Shopping Guide
Anime- and character-themed amusement facilities and restaurants have been popular recently. In the midst of this, Namco is challenging itself by creating a new place to enjoy characters, anime, and games all at once. This new-type character-themed restaurant is called Cafe & Bar Characro and will open in Ikebukuro, Tokyo on Oct. 31.
Up until now, Bandai, of the Bandai Namco Group, has managed the themed cafe Gundam Cafe. However, this time Namco is jumping on the bandwagon along with its know-how of amusement facilities and theme parks. Because of Namco’s forte for live entertainment, it will be interesting to see what the company has up its sleeves for this new venture.
Cafe & Bar Characro will make use of life-size characters and interactive experiences. A characteristic will be its ability to intertwine the real world with the world of the work being featured. Also, by not being pigeon-holed by including the title of a work in the restaurant’s name, it will be able to switch themes to a new work every six months. The restaurant will aim at creating an extremely talked-about atmosphere by theming it after the season’s most popular work. The first work the restaurant is being themed after is Sunrise’s Tiger & Bunny.
The world of Tiger & Bunny will chiefly be expressed in the restaurant through its decor. There will also be collaborative food items and goods for sale. Furthermore, using special equipment, “interactive content with life-size characters” will be added to the restaurant in mid November. Details on this have not been revealed, but we expect it to be a way to deeper experience the world of the work that as of now has not been seen at other character-themed cafes.
Tiger & Bunny is set in a city in the near future and follows the exploits of heroes who possess special powers called Next. The series picked up popularity in 2011 with the broadcast of the TV anime. In September 2012, the movie Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning was released. The next movie in the series, Tiger & Bunny: The Rising, will be released in February of next year.
Being a work that has so much enthusiastic support from fans, there are big expectations for Cafe & Bar Characro.
Cafe & Bar Characro
First Theme: “Cafe & Bar Characro feat. Tiger & Bunny: The Rising”
Address: 1-32-4 B1F Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
Duration: 10/31/2013 (Thurs) to 4/20/2014 (Sun) (provisional)
Hours of Operation: weekdays - 11:00-23:00 / Friday - 10:00-23:00 / Holidays - 10:00-22:00
Restaurant Area and Number of Seats: 138.84 m^2^ / 55 seats
Source: animeanime
© Sunrise Inc. / T&B Movie Partners