzu is their favorite Japanese food, the 'always' is an unexpected emphasizer for an unorthodox combination that you're not likely to encounter in Japanese restaurants or kitchens. 日本人でもこの答えを1stチョイスでいう奴はあまりいねえだろ。。 — 事務カリー(大掃除垢) (@zimkalee) June 23, 2025 Because of that, online reactions to Pitt's answer have largely been some sort of variation on the one embedded above: 'I don't think there are even many Japanese people who'd give that as their first choice.' Other have included: 'Now I wanna know where he tried that.' 'This is kind of like if someone asked 'What's your favorite American food?' and you said 'Alligator steak.'' 'Brad, someone pulled a fast one on you.' 'It's so specific. Was the person who cooked it Japanese? I can't ever remember eating whitefish with ponzu poured on it.' 'I wonder if the fish was grilled, steamed, or simmered.' 'It's got to be something he had with sake.' 'This would be good for a 'try not to laugh' challenge.'' 'Ponzu really does taste good when the flavor seeps into the other ingredients you're eating it with.' More than a few commenters theorized that when Pitt said 'whitefish' he was really talking about fugu, blowfish/pufferfish, which is often eaten with ponzu. That seems unlikely, though, since fugu's international fame as a Japanese delicacy that can kill you if it's not prepared correctly means that it rarely gets linguistically lumped in with whitefish by English-speakers. So odds are that Pitt really has eaten and enjoyed whitefish with ponzu sauce, and on more than one occasion. As for where he ate it, there are a couple possibilities. First, while it's not a standard or traditional combination, it is possible to find recipes, in Japanese, for whitefish with ponzu. There's one here, for example, on Cookpad, a website where home chefs can share recipes with one another. On the website of the U.K division of soy sauce maker Kikkoman, which also produces ponzu, the company specifically recommends using ponzu 'as a marinade for fish, meat and vegetables.' If you run a search for recipes on Kikkoman's Japanese website for fish with ponzu, though, you won't find any. Likewise, Mizkan, another major ponzu maker, has 220 recipes for ponzu on its Japanese website, but not a single one that uses it as a sauce for cooked fish. With ponzu experiencing a recent surge in global popularity, it's possible that Pitt orders whitefish with ponzu at a nominally Japanese restaurant he frequents outside Japan, or that he's had it at restaurants in Japan with avant-garde sensibilities and a cosmopolitan, international clientele. 'I bet he goes to some really fancy Japanese restaurants,' mused one commenter. Or it could be that he has a personal acquaintance or private chef who's made whitefish with yuzu a part of their cooking repertoire and presented it to him as a kind of 'Japanese food,' since ponzu is a Japanese condiment and whitefish is part of Japan's culinary culture too. 'I think more so than comparing it to many other kinds of Japanese foods that he's tried, whitefish with ponzu sauce is the dish that has the strongest place in his memories,' said one commenter, and while just about everyone was surprised as Pitt's pick for his favorite Japanese food, no one seems to think it'd taste bad, even if they're not 100-percen sure it's really Japanese. Source: YouTube/ワーナー ブラザース 公式チャンネル via Hachima Kiko, Twitter/@zimkalee, Kikkoman (1, 2), Mizkan, Cookpad Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24) Insert images: Pakutaso, SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
