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The 7-Eleven original anime commercial, “Tokimeki wa Sugusoba ni.”-hen, whose characters were designed by “Kimi ni Todoke”‘s author Shiina Karuho, was released for the first time on January 3, 2021. The main character is voiced by the actress/voice actress Fukuhara Haruka, who is well known for her role as Arisugawa Himari (Cure Custard) from “Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode”.

The new 7-Eleven TV commercial “Tokimeki wa Sugusoba ni.”-hen was created under the concept of “delivering surprising encounters and happiness to your everyday life” with the catchphrase of “Tokimeki wa Sugusoba ni.” (Excitement is right next to you).

The characters were designed by Shiina Karuho, the author of the girls’ manga “Kimi ni Todoke”, which has received an anime and live-action adaptation. The narrator of the anime is Fukuhara Haruka, the actress/voice actress who is well known for her roles in works such as “Kaguya-sama: Love Is War”. The familiar commercial song “Day Dream Believer” is sung by yama, whose first original song “Haru wo Tsugeru” has over 45 million views. And the animation production is handled by The Answer Studio, who worked on the film “Your Name.”.

The original anime commercial “Tokimeki wa Sugusoba ni.”-hen was released for the first time on January 3, during the broadcast of “Weathering with You” on TV Asahi.

【Character Design】 Shiina Karuho
I’ve been working on a long-running series, so it’s been over 10 years since the last time I draw new characters. They gave me a theme to draw the characters, and as I added the features to each character, which I would’ve never come up with on my own, I appreciated the charm of these characters and learned a lot through the process. Drawing the whole body of the characters based on their settings of how tall they are was also new to me and I enjoyed it.

【Main Character Nana’s Voice】 Fukuhara Haruka
When I was offered this job, I couldn’t believe it and was so happy! There was a 7-Eleven store near where I used to live as a child, and I remember going there a lot! The strawberry sandwich and oden (Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth) are my favorite things and I still often buy them! It is such an honor to be able to work with my favorite store, 7-Eleven! I will do my best, so please look forward to the release of the new commercial.

【Music】
・On being used for the commercial
There’s a 7-Eleven shop close to my home and I use it often, so I was very happy to hear that they wanted to use my song. I’m blasted by the thought of hearing my own voice in a TV commercial. Thank you!

・On singing “Day Dream Believer”
The catchy tune you hear in the stores and on TV makes you want to sing along, but it is actually a melancholic song about his feelings towards “her” in the picture. You also can feel the warmth from the days he spent with “her”. I cherished the warmth in the song and tried not to make the song too sad by singing with kindness in my heart. I hope that those who listen to it find comfort in this cover.

【Director】 The Answer Studio Kawamata Hiroshi
・On producing the animation
When I saw the rough design by the character designer Shiina Karuho-san, I felt the character in the scenario suddenly start moving. We cherished the 4 characters and carefully created the work so as not to destroy the settings. I hope students who couldn’t enjoy their school life under these circumstances and those who work full time remember their memories of their teens and enjoy the show.