McDonald’s to Bring Fictional Anime Restaurant to Life in Four Episodic Shorts

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For years, McDonald’s-inspired ‘WcDonald’s’ restaurants have appeared in some of anime’s most memorable movies and shows. Now, in collaboration with some of the biggest names in the genre, WcDonald’s will make the move from fiction to real life. Starting yesterday, February 26, more than 30 global markets will unleash the WcDonald’s universe in restaurants and beyond, with original episodic shorts, manga-inspired packaging, a new savory chili sauce, and more.

“Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years,” said Tariq Hassan, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald’s USA. “The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”

McDonald’s has partnered with legendary animation house Studio Pierrot to produce the first official WcDonald’s anime. Four episodic shorts will follow a story about the WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets, which will unfold each week, every Monday until March 18. New shorts will drop in tandem with new manga on WcDonalds.com, which can also be accessed by scanning the code on the WcDonald’s bag. The shorts will honor four of anime’s biggest subgenres – Action, Romance, Mecha, and Fantasy.

  • The Race to WcDonald’s (February 26): A rivalry strong enough to withstand the test of time as our two heroes embark on an epic race to WcDonald’s.
  • Love from Across the Booth (March 4): Our two protagonists discover the WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets aren’t the only perfect pairing.
  • WcNuggets Space Frontier 3000 (March 11): A team of WcDonald’s pilots must protect the last WcNugget against an ominous force.
  • The Wisdom of the Sauce (March 18): Three women are transported to a distant land to unravel the mystery surrounding the elusive sauce before it’s gone forever.

Back in the real world, fans can animate their taste buds with a Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce, available for a limited time. The unique combination of ginger, garlic,soy, and chili flakes packs an energetic blast of flavor in every bite. McDonald’s has also teamed with iconic Japanese manga artist/illustrator Acky Bright to design custom WcDonald’s packaging featuring WcDonald’s Crew characters.

“I had a great time partnering with McDonald’s to help make WcDonald’s a reality for manga fans who have a genuine love for the brand,” said Bright. “From the details of the diverse Crew characters to the manga plot itself, I loved being able to use my artwork to bring to life the dynamic, vibrant world of WcDonald’s for people around the world.”

Taking inspiration from the isekai anime subgenre, fans can experience a real life WcDonald’s on March 9-10. The WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience will be hosted in Los Angeles, with 360 projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonald’s anime episodic shorts. Diners can reserve their spot exclusively on OpenTable starting February 28 by searching “WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience” on the OpenTable app or website. 

Cybersecurity specialist by day, investigative journalist by night.