Interest
Yaoi Finder Manga Parodies Anime Tenchō in Animate Store Newspaper
posted on by Eric Stimson
Animate, one of Japan's most prominent anime, manga, video game, and character goods retailers, is welcoming its 30th anniversary this year. To celebrate the occasion, it's running a series of manga parodies of Anime Tenchō, its beloved, very enthusiastic mascot, in the store newspaper, Charaby. The March 20 edition of the paper includes a parody starring Akihito from the yaoi manga Finder, "Animate no Yami wo Abaku with Finder Series" ("Dispelling the Darkness of Animate with Finder").
As the title suggests, Akihito is on an assignment to expose the dark secrets of the seemingly innocuous Animate. To do so, he's going undercover as a store clerk at Animate's flagship store in Ikebukuro. Thanks to his good looks, the manager appoints him "store boy," essentially a mascot intended to attract girls to the store. The manga is drawn by Ayano Yamane, who also draws the main Finder series.
Anime Tenchō has run in Charaby since 2000 and has won a fan following for the title character's burning passion. It was adapted into an OAV in 2002 by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Hideaki Anno and made an extended cameo in Lucky Star. For more on Anime Tenchō's equally passionate creator, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, see Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga.
Source: Animate Times
