Venom is at it again. Not long ago, Venom: The Last Dance made its debut, and it was there fans watched the unexpected come to life. Eddie Brock’s made sure his return to the big screen wouldn’t fly under the radar. It is hard to ignore the insanity that is Venom’s new movie, and for good measure, the blockbuster locked in an anime collab that no one saw coming.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The whole thing came to light this week as Venom: The Last Dance went live in the United States. The movie, which is the third Venom has welcomed with Sony Pictures, has been a trip. Over in Japan, Eddie and his symbiote partner were eager to plug their comeback, so the pair negotiated not one but two different anime deals.
Venom Collides With the World of Anime
As for the first deal? Venom comes face to face with Brave Bang Bravern. The anime went live this year as part of the Brave franchise, and Venom is now linking up with the show. As you can see below, a promo was released in Japan for Brave Bang Bravern that shows its stars watching Venom: The Last Dance. In return, the Marvel movie posted a promo of its own, and it shows the character Isami being interrogated about the movie after watching it in theaters.
For the second anime deal, we have GeGeGe no Kitaro to thank. The classic anime posted a key visual that combines Venom: The Last Dance with The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe. Toko Yatabe, the current designer behind GeGeGe no Kitaro, posted a note about the wild crossover after being asked to tackle Venom. It turns out the artist never saw the collab coming, but he is grateful to work with an IP as diverse as Marvel.
“I never thought Venom and The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe would collaborate! I was surprised when I first heard about it, but when I heard the catchphrase, ‘Our Partners Are Not Human,’ I thought, ‘I see!’ Both movies are exciting stories about different species of buddies who rely on each other to save the world, so please enjoy Venom: The Last Dance and The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe this fall,” the artist shared.
What Happens When Anime Becomes Marketing Tool?
Clearly, Venom: The Last Dance looked around when making its anime deals, and the promotions are now live overseas. No one would have expected the Marvel series to team with Brave Bang Bravern, but that is the beauty of Venom. The symbiote rarely does what we expect, and that is true whether we’re talking canon or not.
The blockbuster is also just one of many to lean into anime when promoting itself in Japan. Countless films have launched cross-promotions when facing the Japanese market. Not long ago, Dandadan stirred buzz when creator Tatsu Yukinobu collaborated with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. From the Star Wars franchise to Frozen and more, the trend is only growing. For years, these collaborations were sequestered overseas, but the rise of anime globally has raised their public profile. The Internet is more than happy to route these PR deals, and Venom: The Last Dance is the latest movie to take center stage.
As anime continues to grow, you can expect these cross promotions to grow in kind. Hollywood knows the power of anime, after all. The industry makes billions each year, and most importantly, it appeals to a key demographic. With Gen Z and Gen Alpha eating up anime, the industry has given Hollywood a new tool to reach younger audiences. Venom: The Last Dance is not the first blockbuster to take advantage of that optic, and it is not going to be the last.
What do you make of this latest Hollywood collaboration? Did you see this Venom promo coming? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
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