Japan’s Beloved Character Featured on Tasty New Dorayaki Pancakes from JFC and Special Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: dora-world.com (Japan), doraemon.com (US) Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen

Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © Fijiko-Pro

VIZ Media brings aboard tasty new brand partners for DORAEMON as it announces delicious new snack products inspired by the beloved titular character’s favorite food, Dorayaki, to be offered by JFC International and Beard Papa’s. VIZ Media is the North & Latin American master merchandise licensee for the celebrated anime property, overseeing the licensing and development of a range of products across a variety of consumer categories. JFC International, Inc. is a leading global distributor of Asian specialty foods and snack products. The company is featuring an officially branded DORAEMON Dorayaki that features an imprinted design of the character, with each package featuring 1 of 20 collectable stickers. Dorayaki is a type of pancake enjoyed widely as a snack in Japan that is filled with sweet red bean paste. For more information on JFC International, please visit jfc.com. Beard Papa’s is an international chain of cream puff stores that was originally founded in Japan. To celebrate DORAEMON, the company is unveiling a special Doraemon Collaboration Cream Puff for its presence at NYC Japan Week 2015, taking place in New York City at Grand Central Station (Feb. 18th – 20th). The confectioner will also showcase and offer samples of the custom cream puff inspired by Doraemon’s favorite food Dorayaki, also known as Yummy Buns on the show, during NYC Japan Week. This cream puff mixes the famous Beard Papa’s custard cream with red bean and chestnuts ($3.25 ea). More information on Japan Week NYC is available at japanweek.us. For a limited time, orders for customers that purchase of 6 or more Beard Papa’s cream puffs will come packaged in a special DORAEMON collaboration take-out box. Select Beard Papa’s Café store locations, including the Upper Westside (NY) store in Manhattan (2167 Broadway, New York, NY 10024), will also carry this flavor after Japan Week concludes (available from Feb. 21st through April 17th). Check the official Beard Papa’s Facebook page for locations and starting dates.

Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © Fijiko-Pro

“DORAEMON is a unique and colorful global ambassador for Japanese pop culture and we are excited to welcome aboard JFC International and Beard Papa’s as licensed partners for the brand and to have the character prominently featured in a variety of delicious new snacks and confections from these companies,” says Daisuke Aoki, VIZ Media Vice President, Licensing. DORAEMON is one of the most beloved character properties worldwide and started as a manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio in 1970. It later became a popular anime series and product franchise in Japan that continues to be a smash hit worldwide, especially in Asia. The comedy series depicts the adventures of Doraemon, a blue robot cat from the 22nd century, who travels back in time to help a boy named Noby using various secret gadgets procured from his 4th Dimensional Pocket. Episodes often offer lessons for young viewers about honesty, cooperation, courage, and respect. DORAEMON marks its 45th Anniversary in 2015 and continues to be a major worldwide franchise with over $500 million in annual global retail sales and over 600 active licensees. Over 140 million copies of the manga have been published. DORAEMON also holds the largest box office attendance record in Japan of any movie franchise, toppling Godzilla, with 34 feature films released to-date and over 100 million tickets sold last year alone. The property’s first 3D feature film, Stand By Me Doraemon, was released in Japan last August. The Doraemon character is also Tokyo’s bid to act as its Special Ambassador for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Visit the official DORAEMON web site at doraemon.com or Facebook page at facebook.com/DoraemonUS. Additional information on DORAEMON and other titles and properties available can be found at viz.com.

About Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd.

ShoPro is a subsidiary of Japan`s largest publishing houses: Shogakukan Inc., Shueisha Inc. and Hakusensha Inc. Together, they distribute the majority share of the most popular magazines and comic books in Japan. ShoPro was founded in 1967 for the purpose of licensing and merchandising the properties owned by Shogakukan Inc. ShoPro has since experienced steady growth and expanded into two main sectors: the Media sector and the Educational Development sector. They represent some of the world`s most popular entertainment brands for the Japanese market. By maximizing the advantages of close relations to all Shogakukan group companies, ShoPro provides Shogakukan and Shueisha properties, as well as client companies overseas, with powerful licensing and merchandising programs supported by a comprehensive blend of selected media.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan`s largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at VIZ.com.