COVER Sales Hit ¥9.6B (+50% YoY) & McDonald’s Cancels ONE PIECE Cards [Weekly Oshikatsu News: Aug 22, 2025]

Here is our roundup of notable corporate oshikatsu (fan-support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of August 15 to August 21, 2025.

This Week’s Highlights

This week brought both strong growth numbers and on-the-ground operational chaos into view at the same time.

COVER Corporation, the operator of hololive, announced its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026. Net sales reached 9.629 billion yen, up 50.1% year-on-year. Diversification of its VTuber business and global expansion lifted performance. Meanwhile, at McDonald’s, the “Pokémon Card Campaign” sparked bulk buying for resale and severe crowding. In response, the company announced that it would cancel the upcoming Happy Meal (Happī Setto) “ONE PIECE Card Game” giveaway. The incident made clear that the sheer popularity of a fan business can directly become a store operations risk.

Masamune Shirow’s exhibition, “The World of Masamune Shirow” (Shirow Masamune no Sekai-ten), announced that it had drawn over 55,000 visitors at its Tokyo venue and would tour to Osaka. The crowdfunding campaign for the horror game 死印 -再霊 reboot- reached its 10 million yen goal in a single day. Hakuhodo established a joint venture with CJ ENM, entering the global business originating from K-pop. Within the oshikatsu market, cases of surging numbers and cases of operational disruption happened in the very same week.

DIAGRAMKey Fan Business Figures Reported This Week

¥9.629B: COVER Corp Q1 FY2026 net sales, up 50.1% year-on-year
55,000+: Visitors to The World of Masamune Shirow exhibition at its Tokyo venue
¥10M in 1 Day: Crowdfunding goal reached on day one by horror game reboot 死印 -再霊 reboot-
200,000: Crispy Sandwiches Häagen-Dazs Japan plans to hand out free annually at events

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article

A Week When VTuber Corporate Earnings and Live Event Expansion Moved into Full Swing

COVER — Net Sales Hit 9.6 Billion Yen (+50% YoY) as VTuber Business Diversification Advances

On August 12, before this issue’s reporting period, COVER Corporation announced its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2026 (April to June 2025). Net sales rose 50.1% year-on-year to 9.629 billion yen. Operating profit increased 16.5% to 972 million yen, and net profit rose 11.9% to 693 million yen. VTuber Todoroki Hajime’s birthday live stream exceeded 100,000 concurrent viewers and took the No. 1 trending spot on X (formerly Twitter). Nekomata Okayu’s 2nd live concert drew over 8,000 people at the venue and approximately 10,000 viewers via streaming. In its merchandising business, COVER opened an official store in Osaka, and in licensing and tie-ups, it held a collaboration with the mobile game Knives Out (Kōya Kōdō). The company had set a medium-term management target of reaching 100 billion yen in net sales by the fiscal year ending March 2030 (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: COVER has expanded its operations across streaming, merchandise, live events, and licensing. The results of that expansion can be verified externally through the numbers in its financial statements. Rather than leaving fan business at “things are booming,” being able to break down and explain which business segment grew and by how much provides concrete material for investment decisions and partnership negotiations.

NIJISANJI and hololive Expand Their Stages to Makuhari and Indonesia

ANYCOLOR Inc. announced “NIJISANJI FES 2026.” The main event was set for two days, May 16 and 17, 2026, at Makuhari Messe Exhibition Halls 1–8. Special stages were announced to run for four days from May 14 to 17. Marking the fifth installment of the festival, it was structured like a school cultural festival, featuring not only music concerts but also displays of artwork created by Livers (VTuber talents) and mascot costume (kigurumi) shows (Mogura VR (in Japanese), NIJISANJI (in Japanese), Nijimen (in Japanese), eeo (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, COVER announced that to commemorate the 5th anniversary of “hololive Indonesia,” it would hold its first local live concert featuring all nine members in Indonesia on November 15, 2025. The concert is titled “hololive Indonesia 5th Anniversary LIVE Chromatic Future.” Since launching its activities in 2020, hololive Indonesia had interacted with fans primarily online. This announcement marked the first time all nine members would perform together in a live concert at a local physical venue (Otaku Soken (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: NIJISANJI secured one of the largest venues in Japan. In the same week, hololive Indonesia decided to hold a local concert timed to its 5th anniversary. First grow the fan base virtually, then prepare a physical venue once demand is fully ripe. This reverse order is becoming established as an expansion pattern for VTuber companies.

Convenience Stores and Restaurant Chains Continue Responding to Disruption and Rolling Out New Collaborations

McDonald’s — Cancels ONE PIECE Card Giveaway Following Pokémon Card Disruption

On August 20, McDonald’s announced that it was canceling the Happy Meal “ONE PIECE Card Game” giveaway that had been scheduled to begin on August 29. During the Pokémon card giveaway that began on August 9, bulk purchasing for resale caused crowding and disruption at stores and in surrounding neighborhoods. Incidents in which ordered food was left behind and discarded also occurred. In a statement on August 11, the company apologized to “all crew members and residents living in the surrounding neighborhoods.” At the same time, it stated that it would implement “stricter limits on purchase quantities” and engage in “ongoing discussions with flea market app operators” (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: This is a case where the popularity of a campaign itself became a risk capable of bringing store operations to a halt. If you evaluate the success metrics of a fan-targeted initiative solely by “units distributed” or “buzz volume,” you overlook the side effect of on-the-ground chaos. For limited-quantity campaigns, operational methods—including anti-resale measures—must be designed alongside the promotion itself.

Gokurakuyu × Demon Slayer, Lawson × NIKKE — Bathhouses and Retailers Continue Collaborations

Gokurakuyu, jointly with GK Marketing, was holding the 4th installment of the “Anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba × Gokurakuyu / RAKU SPA” collaboration from August 18 to September 9, 2025. The campaign was set to sell merchandise featuring newly drawn illustrations by ufotable, and to offer five types of collaboration baths as well as in-house broadcasts titled “Gokurakuyu Taisho-Era Whispers” (Gokurakuyu Kosokoso Uwasabanashi). Customers received one senjafuda (traditional votive slip) style sticker (19 designs in total) for every 2,000 yen, including tax, spent on eligible merchandise at participating locations (Inside (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, Lawson announced that it would launch a collaboration with GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE starting August 26. Using illustrations of three characters in K-pop-style outfits and three in luxury outfits, the campaign was set to roll out acrylic stands and tin badges. Customers who bought two confectionery items received a clear file folder (6 designs in total). Lawson Print in-store kiosks were also set to offer 53 exclusive bromide photo prints (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Bathhouse facilities and convenience stores are business formats with different visit frequencies and timing. Both of these formats are running IP collaborations during the same period. Placing characters both at destinations people visit as an outing alongside shopping and at places they stop by daily ensures that fans will encounter a touchpoint somewhere along their everyday routines. The idea is to leverage the natural visit frequency a store already has directly for the collaboration.

DIAGRAMThe Dual Sides of Fan Enthusiasm Seen This Week

Revenue & Engagement Growth

COVER Corp diversifies across streaming, merchandise, live events, and licensing to reach ¥9.629B in Q1 sales
The World of Masamune Shirow extends revenue from 55,000+ Tokyo visitors to post-show e-commerce and new Osaka tour goods
死印 -再霊 reboot- reaches its ¥10M crowdfunding goal in 1 day, demonstrating fan demand in hard numbers

Operational Risks & Required Controls

McDonald’s Pokémon card promotion draws bulk buying for resale, store crowding, and discarded food
McDonald’s cancels its scheduled Happy Meal ONE PIECE Card Game giveaway to protect store operations
Limited-quantity fan campaigns require stricter purchase limits and coordination with resale platforms alongside promotion design

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article

Games Team Up with Saunas and Local Newspapers Across Industries

Pokémon Sleep × Sauna Ikitai — Verification Study on the Relationship Between “Totonou” and Sleep

The sleep game app Pokémon Sleep and the sauna search app “Sauna Ikitai” jointly launched a verification experiment project called “Sa to Su” (Sauna and Sleep). The project ran from August 19 to September 18, 2025. With the cooperation of users, it collected data on the relationship between the sauna refreshing experience known as totonou (the state of deep physical and mental relaxation after alternating sauna and cold bath sessions) and sleep. To participate, users had to answer the survey, post a sauna activity log on “Sauna Ikitai” and track their sleep in Pokémon Sleep for 10 days or more. A lottery was announced to give an original Snorlax-patterned “Sa to Su” sauna hat to a total of 100 participants who met the requirements (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: What stands out here is attaching the condition of user data provision to a merchandise giveaway. It connects the distant realms of gaming and wellness through “sleep,” making the sauna and sleep experience itself the condition for participation. Moving one step beyond a simple novelty handout, this serves as a useful reference for designing a campaign that also gathers user behavioral data.

FGO “OVER THE SAME SKY” — 10th Anniversary Ads Collaborating with Regional Newspapers Across All 47 Prefectures

Lasengle unveiled the third wave of Fate/Grand Order’s 10th anniversary advertising project, “OVER THE SAME SKY,” on August 17 and 18. The newly revealed illustrations covered the Kyushu and Okinawa regions. The theme of this project is “What if Servants traveled across Japan?” Combining background photographs of real-life landmarks with newly drawn Servants, the advertisements ran in regional newspapers across all 47 prefectures. This wave covered eight prefectures: Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima, Saga, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, and Okinawa. Illustrations set at real tourist spots such as Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine and Kumamoto Castle appeared in local newspapers including the Nishinippon Shimbun and the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Famitsu (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Tying local landmarks and characters together for all 47 prefectures and placing them in local newspapers uses regional print media to reach demographics that online ads struggle to reach. When a company with a nationwide chain wants to gauge regional reactions, combining a game IP with local media is a repeatable model.

Apparel Brands and Exhibitions Planned Limited Merchandise and Touring Shows

Avail, part of the Shimamura Group, announced that it would release collaboration merchandise featuring the character “Npochamu” starting August 30, 2025. Npochamu was created by “Kawaisoni!”, the same creator behind “Opanchu Usagi.” In the merchandise lineup, “Npochamu” and best friend “Kimimaro” were designed dressed as flight attendants and idols. The company announced a lineup ranging from everyday items like eco-bags, drawstring pouches, shopping baskets, and sandals to mascot charms and stickers. In-store and online store release dates were set for the same day (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: It is noteworthy that a character born on social media is being commercialized not as apparel, but as everyday household goods like eco-bags and sandals. Because everyday items have a lower unit price than fashion items and are easier to pick up, they are more readily chosen even by people buying collaboration merchandise for the first time. As licensing fees for major IPs soar, characters that gained popularity on social media are becoming a realistic option for mid-priced retail stores.

The World of Masamune Shirow Exhibition — 55,000+ Visitors in Tokyo, Touring to Osaka with Ongoing Online Merch Sales

“The World of Masamune Shirow” (Shirow Masamune no Sekai-ten), a large-scale exhibition dedicated to Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow, closed its Tokyo run at the Setagaya Literary Museum on August 17. Attendance exceeded 55,000 visitors. Some venue-exclusive items, such as collaboration T-shirts with the streetwear brand “MEQRI,” sold out. In response to the strong reception, online mail-order sales began on the official MEQRI website on August 18 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)). The exhibition was also set to tour to Shinsaibashi PARCO in Osaka from September 5 to October 5, 2025. It was announced that new merchandise, including T-shirts with new designs and replica manuscript sets, would be added starting with the Osaka venue (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Selling venue-exclusive items that sold out via online order after the show closes, and then adding new merchandise for the touring venue, splits a single exhibition into multiple revenue opportunities rather than letting it end after “roughly four months in Tokyo.” It resolves the frustration of fans who could not buy items at the venue through online sales, while preparing fresh highlights for the next city. As a merchandise design for a touring exhibition, it makes complete sense.

K-Pop and Advertising Agencies Entered New Fan Businesses

Kim Junsu “VOICE: COLOR OF SOUND” — Immersive Exhibition at Harajuku Harakado

It was announced that an immersive media exhibition by K-pop artist Kim Junsu, titled “VOICE : COLOR OF SOUND,” would be held from August 20 to 28, 2025. The venue was the 4th floor of Tokyu Plaza Harajuku “Harakado” in Harajuku, Tokyo. The exhibition was structured to express his voice as colors across the entire space. It featured “PRISM STAGE,” which screened VR video footage; “HOLOGRAM STUDIO,” where visitors could take hologram-style photos for an additional fee; and “ECHO NOTES,” which displayed messages from fans. Tickets were priced at 2,000 yen for fan club advance sales and 2,200 yen for general sales (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: This exhibition deliberately converts voice—something heard with the ears—into a visual and spatial experience. As a third format distinct from both live concerts and merchandise sales, an “experiential exhibition” is designed to extend fan dwell time and increase spending per visitor. For commercial facilities as well, it is a format that can be used as a limited-time attraction to draw foot traffic.

Hakuhodo × CJ ENM “Chapter-I” — Co-Producing a K-Pop Girl Group Audition Show

On August 19, Hakuhodo announced that it had established a joint venture called “Chapter-I” with the South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM. The first collaborative project is a Japan–Korea co-produced survival audition program titled HIP POP Princess. Aiming to create a global girl group, the show was announced as a co-production with CJ ENM’s “Mnet”, with broadcasting scheduled to begin in October 2025. The venture’s policy was to handle everything end-to-end, from content planning and fan experience creation to artist development, music production, live concerts, and merchandising (AdverTimes. (in Japanese), ORICON NEWS (in Japanese), PR TIMES (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: This structure puts an advertising agency into the project from the show-planning stage and designs everything end-to-end from talent development through merchandise sales. Rather than stopping at one-off tie-ups, the company is trying to handle IP creation through monetization in-house. The trend of running fan businesses as an internal venture rather than leaving them to external partners is spreading into the advertising industry as well.

Häagen-Dazs — Annual 200,000-Unit “Treat” Operation, Kicking Off at KCON JAPAN

On May 1, Häagen-Dazs Japan launched the “#SashiireCrispySand” (#差し入れクリスピーサンド, meaning a gift or backstage/event refresher treat of Crispy Sandwiches) project. The initiative involved handing out a total of 200,000 “The Rich Caramel” Crispy Sandwiches for free over the course of a year at music and sports events. The first installment took place at “KCON JAPAN 2025,” held from May 9 to 11, where the ice cream sandwiches were distributed alongside event-exclusive logo cards. Posts with photos spread across social media, and many recipients reportedly commented that it was their “first time eating a Crispy Sandwich” (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Instead of hosting its own standalone event, the idea is to join an already-excited fan event with a sashiire (a thoughtful refreshment gift brought to performers or participants). By having people try the product for the first time at a festival venue where spirits are already high, it stays in their memory as a much more favorable experience than ordinary storefront sampling. The scale of 200,000 units a year shows a commitment to making this more than a one-off PR stunt.

Crowdfunding and Anniversary Merchandise Demonstrated Fan Passion

死印 -再霊 reboot- — Crowdfunding Reaches 10 Million Yen Goal in Just One Day

On August 20, Experience Inc. announced that the development support crowdfunding campaign for the horror game 死印 -再霊 reboot- reached its 10 million yen goal in just one day from launch. Pledges stood at 8.6 million yen as of 2:00 PM on August 20, surpassed 10 million yen at 6:30 PM that same day, and had grown to approximately 12.9 million yen by 1:00 PM on August 21. The title is a reboot of Death Mark (Shiin), originally released in 2017. The project commemorates both the 20th anniversary of Experience’s founding in 2027 and the 10th anniversary of the company’s “Spirit Horror” (Shinrei Horror) series (Inside (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: The sheer speed of reaching the target amount itself serves as PR material communicating the scale of fan support. Crowdfunding is both a means of raising funds and a way to demonstrate in hard numbers the fact that “this many people were waiting for it.” It serves as an indicator to measure how much anticipation is gathering around an IP before release.

BANANA FISH — 40th Serialization Anniversary Brings Consecutive Lottery, Wafer, and Pop-Up Store Releases

The manga BANANA FISH, serialized from 1985 to 1994, marked the 40th anniversary of the start of its serialization. On August 12, the “BANANA FISH Entertainment Lottery” (Entame Kuji, 770 yen per draw) went on sale exclusively at select Lawson and HMV stores. From August onward, new merchandise rollouts including wafers and a POP UP STORE continued in succession. In 2018, the work was adapted into a TV anime produced by MAPPA, featuring popular voice actors such as Yuma Uchida and Kenji Nojima (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Even for a work whose serialization ended more than 30 years ago, creating a 40th-anniversary milestone provides a reason for new rollouts. By lining up a lottery, wafers, and a POP UP STORE at the same time, the campaign offers products at different price points. This allows it to draw people with different budgets—from casual fans to core fans—into the same anniversary project.

Game Shows Expanded Through Celebrities and Corporate Sponsors

Tokyo Game Show 2025 — Kanata Hongo Named Official Supporter, TGS BOOSTERZ Launched

The organizers of Tokyo Game Show 2025 (September 25–28 at Makuhari Messe) announced the appointment of Kanata Hongo as Official Supporter. Hongo is an actor well known as an avid gamer. Alongside this, the influencer project “TGS BOOSTERZ” was launched. Appointed in the first wave were three figures: caster Yuka Hayashi, VTuber Nekomiya Hinata, and Junpei Zaki, a creator with over 5 million subscribers. Selected as special sponsors were NURO for communications support, MegRhythm (Megurizumu) running an experience booth, and ChargeSPOT providing digital signage (Game*Spark (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: By appointing an official supporter, influencers, and corporate sponsors in distinct roles, the organizers are multiplying their communication channels. Rather than leaving everything to a single celebrity, they are working to build buzz before the event opens through multiple people with different audience attributes. This represents a shift in large-event promotion away from relying on a single ambassador toward a distributed model.

“Makaizo no Yoru THE MUSEUM” — Monsters from NHK’s Popular Show Gather in Akihabara

“Makaizo no Yoru THE MUSEUM” was announced as an exhibition gathering the “monster machines” that appeared on NHK’s engineering entertainment program Makaizo no Yoru (Night of Extreme Modifications). It was scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 2 at Bellesalle Akihabara in Tokyo. In addition to the displays, the event was set to feature live demonstrations and commentary lectures by the engineers involved in developing the machines (requiring a reserved-seat ticket), as well as free workshops run by participating companies. On the opening day, a long-awaited official book for fans was also scheduled to go on sale. General advance admission was 2,000 yen (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Lab Note: Behind-the-scenes development stories that were not shown on the broadcast are being offered as paid commentary lectures. Fans of broadcast content have a desire to “know more.” If you can answer that desire with a separately ticketed experience, it becomes a new revenue stream. Turning the popularity of an existing program into an exhibition event is a method that television networks can easily apply to other shows as well.

This Week’s Takeaways

This week was one where growing numbers and risks that need to be controlled appeared at the exact same time.

COVER’s 50% revenue increase is the result of its VTuber business stacking multiple revenue streams. Beyond advertising and streaming, it has expanded into merchandise, live events, and licensing. Meanwhile, McDonald’s was forced to scramble in response to the disruption caused by its own popular campaign. Both share a common root: they happen because fan passion is so intense. Both the 55,000+ attendance at The World of Masamune Shirow exhibition and Death Mark’s crowdfunding reaching its target in a single day demonstrate the strength of fan support.

How to turn fan enthusiasm into revenue, and how to keep it under control. Only companies that can design both at the same time will be able to truly make use of oshikatsu marketing design principles and fan marketing methods. Looking at this week’s news left us with that strong impression.

Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of oshikatsu × business news. You can browse past issues in the Oshikatsu × News category.