McDonald’s Japan released its highly anticipated Happy Set (Happy Meal) collaboration with popular character series Chiikawa on May 16. It sold out— in just two days.

The collaboration features exclusive Happy Meal toys with various Chiikawa characters donning McDonald’s staff uniforms. The first wave of toy releases — including a McDonald’s cup-shaped pen holder with the titular character Chiikawa, a plastic calendar with the character Hachiware, a small container shaped like Usagi flipping a pancake and a rolling car featuring all of the characters — was scheduled to run from May 16 to May 22. However, McDonald’s released a statement on May 18, notifying fans and customers that sales have ended prematurely due to most restaurants selling out of Happy Meals much earlier than anticipated.

And while fan frenzy during new merchandise release days is typically nothing to cause a double-take, this particular occasion sparked quite the controversy, as viral social media posts showed alleged scalpers bulk-ordering Happy Meals solely to acquire the limited-edition toys and resell them at a markup.

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Chiikawa Fever Sparks Chaos

The promotion instantly became a chaotic event. An X post from release day got nearly 11 million views, after anonymously depicting a supposed scalper carrying a giant overflowing bag of Chiikawa toy boxes. The text translates, “From a certain C-country…” — taking a Sinophobic turn for what was supposed to be a fun prize drop for children and fans to enjoy.

Below the post, comments flooded with similar discriminatory sentiments. The post’s top comment, with 169,000 views and 2,600 likes, suggested implementing the Kyokujitsu-ki imperialist rising sun flag or statements like “long live Japan” into product packaging to dissuade resale in China. Another user angrily remarked how these individuals are “anti-Japan, but want Japanese products.” 

Tension and frustration grew throughout the weekend. Another post went viral on X with over 16 million views. The video shows a McDonald’s restaurant overrun with Happy Meal bags covering every counter surface in sight. The text claims that scalpers placed bulk mobile orders, snatched the coveted toys out of the takeout bags — and then abandoned the orders. The toys can’t be purchased by themselves, so customers must buy the meal to receive a Chiikawa toy. With food continuing to pile up and some even spilling on the floor, it appears that McDonald’s employees were forced to dispose of some of the innumerable uneaten meals. 

Many users reposted the video of food trays being chucked into the garbage bins, one X post with 24 million views perpetuating the narrative of Chinese resellers “tarnishing childhood traditions.”

While unverified allegations and Sinophobia continued to run rampant amid the mayhem, other users added disclaimers through X’s user-submitted “added context” feature to bring awareness to the fact that there is currently no evidence that the scalpers were of Chinese origin, or that all of the Happy Meals in the viral video were bulk-ordered solely for the toys. 

mcdonald's chiikawa collaboration collab

While McDonald’s policy limited each guest to buy four Happy Meals, it seems like that rule was quickly overlooked. Toys immediately started to pop up on resale websites such as Mercari, for about six or seven times their original retail price. Some listings raised their markups to jaw-dropping levels such as ¥100,000 for a complete set of the four toys. Happy Meals start at ¥510.

Preparing for Upcoming Round Two

To the dismay of fans who were looking forward to getting their own Chiikawa and friends toys, McDonald’s announced that the first wave of the collection has been prematurely suspended. The official statement thanks customers for sales far exceeding initial expectations, but does not mention any of the weekend controversy pertaining to food waste and scalper loopholes. 

The second installment of the collection release is still scheduled for May 23. The second wave features new exclusive toys, including a Chiikawa memo set, a Hachiware photo frame, an Usagi sticker dispenser and a Momonga pencil cap.

Round two is intended to run through May 29, though based on the previous release it does not seem likely that that’ll be the case.

mcdonald's chiikawa collaboration collab

Chiikawa’s Kawaii Empire

Chiikawa originated as an online manga series written and illustrated by the mangaka known as Nagano. The series is named after the main character, Chiikawa (which translates to “small and cute”), and follows adventures from daily life with friends like Hachiware, Usagi, Kurimanju and Furuhonya. 

The printed version of the series now has seven volumes, and has sold a total of over 2.7 million copies. In 2022, an anime television adaptation produced by animation studio Doga Kobo premiered on Fuji TV. Currently 260 episodes have been released. 

Fans of the series often cite their love of Chiikawa’s relatability — the series explores themes of friendship, growing up and the everyday struggles that come along with it. Chiikawa’s failures and continued persistence resonate with viewers who are experiencing similar hurdles. 

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