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Japanese Red Cross renews partnership with busty-heroine manga series for new blood drive

Casey Baseel Jan 25, 2020
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Uzaki-chan wants to hang out, and help harvest otaku blood.

A while back, the Japanese Red Cross Society decided to test if otaku’s love of anime was stronger than their fear of needles, and the answer seems to be yes. In recent years, the humanitarian organization has regularly offered commemorative trinkets (generally plastic file folders or mini posters) with pictures of popular anime characters thanking fans for participating in blood drives, and the promotions have been consistently popular.

The strategy was at the center of a bout of online controversy last fall, though, when the JRCS teamed up with manga series Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out. While the comic itself isn’t sexually explicit, there’s no denying that its female lead, college student Uzaki Hana, is an extremely busty young lady, and the top-heavy character’s presence on posters and promotional files (in the form pictured above) attracted a measure of negative attention, much of it coming from English-speaking Internet users.

▼ Uzaki’s New Year’s Day greeting to fans

皆様、あけましておめでとうございまーッス！！
昨年は読者の皆様の応援もあってとても楽しい1年間でした！今年も負けじと頑張って行くッス！！！
本年も宇崎ちゃんをよろしくお願い致します！！#宇崎ちゃん pic.twitter.com/xtZgFWJQLq

— 「宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい！」公式 (@uzakichan_asobi) January 1, 2020

However, the JRCS asserted that it did not find the artwork to constitute sexual harassment, and the promotion continued for its originally scheduled duration, with Uzaki-chan’s artist and creator Take himself donating blood. What’s more, the Red Cross has announced it will be launching a second tie-up with the series next week, as proudly heralded through the official Uzaki-chan Twitter account.

というわけで好評につきまた献血キャンペーンをやらせていただくことになりました！皆様の応援のおかげです！ありがとうございます！
行こう！献血！ https://t.co/UFh1hKvH68

— 「宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい！」公式 (@uzakichan_asobi) January 24, 2020

“All righty, because of how popular the first one was, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out is being allowed to be part of another blood donation campaign! This is thanks to all of your support! Thank you!

OK! Let’s go give blood!”

The second round of the collaboration was initially announced before the online controversy began, which had some wondering if the JRSC would decide to back out of the second half of the partnership. But according to the organization’s website, blood donation rooms in not only Tokyo, but also the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Tochigi will be awarding Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out files to donors who give 400 milliliters (13.5 ounces) of blood (or 200 milliliters for 16-year-old boys or girls age 16-17).

While the artwork to be used for the new promotion has yet to be revealed, it’s pretty much a given that an Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out tie-up will feature Uzaki-chan, and there’s not really any way to hide her figure. However, only donors who specifically request the folder will be given one, and so the JRSC won’t be forcing anyone who’d rather not be given a depiction of Uzaki’s bounteous figure as a bounty for their blood.

Source: Twitter/@uzakichan_asobi via Jin, Japanese Red Cross Society
Top image: Japanese Red Cross Society
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