Announced on “Bikkuri-Man Day” in Japan, which happens to be April 1st, the snack company Lotte has announced that they are creating a new anime series for their Bikkuri-man line of snacks. They previously had a long line of anime series and movies extending back to 1987. This new anime will have a completely original story and will be titled “Bikkuri-Men” and will begin airing in Fall 2023.
For this new anime project Hiroyuki Takei was hired as the original character designer. The other staff on the production are the following:
Director: Tomohiro Tsukimisato
Series Composition: Yuniko Ayana
Character Design: Ayano Ōwada
Music: Yasuhiro Misawa
Production: Shin-Ei Animation
Animation Production: Lesprit
The story takes place in a world where the Bikkuri-man stickers have become extremely valuable. A year prior to the events of the anime, a armored vehicle was robbed during transit and it became the “300 Million Sticker Incident.” In the current day, the high-school student Yamato works as a part-time delivery boy gets involved in a battle over these Bikkuri-man stickers. The Convenience Story Angel Mart, with the manager Pheonix, battles against the Devil Store across the street to attract customers to their store.
A Teaser Trailer has also been released:
Hiroyuki Takei has also provided a quote about this anime which is included below in the original Japanese followed by a rough English translation:
| ビックリマンチョコは初代から、 ちゃんとシールとして遊んでいた世代です。 いつしか強いシールほど剥がす事はなくなるという 禅問答的、日本刀のような存在になり久しいですが 今作ではその辺に対する個人的な思いを少しだけ 込めさせていただきました。 絵面でドキドキな学園モノと思われるかもしれませんが 全く違います。 本編、ちょっとビックリしていただけたら幸いです。 | I was part of the first generation of the Bikkuriman Chocolates where I used to collect the stickers. The stronger the sticker is, the harder it is to peel away. Just like Japanese swords, this is something that is forged over a long time. For this work, I’ll connect with my personal history with it and apply it here. At first it might look like an exciting school story, but it’s not that at all. I hope you will be surprised by what this story is actually about. |
Ayano Ōwada, the Anime Character Designer for the series who is adapting Hiroyuki Takei’s drawings, also provided a quote.
| 当初「あのビックリマン⁉︎」と浮き足立っていた気持ちが、武井宏之先生によって描き起こされた魅力的なキャラクターたちを拝見するに連れて、自分がどのようにアニメでこの熱量を伝えるかというプレッシャーに変わりました。 舞台を現代に、ヤマトは学ラン姿ですが、シールの世界観を確かに引き継いだキャラクターたちとオリジナルストーリーをお楽しみいただけたら幸いです。 | At first I was shocked when I saw Hiroyuki Takei’s drawings. “Is this Bikkuriman!?” But as I looked closely at them I could see his passion and how we can convey their motivation into this anime. Although the story takes place in the modern day, with Yamato in a school uniform, this is an original story and I hope you enjoy seeing a world overtaken by these stickers. |
Additional information about the anime will be announced at the official Japanese website and on their social media.
