Each year, April Fools' Day gives a chance for creators in the anime, manga, and video game industries—as well as fans of these industries—to showcase their creativity. With the popularity of social media in recent years, many of these expressions of creativity go viral. Below is a selection of this year's official April Fools' jokes released by the anime, manga, and related industries, plus some fan-made content that felt a little too real.
Anime
5-toubun no Hanayome ∬
TBS overhauled its official website for 5-toubun no Hanayome on Thursday, and it featured a new spin-off titled 5-toubun no Hanamuko (The Five Wedded Grooms). The key visual depicts Fuutarou Uesugi as a bride with the quintuplets as his suitors.
Date A Live IV
Ahead of the release of Date A Live IV, Kadokawa opened an official website for a spin-off anime titled Date A Live Girl's Side. Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Tooru Yatogami, Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Orion Tobiichi, Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Yoshiki Himekawa, Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Yoshimune, and Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Kyouzou Tokisaki in the character teaser video.
Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? Bloom
The Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? official website and Twitter released new visuals on Thursday, depicting characters from the series as the seven deadly sins in Seven Rabbits Sins: Is the Order a Rabbit?.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou
The official Twitter account for the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni anime series announced the decision to open a Sanrio Puroland (Hello Kitty Land) in Hinamizawa.
Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun
The official Twitter account for the Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun TV anime released a key visual for a spin-off titled Sai-Chara Kobaton-kun (The Saitama Character "KOBATON-kun"). The spin-off should feature Saitama Prefecture's mascot Kobaton in a prominent role.
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S
The official website for the second season of the Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon anime announced a television drama adaptation on Thursday. Enka singer and VOCALOID 4 Sachiko voice provider Sachiko Kobayashi will play Kobayashi-san alongside 3D models of the other characters. Asked to comment on the role, Kobayashi said she'll be happy if they can make a beautiful drama, and that the "S" in Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S stands for "'Saikou' ni 'Suteki' de 'Shiawase' na 'Sachiko' (The most lovely and happy Sachiko)."
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
In honor of the Year of the Ox, the official website for the Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear TV anime had a new look on Thursday, revealing a spin-off titled Ushi Ushi Ushi Cow. The key visual states "Fina meets many cows and milks them," and that she lives a "moo-moo life with milk and steak."
Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai
The official website for the Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai TV anime unveiled a new story on Thursday with a purrfect cast of characters, each with their own short story.
Synopsis
Nijigasaki Gakuen is a popular private school in Odaiba, Tokyo, with a variety of subjects taught and a school spirit that nurtures independence. The girls who attend the school chase their dreams on a daily basis, but another, much smaller story is spreading in Odaiba—the story of Nyangasaki. The cats at Nijigasaki spend their free time taking walks, napping, and participating in other activities at their own pace. It's a carefree tale, but sometimes it sparkles, and now the Nyangasaki cats have assembled in search of "Tokimeki" (TL Note: this could be "a thrill," "a crush," or as Marie Kondou would say, something that "sparks joy").
Cast Cats
Ayumyan: Birman
Kasumyan: Munchkin cat
Shizunyan: Calico cat
Karinyan: Russian Blue
Ainyan: Bengal
Kanyata: Persian cat
Setsunya: American Shorthair
Emmya: Maine Coon
Rinya: Egyptian Mau
Shionyan: Siamese cat
Love Live! Sunshine!!
In celebration of the fifth anniversary of Aqours, the official website for the Love Live! School Idol Project series released a game titled Saishuu Kessen! Aqours vs. Aliens (Decisive Battle! Aqours vs. Aliens) on Thursday. Players aimed to blast as many aliens as they could without harming innocent Aqours members. The game has since been removed from the official website.
Maoujou de Oyasumi
Demon Lord Tasogare is trapped in the human world, and it is up to the Demon Cleric "Leonard," Great Red Siberian, and other members of the Ten Guardians to save him. This Maoujou de Oyasumi spin-off film will be screened in theaters February 29-31, 2022, but it probably won't be as those dates will not exist.
Shakunetsu Kabaddi
The official Twitter account for the Shakunetsu Kabaddi TV anime announced that information will be provided in Hindi from now on.
Sword Art Online
@gamerturk95, @_xCelest, @Vyh2VG, and others released the first trailer for a Sword Art Online: The First Day TV anime special. It is highly unlikely that it premieres on August 29 at midnight on Tokyo MX, BS11, and additional stations.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby (TV) Season 2
At the request of fans, Cygames, Inc. and the Uma Musume project have unveiled a creation for everyday relaxation—the Carrot Hamburg (steak) Cushion! This high-quality product from Toresen Gakuen will be available from Thursday at 12:00 p.m. (JST) on the Uma Musume official website.
Zombieland Saga: Revenge
The official Twitter account for Zombieland Saga: Revenge announced a 4-koma manga 100-day serialization project on Thursday. Yuuki Kikuchi (SUPER Doubutsuuzu, 100-nichigo ni Shinu Wani) is penning the manga. The April 1 release is titled 1-nichime ni Shinu Zon.
Manga/Other
Crayon Shin-chan Movie 29 x Love Live! School Idol Festival
To promote the upcoming Crayon Shin-chan movie, the titular character made his way into the Love Live! School Idol Festival! mobile game on Thursday. Limited edition cards were available in the store, and the 2019 mix of "Ora wa Ninkimono" was also playable.
Ensemble Stars
Developer Happy Elements K.K released a preview for the second part of the Ensemble Stars main story, Uchuu Sensou-hen. It features the song "Endless Vide" and some unexpected visuals.
Fate/Grand Order x Thunderbolt Fantasy
In anticipation of the third season of Thunderbolt Fantasy premiering on April 3, Pili International Multimedia produced a stop-motion animation crossover featuring Saber from Type-Moon's Fate/stay night franchise.
Key
Japanese visual novel studio Key revealed a new project titled Kaginado (potentially Keys and Such) on its official Twitter account on Thursday. By the stroke of midnight on Friday the tweet was removed, and a cryptic tweet was left in its place.
Paradox Live Avex Pictures' hip-hop mixed media project Paradox Live received a romance simulation spin-off titled Paradox Love. Unfortunately, we will have to find love elsewhere, as the game is no longer being advertised on the project's official website.
Steins;Gate
Future Gadget Laboratory's Denwa Range (PhoneWave) is being prepared for mass production. Featuring a next-generation design in a convenient size that will fit on a small table, you can enjoy all the emotional turmoil of time travel from the comfort of your own home! Future Gadget Laboratory is taking preorders here for a planned April 1, 2036 release.
(Note: if you attempt to pre-order the Denwa Range from the present worldline, you will encounter a 999 error)
Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru.
The official Twitter account for the Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. light novel series announced three spin-offs on Thursday—Doukyuusei wa Mou, Gaman Dekinai (My Classmates Can't Stand it Anymore), Idol wa Mou, Shitteita. (The Idol Already Knew), and Agent wa Mou, Hohoendeiru. (The Agent is Already Smiling). They are scheduled to be released on November 25, 202100, December 25, 202100, and January 25, 202200, respectively.
I will still be adding to this thread until tomorrow or even beyond (still have a handful of gags I haven't posted yet). There were a lot this year and just not much time to gather and sort through them all, especially given my timezone compared to Japan. Upon seeing a handful of gags being removed from the internet, videos being made private, etc, I felt sort of rushed to post what I had and try to find other ways of getting that content on here afterward.
Feel free to post things I missed, although like I said, I do have more gags I plan on adding to this so I may already be aware of them. Those that you guys really want to see on here will be prioritized. Thank you for your patience!
I'm not sure if it's welcome in the Manga/Other section (it's from a game), but Love Live! School idol festival has an official crossover with Crayon Shin-chan. It's pretty interesting. It's more like the Power Puff Girls crossover from 1-2 years ago, where all the girls are in Crayon Shin-chan style, and less like the Sonic crossover where he was in the Love Live! style.
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ChartTopper60 said: I'm not sure if it's welcome in the Manga/Other section (it's from a game), but Love Live! School idol festival has an official crossover with Crayon Shin-chan. It's pretty interesting. It's more like the Power Puff Girls crossover from 1-2 years ago, where all the girls are in Crayon Shin-chan style, and less like the Sonic crossover where he was in the Love Live! style.
It would be very welcome. Love Live! always does April Fools' right. Unfortunately they removed their Aqours game already and another video I was going to look into has been made private on Youtube, don't know if that was the Crayon Shin-chan crossover. So I'll be looking into more Love Live! gags for sure.
AkeZZZ said: There is also a Love Live Nyangasaki too. However, the Youtube video was deleted already.
Added! Never got to see the YouTube video though, and I really don't see the harm in leaving these up... I noticed the Date A Live one in this thread was also made private after I posted it.
SkyFullOfStars said: The jujutsu kaisen manga official PR account did a fake advertisement and a website promoting the prison realm item lol it's a big spoiler though.
I read about this, so even though I haven't read it and I'm not watching the anime, I thought it would be best to not include it, even if it were hidden under a spoiler like everything else 😅
SkyFullOfStars said: The jujutsu kaisen manga official PR account did a fake advertisement and a website promoting the prison realm item lol it's a big spoiler though.
I read about this, so even though I haven't read it and I'm not watching the anime, I thought it would be best to not include it, even if it were hidden under a spoiler like everything else 😅
yeah that would be a good call haha, it spoils too much for the next season
When you forget that it is April Fools' day haha. There are some interesting ideas in this though. The Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Kan now ould be interesting. I think some side stories could be added to make it interesting. Some of the manga ones look good as well. I will not be fooled next year.