Crunchyroll Brings 2025 Ani-May Festivities Worldwide

Crunchyroll has announced it is kicking off the third annual Ani-May celebration with global retail, digital, and streaming activations. New and exclusive products and promotions will be available at Hot Topic and Uniqlo in the United States, Liverpool and Suburbia in Mexico, JB Hi-Fi and EB Games & Zing Pop Culture in Australia and at several retail locations across Europe and the Middle East including HMV in the UK and Virgin Megastore Dubai, among many others. New and exclusive product launches and exciting promotional deals will also be available on the Crunchyroll Store all month!

“Anime isn’t just an entertainment medium; it’s a lifestyle. To celebrate anime’s explosive growth, we’re giving fans a variety of ways to express their anime passion during Ani-May – from all-new products across apparel, collectibles, global activations, game collaborations, and new series streaming for free on Crunchyroll,” said Anna Songco Adamian, Vice President, Global Consumer Products. “Whether it’s through wearing their fandom on their sleeves or streaming their favorite series, Crunchyroll will have fans covered this Ani-May.”

Throughout May, fans can expect a wide array of new, officially licensed merchandise from internationally beloved series! Solo Leveling, which was the top series streaming on Crunchyroll in 2024 will be back, alongside sci-fi monster series Kaiju No. 8, the wonderfully adorable series featuring kittens living in bananas, Bananya, and supernatural comedy Toilet-bound Hanako-kun. Of course, merchandise will also feature smash hit shonen series My Hero Academia, video game fantasy Overlord, and The Apothecary Diaries, a historical romance mystery set in a fictional country based on the Tang dynasty of Imperial China. These are just a few of the multitude of shows available—fans can expect more across many global retailers.

Ani-May 2025 partnerships and activations in the United States include:

• Throughout May, UNIQLO will be distributing Crunchyroll codes to customers, with eligible online UT purchases, that can be redeemed for a 30-day free trial of Crunchyroll*. UNIQLO has also partnered with Manga artist Remi Yamamoto to create UTme! Collection designs, available exclusively at their NYC flagship locations – UNIQLO Soho and UNIQLO 5^th Avenue. New York City-based fans are invited to stop by UNIQLO’s 5^th Avenue flagship location for a special activation on May 18^th from 1pm-5pm with Remi, who will be providing complimentary live Manga portraits.
• Specialty retailer Hot Topic will celebrate Ani-May across its United States and Canada locations, and online at hottopic.com. Activations and special promotions, including exclusive anime merchandise, will be available all month.
• Electronics retailer Best Buy will be joining in on the Ani-May festivities with select products available both online and in-store, with an exclusive SPY x FAMILY pin included with eligible purchases at select stores.
• Planet Hollywood, themed restaurant and resort chain, is partnering with Crunchyroll to offer exclusive experiences, cocktails, dishes, and merchandise inspired by Ani-May’s select IPs.
• In celebration of a new JUJUTSU KAISEN x Funko Pop collection, Funko Pop will be hosting an autograph signing with the English voice cast of JUJUTSU KAISEN on May 3rd. Special Funko Hollywood Event Bundles will also be available! Event details can be found at @originalfunko and @funko_funime on Instagram.
• Back to celebrate Ani-May, Bananya is once again partnering with Fall Guys on a collection of skins, which will be available from May 1 to May 8. Featured characters include Bananya and Droopy Eared Bananya!
• Demon Slayer fans can gear up for the first film of the highly-anticipated Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy coming to theatres this September with a special Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train re-release in theatres this May!

In Latin America, the following partners will celebrate Ani-May:

• Liverpool will join the month-long celebration in Mexico with a special meet-and-greet with select voice actors, alongside products from fan-favorite titles with in-store signage
• Suburbia in Mexico will also delight fans with in-store signage and an offer of 20,000 free trial subscriptions with purchases of eligible products*
• Ani-May celebrations and activations will continue at CCXP Mexico!

The following European retailers from EMEA will celebrate Ani-May:

• For the third year in a row, Funside/Games Academy in Italy and HMV in the UK, Ireland and Belgium will take part in the Ani-May fun, while in France, Cultura will renew the experience for a second year. The three chains will activate the totality of their stores with signage, windows, and a selection of exclusive merchandise. Shoppers will be offered the opportunity to fully experience the Crunchyroll lifestyle and win a “nothing that money can buy” prize: an amazing weekend in Paris with VIP access to the Crunchyroll booth at Japan Expo*. 
• In Spain, FNAC will bring forth a special selection of Ani-May products and launch a nationwide e-commerce campaign celebrating all things anime. For purchases of Ani-May products over 20€, shoppers will get the chance to win free Crunchyroll subscriptions*.
• ANVOL will come back for a second year in the Baltic states and bring the Ani-May festivities to the Nordics for the very first time in 2025. In addition to massive exposure on social media, all stores will adopt Crunchyroll approved Ani-May branding. Shoppers will have the chance to win free Crunchyroll subscriptions for any Ani-May purchase*. 
• The Middle East will experience their first episode of Ani-May fever thanks to Little Things. The distributor will bring the activation to their own stores in the UAE, as well as Virgin Mega Store in Dubai and two ToysRUs locations, in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.   
• In Poland, Yatta will surprise anime fans with Ani-May branded corners and an e-commerce takeover. Shoppers will have the chance to bring home free Crunchyroll subscriptions*. 
• For the third time in a row, Thalia is presenting an exciting range of exclusive merchandising and manga in celebration of Ani-May in 200 stores in Germany and Austria. 
• New to Ani-May in Germany and Austria is Müller, which offers anime fans across 150 stores in Germany and Austria a wide range of manga, merchandising and home entertainment. 

Australia and New Zealand-based fans can look forward to the following retail activations:

• In Australia, JB Hi-Fi will be celebrating with dedicated Ani-May end caps in stores, encompassing anime home video and collectibles, with unique in-store signage created by talented store staff! The May edition of STACK Magazine will feature an editorial piece on anime, and will be available in all stores and also online.
• EB Games & Zing Pop Culture – the Home of Pop Culture & Gaming will be joining the Ani-May fun! Customers who sign up to EB WORLD PLUS will receive a 30-day Crunchyroll Premium trial membership*. EB Games will also celebrate with digital signage, ceiling banners, and exclusive products available for purchase across fan-favorite shows, including JUJUTSU KAISEN, SPY x FAMILY, Chainsaw Man, and My Hero Academia.

The Crunchyroll Store, the ultimate one-stop shop for anime fans, will also dive into the Ani-May fun with new and exclusive product launches, unbeatable deals, and an exciting gift-with-purchase offer: a new Crunchyroll-exclusive Ani-May pin. Each week in the month of May will highlight a different genre of product – fans can look forward to deals on popular products for collectors, action / adventure titles, shonen shows, and finally fantasy fan-faves. Additionally, those tuning into the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards® celebration on May 25th might also want to take a peek at the Crunchyroll Store the next day to celebrate this year’s nominees for Anime of the Year.

In Europe, the Crunchyroll Store will join the Ani-May hype with a fun gift-with-purchase offer: a Crunchyroll-exclusive Ani-May pin on qualifying orders. Limited time promotions will also be available, highlighting figures and more!

In the world of home entertainment, Crunchyroll will be releasing Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 Part 2 in a Limited Edition Blu-ray™ box set with preorders beginning on May 15. Crunchyroll will also be rereleasing Perfect Blue and Paprika director Satoshi Kon’s psychological thriller series Paranoia Agent and the dark action fantasy GOBLIN SLAYER Season 1, both on Blu-ray in SteelBook® cases, available exclusively for purchase in the Crunchyroll Store on April 30. And to help organize these new SteelBooks at home, the Crunchyroll Store has exclusively debuted the SteelNook, an open display case made from premium SteelBook metal designed to fit four standard SteelBooks from anime series to movies. The SteelNook will be available for purchase on the Crunchyroll Store starting tomorrow.

Crunchyroll Game Vault®, a library of premium games available to Mega and Ultimate Fan members globally, also joins the Ani-May celebration with the launch of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, available on April 30 today. The tactical role-playing game (“RPG”) is just one of several titles dropping each week throughout May — from acclaimed visual novels like Grisaia Phantom Trigger to cult horror classics such as Corpse Party — all tailored for anime fans. 

The fun doesn’t stop there! Beginning on May 1 and continuing through the end of the month, 20 hit series will be available to stream on Crunchyroll for free with ads. These series include Cowboy Bebop, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Haikyu!!, Jujutsu Kaisen, Shangri-La Frontier, the first seasons of Solo Leveling and The Apothecary Diaries, and many more. Fans can find the full list of titles to stream for free during Ani-May here. Please note that movies and OVAs are excluded from the promotion and regional restrictions may apply.

As always, fans can celebrate anime all year long with a Crunchyroll membership, which grants access to the world’s largest dedicated anime streaming library of over 50,000 episodes, 2,000 unique titles, and 25,000 hours of content—available subbed and dubbed worldwide in more than 12 languages and across over 15 platforms.