Anime and Sponsors: Creative Uses and Numbers
One of Japan’s largest TV networks, Fuji TV, is facing a massive controversy due to allegations that female employees were forced to sleep with some of the network’s stars. As a result, several sponsors have pulled their advertisements, causing anime such as Chibi Maruko-chan and Sazae-san to air without sponsors—an unprecedented situation for these anime, which are considered national treasures of Japan.
But looking at this case, a question arises: how many sponsors did other popular anime manage to secure during their broadcasts? Here, we’ll look at some other examples of sponsorships in anime, for instance, the number of sponsors other anime had and the creative ways some anime displayed their sponsorships.
Anime and Sponsors: Creative Uses and Numbers
For those who started watching anime years ago, back when Fansubs were practically the only way to follow anime, it was common to see a screen after the opening with the names of companies and a female voice saying: “Kono bangumi wa goran no suponsaa no teikyou de okurishimasu.”
This famous phrase translates to: “This program is brought to you by the following sponsors.” Currently, Chibi Maruko-chan and Sazae-san are being aired without sponsors, and instead of the screen listing all the companies advertising, we now see only the family cat walking in front of the house:
A strange sight for viewers, to say the least. Anyway, shall we take a look at the sponsorship of other anime? Let’s start, for instance, with the isekai anime animated by MAPPA, Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi.
This anime aired with 7 sponsors on TV. Meanwhile, Sousou no Frieren, which became a huge success and has so far had only one season, aired with 16 sponsors.
One of the most popular anime today, with 4 seasons and 1 movie released so far and more films announced to conclude the story, Kimetsu no Yaiba had a total of 28 sponsors!
But I think nothing beats the crazy sponsorship showcase of the anime Tiger & Bunny, where even within the anime’s own story we were exposed to wild sponsorships. Tiger & Bunny had an astonishing 54 companies sponsoring the anime!
Anime and Sponsors: Creative Uses of the Sponsor Screen
Typically, when the sponsor screen appears, it shows episode images in the background. However, some anime like to customize this section.
Take the movie Kimi no Na wa (Your Name), for example. The sponsor screen featured the companies Softbank and Lotte. If you haven’t watched Kimi no Na wa, you may not know that the protagonists swap bodies.
The same joke was applied to the sponsors, where the two companies swapped their logos to match what happens in the movie. Below, you can see their original logos:
The anime Mieruko-chan is about a girl who suddenly starts seeing terrifying ghosts, which leaves her constantly tired. The sponsor screen wanted to reflect this, and the companies’ logos appeared distorted:
Lucky Star, which returned to the spotlight when Kuroiwa Medaka’s opening caused controversy, had a funny sponsor screen showing a person with an animal, as the example below illustrates:
And, of course, there are many more examples of funny and creative sponsor screens in anime, but you get the idea, right? Do you know of any other funny uses that we didn’t include here?
via Você Sabia Anime
