Early otaku gets the worm! Idol anime fans pluck Tokyo ad freebies before most people start work

The Idolmaster compels otaku and gamers to get to Shinjuku Station at the crack of dawn for some cool free merch.

Anime otaku and hard-core video gamers aren’t generally thought of as morning people. Many of them are students or young adults, demographics which tend to be night owls anyway, and when you mix in the temptations of late-night broadcast anime or extended nocturnal gaming sessions, they’re not too likely to be getting up with the chickens.

So when a new large-scale advertisement for the Idolmaster idol-rearing anime/video game franchise appeared on the morning of July 24 in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station, covered with freebies for passersby to take, the series’ handlers probably figured they had a cool, all-day promotion set up.

▼ No, this isn’t another anime condom giveaway. The pouches contain Idolmaster stickers.

駅構内での混乱を避けるため、公式での詳細なご案内ができないのですが…本日より都内某駅構内にMTG01の広告が掲出されてます！剥がしてお持ち帰りできるオマケも付いてますので、見かけた際は是非剥がしてください！全部剥がれないと広告が見… http://twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

—
保坂拓也 (@LT_hosaka) July 23, 2017

The advertisement was celebrating the day’s CD release of three new songs from the Idolmaster franchise which are part of the newest game in the series, Idol Master Million Live Theater Days. A section of the passageway wall was covered with red and white plastic pouches, arranged to spell out a giant “Thank you” for any fans walking by the roughly 10-meter (33-foot) display. As the pouches are removed, an illustration of Idolmaster characters is revealed on the wall behind them.

The above photos were snapped at 5:47 in the morning, long before rush hour starts. By 6:05, though, there were already pouchless patches starting to spread.

夜勤明けで新宿にいたからステッカーもらってきた #ミリシタ https://t.co/FEAE1WsxVT

—
ハナト (@hana_tmt_skr) July 23, 2017

The above Twitter user managed to snag some stickers because he’d been working an overnight shift at his job, and swung by the station on his way home. And as it turned out, starting work or school at the normal time of nine o’clock basically precluded you from getting your hands on any of the Idolmaster goodies, since they were all gone before 8 a.m.!

▼ 7:54 a.m.

新宿のミリシタ広告の特典終了 https://t.co/NAzaUqmAnS

—
えふ (@popopoyukipo) July 23, 2017

On the other hand, those who arrived late (or just not incredibly early) got to see the full illustration, as sort of a consolation prize.

新宿のミリシタ広告一時間前にRTした瞬間に支度して来たのにもう無くなってて草 https://t.co/FiUSMhdEGe

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ひじ(アニメ化) (@Clive_hg) July 23, 2017

悲報、新宿駅全滅。 #imas_ml #ミリシタ #ミリマス https://t.co/b3tGOQGJTq

—
ara_wata a.k.a アラワタ (@ara__wata) July 23, 2017

But on the bright side, with Shinjuku Station being Japan’s hottest hot spot for interactive ads, soon enough there’ll probably be another up on its walls.

Source: Otakomu
Featured image: Twitter/@ara__wata

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