20,000 Fans from 27 Countries Set Course for "Yuri!!! On Ice" Campaign

The fan base of the 2016 skating anime has been noted by many to be notably large. With the conclusion of the second half the Saga!!! On Ice campaign on Sunday at Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, the Facebook page a statistic of how many fans were willing to go the extra mile to attend the two-month promotion that began on March 6.

From 27 countries a total of 20,000 people came to attend the event collaboration between the popular skating anime and Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture, the location from which the protagonist, Yuri Katsuki’s hometown Hasetsu. Those who attended the campaign had a chance to enjoy avariety of local specialties, as well as collaboration food and original goods from the event. In addition to this there were original posters and drawing panels that could be found long the street honoring the event.

A main feature of the campaign was that from March 6 to 12 the “Ice Castle Hasetsu” ice skating rink located at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien Skating Rink was open to anyone who wished to try their hand at skating. With this fans were able to have the experience of sating on the same ice as Yuuri did and as an added bonus, there were feature illustrations and a photo spot to enjoy.

More than the food, art and skating experience, fans were also able to commemorate their time at the campaign with a pilgrimage map with notes on photographic spots that were distributed to them at the beginning of the campaign.

With the great success of the campaign it has been reported that the staff will be continuing the distribution of pilgrimage maps. The kiss and cry photo spot and Yuri!!! on Ice co-creator Mitsurou Kubo’s signed illustration boards that were placed on display will be remaining and

On another note side-by-side comparison images of Hasetsu in the anime and Karatsu in the real world are posted on Karatsu’s official website and it has been reported that Kubo traveled to Karatsu in January. Since the premier of the anime in October, many fans ave gone to visit the location.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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