Jujutsu Kaisen's Gojo-sensei has received an interesting upgrade by turning the fan-favorite Shonen Jump character into an official donut. A limited-time pop-up shop will introduce a range of products celebrating Shonen Jump's 56 years in publishing, including sweet treats themed around several major properties.
Via Oricon News, manga publisher Shonen Jump is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the opening of its official retail store, Jump Shop, this year. To mark the special occasion, it's hosting the "Jump Shop 20th Anniversary Festival." This pop-up shop will also serve as the grand opening of Café Jump, featuring a menu that pays homage to Shonen Jump's most successful properties. The newly-released visual commemorating the occasion, as well as images of the various foods and drinks based on the publisher's iconic properties -- including Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, My Hero Academia and Haikyu -- can be seen below.
Although the flagship Jump Store opened in Tokyo Dome City in March 2004, the pop-up will take place a train stop away in Sunshine City Ikebukuro -- a neighborhood that is central to many seminal anime set in Tokyo. For exactly one month, from June 27 to July 27, customers will be able to purchase items from a specially formulated menu featuring items themed around Shonen Jump's past works. On sale will be a Gojo-sensei donut, a chibi icing-covered interpretation of one of the anime’s strongest characters.
Shonen Jump Celebrates Its Longest-Running Manga With a New Gum-Gum Dessert
To represent Shonen Jump's longest-running manga, One Piece, customers can try the "Gum-Gum Mi Milk Pudding" modeled after the Gum-Gum fruit, which gave Monkey D. Luffy his incredible stretching powers. A memorial plate will also be on sale featuring the members of the Straw Hat Pirates sporting some cool threads illustrated by Eiichiro Oda on the rim, with the center commemorating the release date of the first chapter -- July 22, 1997, in issue no. 34 of the long-running publication.
My Hero Academia and Haikyu Get Special Themed Crème Sodas
My Hero Academia likewise gets a shout-out with a themed crème soda, complete with a scoop of ice cream and a cookie featuring the emblem of UA Academy, dubbed the "Green Apples Ultra." On sale will also be a memo pad with bromide that features images of Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo as childhood friends and rivals on the covers. Meanwhile, popular sports anime Haikyu!! gets the crème soda special, the "Bring Me A Drink," this time colored yellow and featuring a baby Hinata bird cookie.
Themed café experiences are central to the makeup of areas such as Ikebukuro and Akihabara, with diners being able to choose from an array of properties such as Final Fantasy, Pokémon or the games of Capcom. Along with the iconic cat and maid cafès, these unique experiences have been a draw for locals and tourists. In recent years, following changes in retail consumption and the COVID-19 epidemic, foot traffic has fallen, leading to the closure of iconic chains such as the Gundam Café, which had locations in Tokyo and Yokohama. While not in dire straits, a revitalization of the once popular areas is underway, with projects such as the Ikebukuro Animate branch re-opening, recently crowned the largest anime store in the world by Guinness World Records. For those looking to sample the caffeinated otaku experience internationally, patrons can look forward to the opening of the first-ever One Piece-themed cafè in Las Vegas or, a bit further north, the Hello Kitty Café in Vancouver opening on May 17.
Source: Oricon News
