It’s that time of the year in 2023, where practical jokes are the norm on April Fool’s Day (April 1st), and of course, anime titles aren’t late to these gimmicks as a way to bring humor (and sometimes confusion) to their fans. Without further ado, here are some of the April Fool’s Day gimmicks we saw from anime titles.
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Oshi no Ko
The highly-anticipated idol anime Oshi no Ko recently released a newspaper ad showing the character Kana Arima being a brand ambassador to a baking soda brand. For context, the gag comes from Ruby Hoshino mistaking Kana’s title as translated as “the genius child actor who licks baking soda”.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
As the anime’s second season nears its premiere on April 3rd, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear released a visual, depicting the main characters Yuna and Fina doing mochis while donning bunny costumes.
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
And just when you thought that the season 3 announcement was all, Re: Zero ‘announced’ a new anime spin-off titled Re: Magical Girl Life from Zero, with a teaser visual released. It even has a short synopsis, as follows:
On their way home from club activities, twin girls, Rem and Ram, are suddenly summoned to another world, where they gain mysterious magical powers. In order to protect their loved ones and regain their precious time, the girls face a harsh fate...
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten
Following the finale of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, a key visual for the joke title The Angel Next Door and the Little Devil Next Door Spoils Me Rotten has been released. Said visual is for a fictitious love simulation game featuring the normal Mahiru Shiina and her alter ago as a little devil.
Overlord and The Eminence in the Shadow
Isekai anime titles Overlord and The Eminence in the Shadow collaborated as part of an upcoming short animation series. A collaboration visual was released.
Girls und Panzer and Princess Principal
The two anime titles also collaborated through a new April Fool’s Day visual, where the characters of each franchise are wearing the uniforms of the other franchise.
Bungo Stray Dogs
Just days after the announcement of the title’s fifth season, Bungo Stray Dogs released a new visual for the April Fool’s Day joke title called Gakuen Bungo Stray Dogs.
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
The upcoming romance anime The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses released a visual for an April Fool’s Day spin-off title titled The Girl I Like Became a Mecha. The visual was drawn by Kato Takuji.
Date a Live
The Date A Live franchise surely confused a lot of fans when it said that it will be getting a live-action adaptation of said title. The released key visual features the main character Kurumi Tokisaki standing inside a church, although it wasn’t clear who was the actress (or perhaps cosplayer) donning the Kurumi cosplay.
And there we have it: April Fool’s Day gimmicks done by some in the anime industry. You can also check the hashtag “エイプリルフール” on Twitter for more. We even saw a gimmick from the company Cover Corp (the one behind VTuber agency Hololive) “announce” the selling of an action figure featuring its CEO Motoaki “YAGOO” Tanigo.
Featured Image: Oshi no Ko (© Akasaka Aka x Mengo Yokoyari / Shueisha / Oshi no Ko Production Committee), Date a Live (© 2021 Koshi Tachibana, Tsunako/KADOKAWA/”Date A Live IV” Production Committee), The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (© Saekisan, SB Creative / The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Project)
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