New York, NY – Yu-Gi-Oh!, the popular Japanese anime, manga and trading card game franchise and Sanrio®, the global lifestyle brand best known for pop culture icon Hello Kitty®, announced today another global first – collaborating worldwide with McDonald’s on a new Happy Meal promotion that features instantly recognizable characters from both iconic brands as collectible Happy Meal toys as well as on its packaging and menus.

This never-before-seen collab, billed as Yu-Gi-Oh! X Hello Kitty and Friends, is sure to delight anime fans. The Happy Meal toys feature an eye-popping mash-up design in each meal: beloved Sanrio® characters dressed as Yu-Gi-Oh! monsters. The unique crossover promotion, featuring 10 new Happy Meal toys, is sure to excite fans around the world. Among the distinct collectible toys included in the special Happy Meal:

• Hello Kitty® x Dark Magician
• Cinnamoroll™ x Blue-Eyes White Dragon
• Badtz-maru™ x Red-Eyes Black Dragon
• Pompompurin™ x Exodia the Forbidden One
• My Melody™ x Dark Magician Girl
• Keroppi™ x Kuriboh
• Pochacco™ x Time Wizard
• Kuromi™ x Slifer the Sky Dragon
• Tuxedosam™ x Obelisk the Tormentor
• Chococat™ x The Winged Dragon of Ra

“Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hello Kitty and Friends are each a global cultural phenomenon in their own right, with fans spanning every corner of the globe across generations,” said Jennifer Coleman, Vice President, Licensing and Marketing at Konami Cross Media NY, Inc. “We look forward to working with McDonald’s on this unique collaboration. This Happy Meal promotion will create a must have for Anime fans of all ages.”

“We are bringing two beloved brands together for this special promotion and offering fans something unique and unexpected,” said Jill Koch, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at Sanrio, Inc. “We hope to surprise and delight our fans around the world with these limited-edition collectibles.”

Kicking off this spring in Europe, the McDonald’s Yu-Gi-Oh! X Hello Kitty and Friends Happy Meal promotion will be offered in 55 countries worldwide, beginning with Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain and Greece, and expanding to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as a number of Asian markets. The nearly year-long promotion peaks with the introduction of the Yu-Gi-Oh! X Hello Kitty and Friends Happy Meal throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, this summer.

About Sanrio®
Sanrio® is the global lifestyle brand best known for Hello Kitty® who was created in 1974, and home to many other beloved character brands such as My Melody™, Kuromi™, LittleTwinStars™, Cinnamoroll™, Pompompurin™, gudetama™, Aggretsuko™, Chococat™, Badtz-maru™ and Keroppi™. Sanrio was founded on the philosophy that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration to offer quality products, services and activities that promote communication and inspire unique consumer experiences across the world. Today, Sanrio’s business extends into the entertainment industry with several content series, gaming offerings and theme parks. Sanrio boasts an extensive product lineup which is available in over 130 countries. Sanrio hopes to bring smiles to everyone’s faces with their vision of “One World, Connecting Smiles.” To learn more about Sanrio, please visit www.sanrio.com and follow @sanrio and @hellokitty on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest and subscribe to the Hello Kitty and Friends YouTube Channel.

About Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! is a true global phenomenon and perennial fan favorite. Ready to celebrate 25 years of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game and amassing a fervent following, the brand continues to flourish with each new series and expansion. To date, fans have engaged by reading the Manga, watching more than 1,000 Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime episodes across eight series and downloading Yu-Gi-Oh! DUEL LINKS or Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL. Fans have also supported the brand at the box-office, retail and they have played with and purchased over 25 billion units of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME! The future is bright for this Anime franchise with a robust slate of new content, games and merchandise planned for release that will continue to engage and entertain audiences globally.

About McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.