Myaku-Myaku Tops Social Buzz With 4.5M Posts; Cover Stock Halves From Peak (Weekly News: Dec 5, 2025)

Here is our roundup of the most notable oshikatsu (fan support activities) marketing and fan-business news from the week of November 28 to December 4, 2025.

This Week’s Highlights

This past week was a week in which fan relationships translated directly into corporate numbers.

The day after popular talent Amane Kanata announced her graduation (departure from the group), the stock price of Cover Corporation, which operates the VTuber agency Hololive Production, fell sharply. Shares dropped to 1,504 yen, down from their yearly peak of 3,420 yen. In its financial results, Cover also recorded an inventory valuation write-down of 550 million yen on previously manufactured merchandise, leaving operating profit down 20.9% year-on-year. The emotional shifts of individual fans are showing up directly in stock prices and earnings figures.

At the same time, companies making serious investments in fan touchpoints also stood out. Sony teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to begin building an AI agent platform spanning its entertainment businesses. Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, drew 4.5 million social media posts between January and October 2025 to win the SNS Buzzword Award. And Mercari held an event encouraging people to take a closer look at items likely to be thrown away during year-end deep cleaning—an estimated 10 trillion yen worth of goods nationwide.

DIAGRAMKey Fan-Business Figures From This Week's News

4.5M: Cumulative X posts mentioning Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku from January to October 2025
1,504 JPY: Cover Corp.'s stock price on Dec 3, down from its 2025 high of 3,420 JPY
550M JPY: Inventory write-down on past merchandise recorded in Cover's first-half earnings
10T JPY: Estimated nationwide value of unused items at risk of being discarded during year-end cleaning

Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article

Tech Giants Brought AI and XR Into the Foundation of the Fan Experience

Sony x AWS — Strengthening Cross-Entertainment Fan Experiences With an AI Agent Platform

On December 3, Sony Group announced that it is working to build an engagement platform powered by Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, an AI agent development and operations platform from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Through this platform, Sony aims to achieve both greater internal operational efficiency and an enhanced fan experience. The company stated that it is providing all group employees with access to generative AI and AI agent services to support tasks such as content production, customer inquiry handling, and fraud detection. Spanning its entire business portfolio—including games, music, movies, and anime—the system is designed to connect fans who share common interests while providing creators with analyses of user trends. Tsuyoshi Kodera, Corporate Executive Officer and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Sony Group, stated that the initiative represents “a major step toward shaping the future of the entertainment industry” (Inside (in Japanese), Game*Spark (in Japanese)).

A key aim of this platform is to make it possible to handle fan data across business divisions—data that Sony’s game, music, movie, and anime units had previously held separately.

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What Sony is aiming for is to bring together fan interests that had been siloed by business unit so they can be managed across the entire group. If a company can guide fans of one intellectual property (IP) to another business within the same group, the total revenue generated per fan changes significantly. The more IPs and brands a company holds under its own roof, the more useful this cross-business approach becomes as a reference.

STYLY and palan — Business Integration to Offer End-to-End XR Solutions From WebAR to Location-Based Facilities

On November 27, Japanese XR (extended reality) startups STYLY and palan announced that they had agreed to integrate their businesses. STYLY had acquired all shares of palan, aiming to complete the merger and unify their brands within fiscal year 2026. STYLY provides the spatial-layer platform “STYLY” and rolls out XR experiences that make use of urban spaces, while palan offers the no-code WebAR creation service “palanAR” as well as “AR Maps,” delivering augmented reality (AR) services for local governments, the entertainment sector, and the promotional industry. Following the integration, the companies announced they will establish a structure capable of providing a wide range of XR solutions under one roof—from browser-based WebAR that anyone can try immediately, to AI-combined experiences for smart glasses and location-based content for physical venues (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Holding both an “accessible entry point anyone can try right now” via WebAR and a “deeply immersive destination” via location-based XR venues within a single company carries major significance. Client companies can partner with a single vendor to run phased initiatives—first testing fan response with lightweight AR, and if reception is strong, guiding fans toward a full-scale experiential venue. Being able to entrust everything from initial experimentation to full production of fan initiatives to one external partner also reduces the burden on the client side.

Hololive Operator Cover Was Shaken by a Stock Drop Following First-Half Earnings and a Graduation Announcement

Cover — Amane Kanata’s Graduation, a Sharp Stock Drop, and the “Growing Pains” Seen in Earnings

Cover Corporation, which operates the VTuber agency Hololive Production, reported operating profit of 2,666 million yen for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2026 (April 1 to September 30, 2025), down 20.9% compared to the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 27.2% year-on-year to 21,754 million yen. However, because the company recorded a 550 million yen inventory write-down on merchandise manufactured in the past, profits temporarily declined. Even so, first-half operating profit exceeded forecasts by roughly 10%, and the company projected a 2.5% increase in operating profit for the full fiscal year. Just as these numbers were being digested, the graduation of popular talent Amane Kanata was announced on December 2. The next day, December 3, Cover’s stock price fell from its previous close of 1,580 yen to 1,504 yen—less than half the yearly peak of 3,420 yen recorded in February of this year (Inside (in Japanese)) (Inside (in Japanese)).

Regarding the reason for her graduation, Amane Kanata explained that “tasks outside regular duties that went far beyond the originally anticipated scope occurred repeatedly.”

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Because a temporary accounting factor—an inventory valuation write-down—and an emotional event—a talent’s graduation—happened in close proximity, the stock price reacted more sharply than the baseline earnings numbers alone might suggest. In the fan business, the higher a company’s dependence on individual talents, the more easily its corporate value swings each time someone leaves or graduates. For companies that place the fan economy at the core of their operations, building mechanisms to reduce reliance on specific individuals becomes a critical management challenge.

Sushiro and GU Placed Popular Characters Into Everyday Storefront Routines

Conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushiro launched a collaboration campaign starting December 10 with the smartphone app Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku (known officially in English as Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!). Customers who ordered the “Jumbo Fatty Salmon” or “Grilled Chicken With Seared Cheese Mayo” received an exclusive reversible pick (with a total planned supply of 270,000 picks across stores). Ordering the dessert “Rich Half-Baked Chocolat” came with a collaboration-exclusive sticker. Ordering the “Negimaguro (Minced Tuna and Green Onion) Hand Roll” included one of seven exclusive cards, and scanning the 2D barcode on the back entered customers into a lottery where 200 winners received a “Complete Pick Set.” Furthermore, the takeout- and online-order-exclusive “Collaboration Limited 6-Piece Set” came with one of five unit charms. During the campaign period, the Ikebukuro Station East Exit branch and the Namba Amza branch operated as special collaboration theme stores (Inside (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Assigning a different bonus item to each specific menu category is a thoughtful touch. From low-priced drinks to multi-piece sets, the campaign creates tiered fun where fans can collect different bonuses according to how much they spend. Rather than treating fan novelties as a simple “store visit bonus,” Sushiro turns them into “the fun of choosing from the menu.” This structure is designed to boost both average customer spend and repeat visit frequency.

GU x Snoopy — Ten Winter Loungewear Items Released

Apparel brand GU released a collaboration collection with Snoopy (PEANUTS) on December 8. Centered on the theme of the arrival of winter, the lineup featured Marshmallow Feel Parkas with Snoopy ears and flannel pajamas for women, along with lounge cardigans and Marshmallow Feel lounge sets for men. Every item was priced at 3,990 yen (tax included) and offered in sizes ranging from XS to 3XL (Inside (in Japanese), Nijimen (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What stands out here is that all ten items are focused entirely on a single usage scenario: loungewear for relaxing at home. Designing IP collaborations as items meant for time spent indoors lowers the psychological barrier to purchasing and extends the amount of time fans spend interacting with the character in their daily routines. Shifting fan merchandise from “something worn on special occasions” to “something blended into everyday life” is an idea that can be applied well beyond the apparel industry.

Myaku-Myaku Remained Expo 2025’s Biggest PR Asset Even After the Gates Closed

Myaku-Myaku Departure Ceremony — 1,000 Osaka Residents Attend After Winning a 167-to-1 Lottery

On November 29, the “Myaku-Myaku Departure Ceremony” was held at Yumeshima, the former site of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The ceremony commemorated the relocation of the monuments of the official mascot, Myaku-Myaku. A wooden sign installed near the East Gate was changed from “Welcome.” (Irasshaimase.) to “Thank you. See you again.” (Arigatou. Mata ne.), with the period mark styled in the shape of a “Komyaku” (the smaller cellular creatures associated with Myaku-Myaku). Taking the stage at the ceremony were Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama, and Kota Hikichi, the creative director who led the Expo’s design system. Approximately 1,000 Osaka Prefecture residents attended after winning a lottery with odds of roughly 167 to 1. Many attendees could be seen wearing Myaku-Myaku merchandise. Around March 2026, two of the monuments were relocated to the Expo ‘70 Commemorative Park, the former site of the 1970 Osaka World Expo (NHK News (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Staging the post-event relocation of the monuments as a narrative of “setting off on a journey” was highly effective. Lottery odds of 167 to 1 demonstrate that public interest in the character remained exceptionally high even after the Expo closed. When the end of an event is designed as a story that connects directly to the character’s next destination, organizers can extend the active exposure lifespan of the character itself.

On November 27, cybersecurity and social media monitoring firm E-Guardian announced the “SNS Buzzword Award 2025,” covering posts on X (formerly Twitter) from January through October 2025. Among the 30 nominated expressions, “Myaku-Myaku” led the January–October count with more than 4.5 million posts, including reposts, according to E-Guardian. According to the report, conversation reignited once the Expo opened, driven by a surge in everyday posts such as eyewitness sightings at the venue and reports of buying official merchandise. In October, immediately after the Expo closed, posts expressing “Myaku-Myaku loss” (Myaku-Myaku rosu—grief over parting with the mascot) jumped sharply. Posts mentioning Myaku-Myaku in October alone totaled roughly 1.097 million, the highest single-month figure during the survey period (Otonanswer (in Japanese), E-Guardian (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: It is telling that posts born from fans’ feelings of “post-event loss” set the single-month record. Peak interest in a character or IP can sometimes arrive immediately after an event ends rather than while it is running. For companies, there is real value in not treating the closing day of an event as a hard cutoff, and instead preparing communications that respond to fans’ sense of loss right after the finale.

Melano CC x Shibuya Moyai Statue — A Story-Driven Promotion Engaging the City

For three days from November 28 to 30, Rohto Pharmaceutical ran “Outing Moyai Statue with Melano CC,” a campaign linked with Shibuya’s famous Moyai Statue to promote its skincare brand Melano CC. Across out-of-home (OOH) ads, outdoor displays, and social media, the campaign told the story of the Moyai Statue—which had grown grayish from UV exposure as it marked the 45th anniversary of its installation—getting a mood boost from skincare and heading out into town. From November 24 to 27, Rohto ran a teaser activation featuring the Moyai Statue wearing a “sheet mask look” with the “Melano CC Intensive Measures Mask Plus.” Then on November 28, the Moyai Statue was displayed in a special “outing look” at the Shibuya Dogenzaka-dori plaza. Advertisements inside JR Shibuya Station turned the Moyai Statue’s 45 years of skin worries into ad copy, and hand fans shaped like real facial sheet masks were distributed (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Starting the narrative from the “worries” of a local landmark before ever talking about product efficacy is a well-crafted approach. By borrowing the built-in fame of Shibuya itself and making the Moyai Statue—rather than passersby—the protagonist, the campaign got people to stop and look without immediately feeling like they were being sold an advertisement. For companies and local governments that have a recognizable regional symbol, this is a reproducible method.

Hokka Hokka Tei — Riding the “Ehho Ehho” Meme Wave in Just Two Days

The internet meme “Ehho Ehho” spread from a post pairing an image of a running barn owl with rhythmic onomatopoeia. This meme was selected for the Top 10 of the “Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki Selections: 2025 T&D Insurance Group New Words and Buzzwords Awards” announced on December 1. What drew particular attention during this movement was a post featuring “running fried chicken (karaage)” by the takeout bento chain Hokka Hokka Tei. The company published its post just two days after the meme was born, generating a massive response across social media. Company director Toshihiko Iinuma attributed the result to the success of the brand’s distinct social media strategy (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The sheer speed of responding in “just two days” became the focus of praise in its own right. Because jumping on a meme loses effectiveness the longer a brand waits, posts that have to go through formal planning meetings simply will not make it in time. Whether an organization has prepared a structure that allows rapid participation beforehand—giving social media managers clear discretion and streamlining internal approvals—determines whether meme marketing succeeds or fails.

KFC — First-Ever Dedicated Christmas Restaurant Enters the Battle for a 2 Trillion Yen Market

Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan opened its first-ever pop-up restaurant, “KFC Christmas Restaurant,” at Roppongi Hills for a limited run from December 2 to 7. Alongside Christmas-exclusive dishes, the venue served standard KFC menu items arranged in special holiday styles. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the launch of the “Party Barrel,” KFC’s iconic symbol of Christmas in Japan. Inside the venue, tables featured ornaments modeled after Christmas trees, while a giant Party Barrel stood at the storefront entrance. Pairing wines created in collaboration with the wine specialty shop Enoteca were also offered. The company noted that the overall Christmas market in Japan exceeds 2 trillion yen and explained that it has continuously grown its holiday sales over the past five years (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: A limited-time restaurant format that “you can only experience by going there in person” is built on the premise of social media sharing. Arranging classic menu items into holiday editions and leveraging the 40-year history of the Party Barrel is also a rock-solid approach. In marketing for long-running annual traditions, reusing accumulated brand heritage works better than chasing pure novelty.

Sanseido Bookstore Jimbocho Flagship — Shifting Toward Experiential Value From One-Third of Peak Sales

The large-scale bookstore “Sanseido Bookstore Jimbocho Flagship” temporarily closed in May 2022 due to the aging of its building. Following reconstruction, it reopened on March 19, 2026, as the “Sanseido Bookstore Kanda Jimbocho Flagship.” Its sales floor space was 70% of the former store’s size, and its sales target was set at roughly 50% of the old flagship—a level the company described as realistic. The store’s sales had peaked around 1996 and had subsequently fallen to about one-third of that peak prior to closing. When the temporary closure was announced, an advertisement reading “We are slipping in a bookmark for a little while.” generated widespread conversation. Afterward, while operating a temporary shop in the neighboring district of Ogawamachi, the company continued developing ideas for the new flagship. The new building stood 13 stories above ground: the first through third floors housed the bookstore, the fourth floor held retail tenants, and the fifth floor and above served as office floors (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The honesty of setting the sales target at half that of the former flagship immediately catches the eye. Without hiding the downsizing, Sanseido communicated the act of “coming back” as a story in itself. Just as importantly, even while the main building was closed, the company kept its touchpoints with fans alive through the “bookmark” ad and the temporary store. For stores and brands facing long-term closures, this case demonstrates the value of continuing to communicate throughout the hiatus leading up to reopening.

XR Venues and Board Games Expanded Touchpoints With Younger Audiences

IMMERSIVE JOURNEY — Marks First Anniversary as Visitor Count Surpasses 120,000

“IMMERSIVE JOURNEY,” an XR experiential venue on the third floor of Yokohama’s ASOBUILD complex, celebrated its first anniversary since opening. Operator CinemaLeap announced that cumulative attendance surpassed 120,000 visitors in November 2025. At the venue, visitors put on head-mounted displays and walked through alternate worlds in groups of up to four people. Two productions were on view: Horizon of Khufu, set in ancient Egypt, and Tonight with the Impressionists Paris 1874, which depicts spending time in Paris alongside Impressionist painters. To commemorate the first anniversary, the venue held a giveaway campaign from December 1 to 8. CinemaLeap also announced future plans to open a location in Nagoya in January 2026 and to premiere its first original production—themed around ukiyo-e woodblock prints—in September 2026 (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What stands out is that after adding its second title in July 2025 following launch, the facility crossed 120,000 visitors by November of the same year. This suggests that the polish of the two existing works, combined with a location directly connected to Yokohama Station, helped drive high visitor turnover. In location-based entertainment venues, how far an operator can elevate the experiential value of each individual work before simply multiplying the number of titles makes a major difference in drawing crowds.

Hello Kitty Skyland — Sanrio x VR Enters Early Access on December 23

Thirdverse announced plans to launch early access for its new social VR game Hello Kitty Skyland for Meta Quest starting December 23. Set in the world of Sanrio, the game was designed as free-to-play for base gameplay. Players from around the world could gather in the virtual space “SKYLAND” to enjoy immersive encounters with Sanrio characters and full-body multiplayer activities. Early access featured an advance release of the online lobby area, the multiplayer competitive racing game “Sky Dash,” and special outfits themed around Hello Kitty, Kuromi, and My Melody (Mogura VR (in Japanese), GAME Watch (in Japanese), PR TIMES (in Japanese), GameWith (in Japanese), Gamer (in Japanese), 4Gamer.net (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: By making base gameplay free to gather people in the lobby while leaving room to monetize individual customization such as outfits, this design brings proven social-game mechanics into a VR space. For long-running IPs like Sanrio, whether a brand can transplant its entire worldview onto emerging platforms will shape fan acquisition over the next decade.

Game Market 2025 Autumn — Over 30,000 Attendees as Corporate-Created Board Games Rise

The Autumn 2025 edition of “Game Market,” Japan’s largest analog game event, took place on November 22 and 23. This installment saw a succession of booths from general companies that had previously had no connection to board games. Junjiro Kodama, CEO of the popular board game publisher ClaGla, spoke about the lively turnout this year, noting that the flow of visitors never let up even on the afternoon of the second day. Attendance reached a record high of 30,000 across the two days. In addition to tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) fans and puzzle-solving game enthusiasts, an influx from adjacent demographics—such as groups of young women and parents with children—was also conspicuous. Exhibiting companies expressed their respective themes in board game form, ranging from spreading bar culture to educational outreach on steel recycling (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What is fresh here is using a playable experience itself as the medium instead of traditional advertisements or promotional handouts. If attendees play a board game costing a few thousand yen all the way through to the end, they spend far more time engaging with a company’s theme than they ever would reading a brochure. The more complex the message a company wants to convey, the more situations arise where experience design outperforms one-way advertising.

Atrion Confectionery and Mercari Unearthed Hidden Value

Atrion Confectionery — A Warm Response Honoring a Grandmother’s Ten-Year-Old Thoughtfulness

The social media response of Atrion Confectionery (based in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture), known for the classic candies “Hi-Lemon” and “Yoglet,” became a hot topic. On November 26, an everyday X user posted an anecdote about receiving candy from a customer’s grandmother only to find that the expiration date had passed more than ten years ago. The post, which shared that the grandmother had said she “bought it to give to my grandchild when they came to visit,” spread widely online. In response, Atrion Confectionery replied, “Please let us add it to our company archive, complete with her warm feelings for her grandchild,” and offered to exchange the item for fresh products within their expiration date. The post garnered 1.85 million views and over 140 comments. The company also took the opportunity to reintroduce its corporate background, noting that all of its shares had been transferred from Meiji to Marubeni in 2023, bringing it into the Marubeni Group and passing the Yoglet and Hi-Lemon brands into its care (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The sequence in which the company handled the exchange proposal—identifying the corporate account name and expressing empathy in words first, then adding a brief company overview afterward—was remarkably considerate. Because empathy came first, the reply read like a genuine human response rather than an advertisement. For companies stewarding long-lived brands, responding in a way that connects their products to customers’ personal memories becomes an opportunity to build trust without spending ad budget.

Mercari — Visualizing “Hidden Assets” at the “Museum of Treasures About to Be Thrown Away”

Beginning December 4, marketplace app operator Mercari held the “Museum of Treasures About to Be Thrown Away” (Suterare-sou na Otakara Museum) for 11 days at GoOn TOKYO in Tokyo. According to a survey Mercari announced in November, unused items left untouched for a year or longer held by the average citizen amounted to roughly 715,000 yen per person. However, people’s expected resale value if they actually sold those items averaged just 195,000 yen, revealing a perception gap of roughly 520,000 yen. By category, according to the comparison presented by Mercari, the estimated value of shoes was 14.9 times what owners expected, while that of CDs and DVDs was 7 times what owners expected. Unused items at risk of being thrown away during this year’s year-end housecleaning were estimated at roughly 10 trillion yen nationwide. Inside the venue, a 2000s child’s bedroom and a “Heisei retro” (1990s–2000s era) living room were recreated, allowing visitors to look up the market prices of displayed items using Mercari’s price-search feature (Mercari (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Letting visitors physically experience the extra step of “searching before throwing away” inside recreated rooms was highly effective. For everyday consumers who are not moved by statistics alone, Mercari created a trigger that appealed to the emotion of nostalgia. For companies looking to communicate the value of their own services, this two-pronged approach—pairing hard data with a physical space where people can experience the concept firsthand—serves as a great reference.

DIAGRAMTwo Sides of Fan Emotion in Corporate Results This Week

Volatility When Sentiment Shifts

Cover Corp.'s stock dropped from 1,580 JPY to 1,504 JPY the day after Amane Kanata's graduation announcement, less than half its 3,420 JPY yearly high.
Combined with a 550M JPY inventory write-down, high reliance on individual talents caused fan emotional shifts to show up directly in stock and financial figures.

Momentum When Emotion Is Embraced

Atrion Confectionery honored a grandmother's 10-year-old candy story without ad spend, earning 1.85M views and over 140 comments.
Melano CC turned the 45-year-old Shibuya Moyai Statue's UV worries into a street-and-SNS story.
Myaku-Myaku generated 4.5M X posts (1.097M in October alone amid post-Expo 'loss') and drew a 167-to-1 lottery for its departure ceremony.

Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article

Editorial Reflections on the Week

This week clearly demonstrated how the “effects” of fan relationships show up directly in corporate numbers. Cover’s stock price fell the day after Amane Kanata’s graduation announcement, dropping to less than half of its highest level this year. Including the inventory valuation write-down in its earnings, Cover’s example shows once again that the more heavily a fan business depends on individual talents, the more directly emotional shifts translate into management figures.

At the same time, other companies succeeded in making those very same “fan emotions” their ally. Atrion Confectionery responded warmly to an anecdote about ten-year-old candy without spending advertising money, earning 1.85 million views. Melano CC drew in both the street and social media with a story starring Shibuya’s Moyai Statue. And Myaku-Myaku won the SNS Buzzword Award even after the Expo closed. Seen from the perspective of oshikatsu marketing, Myaku-Myaku is a prime example of how the “way an event ends” can become a lasting asset in itself.

Meanwhile, as seen in Sony’s AI agent platform and the business integration of STYLY and palan, investment in the infrastructure supporting fan experiences is also advancing. When thinking about how to design fan marketing, every case study from this week feels like it converges on a single question: how a company chooses to receive and respond to the emotions of its fans.

Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of the intersection between fan culture and business. You can browse past issues in our Oshikatsu x News category.