Crunchyroll is launching the second annual Ani-May celebration with new activations across retail, digital, and streaming. This includes new and exclusive anime merchandise and activations at Hot Topic in the United States, Riachuelo in Brazil, and exclusive retail activations in EMEA among many others.
“The love and excitement around anime continues to grow and for Ani-May, we’re revealing a fresh lineup of apparel, home goods, and more to empower fans to live authentically into their fandom,” said Anna Songco Adamian, Vice President, Global Consumer Products, Crunchyroll. “We have lined up an incredible slate of international retail partners who, like us, are passionate about providing fans with a variety of ways to enjoy and display their love for their favorite films, series, and characters.”
Throughout the month of May, fans can expect a variety of officially licensed merchandise from some of their favorite series! For fans of the spookier side of anime, there will be merchandise featuring dark fantasy Black Butler and the classic action-horror Tokyo Ghoul. Fans of modern classics will enjoy the Anime Award®-winning Chainsaw Man, following Denji, a man with a devil’s heart and the recent hit Solo Leveling, based on the popular Korean manhwa of the same name. It also wouldn’t be a merch drop without gear from Crunchyrol’s 2024 Anime Awards “Anime of the Year” award winner JUJUTSU KAISEN, which follows the action-packed tale of a high-schooler who becomes a curse to end a curse, the popular coming-of-age sports series Haikyu!!, or the comedic and action-packed SPY x FAMILY. Plus, of course, the highly anticipated sci-fi monster series Kaiju No. 8 and the smash hit shonen series My Hero Academia. That won’t be all, either! Fans can expect to find tons of merchandise from a variety of shows across a range of retailers.
Ani-May 2024 partnerships and activations in the United States include:
- Specialty retailer Hot Topic will celebrate Ani-May across its stores in the United States and Canada, and online at hottopic.com, with month-long activations and special promotions, including exclusive anime merchandise, a limited edition Crunchyroll-Hime sticker gift with anime purchase (available in stores only and while supplies last), and exciting Discord programming hosted by @TheAnimeMen. Fans can sign up at hottopic.com/discord for Hot Topic emails and access to Hot Topic Discord for watch-a-longs, AMAs, and exclusive giveaways.
- Barnes & Noble stores in the US will feature an Ani-May sale on select Anime DVD/Blu-Ray titles both online and in stores across the country.
In Latin America, the following partners will celebrate Ani-May
- Gameplanet will delight fans in Mexico with digital signage and home goods products from their favorite shows.
- Grupo Control in Mexico will bring a variety of apparel including T-shirts, jackets, and pants from the most popular anime titles to stores with dedicated product displays.
- Riachuelo will provide fans in Brazil with digital and in-store signage and special T-shirts at launch at their FanLab Stores.
- Falabella in Peru will offer fans T-shirts for the first time in the market through the month of May
In Europe, select Ani-May retailers will offer anime fans the opportunity to fully experience the Crunchyroll lifestyle and win a “nothing that money can buy” prize: an amazing weekend in Paris with VIP access to the Crunchyroll booth at Japan Expo. The full list of Ani-May partners for Europe includes:
- HMV will brand 120 stores and bring in tons of anime merchandise for the occasion for fans in the United Kingdom, Ireland & Belgium. May will also see the exclusive early release of a range of home entertainment, including Mob Psycho Season 3 DVD, Blu-ray & Limited Edition, KONOSUBA – An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! – Season 1 Blu-ray, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! – Season 2 Blu-ray & Limited Edition, as well as a large range of price promoted catalogue titles..
- Games Academy / Funside in Italy will activate 50 stores as well as their online community with more surprises available on their app.
- Cultura will communicate about their anime merchandise and manga offerings throughout the month with specifically branded areas in 105 stores across France.
- El Corte Ingles will invite the Spanish geek community to come in-store and discover a wide selection of anime products in 8 flagship locations.
- Thalia in Germany and Austria will focus on manga, exclusive merchandise and Home Entertainment offerings for JUJUTSU KAISEN, Kaiju No.8, SPY x FAMILY, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Hell’s Paradise across 200 outlets.
- Gamestop in 70 of participating outlets Germany will provide an exclusive Iron-on to any customer who buys more than 2 Crunchyroll items during Ani-May.
- MediaSaturn will bring German fans manga, exclusive merchandise, and Home Entertainment for JUJUTSU KAISEN, SPY x FAMILY, and Chainsaw Man across 400 outlets.
- Mueller will for the first time offer the whole catalog of fan-favorite Crunchyroll manga titles including JUJUTSU KAISEN, SPY x FAMILY, BLUE LOCK, Choujin X, Dandadan, and many more, available to fans in Germany and in Austria.
- Hugendubel will present exclusive Crunchyroll merchandising in 30 stores across Germany for the JUJUTSU KAISEN, SPY x FAMILY, and Chainsaw Man titles.
- XS Toys (owned by Anvol), in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia will participate in 25 selected stores. The leading toy retailer in the Baltics will have a special selection of plush, figures, and collectibles from Crunchyroll titles.
The Crunchyroll Store, the ultimate online destination for anime collectibles, consumer products, manga, and more, will also offer fans in the US, Australia and New Zealand a wide selection of new releases, sales, and specials for Ani-May® 2024, with new rollouts each week.
For the Crunchyroll Store in the US, fans can enjoy a home video sale of up to 60% off beginning May 1 through May 14 and an Ani-May celebration sale with up to 70% off select items starting May 15. While supplies last, fans can also receive a complimentary and exclusive 2024 Hime Ani-May pin on all orders of $75+ starting on May 1, 2024 (Please note: this gift with purchase is only eligible for in-stock orders. Pre-orders do not qualify). Shoppers can also expect special themed weeks in the Crunchyroll Store, including:
- May 1 – Chainsaw Man
- May 8 – Kaiju No. 8 & Solo-Leveling
- May 22 – Dragon Ball Super
- May 29 – JUJUTSU KAISEN
To continue the Ani-May celebrations, beginning on May 1 and running through the end of the month, Crunchyroll is making 20 hit series available to watch for free with ads. These series include many of the Ani-May featured titles including Chainsaw Man, Haikyu!!, and Solo Leveling, alongside the iconic space western Cowboy Bebop, the science-powered adventure title Dr. STONE, the emotionally complex Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, the romantic comedy Rent-a-Girlfriend, comedic fantasy Soul Eater, the critically acclaimed viking epic VINLAND SAGA, and the classic and beloved occult action series Yu Yu Hakusho. Fans can check out the full list of titles available for Ani-May enjoyment via Crunchyroll News here and please note that regional restrictions may apply,
Of course, fans can also celebrate anime all year long with a Crunchyroll membership, granting access to the world’s largest dedicated anime streaming library of 46,000 episodes, 1,300 unique titles, and 24,000 hours of content, available subbed and dubbed worldwide in more than 12 languages.
