Three of the greatest anime series ever produced featured in video that’s not quite as simple as it might look.
Young diners are a big part of fast food chains’ clientele, and so it’s no surprise that McDonald’s Japan often has tie-ups with popular contemporary anime series and characters. In just the past few months, we’ve seen collaborations with Pokémon, Chiikawa, and Hatsune Miku, for example.
But for its latest anime endeavor, McDonald’s Japan is widening its scope and looking back to the ‘80s, creating a heartwarming video featuring three all-time classics of Japanese animation.
「あしたも、笑おう。2025」#めぞん一刻 #きまぐれオレンジロード#マクロス #守屋麗奈 pic.twitter.com/0NrKnE4Dog
— マクドナルド (@McDonaldsJapan) June 27, 2025
Things start off with a finger pressing down on a boombox play button, and it’s not just the electronics design but the hand-drawn and hand-painted artwork that immediately tells us we’ve gone back a few decades, and we get further confirmation as Yusaku Godai and Kyoko Otonashi make their first appearances. The two are the main characters of Maison Ikkoku, a landmark romantic comedy from Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2) that aired on Japan TV from 1986 to 1988.
Yusaku and Kyoko aren’t the only ‘80s anime stars here, though. Next up are Madoka Ayukawa and Kyosuke Kasuga, hailing from Kimagure Orange Road, an anime series broadcast in 1987 and 1988. Kimagure Orange Road was also a romantic comedy, with Kyosuke being a recent transfer to Madoka’s school who’s trying to hide he fact that he has psychic powers, and Madoka herself having aspects of her life that she keeps just as tightly under wraps as Kyosuke does his secret.
And finally, we come to Lin Minmei and Hikaru Ichijo, first seen in 1982’s Macross TV series, and then in 1984’s Do You Remember Love? theatrical anime retelling, from which the clips in McDonald’s video are taken.
For extra sentimental seasoning, the video is set to “I Feel Coke,” a Japanese Coca-Cola commercial tune from the 1980s that’s an unforgettable audio representation of the era within Japanese pop culture.
▼ An extended version of the video, with some different anime images. Like the shorter version, it preserves the anime’s original aspect ratios.
The title of the video is Ashita mo Waraou, Ano Koro mo Ima mo, which translates to “Let’s Smile Tomorrow, in Those Days and Now Too.” Interspersed with the cuts of ‘80s anime are scenes of people enjoying life and enjoying McDonald’s, some of them old enough to have been in the target market for the featured anime when they were first airing, and others, like 25-year-old idol singer Rena Moriya, of Sakurazaka 46, considerably younger.
▼ Rena Moriya
#守屋麗奈 #マクドナルド pic.twitter.com/oHyJaWdOSg
—
(@morirenaaaa) June 27, 2025
Japan is experiencing a wave of ‘80s nostalgia these days. Part of that is just the cyclical nature of pop culture, with styles and motifs from the era having progressed from feeling outdated to freshly retro in the minds of young people. Japan being in the midst of an economic slump also has more than a few people, regardless of age, looking longingly at the rosier business climate of the early to mid-‘80s, when it looked like the boom times would never end.
And yet, the video isn’t just a way of saying “The good old days sure were good, weren’t they?” As fans of the featured anime know, while Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, and Macross are all fundamentally positive-minded series, none of them is all sunshine and rainbows. Each one has a love triangle as a major part of its storyline, and none of them take the common modern-day anime writing escape route of ending with a vague, non-conclusive final act that keeps all of the players’ relationships in a will-they-or-won’t-they balancing act so that viewers can create whatever head cannon they want for how the situation sorted itself out with no hurt feelings. There are characters who get their hearts absolutely crushed in Maison Ikkoku, Kimagure Orange Road, and Macross, and part of what makes them all incredible series is how they show that even when you put everything you’ve got into something and don’t get the ending you wanted, you have to find a way to pick yourself up and find a new source of happiness.
▼ Shine on, Mitaka.
And that’s not even getting into all the other trials and tribulations the characters face, such as figuring out what your professional calling is in life, being trapped in a time warp, or fighting off an alien invasion.
So yeah, on the surface the video can be seen as just a way to remind everyone that anime, burgers, and soda have all been very enjoyable things since the ’80s, but there’s also the message that even when times are tough, we can find a way to get through them with the help of friends, family, and the other people we love, including ourselves.
Source: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan via Jin
Top image: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan
Insert images: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan, YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s）
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