McDonald’s Japan is tapping into some proper old-school anime energy with a new Saint Seiya collaboration menu — and yes, the ads are using “Pegasus Fantasy.” That alone is enough to make a certain generation of anime fans instantly sit up.
The campaign started with a very cheeky tease on McDonald’s Japan’s X/Twitter account. Instead of announcing everything straight away, the brand posted an image referencing the famous headpiece worn by Pegasus Seiya, paired with a line hinting at “Pegasus” without saying the full name. A follow-up image showed a map of Japan with four shadowed menu items and a call for the “chosen gourmet” to gather.
Basically, McDonald’s Japan knew exactly what it was doing: drop a familiar Saint Seiya visual, let anime fans connect the dots, then reveal the food the next day.
The official menu turns out to be built around Japan’s regional flavours, with three limited-time burgers leading the collab:
- Hokkaido Jaga Cheese Teriyaki — a Hokkaido potato and cheese teriyaki burger
- Nagoya Meibutsu Tebasakifu Kurogoma Juicy Chicken — a Nagoya chicken wing-style black pepper juicy chicken burger
- Hakata Mentai Butter Teriyaki — a Hakata marinated roe butter teriyaki burger
All three burgers are scheduled to go on sale in Japan from May 20 for a limited period.
McDonald’s Japan also released four commercials for the promotion. One spot features the full lineup, while the other three focus on each burger individually. The anime fanservice is not subtle either — the commercials are set to “Pegasus Fantasy,” the legendary opening theme from Saint Seiya.
There is also a fun casting gag here: the ads star comedian Seiya Ishikawa from the comedy duo Shimofuri Myōjō. So yes, McDonald’s Japan got a guy named Seiya to front a Saint Seiya campaign. Very on-brand, very Japanese ad energy.
The teaser also sparked the usual internet jokes. Some replies referenced live-action Saint Seiya adaptations, including the 1991 Bandai Super Musical Saint Seiya that featured members of SMAP. Another joke reply brought in Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Pegasus J. Crawford wearing Seiya’s circlet, because of course anime Twitter was going to do that.
For Malaysian and SEA fans, this is one of those “Japan gets all the fun stuff again” moments. McDonald’s Malaysia has done its own strong local and pop-culture campaigns before, but anime-themed fast-food collabs here are still nowhere near as common as what Japan gets. If you are travelling to Japan around late May, this is the kind of limited menu that is worth adding to your food checklist — especially if you grew up with classic shonen anime or just love collecting weird regional fast-food experiences.
It is also another reminder that Saint Seiya still has serious nostalgic pull. The franchise may not dominate modern anime conversation the way newer titles do, but its iconography — Pegasus Seiya, the Cloths, the music, the dramatic battle energy — still hits hard for older fans across Asia. Pair that with McDonald’s regional burger gimmick and you get a collab that feels both nostalgic and very snackable.
No Malaysia or wider SEA release was mentioned in the source material, so for now this looks like a Japan-only drop. Pain, bro. But at least we get to watch the ads and mentally burn our Cosmos from afar.
Source: Anime News Network