The history of the Tobu Zoo Collaboration! A look back at the history of Tobu Zoo collaboration projects by an anime lover! The Tobu Zoo's collaboration with Kemofure and then with Shinkou no Kyojin marked a turning point in the history of Tobu Zoo! The 13th Collaboration Gemba!

Today, with the increasing collaboration between various industries and subcultures such as anime and voice acting, there are many people who say, "Whoa, they're doing it! You're doing it," "What? You did it! and "Oh, you're doing it!" and "What? Akiba Research Institute is pleased to visit the planning sites of these "collaborations" and talk about the appeal of the projects, interesting episodes, hardships, and other behind-the-scenes stories about the production process! The series "Gemba of Collaboration" is a series of articles in which we talk about the charms of the projects, interesting episodes, and behind-the-scenes stories of the production, such as hardships.

In this thirteenth installment, we will talk about Tobu Zoo, which has been involved in a variety of collaborative events. Many people may have an image of Tobu Zoo when it comes to collaboration.

We interviewed Mr. Yo Shiraishi of Tobu Zoo's Administration Department, who has been involved in all of Tobu Zoo's anime collaboration projects. Looking back on the collaboration projects he has been involved in, he talked a lot about his memories of the start-up of the projects, the difficulties he faced, the key points of each collaboration project, and the reasons for the uninterrupted development of collaboration projects.

Apology for the system glitch and notice of restoration

-- I have the impression that Tobu Zoo is all about collaboration. When will the first anime collaboration be?

Shiraishi: The first was a collaboration with the anime "Kemono Friends," "Kemono Friends x Tobu Zoo: Let's go meet the Tobu Friends! and it was in April 2017. That was already 3 years ago.

-- Is it three years already?　I had the impression that you have been developing this kind of collaborative project for about 10 years now.

Shiraishi Actually, it's only recently. Looking at the list, I feel again that we have done a lot, but even now, we still go through a lot of trial and error when planning each project.

-- Since the lineup is so varied, I would like to ask about the features and memories of each one. The first collaboration "Kemono Friends x Tobu Zoo: Let's go meet the Tobu Friends! What was the most impressive thing about the first collaboration?

Shiraishi: All the staff talked about it, but it was obvious that there were more visitors to the park than we usually see. Normally, the park is mainly visited by families, but the number of visitors including two men and a man alone has increased dramatically. Many of them took many pictures of the animals with their good cameras and eagerly asked questions to the zookeepers about the ecology of the animals.

-- So you have seen an increase in the number of visitors who are anime fans?

Shiraishi: We have seen a change in the numbers after several consecutive collaboration projects. The number of people purchasing annual passports for individual memberships has increased. I myself am an anime fan and attend various events, so I immediately understood why. For example, if you come to the park every weekend during an event, you would come eight times a month. Then it would be more economical to buy an annual passport (laughs).

-- I see. Every event runs for more than a month, so it's a better deal.

Shiraishi: To our delight, people who first came to the park because of the anime collaboration have become fans of Tobu Zoo and renew their passports every year. Many of them like this particular animal and come to the park to see their "favorite" animal. We also do Nico Nico Broadcasting in the park, so there are more opportunities to talk to people and to get to know each other. The "guess-the-child" phenomenon started with Grape, a Humboldt penguin (who went to heaven on October 14, 2017), who was affectionately known as "the penguin who fell in love with a two-dimensional person. We made purple goods and held tours around the zoo wearing purple T-shirts, and from there we began to see many visitors wearing purple. This led many people to think of purple when they think of Tobu Zoo.

-- So the first collaboration project caused various phenomena.

Shiraishi I think Grape-kun had a huge influence. In the first collaboration, I was in a state of "I don't know what to do". The actual zookeepers participated in the anime as commentators, and at the zoo we gave guided tours in front of the animals that appeared in the anime, made original goods, and asked the person who did the voices of the actual characters to do the broadcasts inside the zoo. I said I didn't know what to do, but suddenly I was doing a lot of things, now that I look back on it (laughs).

-- There have been a lot of collectibles since the beginning, haven't there?

Shiraishi: At first, I was in charge of designing and making them, but then Mine Yoshizaki drew some new ones, and I can see that the grade of the products is getting higher and higher. When I look at some of the goods from the past, I think, "I could have done it better now. I have good memories of that as well.

-- After that, you did "Bungo Stray Dogs x Tobu Zoo: Armed Detective Agency Sneaks into Tobu Zoo," and then you continued with the "Kemono Friends" project, and then came "Shinkage no Kyojin" next.

Shiraishi: "The Animal Investigation Corps is on the way! The editorial department of Kodansha asked us, "Why don't we do something together? I was surprised, but at the same time I wondered what would be the start of it. I was surprised, but at the same time I wondered what was going to happen. The "Battlestar Giants" had been the subject of various collaborations, so I knew that if we were going to do something like this, I wanted it to be something interesting. We thought of collaborators so that the characteristics of the animals would match the characteristics of the characters. The African elephant, the largest elephant on land, is the strongest, so Levi is the strongest; Sasha is the greedy raccoon; and Rainer is the white rhino, whose skin is hard but has excellent senses.

-- Anthropomorphic animals go well together, don't they? Wasn't this already proven in "Kemofure"?

Shiraishi That's right. However, because of the image of "Kemofure," I thought that if I did the same thing, I wouldn't be able to differentiate the two. That's why the characters wear hoodies in "Shinkage no Kyojin". The fact that they are not animalized is also a feature of this work.

I have the impression that the "Bakugan no Kyojin" team was very free in accepting various proposals. We didn't know the right and left sides of collaboration, and we never imagined that we would be able to work with such a famous work within a year or so of the start of the anime collaboration.

-- Do you think there is a difference in the audience depending on the collaborated works?

Shiraishi: I think there is a phenomenon that visitors who came to the museum because of the artwork may come back for other collaboration projects because of the animals. For example, when a favorite animal appears in a collaboration project, new goods are sold, so many visitors come for that.

-- After "Shinkage no Kyojin" came "B-PROJECT Zessho*Emotion in Tobu Zoo." What points did you consider when choosing the collaboration works?

Shiraishi: At that time, I chose "B-PROJECT Zenith*Emotion," a work that I myself love, partly because it was winter and partly because I wanted to do something for women. In every project, I bang out my opinion on what I like as an anime fan as one of the raw voices (laughs). The "B-PROJECT" collaboration attracted many women, just as we had hoped. The thing we were most particular about was the collaboration food. We have already had collaboration food from "Shinkyu no Kyojin," but it was the "B-PROJECT" collaboration that was the most difficult. Each unit or group has its own image color, so I thought it would be easy to create ....... We adjusted the color of the cream, font, and other details so that there would be no difference in the installations and each unit. Thanks to the attention to detail, the hood sales were quite good!

-- And next up was the "Weekly Shonen Champion 50th Anniversary Project Vol. 1: BEASTARS x Tobu Zoo". As for "BEASTARS," there is also the "BEASTARS Anime Adaptation Commemorative Collaboration Event," which is a collaboration with both the original work and the anime.

Shiraishi: Anime collaborations have a great impact on attracting visitors, as they allow us to hold talk events with voice actors. As for "BEASTARS," it was significant that we were able to set up an explanatory panel drawn by Itagaki Tomoe, who is an animal lover. BEASTARS" was also the beginning of the birthday project of giving away stickers.

-- It's interesting to see how the content of these collaborations, not to mention the collaborations that are tailored to each work, have become more and more interesting with each passing issue. And the next one will be "Weekly Shonen Champion 50th Anniversary Commemorative Project Vol. 2: Weimushi Pedal GLORY LINE Tobu Zoo" at ....... I have the impression that this will be a difficult collaboration.

Shiraishi This was the second Champion project, but the anime had just finished and there were no "Wamushi Pedal" events being held elsewhere. What came in handy here was the know-how of "Shinkage no Kyojin". It was easy to come up with a reason to collaborate with animals in a work that had no animal elements. For this collaboration, we introduced a stamp rally for the first time. I made girls' hearts swoon by setting up a gondola ride with the characters ...... that made them feel like they were on a date (laughs). (Laughs) Whenever there is something like this, I always participate and take pictures myself.

-- So you know exactly what attracts fans to your products.

Shiraishi: This is my 10th year with the company, and I feel like the time has come for me to put my interests and skills to good use. Since I became involved in collaboration projects, I have started to look at collaboration events, which I used to attend as a hobby, from more than just the fans' point of view. I tend to check the backsides of panels and materials.

-- And next is the "Girl Revue Starlight -Re LIVE- x Tobu Zoo". How did you come up with this project?

Shiraishi: It was a proposal from an animation goods production company. What was utilized here was a hoodie-type collaboration, similar to "Shinkyu no Kyojin" and "Yowamushi Pedal". Since this was a project with a goods shop, we just went ahead and made a lot of goods. I took care of the design and left the production to them.

-- You were in charge of design from the beginning.

Shiraishi: I was in charge of advertising, so I designed flyers and such. But it was my first time to design goods and novelties that customers would keep. I started by checking my own collection and analyzing the size, type, color, material, and so on. It was also an opportunity for me, as an anime fan, to rethink why I like this work and these characters. There is a lot of pressure to get the goods into the hands of fans. I sometimes think to myself, "The goods this time are not good, so I don't care. So I do ego-surfing and check out the harsh feedback to make the best use of it next time.

-- So you are making use of your own experience and sense. I'm sure you have your own experiences and senses. 〜Do you know our Tama? 〜 in Tobu Zoo" was scheduled to be held until April 5, but unfortunately the park itself was temporarily closed due to the new coronavirus. ......

Shiraishi: We had so many people sign up for this talk event that we were expecting to have a turnout for the first time in our history. Unfortunately, due to the Corona virus, the event could not be held as planned, but I realized once again that voice actors' events are still amazing. I think it would have been amazing if we could have made it. I would like to revisit it again.

-- I found the history of Tobu Zoo's collaboration very interesting. I could understand why the collaborations have continued unceasingly. Finally, please tell us about your future plans.

Shiraishi: We are waiting for an unexpected project that will make us wonder, "Why collaborate with this work? I am also waiting for an unexpected project. I am very enthusiastic about it because it is my favorite work too!　It should be a collaboration that you can look forward to. I am sure that many of you have fond memories of visiting Tobu Zoo with your family when you were young, or on field trips with your friends. We would be happy if the anime will be an opportunity for you to visit the zoo again and find a new way to enjoy the park.

-- By the way, do you have any news about Tobu Zoo other than the collaboration?

Shiraishi: A new attraction has opened in the amusement park. I think the attraction of Tobu Zoo is that both the zoo and the amusement park can collaborate with each other. We would like to develop collaboration projects that can be enjoyed more in line with the works!　Please look forward to it!

(Interview and text by Shinobu Tanaka)

Facility Information

Tobu Zoo

Currently, some facilities and events in the zoo and some attractions in the amusement park area are reopened for business.

Operating hours are from 10:00 to 16:30.

Please check the official website for details.

5 pairs of 10 people will be invited to Tobu Zoo!

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