McDonald's Anime Campaign Is Bigger Than We Thought

McDonald's venture into the anime game, aka "WcDonald's", is bigger than many originally thought.

By Evan Valentine

McDonald's has a long history in the anime world. In the past, the fast food chain has teamed up with big anime franchises such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and The Devil Is A Part Timer to name a few. Recently, McDonald's announced that it is once again dipping its toes in the anime realm by creating its own anime universe. While anime fans might have initially expected a brief meeting of these two worlds. "WcDonald's" is a project that might be much bigger than you might have expected.

In building up to this new anime initiative, McDonald's released a short teaser trailer that saw the restaurant revealing brand-new anime stories. To help forge this new universe, "WcDonald's" went to masters on the subject at Studio Pierrot, who are helping to create four new anime shorts that will tell stories across the genre. Pierrot, for those who might need a refresher, is a production studio that has worked on the likes of Naruto, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, and Black Clover to name a few. Since Pierrot has more than a little experience with anime universes, McDonald's went to the right place to forge a new animated tale.

WcDonald's Makes Landfall

The WcDonald's project had McDonald's Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Tariq Hassan, discussing the anime crossover, "Anime is a huge part of today's culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years. The WcDonald's universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever."

What do you think of this wild, upcoming anime crossover? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of WcDonald's. 

The Characters of WcDonald's

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(Photo: McDonalds & Studio Pierrot)
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WcDonald's Anime Shorts

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(Photo: McDonalds & Studio Pierrot)

Beginning on February 26th, McDonald's and Studio Pierrot will release four new anime shorts that will tell different "WcDonald's" stories across the genres of the medium. Here's a handy breakdown of what's in store for this crossover,

  • The Race to WcDonald's (drops Feb. 26): A rivalry strong enough to withstand the test of time as our two heroes embark on an epic race to WcDonald's.
  • Love from Across the Booth (drops March 4): Our two protagonists discover the WcDonald's Sauce and WcNuggets aren't the only perfect pairing.
  • WcNuggets Space Frontier 3000 (drops March 11): A team of WcDonald's pilots must protect the last WcNugget against an ominous force.
  • The Wisdom of the Sauce (drops March 18): Three women are transported to a distant land to unravel the mystery surrounding the elusive sauce before it's gone forever.
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An IRL WcDonald's

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(Photo: McDonalds & Studio Pierrot)

From March 9th to 10th, a real-world WcDonald's will open its doors in Los Angeles, California. Taking elements from anime "Isekai Genre", the promotional locale will include "360 projection mapping" and "immersive tabletop projections" to hammer home the anime aesthetic. Fans will have the chance to reserve spots on OpenTable beginning later this month on February 28th to get a headstart on the "WcDonald's Immersive Dining Experience".

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Anime-Inspired Food

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(Photo: McDonalds & Studio Pierrot)

"WcDonald's" will be introducing a "Savory Chili Sauce" for anime fans and patrons alike to check out. In participating locations, anime fans will be able to try out the sauce as McDonald's renames their McNuggets, redubbing them as "WcNuggets". McDonald's crossing over with animated projects to focus on their sauces is nothing new, as the restaurant had done the same with Adult Swim's Rick And Morty in the past.

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Anime Artist Acky Bright Joins WcDonald's

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(Photo: Acky Bright)

McDonald's approached manga artist Acky Bright to create a new line of packing for the upcoming anime collab. The art itself will focus on the characters that are forged by both the restaurant and Studio Pierrot. Bright himself stated the following when it came to the union of anime and fast food, "I had a great time partnering with McDonald's to help make WcDonald's a reality for manga fans who have a genuine love for the brand. From the details of the diverse Crew characters to the manga plot itself, I loved being able to use my artwork to bring to life the dynamic, vibrant world of WcDonald's for people around the world."

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WcDonald's Official Website

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(Photo: McDonalds)

An official website has been created for WcDonald's, which promises to upload new manga and anime shorts each Monday. The site breaks down some of the new anime characters that are being introduced as a part of the anime crossover, including Midnight, Flurry, Burg, and WcDizer 3000. Here's how the website describes the crossover, "It's an exciting time in the WcDonald's Universe as the Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce arrives! Whether it's a thrilling race or entering a portal to another world, our heroes will do whatever it takes to savor the mythical sauce to complement their WcNuggets."

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