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McDonald’s Japan partners with anime English teacher, but did they commit a cultural error?[Video]

Casey Baseel Feb 5, 2026
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Ellen-sensei is the latest otaku spokesperson for McDonald’s, but there’s one organization she’d never endorse.

McDonald’s Japan has been warmly embracing otaku culture as of late. Tie-ups with mega-hits such as Dragon Quest and Pokémon seem like obvious fits, but the fast food giant has also shown that it’s comfortable with franchises a little farther outside the family-focused mainstream, such as Evangelion and Kimagure Orange Road.

But McDonald’s Japan is going especially deep into the otaku icon roster today, as their latest spokesperson is none other than Ellen Baker!

You see, with McDonald’s Japan getting set to launch a trio of new sandwiches collectively called the “New York Burgers” line, they wanted to recruit a famous anime character who’s an American, and Ms. Baker was apparently very enthusiastic about the opportunity, as can be seen in the video below.

N.Y.バーガーズのお祭りはじまった！ pic.twitter.com/EWQgH5VxLV

— マクドナルド (@McDonaldsJapan) February 4, 2026

However, while she definitely has the aesthetics to have started off as an anime character, Ellen doesn’t originally hail from a Japanese animated series. She didn’t make her debut in manga or video game either. No, Ellen, or Ellen-sensei, as fans call her, rose to fame by appearing in an English-learning textbook used in Japanese schools.

Ellen’s popularity began skyrocketing a few years back when images of the anime-style illustrations in a new edition of publisher Tokyo Shoseki’s New Horizons textbooks started circulating online. In particular, admirers latched onto the character Ellen Baker, an American woman who moves to Japan to teach English and charmed fans with her playful smile, cheerful energy, and love of baseball, which is why she can be seen holding a bat and ball while introducing McDonald’s Japan’s New York Juicy Chicken Hot and Pepper, New York Thick Beef Patty Pepper and Beef Sauté, and New York Tarutaru Shrimp Garlic and Basil.

It’s worth pointing out that these sandwiches aren’t really indicative of New York or McDonald’s American menu, and the theming tends to mainly stem from the conception that “Americans really like meat and fried food.” Also kind of pseudo-American is Ellen’s on-screen “Here you are” as she extends a New York Thick Beef Patty Pepper and Beef Sauté for you to try a bite of. Odds are McDonald’s was trying to translate the Japanese word douzo, which is similar to “please, go ahead” but in this context would be more naturally rendered as “Go on, try it.” Douzo is also used by restaurant workers when serving food to diners, though, which is probably why Ellen says “Here you are” in the video.

On the other hand, full marks for the use of “I’m full” after Ellen chows down on three combo meals.

However, there’s something that, to many Americans, will be even more jarring the linguistic or culinary curiosities. As mentioned above, Ellen is famously a baseball fan, and the video makes sure to include a visual callback to her breakout textbook illustration in which she pantomimed swinging a bat.

And with this being a promotion for the New York Burgers, of course McDonald’s wanted Ellen’s batting helmet to sport the city’s initials.

But here’s the thing: Ellen’s backstory isn’t just that she’s from America. In her New Horizons self-introduction, she informs her students that she’s from Boston, and when one of them asks if she’s a Red Sox fan, she says “Yes, I am”

エレンベーカー先生と言ったらこれってやつがあって良かったw pic.twitter.com/qxVi3d7v4S

— すこすこ侍　ブルアカふぇす2日目だけに変更 (@KZK04108752) February 4, 2026

For pretty much their entire existence, the Boston Red Sox’ most hated rivals have been the New York Yankees, with more than a century’s worth of bad blood between the teams. Knowing that, the cynical way to look at Ellen’s attire in the video would be to say that McDonald’s made a mistake, or maybe even than Ellen sold out. However, while the helmet she wears has “N.Y.” written on it, it’s a different N.Y. from the one used by the Yankees for their uniforms.

So maybe Ellen, as an all-around nice person, has nothing against the city of New York as a whole, but as soon as McDonald’s said they wanted her to wear a New York helmet, she put her foot down and said she’d only do the video if they designed a completely different N.Y. logo. After all, she’s a teacher, which means she’s supposed to be a role model for young kids, and so she obviously wouldn’t feel right encouraging anyone to root for the Yankees.

Source: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan via Hachima Kiko
Images: Twitter/@McDonaldsJapan
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