Bonobono Marks Manga’s 40th Anniversary and Anime’s 10th Anniversary with Special Website, Free Streaming, TV Special, New Volume, and Collaboration Cafe

Eiken, an ADK Emotions group company and producer of the TV anime Bonobono, has announced the latest updates for the series. May 17, Bonobono Day, will see the official opening of the 40th manga anniversary and 10th anime anniversary website, “Bonobono to 40 Nen no Koto.” The site features two timelines: one looking back on 40 years of the manga with illustrations by creator Mikio Igarashi, and another presenting 10 years of the anime in the form of a sugoroku board game with interactive elements. The website will also feature congratulatory messages from more than 100 people connected to Bonobono, including cast and staff from its films, TV anime, and games, theme song artists, filmmakers, manga artists, entertainers, former editors, assistants, and family members. To celebrate the anime’s 10th anniversary, all 500 episodes, covering roughly 10 years of broadcasts, will be streamed for free for a limited time. Starting at midnight on May 17, 10 episodes will be released each week for 50 weeks on FOD, TVer, and YouTube. On May 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the anime channel Animax will air a six-hour special titled “Bonobono Zanmai 6 Jikan: Manga 40th Anniversary × Anime 10th Anniversary Special.” The program will combine selected episodes with behind-the-scenes features. These include a visit to Bonobono-kan in Kami, Miyagi Prefecture, the hometown of creator Mikio Igarashi, and a look at the anime production process at Eiken. Another segment follows Bonobono to Seoul, South Korea, covering the Bonobono special exhibition featuring 300 original drawings and related pop-up events. Fukuko Yukimiyama, the voice of Bonobono in the anime, will provide narration. The latest manga volume, Bonobono Volume 50, will be released on July 16, 2026. Published by Takeshobo, the A5-format volume is priced at 1,100 yen including tax. The commemorative 50th volume centers on “Kassaa,” a strange game invented by Raccoon-kun that eventually turns into a team competition involving the familiar forest friends. A collaboration cafe, “Bonobono Pokapoka Cafe in E-DINER,” will also be held at E-DINER Ikebukuro from May 20 to May 31. The cafe will offer picnic-themed original food and drinks, new merchandise, and purchase bonuses. Customers will receive one random original coaster from six designs for each collaboration food or drink item ordered. Merchandise will also be sold at EANI - EDITH ANIME SHOP - in Osaka’s HEP FIVE, though collaboration food will not be available there. Bonobono is a popular manga by Mikio Igarashi that has been serialized since 1986 and has surpassed 9.5 million copies in circulation. The TV anime airs on Fuji TV every Saturday at 5:22 a.m., with catch-up streaming available on FOD. Centered on Bonobono, a young sea otter fascinated by strange and mysterious things, the series gently presents truths about life through its relaxed and endearing characters.