There appears to be a mascot for everything in Japan. Leave it to advertising agencies here to put a face on whatever product they are selling. But some products and promotions are difficult to create adorable characters for. How do you encapsulate all the intricate eccentricities of a city, for example, in one single super-deformed character?
Well Katsushika Ward in Tokyo is approaching the problem in a different way, but choosing not just one “cute character” to represent them but having an entire cast of beautiful heroines. Say hello to Katsukore!
The Katsushika Collection Project (Katsukore for short) is a campaign meant to personify the area as beautiful anime heroines. The three main characters of this project are formidable women in their own right, but also fight for world peace and to protect Katsushika.
In the first stage of the project, the ward is teaming up with a popular cafe in Katsushika called Nagicafe+. The first 100 people to order a latte or a beer will receive a limited edition original badge.
For now there are only the badges, but other merchandise is being developed as well. The city hopes residents will support the project through crowd-funding and wants to offer things like figures or even a full-blown anime in the future. Through these efforts, the beautiful girls hope to invigorate local businesses and encourage people to visit Katsushika.
Clearly the city thinks it knows what the people want. But is this an ingenious campaign that will be the first of many such projects around Japan? Or just a desperate cash grab by a city searching for a way to promote the area? Only time will tell, but for now, these girls are fighting for your attention, and to save the world!
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Subject: When 'yuru-kyara' doesn’t cut it, it’s time to call in the beautiful anime heroines 
Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:12 pm