Animation studio Shin-Ei is bringing Lotte Chocolate's beloved Pie no Mi snack brand to life with a new web anime series, marking the first anime adaptation in the product's 48-year history.

Pie no Mi: Oshi no Mori he Yōkoso (Pie no Mi: Welcome to Oshi Forest) launched on the official Lotte Chocolate YouTube channel on June 4 at midnight Japan Time. The series adapts a four-panel manga by Yuri Fujimaru and illustrator Aya Matsui, which releases new chapters every Friday on the manga's dedicated website.

The voice cast brings recognizable talent to the project. Yumiko Kobayashi, known for voicing Shin-chan in Crayon Shin-chan, leads the cast alongside Rie Hikisaka, who voiced Hana Nono/Cure Yell in 2018's Hugtto! Precure. The supporting cast includes Akihiro Tajima, Shun Kimeda, Hana Tamegai, Marie Ōi, Shōta Hayama, Rina Honnizumi, Kōsuke Echigoya, Satsumi Matsuda, and Hinata Tadokoro.

Directors Kazunori Minagawa and Miki Minagawa helm the project, with scripts from Yūko Kakihara and Azusa Serikawa. The pair also handled key animation duties for the series.

This release reflects a growing trend of brands using anime as a marketing tool in Japan. By collaborating with an established studio like Shin-Ei—known for works including Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon—Lotte positioned the series to reach both existing snack fans and anime viewers. Hosting the series on YouTube makes it freely accessible, removing barriers to casual viewing.

While brand-focused anime aren't new to the industry, the combination of an established animation studio, recognizable voice talent, and an adapted manga source material suggests Lotte invested substantially in making this more than a simple commercial. Whether the web series becomes a launchpad for additional Pie no Mi anime content remains to be seen, but the debut on Lotte's official channel signals confidence in the project's potential to engage audiences beyond traditional snack consumers.