McDonald’s Apologizes Over Pokémon Resale, MyDearest Hits 3B Yen [Weekly Oshi News: Aug 15, 2025]
Here is our roundup of notable corporate oshikatsu (fan-support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of August 8 to August 14, 2025.
This Week’s Highlights
The defining theme of the week was that fan touchpoints spanned every price bracket.
VR game developer MyDearest announced that it raised approximately 170 million yen in a Series C extension round. Combined with its May fundraising, total Series C funding reached roughly 1.7 billion yen, bringing the company’s cumulative funding to approximately 3 billion yen. Meanwhile, “Shiny Sparklers Symphony,” an interactive fireworks event celebrating the eighth anniversary of the founding of hololive production, was scheduled for September 6 (announced on July 18), with S-seat tickets that included streaming access and merchandise priced at 15,300 yen (tax included). The VTuber-driven oshikatsu market was expanding in scale from startup investment to live events.
At the other end of the price spectrum, Marumiya’s “Chiikawa Furikake” rice seasoning was selling for 140 yen. Meiji held a free interactive event in Shinjuku, Tokyo, using AI to judge which side visitors belonged to in the “Kinoko no Yama vs. Takenoko no Sato” snack rivalry. Over Pokémon cards, McDonald’s issued an apology on August 11 and announced stricter purchase limits. From snacks costing a few hundred yen to investments on the scale of billions of yen, it was a week in which initiatives that move fans lined up across every price range.
Free & Everyday Low-Cost ItemsHigh-Ticket Goods, Live Events & Startup Funding
- Free AI Event & 140-Yen SeasoningMeiji held a free Shinjuku AI event, while Marumiya sold Chiikawa Furikake for 140 yen.
- Everyday Apparel & Park Goods (750–7,900 Yen)Uniqlo kids’ UT shirts started at 990 yen, DisneySea items at 750 yen, and Design Tshirts Store graniph sets reached 7,900 yen.
- Anniversary Fireworks & Golf Gear (7,000–59,400 Yen)hololive fireworks S-seats cost 15,300 yen and Dragon Quest Golf caddy bags were priced at 59,400 yen.
- Multi-Billion-Yen Startup InvestmentVR developer MyDearest reached roughly 3 billion yen in cumulative funding after a 170 million yen Series C addition.
Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article
In the VTuber Economy, Investments and Anniversary Initiatives Grew in Scale
Wakasa Seikatsu x NIJISANJI’s Ponto Nei — A Blueberry Connection Entering Its Third Year
Wakasa Seikatsu appointed Ponto Nei of the VTuber group NIJISANJI as its “August Big Blueberry Harvest Festival Ambassador.” The purpose of the collaboration project was to promote the appeal of “Blueberry Eye LOVE YOU,” an eye-care supplement designed specifically for oshikatsu, alongside “WAKASA&Co.,” a specialty blueberry store operated by the company. On July 28, a tie-up livestream was also held on Ponto Nei’s YouTube channel. Buyers of eligible products received a collaboration postcard, the mascot “Buruburu-kun,” and a leaflet. Customers who spent 2,000 yen or more at WAKASA&Co. received a collaboration coaster during the campaign period from August 1 to August 31 (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
The connection between the two began in April 2023, when Buruburu-kun rushed over to celebrate Ponto Nei’s 3D debut. This marked the third consecutive year of their collaboration.
Lab Note: Wakasa Seikatsu does not let collaborations end as one-off campaigns, instead holding them at the same time every year. The reason this partnership has endured is that it layers together multiple anniversaries: “Blueberry Day” on August 8, Ponto Nei’s birthday, and Buruburu-kun’s birthday. Rather than the scale of a single campaign, the steady accumulation of continuing at the same time each year with the same partner is what stays in fans’ memories.
hololive’s 8th Anniversary — An Interactive Event Fusing Fireworks and Drones
The WONDERFUL Fireworks Executive Committee announced “Shiny Sparklers Symphony,” an interactive event commemorating the eighth anniversary of the founding of hololive production. Scheduled for September 6 at Makuhari Seaside Park in Chiba Prefecture, the event would allow attendees to enjoy fireworks and drone performances while listening to audio commentary by Generation 0 talents Tokino Sora, Robocosan, AZKi, Sakura Miko, and Hoshimachi Suisei. The announced plans called for exclusively original hololive songs, with pyrotechnic production by the fireworks company Nihonbashi Marutamaya. Ticket options included B seats at 7,000 yen and S seats at 15,300 yen (which included streaming access and merchandise), with general ticket sales announced to begin at 7:00 p.m. on August 16 (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: This event combines the existing entertainment format of a fireworks festival with VTuber music and commentary. Rather than building a venue and production from scratch, the organizers concentrated their investment on production quality by drawing on the specialized expertise of Nihonbashi Marutamaya. Borrowing specialized technology from a different industry is an approach that other IP holders can also apply.
MyDearest — Targeting the North American Gen Alpha Market with Additional Series C Funding
VR game developer MyDearest announced that it raised approximately 170 million yen in a Series C extension round. Combined with its May fundraising, total Series C funding reached roughly 1.7 billion yen, and its cumulative funding reached approximately 3 billion yen. The company stated plans to allocate the raised funds toward strengthening VR game development aimed at Generation Alpha (early to mid-teens) in North America. Its “bazooka studio” brand, launched in 2024, had recorded a cumulative total of more than 1 million active users worldwide, with approximately 70 percent of those users located in the United States (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The oshikatsu and VTuber economy is growing beyond one-off merchandise revenue into a business sector where investors commit capital. MyDearest is proactively targeting Generation Alpha—the next oshikatsu generation—in the North American market. In doing so, it is moving ahead along a path that domestic fan businesses will eventually follow. Considered alongside the market size of oshikatsu, it is clear that the oshikatsu market is growing larger as an investment target.
The Food and Beverage Industry Engaged Fans Through AI and the Power of Oshi
Meiji’s “Kinoko vs. Takenoko” — A Participatory Event Judged by AI
For two days from August 11 to August 12, Meiji held an interactive event at the event space in front of Sanagi Shinjuku in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The event used AI to judge which camp visitors belonged to in the “Kinoko no Yama vs. Takenoko no Sato” chocolate snack rivalry. In a survey commemorating the 50th anniversary of the launch of Kinoko no Yama in 2025, 14 out of 20 countries worldwide answered that they belonged to the “Kinoko camp.” In Japan, by contrast, 46 out of 47 prefectures favored the “Takenoko camp.” At the event, the latest AI system, “MOTHER,” used a database of approximately 1.67 million patterns of employee facial images and preference data to judge visitors from photographs of their faces. MOTHER was jointly developed with a technical team involved in multiple pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Meiji also simultaneously released a web version of “MOTHER” that people could join from home. By taking a facial photo on a smartphone, users could receive the same judgment as at the venue.
Lab Note: Meiji replaced the method of deciding its decades-long “which side are you on” debate—shifting from self-reported preference to a third-party standard in the form of AI judgment. While leaving room for fans to choose for themselves, adding the new participatory experience of an objective judgment reignited a debate that has continued for decades. The longer-selling a product is, the more effective it is to devise new ways to play with it like this.
JO1 x Hotto Motto — Casting Idols to Win New Gen Z Customers
Plenus began airing a new television commercial, the “Summer Hearty Beef Curry” edition, for its takeout bento chain Hotto Motto on August 6, starring the boy group JO1. With this commercial, Plenus aimed to acquire new Generation Z customers. The commercial featured the song “Bon Voyage,” the theme song for JO1 THE MOVIE “Unfinished” -Bon Voyage-. Starting August 4, the company also released videos of the members giving individual food reviews one by one. Because this year marks JO1’s fifth anniversary year, the company cited the group’s high name recognition both in Japan and abroad as the deciding factor in casting them. A company representative described the reception as a “greater response than imagined” (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: It is instructive that Plenus explicitly stated that the purpose of the casting was to acquire new customers rather than to deepen engagement among existing fans. The company aligned the “bright, energetic, and fun” image that the brand aims for with the group’s worldview, while maintaining a focus on verifying whether the campaign actually drove store visits. In light of Gen Z consumer behavior, the next challenge will be how to turn fans who first visit a store because of the commercial into regular customers.
Marumiya and Mister Donut — Brightening Everyday Shelves with Character Foods
Marumiya Foods Industry was selling “Chiikawa Furikake (Egg & Beef)” (140 yen) and “Chiikawa Demon-Spicy Curry (Beef)” (194 yen, tax included) for a limited time through August 31. Each package of furikake rice seasoning and curry included one original “sparkly sticker,” with 10 designs for the furikake and 10 designs for the curry, for a total of 20 varieties (Inside (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, San-X announced that it would release collaboration items between “Rilakkuma” and Mister Donut in September. The products include plush toys and stationery depicting Rilakkuma and friends eating donuts (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), monolab.tokyo (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Marumiya’s initiative combines characters with everyday food items, creating opportunities to connect with fans frequently at a low cost. Even when the unit price is low, including limited-time stickers or merchandise transforms routine grocery shopping into the fun of collecting. The longer-running an IP is, the more keeping these small touchpoints uninterrupted helps fans remember the characters repeatedly.
The Side Effect of Resale Shook Corporate Brands and Storefronts
McDonald’s — Apologizes Over Pokémon Card Campaign and Tightens Purchase Limits
On August 11, McDonald’s published an “Important Notice Regarding Happy Meal ‘Pokémon’ Sales and Our Response.” Over the distribution of Pokémon cards that began on August 9, bulk purchases for resale caused crowding inside and around restaurants, as well as ordered food being left behind and discarded. McDonald’s apologized, stating that the situation ran counter to its philosophy of providing a fun dining experience for children and families and its stance as a restaurant. Going forward, the company announced measures including stricter quantity limits, refusing sales to customers who do not follow the rules, and revoking official app memberships for violators (Game*Spark (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: McDonald’s apology addressed the impact on customers, neighboring residents and restaurant crew. In addition to point-of-purchase measures, the company announced a policy of terminating app memberships for violators. It is a response that treated the risks of a limited-quantity promotion as a brand-wide issue.
Yakult and Rice — How Public Relations Confronts “Runaway Hit Products”
Yakult sold a cumulative total of more than 3.5 billion bottles of its lactic acid bacteria beverages “Yakult 1000” and “Y1000” between October 2019 and March 2024. However, production could not keep pace with demand, and shortages persisted. The company posted an apology on its website and worked to strengthen its supply system through measures such as opening the new Fuji Oyama Yakult Plant. Rice, an everyday necessity, also became a target for resale, with bags of rice lining flea market apps. In response, the national government amended a cabinet order on June 13 to regulate the resale of rice effective June 23 (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Yakult’s response follows the classic combination of apologizing for shortages while expanding production capacity. The rice case, on the other hand, stands apart in that it could not be resolved by corporate public relations efforts alone and ultimately led to legal regulation. Companies planning limited-quantity products need to factor in the operational costs and limits of anti-resale measures from the initial planning stage.
McDonald’s (Pokémon Cards)
- Apologized to neighboring residents and store crew after bulk buying, crowding, and food waste
- Announced stricter quantity limits and refusal of sales for rule-breakers
- Announced removal of violators from the official mobile app
Yakult (Yakult 1000 / Y1000)
- Cumulative sales exceeded 3.5 billion bottles from Oct 2019 to Mar 2024
- Production could not keep up with demand, leading to ongoing shortages
- Published a website apology and reinforced supply via the new Fuji Oyama Yakult Plant
Rice Market (Staple Food)
- Bags of rice became targets for resale on flea market apps
- Could not be solved through corporate PR efforts alone
- National government amended a cabinet order on June 13 to regulate rice resale from June 23
Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of the article
Apparel and Retail Placed Characters on Everyday Shelves
Uniqlo and Avail — Connecting Adults and Children Through Pokémon
On August 11, Uniqlo launched a collaborative UT collection with the “Pokémon Trading Card Game” and Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. Featuring card illustrations and silhouettes of Pikachu and other Pokémon on T-shirts and sweatshirts, the lineup was rolled out in men’s and kids’ sizes. Prices were 1,500 yen each for men’s UT shirts and 990 yen each (tax included) for kids’ UT shirts. Stores also distributed a “Special Pokémon Trading Card Game Paper Playmat” that could be used in actual battles (Inside (in Japanese)). Earlier, on August 9, Avail released Pokémon merchandise at stores nationwide and online. The lineup featured long-sleeve T-shirts, half-zip pullovers, stadium jackets, and track pants with designs of Psyduck, Gengar, Mimikyu, and Umbreon (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: With kids’ T-shirts starting at 990 yen, the rollouts across these two retailers keep prices low to lower the hurdle to purchase, pointing to an aim of increasing repeat store visits by families. In contrast to Design Tshirts Store graniph in the same week, this pricing structure sets children and families as the primary audience and prioritizes purchase frequency over unit price.
Design Tshirts Store graniph x Godzilla — Reconstructing the Heisei and VS Series as Apparel
On August 12, Design Tshirts Store graniph launched a collaborative apparel collection with Godzilla. The products draw motifs from the Heisei and VS Godzilla series spanning from The Return of Godzilla (1984) to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Rival kaiju monsters such as Mothra and King Ghidorah are also included in the designs. The collection rolled out 13 items in total, including oversized T-shirts at 4,500 yen each, a dry relax loungewear set at 7,900 yen, and an open-collar shirt at 6,900 yen (GAME Watch (in Japanese), CINRA (in Japanese), Digital PR Platform (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Design Tshirts Store graniph turned films from the Heisei and VS series—works from more than 30 years ago—into products priced for adults who remember that era. Even within the same category of “apparel collaborations,” this week’s Pokémon rollouts used low unit prices starting at 990 yen for kids, whereas graniph used higher unit prices aimed at adults, creating a sharp contrast in pricing strategy.
Theme Parks and Games Showcased Their Journeys Through Anniversaries
Tokyo DisneySea’s 24th Anniversary — Merchandise Depicting Mermaid Lagoon
Tokyo DisneySea announced that it would release 24th anniversary merchandise on September 4, the anniversary of the park’s opening. Themed around the popular Mermaid Lagoon area, the lineup of approximately 20 items included headbands at 2,600 yen, postcard sets at 750 yen, and plush badges at 2,600 yen. The designs depicted Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Mickey Mouse playing music. The designated retail location inside the park is Emporio at Tokyo DisneySea (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), CinemaCafe.net (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: For its 24th anniversary milestone, rather than adding new characters, Tokyo DisneySea delved deeply into a single existing area: Mermaid Lagoon. By narrowing the focus to one area instead of covering the entire park, the sense of a special occasion—“this year is for me”—becomes much stronger for fans of that specific area.
NieR 15th Anniversary Exhibition — Tracing the Series Chronologically in Its First Exhibition
The NieR franchise’s first exhibition, “NieR 15th Anniversary EXHIBITION 消セナイ記録” (“Indelible Records”), was being held at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the series published by Square Enix, the exhibition ran from August 9 to August 31. The displays traced the history of the series chronologically, covering works from 2010’s NieR Replicant / Gestalt to the 2017 global blockbuster NieR:Automata and the subsequent NieR Re[in]carnation, as well as the YoRHa stage plays and the anime NieR:Automata Ver1.1a (Game*Spark (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Built around a chronological layout spanning 15 years of works, this event created a fresh experience as the franchise’s first-ever exhibition. It is a prime example showing that the more past assets a company has accumulated, the more cost-effective an anniversary initiative becomes when it edits and curates existing works rather than creating everything from scratch.
Cross-Industry Licensing and Transit Expanded the Pathways of Oshikatsu
Dragon Quest x Golf Gear — Reaching a New Customer Base Through Cross-Industry Licensing
Square Enix announced that it would launch a Dragon Quest golf equipment brand, “DRAGON QUEST GOLF,” on February 6, 2026, and was accepting pre-orders on its e-STORE. Under the theme “Set Off on an Adventure!”, the lineup was slated to feature golf balls designed with Slime faces and monster-shaped headcovers. The Slime caddy bag was priced at 59,400 yen (tax included) and crafted with close attention to detail (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: This initiative takes an IP out of its traditional video game sales floor and brings it into golf pro shops. The high 59,400-yen price tag is viable precisely because it is backed by the calculation that the generation that plays golf regularly overlaps with the Dragon Quest generation. Working backward from where a fanbase’s age group actually spends money broadens the pool of potential IP partnership candidates.
Nike x Yu-Gi-Oh! — Bringing Katsuya Jonouchi’s Shoes into Reality
Nike unveiled a special edition of the “Air Max 95” based on the footwear worn in the story by Katsuya Jonouchi (known as Joey Wheeler in the English adaptation) in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. It was announced that the shoes would go on sale at the “House of Duel” event on September 5 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese), Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Nike created a real-world product based on an in-story detail. Instead of printing a character image onto a shoe, it recreated the model the character wore using an actual real-life model number. Because of this, the experience feels less like buying collaboration merchandise and closer to “taking home a piece of the story’s world.”
JR East — Guiding Fans Along Rail Lines with a Pokémon Stamp Rally
JR East was holding the “JR East Pokémon Mega Stamp Rally 2025” in a tie-up with Pokémon. Setting up stamps featuring Captain Pikachu and other Pokémon across 36 stations in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, the railway offered three courses—6 stations, 12 stations, and 36 stations—along with a Shinkansen bullet train course. Prizes for the 6-station course using the standard stamp book were redeemed at designated NewDays convenience stores, while prizes for the 12-station, 36-station, and Shinkansen courses could be picked up at a special goal counter at Tokyo Station. Prizes for the Special Edition stamp book were also redeemed at the Tokyo Station special goal counter (PR TIMES (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Rather than focusing solely on a place to buy merchandise, JR East turns the act of traveling between stations itself into the object of enjoyment. Because the courses are divided into tiers from 6 stations to 36 stations, fans with different levels of commitment—from casual participants to dedicated fans eager to conquer the entire rail network—can take part in the same campaign.
This Week’s Takeaways
This week was one in which the side effect of resale emerged as a new focal point in oshikatsu marketing.
McDonald’s apologized over the resale problems surrounding its Pokémon card campaign and announced a policy of stricter purchase limits and app membership revocations for violators. In the same week, news of Yakult’s supply shortages and government regulations on rice resale also lined up, making responses to runaway hit products a shared challenge for public relations teams. Initiatives that grow a fanbase simultaneously generate a separate demand in the form of resale. More than ever, companies are being asked how they will confront this trade-off.
At the same time, initiatives that steadily build touchpoints with fans at a sustainable scale also stood out, such as the third-year collaboration between Wakasa Seikatsu and Ponto Nei and Marumiya’s 140-yen furikake. Meanwhile, MyDearest’s cumulative funding of 3 billion yen demonstrates that the oshikatsu and VTuber economy has also become a target for startup investment.
When considering how your own fan initiatives are prepared for resale risks, review this week’s developments alongside our guides to the design principles of oshikatsu marketing and putting fan marketing into practice.
Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of the intersection between oshikatsu and business. You can browse past issues in the Oshikatsu x News category.
