On June 1, Lotte revealed that its enduring Pai no Mi snack line will receive an anime series adaptation, sparking a flood of bewildered “What?” and “How?” reactions from Japanese netizens. This is no ordinary animated commercial; the forthcoming original series boasts a lineup of acclaimed creators.
Entitled Welcome to Pai no Mi Oshi no Mori (“Welcome to Pai no Mi Oshi Forest”), Lotte’s upcoming anime is a collaboration between Shin-Ei Animation – the studio responsible for beloved domestic hits like Doraemon and Crayon Shin-Chan – and Toho Animation. It’s scheduled to debut on the official Lotte YouTube channel beginning June 4. The adaptation is part of Lotte’s “Welcome to the Pie no Mi Oshi Forest” campaign.
First introduced in 1979, Pai no Mi are small, hexagonal-shaped pastries featuring milk chocolate inside (various flavors like strawberry are also offered). While the packaging primarily showcases the snacks against a forest backdrop (hinting at the snack’s name, which loosely means “pie fruit”), they frequently come with a pair of whimsical squirrels.
Based on this “source material,” two squirrels, Pile and Roxy, lead the Pai no Mi anime, voiced by Yumiko Kobayashi (Shinnosuke Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan) and Rie Hikisaka (Hana Nono/Cure Yell in HUGtto! PreCure) respectively. Alongside the squirrels, Welcome to Pai no Mi Oshi no Mori will also introduce Kumama the bear, Arai the raccoon, Nemi the cat, Kitsune the fox, Boss the skunk, Sagi the rabbit, Choro the turtle, Dongurina the squirrel, and Tantei the rabbit. Details about the plot remain unrevealed at this time.
Notably, this announcement follows the 2023 premiere of Tabekko Dobutsu the Movie, another adaptation stemming from a snack IP.
Welcome to Pai no Mi Oshi no Mori will drop sequentially on a one episode per month schedule starting June 4, with eight planned episodes in total.