McDonald’s recently announced a new collaboration with one of the country’s newest anime mascots. Instead of Hello Kitty or Pompompurin, the Japanese branch of America’s favorite fast-food chain is shining a spotlight on the cute, hamster-like icon, Chiikawa.
Chiikawa originates from a seinen manga by Nagano that was initially published in January 2020. The series is a lighthearted, episodic chronicle of the titular character, his feline companion Hachiware, and an assortment of other cute animal characters. As detailed on McDonald’s Japan’s official site, Happy Meal toys inspired by Chiikawa and his friends will appear at participating McDonald’s restaurants starting May 16. The collection consists of two main sub-sets that will be distributed, at different intervals, throughout May 2025. Both sets can be viewed in the image gallery below.
McDonald's & Chiikawa Unite for Happy Meal Toys to Rival Sanrio's Hello Kitty in Cuteness
The first part of McDonald’s Chiikawa collection, which consists of four different toys, will be distributed in Happy Meals in Japan from May 16-22. The remaining four will be available from May 23-29. As shown above, several of the new Happy Meal toys depict Chiikawa and Hachiware as bonafide McDonald’s employees with cute black-and-white uniforms. Additionally, some also function as nifty household tools. One of Hachiware’s toys, which features a model of the character at a McDonald’s storefront, can be used as a calendar. Similarly, the «Rabbit Petit Pancake Case» can be opened to store small coins or pieces of jewelry.
Japanese Happy Meal toys typically try to engage children with interactive toys that help develop basic creative and motor skills. The «Hachiware Happy Set Tray Photo Frame» features numerous interchangable images of Chiikawa and his companions. However, it could potentially be used as a photo frame for the owner’s own photos. As the name suggests, the «Rabbit sticker dispenser» features the Chiikawa character Usagi and a Happy Meal box that can be manipulated to release stickers. On May 30, McDonald’s Japan customers will have a chance to obtain toys from both sub-sets.
While Chiikawa has not yet achieved the household name status of many Sanrio characters, his popularity has been rising steadily since his 2020 manga debut. Doga Kobo — the animation studio best known for its hit anime drama, Oshi no Ko — released a Chiikawa anime adaptation in 2022. In 2024, CASETIFY also teamed up with the Chiikawa franchise for the latter’s first official tech accessory collection. Modeled around the theme of «travel,» the collection includes phone and passport cases, laptop covers and watchbands adorned with illustrations of Chiikawa and his friends peeking out of airplane windows and carrying little suitcases. The items became available on CASETiFY’s website starting Dec. 28.
McDonald’s Japan has not announced any international release window for its Chiikawa-themed happy meal toys. However, the Chiikawa anime series is currently available to stream on HIDIVE.
