Why Are So Many Car Manufacturers Making Anime Ads Now?

Cars and anime are a time-honored pair. They go together like chocolate and peanut butter, as generations of shows from Speed Racer to MF Ghost have demonstrated, so it’s only natural that studios keep making beautiful shows about racing. Now, though, a new trend is cropping up again and again: Anime car ads.

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In the past few years, we’ve seen three major automakers jump into the anime advertising market. Some have been a natural fit, while others are just downright strange — leading everyone to question what exactly the deal is. Why are so many automakers selling to us with anime?

Toyota GT86 Initial D

Toyota may have been the one to kick off the current trend, directly tying the then-new GT86 (or FR-S, depending on your region) to the AE86 as it appeared in Initial D. Toyota UK put out a live-action spot featuring a GT86 in Fujiwara Tofu Shop livery (based off the original car’s Fifth Stage appearance, judging by the hood) and a few accompanying manga photoshops.

Then, for the launch of the second-generation 86, Toyota went even harder with the now-dead FasterClass campaign. A hybrid anime-live action ad put Keiichi Tsuchiya behind the wheel of an 86, chasing down Takumi Fujiwara on a mountain pass.

Initial D x Toyota Gr86 : Director’s Cut | Trueno Ae86 Takumi Fujiwara vs Keiichi Tsuchiya

From that hybrid, we went full anime, with Acura developing two “seasons” (a combined eight minutes of footage) of Chiaki’s Journey to promote the Type S suite. The show may have overpromised on the whole “being a show” thing, but Acura did collaborate with an animation studio to produce the whole thing — no live-action bits here. Also, the character designs still slap.

Then, out of left field, Nissan got in on the trend. Its implementation is a bit different, taking an angle that’s clearly inspired by Lo-Fi Girl, but it’s close enough to the trend that I’ll count it. This one is also unique for being the only anime ad not to feature a performance car, instead promoting the Ariya as a peaceful driving experience. I guess the Z is still Brie Larson’s turf.

Enjoy the Powerfully Peaceful ARIYA | Nissan USA

Then, just days ago, Toyota came back again. GRIP, a show seemingly centered around a nefarious self-driving car plot that must be unraveled by Toyota performance car drivers, dropped its first episode on YouTube earlier this week. GRIP clearly has some real animation budget behind it, visually surpassing that of Chiaki’s Journey or the Lo-Fi Nissan, which all makes sense when you realize it comes from Korean studio DR Movie — yes, the studio with credits on projects like One Punch Man, Your Name, and Diamond is Unbreakable, the unimpeachable best JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime arc. The studio worked on Evangelion for chrissakes.

GRIP Anime Series, S1 Episode 1 | Circuit Breakers | Toyota

Automakers have clearly decided that anime sells, and are now putting real time and money into projects that use the medium to promote their cars. The question is, why? Do these really do any better than live action, or Western animation, or 3D CGI? What is the deal with all these anime ads?