MADISON MEEKS
Editor-in-Chief
mvm7037@psu.edu

The popular fast food restaurant McDonald’s is embracing anime culture with its new promotion campaign. The campaign is embarrassing the culture by having the anime counterpart “WcDonald’s” come to life. According to Screenrant.com, “It’s fairly common in anime to see a knockoff version of a popular store or restaurant appear in various series to avoid copyright issues. However, no other chain has been spoofed more than McDonald’s by renaming the popular fast-food place to “WcDonald’s” or similar names in several popular shows and movies, including ‘InuYasha, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, and Assassination Classroom.” McDonald’s is joining the fun with a new promotion. 

The company released exciting news on social media platform X. They have flipped their iconic Golden Arches into the shape of a W and rebranded as WcDonald’s. They will also be changing the logo on their cups and bags to signify that McDonald’s does not exist. The promotion began on Feb. 26. 

McDonald’s had collaborations with the culture of anime before when they gave away exclusive Pokemon trading cards. Screenrant.com wrote that it is an incredible way to show awareness for the funniest running joke in anime history. 

WcDonald’s, the anime counterpart of McDonald’s, will be getting an official anime as part of the new promotion. Studio Pierrot will be leading production on the series. They have released a statement about the new series. “Four anime shorts produced by the iconic studio will be released weekly for fans to check out every Monday, exploring the adventures of Midnight, Flurry, Burg, WcDizer 3000, and more in a yet-to-be-revealed original story.”

Fans were excited when they announced the new anime that McDonald’s is doing because it teamed up with the animation teams of “Toyko Ghoul” and “Yu Yu Hakusho.” The team will produce an official anime series based on a line of new characters, as stated by Screenrant.com. 

The fast-food restaurant is not just stopping at creating an anime and rebranding. They will be adding some extra spice to the promotion. A brand-new sauce called Savory Chili is being created exclusively for the promotion. They will also be adapting the animation series into manga and excerpts from the licensed takeout bags. These manga excerpts will be designed by Acky Bright. The very first episode of WcDonald’s anime was released on February 26. The promotion will run for a month, but it is unknown when the original Golden Arches will return.