Sanrio Opens Permanent VR Theme Park & Lawson Rolls Out Back-to-Back IP Campaigns: Weekly News (Nov 28, 2025)

Here is our roundup of standout corporate oshikatsu (fandom support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of November 21 to November 27, 2025.

This Week’s Highlights

This week was marked by a noticeable shift from limited-time pop-ups to permanent fan destinations.

Sanrio announced that it would open “Virtual Sanrio Puroland,” a permanent virtual reality theme park on VRChat, on December 11. Built as a facility accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world, it builds on the “Sanrio Virtual Festival” events that Sanrio had previously hosted, which drew a cumulative total of 10 million participants. Taito also announced that it would open its first permanent specialty shop dedicated to Final Fantasy XIV in Akihabara on December 19.

Major convenience store chain Lawson rolled out campaigns for two very different IPs in the same week: SPY×FAMILY and Umamusume: Cinderella Gray. In the virtual space, finn, the company behind the character “Nyantsubu,” raised 100 million yen to make a full-scale entry into the Roblox business. Meanwhile, the cities of Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture and Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture held an event on VRChat discussing how local governments can put the metaverse to practical use.

10M+

Cumulative participants in Sanrio Virtual Festival since 2021

560+

Jump Festa 2026 items sold online ahead of the physical event

100M JPY

Seed funding raised by finn for its full-scale Roblox expansion

35 items

Lineup size of Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice's My Hero Academia collection

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article

New Akihabara Storefront and Jump Festa Create Year-Round and Off-Site Sales Channels

Taito’s “FF14” Akihabara Shop — A Permanent Store Recreating Gridania

Taito announced that it would open “FINAL FANTASY XIV GOODS SHOP AKIHABARA,” its first permanent storefront specializing exclusively in Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) merchandise, on December 19. The shop is located inside “EXBAR TOKYO plus AKIHABARA,” a craft beer and game bar in Akihabara, Tokyo. The interior design is modeled after the marketplace of “Gridania,” an in-game city-state. On opening day, the store planned to offer early sales of three products, including a “Starlight Mug.” Shoppers who spent 3,000 yen or more (tax included) would receive one postcard per person per day (Game*Spark (in Japanese)).

What sets this initiative apart is that it was established as a permanent brick-and-mortar store.

Lab Note: Taito made the decision to put down roots with a permanent shop rather than running a limited-time pop-up. Alongside merchandise revenue, the store is designed to sell “dwell time” by pairing shopping with craft beer. Whether a brand can create a place where fans regularly drop by is the dividing line between a lasting hub and a one-off event.

Shueisha’s “Jump Festa 2026” — Over 560 Items Sold Early Outside the Venue

Shueisha opened a special website on the “Jump Characters Store” ahead of “Jump Festa 2026,” which was scheduled to be held at Makuhari Messe on December 20 and 21, 2025. Through this e-commerce site, Shueisha sold more than 560 products from both Shueisha and sponsoring companies, including ONE PIECE badge sets and SAKAMOTO DAYS keychains. The system was designed so that even fans who could not attend the venue on the day of the event or who missed out in the ticket lottery could still purchase merchandise (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).

Advance registration for “afternoon admission tickets” aimed at fans without admission tickets was also announced to open on December 15.

Lab Note: The idea here is to sell merchandise ahead of time outside the venue, including to fans who cannot attend. Instead of leaving fans who lost the ticket lottery as “people who couldn’t attend,” Shueisha welcomes them in as buyers. A sales design that does not rely solely on day-of foot traffic offers a valuable reference for any company that runs large-scale events.

Major Convenience Store Chain Rolls Out Two Popular IPs Back to Back

Lawson × SPY×FAMILY — Anya and Friends Dressed Up as Karaage-kun

Lawson announced a nationwide campaign (excluding some stores) with SPY×FAMILY starting December 2. The campaign features Anya Forger, Damian Desmond, and Becky Blackbell. Customers who purchased three eligible confectionery items would receive an “Original Zipper Bag” (4 designs in total) on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies lasted. Exclusive merchandise such as the “Dress-Up! Karaage-kun Mini Plush Keychain Set” was also announced for sale via @Loppi and HMV&BOOKS online, with orders scheduled to open from December 2 to January 5, 2026 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Four types of “Original Bromides” (collectible character photo prints) were also announced for sale through the in-store Lawson Print service.

Lab Note: Lawson has dressed the anime’s characters up as its flagship fried chicken snack mascot, “Karaage-kun.” By blending its own mascot into an existing merchandise format, Lawson creates a sense of unity that rival convenience stores cannot replicate. A character that a company has nurtured over many years can serve as versatile raw material to combine with outside IPs.

Lawson × Umamusume: Cinderella Gray — Oguri Cap Also Becomes “Karaage-kun”

Starting November 25, Lawson also held a campaign for the anime Umamusume: Cinderella Gray. Shoppers who bought eligible products received an original clear file folder on a first-come, first-served basis in limited quantities. Special food items, including products from Meiji’s “Galbo” chocolate series and white peach jelly sets, were also rolled out. Exclusively on @Loppi and HMV&BOOKS online, Lawson sold “Dress-Up! Karaage-kun Plushies” (3,850 yen each) featuring Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, and Belno Light (Inside (in Japanese)).

From November 18, in-store broadcasts featuring voice messages from Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross were also played across shops.

Lab Note: It is notably efficient how Lawson reuses the exact same “Karaage-kun” template across a completely different title. By reusing the Karaage-kun character concept, Lawson can deploy this template across multiple IPs. When a company designs its flagship product as a ready-made “vessel for collaborations,” it can reuse that format again and again regardless of the partner IP.

Apparel and Eyewear Brands Turn Characters into Everyday Wear

UNIQLO × Sanrio Characters — Turning Collaborations into Wardrobe Staples with Varsity Style

On November 21, UNIQLO released a collection with “Sanrio Characters.” The lineup expressed Hello Kitty, Pochacco, Tuxedosam, Cinnamoroll, and My Melody in a trendy varsity style. Items included Women’s lounge sets (4,990 yen each), HEATTECH socks (590 yen), and Kids’ fleece sets (2,990 yen each) (Inside (in Japanese)).

Rather than printing huge character graphics across the garments, the designs kept things understated with logos and subtle accent motifs.

Lab Note: UNIQLO holds back from putting Sanrio front and center, keeping the characters to small accent points. Rather than looking like a loud IP tie-up, the collection integrates characters into standard everyday clothing. Designing collaboration apparel so that it sells naturally even to non-fans extends its shelf life from a brief “buzz period” into a “year-round staple.”

Zoff × Godzilla — Three Eras from the Original to the Reiwa Period in Eyewear Frames

Eyewear brand Zoff announced that it would launch “Zoff | GODZILLA,” an eyewear collection in collaboration with the Godzilla franchise, on December 5. The lineup consists of three models in total: a classic “Godzilla Model” evoking the 1950s, an asymmetrical “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla Model,” and a “Godzilla Minus One Model” incorporating the monster’s cheek scar and atomic breath colors. Each pair was priced at 15,500 yen (tax and standard lenses included), with pre-orders opening on November 21 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Released in 2023, Godzilla Minus One (Godzilla -1.0) was a major box office hit that drew over 2.48 million theatergoers and earned more than 3.82 billion yen.

Lab Note: Zoff lined up three films spanning from the 1954 original to the 2023 release all at once. Instead of limiting the appeal to fans of a single era, this brings different generations of fans to the same sales floor. The longer a franchise’s history is, the more a brand can broaden its buyer base by letting customers “choose their era” rather than focusing exclusively on the newest installment.

Samantha Thavasa × My Hero Academia — 35 Items Including 19,800-Yen Bags

“Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice” released a 35-item collaboration collection with My Hero Academia. The pieces incorporate the signature colors and motifs of seven popular characters, including Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo. The lineup features shoulder bags (19,800 yen), bifold wallets (22,000 yen), pass cases (15,400 yen), and more. Pre-orders on Premium Bandai’s “BanColle!” ran from November 20 to November 30, with sequential shipping announced for December onward (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).

Sequential in-store sales at Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice locations nationwide were also announced to begin in late November.

Lab Note: A price range in the high teens to over 20,000 yen sets these items apart from standard anime merchandise. By selling them at the same price point as the fashion brand’s regular catalog, the brand makes the purchase feel less like “buying character merch” and more like “buying a handbag.” Pairing an IP without discounting the price point allows a fashion label to maintain brand trust while welcoming in a new cohort of fans.

Bathhouses and Theme Parks Plan IP Decorations and Experiential Attractions

Leja Fes × Street Fighter — “Battle at the Bathhouse” Across Five Bathing Facilities Nationwide

Origress, with the cooperation of PROOF, announced “SENTO DE SENTO: Battle at the Bathhouse” (a pun on the Japanese words sento for bathhouse and sento for combat), a collaboration with the Street Fighter series running from December 11, 2025, to January 12, 2026, across five bathing facilities nationwide. Serving as the sixth installment of “Leja Fes,” a cross-facility collaboration initiative utilizing anime and game IPs, the venues were to be decorated with character banners and oversized standee panels. Visitors would receive bonus cards, stickers, and coasters based on admission, merchandise purchases, and orders from the special collaboration menu (Inside (in Japanese)).

The five participating facilities were located across Miyagi, Tochigi, Chiba, and Tokyo.

Lab Note: This collaboration brings video game merchandise into public bathhouses and spa facilities—everyday venues where people rarely have a specific urgency to visit on a given day. Bathing facilities, where weekday foot traffic is often hard to predict, gain a reliable stream of visitors in the form of dedicated fans. When two industries seem far apart—like gaming companies and leisure spas—they are often well positioned to fill in each other’s missing customer segments.

USJ × Jujutsu Kaisen — All-New 4D Attraction Returns

A renewed collaboration between Jujutsu Kaisen and Universal Studios Japan (USJ) was announced as part of the special event “Universal Cool Japan 2026,” which was scheduled to begin on January 30, 2026. The 4D theater show attraction “Jujutsu Kaisen: The Real 4-D” was announced to return with a completely original story, and it was also announced that the ride attraction “Hollywood Dream - The Ride” would feature a “Jujutsu Kaisen × Story Ride” experience (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Natalie (in Japanese), ORICON NEWS (in Japanese)).

The theatrical film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was a massive global hit, grossing 26.5 billion yen at the worldwide box office.

Lab Note: By preparing both a theater attraction and a coaster ride at the same time, USJ extends the amount of time fans spend experiencing the collaboration inside the park. Timing the event to coincide with the broadcast premiere of the TV anime’s third season is equally calculated: fans whose excitement is heightened by watching the broadcast can be drawn straight into the park. Synchronizing venue collaborations with broadcast or theatrical windows remains a foundational way to convert rising interest in a title into physical attendance.

Food and Beverage Brands Tap Characters for Limited-Time Campaigns

Meiji Meltykiss × “The Dangers in My Heart” Movie — Sparked by a Valentine’s Episode in the Story

On November 18, Meiji announced a special collaboration between its winter-exclusive chocolate “Meltykiss” and the theatrical film The Dangers in My Heart (Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu). The collaboration was inspired by an episode in the original story where protagonist Kyotaro Ichikawa gives heroine Anna Yamada a box of Meltykiss. Meiji released a special animated commercial featuring newly recorded voice acting from both characters and announced that collaboration point-of-purchase displays would be set up at select retail stores (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The theatrical film was scheduled for nationwide release starting February 13, 2026, and the manga series had surpassed 6.5 million copies in cumulative circulation.

Lab Note: Meiji turned a single episode from inside the story directly into a real-world product tie-up. Rather than a corporation pitching an unrelated promotional concept from the outside, the brand is re-offering a “gift” that already existed within the narrative as an actual product fans can buy. For fans, purchasing the chocolate feels remarkably close to buying a continuation of the story itself.

Mary Chocolate × Pokémon — Eight Pixel-Art Chocolate Products

Mary Chocolate Company announced that pre-orders for its 2026 Valentine’s Day Pokémon collaboration lineup would open on its official online shop on December 23. The collection comprises eight products depicting Pokémon in retro pixel art. Highlights include tins featuring Bulbasaur or Squirtle (1,944 yen each) and a “Legendary Pokémon Tin Set” featuring Kyogre, Dialga, and others (2,160 yen). The chocolates were scheduled to roll out at department stores nationwide starting in mid-January 2026 (Inside (in Japanese)).

A pouch filled with chocolate cookies featuring Eevee and its evolutions was also included in the lineup.

Lab Note: Mary Chocolate chose nostalgic pixel art as its visual hook. By deliberately designing the boxes to evoke classic game screens from decades past, the brand expands its target buyers to include adults who grew up playing Pokémon as children. An IP’s latest visual iteration is not the only version with selling power.

PlayStation × ZONe × Nissin Curry Meshi — A Three-Brand Gamer Support Drink

ZONe ENERGY launched “ZONe ENERGY GAMING 24/7” nationwide on November 25, 2025, in a three-way collaboration with PlayStation and the Nissin Curry Meshi instant rice series. Created to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, the three brands teamed up around the shared concept of “HYPER GAMER SUPPORTERS.” The mango lassi-flavored energy drink sells for 245 yen (tax included) and features motifs of the DualSense wireless controller on the can (Inside (in Japanese)).

A promotional giveaway campaign offering gaming monitors and headsets to buyers of eligible products was also held alongside the launch.

Lab Note: Three distinct industries—gaming hardware, energy drinks, and cup rice—are bound together solely by the single concept of “supporting gamers.” The further apart the product categories are, the more essential it is to distill the reason for collaborating into a single phrase. In cross-industry partnerships, aligning on a shared concept before picking characters makes it much easier for multiple companies to work together.

Games and VTubers Bring Hardware and Live Venues into the Fold

Fumo Collection × NIJISANJI — Pre-Orders Open for Second Wave of Liver-Supervised Peripherals

Gaming gear specialty store “Fumoffu no Omise” announced that pre-orders for the second collaboration wave between its original brand “Fumo Collection” and VTuber group “NIJISANJI” would open at 3:00 PM on December 1. The lineup features six VTubers (known as Livers): Lauren Iroas, Fuwa Minato, Kenmochi Toya, Ratna Petit, Hoshikawa Sara, and Furen E Lustario. The store announced that it would sell Liver-supervised keyboards and replacement keycap sets, with three of the models built as 75%-layout Japanese-array keyboards supporting Rapid Trigger technology (Inside (in Japanese)).

The hardware specifications were specifically engineered with competitive FPS gaming performance in mind.

Lab Note: Fumo Collection designed this collaboration as practical, everyday equipment. Unlike display figures meant to sit on a shelf, gaming peripherals are tools that players touch every single day during gameplay. Putting character motifs onto those tools ensures that the fan’s point of contact with the IP continues daily long after the purchase. Whether a brand can place an IP onto high-frequency everyday tools heavily influences how long a collaboration’s impact lasts.

Alice Gear Aegis × BOAT RACE Edogawa — Second Collaboration with a Publicly Managed Sport

COLOPL held a second collaboration event between its smartphone game Alice Gear Aegis and “BOAT RACE Edogawa” in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, running from November 26 to December 22. Two new “Another” character variants, Nanami Sajihara and Makuri Aohama, appeared in the game, and both characters also made appearances as VTubers on BOAT RACE Edogawa’s official broadcast programs. Inside the new in-game event, players could also enjoy quizzes introducing local attractions and trivia about Edogawa Ward (Gamer (in Japanese)).

A boat racing mini-game was also brought back inside the game’s virtual “Arcade” feature.

Lab Note: This is an ongoing partnership with publicly managed racing—a sector that sits at some distance from typical mobile game fans. Rather than treating it as a one-and-done stunt, COLOPL has carried the partnership into a “second installment.” That turns what could have been mere novelty buzz into genuine relationship-building with the partner venue. For municipal enterprises and local government-affiliated facilities, continuing a partnership beyond a single event is what helps new visitor traffic take root.

“VSPO!” — Major Arena Event Confirmed at Ariake Arena

The VTuber group “VSPO!” (Virtual eSports Project) announced that it would hold its flagship live event “VSPO! SHOWDOWN 2026 powered by RAGE” on March 21 and 22, 2026, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The previous “VSPO! SHOWDOWN” took place at Ryogoku Kokugikan, where all group members appeared and competed in matches against active and former pro esports players and prominent streamers (Mogura VR (in Japanese), Brave group (in Japanese)).

For the 2026 installment, the venue was announced to move up to Ariake Arena, a larger-capacity hall than the Ryogoku Kokugikan venue used in March 2025.

Lab Note: Upgrading the venue size is, in itself, a tangible indicator of the group’s growth for fans. Without having to publish a single sales figure, the organizers can communicate the expansion of the community simply through the name of the arena. For companies that host fan events, venue selection is not just about securing floor space—it is a way to signal the current scale and momentum of the brand.

XR and Local Governments Make Early Moves to Build Permanent Hubs

Sanrio’s “Virtual Sanrio Puroland” — Turning a VRChat Event into a Permanent Theme Park

Sanrio announced that it would open “Virtual Sanrio Puroland,” a permanent VR theme park on VRChat, at 6:00 PM on December 11, 2025. Announced as a venue accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world, the park was designed as a space for “co-creation” where visitors can experience not only Sanrio characters, but also works by independent creators and outside IPs. Sanrio also announced the rollout of UGX (user-generated content/experiences) initiatives that allow general users to freely build and showcase their own creations (Mogura VR (in Japanese), PR TIMES (in Japanese), AMP (in Japanese)).

Since its launch in 2021, the “Sanrio Virtual Festival” series had drawn more than 10 million cumulative participants.

Lab Note: Sanrio has announced plans to evolve a limited-time festival into a permanent virtual town. While the excitement of a special event is temporary, a permanent facility gives fans a home they can return to at any time. Furthermore, designing the park around UGX to welcome creations from everyday users is an attempt to bring the culture of fan-made derivative works (nijisousaku) directly inside an official platform.

Cities of Sanjo and Kurayoshi — Discussing Municipal Metaverse Use on VRChat

On November 26, the cities of Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture and Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture, with the cooperation of Mogura Inc., hosted a VRChat event titled “Local Governments Seriously Tackling VRChat.” Held inside “Virtual SANJO”—a world developed jointly by Sanjo City and Mogura—admission to the event was free. Municipal officials from both cities joined Mogura CEO Shun Kubota to discuss community-rooted metaverse utilization and initiatives for building a “connected population” (people who engage regularly with a region without living there full-time) (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

“Virtual Kurayoshi,” created by Kurayoshi City and Mogura, recreated the city’s historic streetscapes, tourist spots, and local specialties in 3D.

Lab Note: Sanjo and Kurayoshi opened a joint forum to share practical know-how across two municipalities. While a single local government has limited budget and expertise on its own, pooling case studies with other municipalities allows everyone to move faster. The same holds true for private companies: rather than keeping metaverse initiatives siloed in-house, sharing insights across industry lines accelerates learning.

finn — Raises 100 Million Yen to Expand Japanese IP Globally on Roblox

finn Inc. announced that it raised 100 million yen in a seed funding round from venture capital firms and angel investors. The company operates the character “Nyantsubu” (which had 91,000 followers on TikTok, 49,000 on Instagram, and 41,000 on X). With the newly raised capital, finn announced plans to make a full-scale entry into the Roblox business, establishing a Roblox content production subsidiary called “finfinity studio” to strengthen the global rollout of Japanese-born characters (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

Kunihiro Tanaka, President and CEO of Sakura Internet, was among the participating investors.

Lab Note: finn is following a deliberate sequence: nurturing its own IP domestically on social media first, then expanding onto a massive global platform. Raising capital specifically for overseas expansion while its social following is in the tens of thousands highlights just how early and quickly the company is moving. Nurturing a character from the outset with the assumption that it will be taken to global markets—rather than staying confined to Japan—echoes the core principles of strategic oshikatsu marketing.

Single & Limited-Time Initiatives

• Jump Festa 2026 pre-event online store (560+ items) capturing fans who cannot attend in person
• VSPO! SHOWDOWN 2026 upgrading from Ryogoku Kokugikan to Ariake Arena to signal brand growth
• Leja Fes × Street Fighter and USJ × Jujutsu Kaisen driving seasonal foot traffic to physical venues

Permanent & Repeatable Touchpoints

• Virtual Sanrio Puroland turning a temporary VR festival (10M+ cumulative visitors) into a 24/7 VRChat world
• Taito's permanent FF14 shop in Akihabara combining merchandise sales with craft beer dwell time
• Lawson reusing its Karaage-kun mascot template across SPY×FAMILY and Umamusume to build routine store visits

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article

Editorial Takeaways for the Week

This week brought a steady stream of announcements converting formerly temporary touchpoints into permanent places fans can visit anytime.

Both Sanrio’s decision to make its VR theme park permanent and Taito’s planned opening of a permanent Akihabara shop reflect a commitment not to let fan enthusiasm end when a single event wraps up. Both companies announced plans for places where fans can return whenever they want. Lawson’s back-to-back rollout of two IP campaigns similarly stems from the idea of stacking up everyday reasons for fans to walk into a store. Across many of this week’s cases ran a shared perspective: turning bursts of fan excitement into ongoing touchpoints rather than one-time spikes.

At the same time, finn’s expansion into Roblox and the municipal VRChat event represent initiatives that were still in the stage of “starting to build” their hubs. And while VSPO!‘s planned Ariake Arena event was a single live show rather than a permanent venue, the announced increase in arena scale itself signaled the brand’s growth to its community. Permanent hubs and one-off events are not opposing choices. When we view them as a connected sequence—creating spikes of fan excitement through event planning and channeling that momentum into permanent destinations—the threads tying this week’s news stories together become clear.

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Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of oshikatsu and fan business developments. You can browse past issues in our Oshikatsu × News category.