- Interview location: Anime Expo 2026
- Interview format: Face to face, one to one
Anime Herald: Why do you think Opanchu Usagi has such bad luck?
Mike Melby: I wouldn’t say it’s a curse, but I think misfortune befalls some people. It’s not that she’s cursed, but there’s a gravity there. No matter how hard she tries, the best results don’t always find her.
Anime Pioneer: In my experience, this is indeed the case. Given her bad luck, how do you feel about her presence in this scene? call of Duty universe?
Mike Melby: I think it’s a wonderful collaboration. I find this interesting because most call of Duty The universe probably has no idea who she is. Graphically, I think the skins and DLC are very interesting. I could totally see her resuscitating a teammate to evacuate, then running into a mine and everyone but her surviving. I feel like that’s the treasure you’re going to have when you download that character. runner up.
Anime Herald: I could see things going the other way, she hits a mine and everyone dies but she.
Mike Melby: Both are in line with Opanchu’s fortune. The only thing that worries me is that she has a big head, so she has a wide field of view. Gem mirror shooting will bring her some misfortune. Then again, maybe when opponents see her, they won’t shoot her because she’s just too cute.
Animation Herald: Do you feel this way? Usagi in Opan Are spiritual descendants pop team epic?
Mike Melby: No, because those two girls are assholes. There is no meanness in her. They might be friends, but she’s definitely not the same person.
Animation Herald: What’s your origin story? How did you get into showbiz?
Mike Melby: I’ll try to be brief. My father was in the Navy, so I spent eleven years of my childhood in Korea and Japan. I fell in love with animation and comics in the early 90s. I don’t Transformers, Seaman, special forcesor Jem and the Holograms. I have Captain Tsubasa, doraemon, Anpanman, dragon ball, slam dunk. This is how I grew up.
My first job out of college was working for Viz Media. I’m helping them with comic and home video sales. I stayed there for about six years. Then I went to Chronicle Books, another book publisher in San Francisco. I’ve been hoping that they would acquire more Japanese media, but it hasn’t quite happened. This is very local entertainment. I was quickly recruited by Crunchyroll to help build their consumer products team. I spent six years there. I’m also consulting with the team.
I joined Octas about three years ago to help lead their licensing and sales efforts along with some former colleagues. James Shortino serves as chief executive officer. He is the president of Crunchyroll Japan. Victoria Holden is our Head of Brand Marketing. She has been Crunchyroll’s Head of Audience Development for over ten years. We make up the best/worst team in the anime industry, Octas. It’s really exciting.
My passion for anime started in childhood. Today, surprisingly it has become mainstream. In my early days at Viz, we would go to trade shows. People would look at us and say, “It’s those animation and manga people,” and then keep walking. Now it dominates everywhere. The collaboration with Western media, the brands that want to collaborate with the Japanese entertainment industry, it’s incredible. Viz, Crunchyroll and Funimation all played a big role in this. I’m excited about the opportunities I’ve had with all of these companies.
Animation Herald: What do you think is the key to the success of “KAWAISOUNI!”?
Mike Melby: I would say that in Japan, kawaii’s character space is everywhere. Very rich. What sets her apart is that not everything about her character is perfect. She created this fun kawaii craze that was pathetically cute. For Sanrio, everything is perfect, original and magical. In Opanchu, you can see her qualities, but it’s not all glitter and rainbows. Her daily life is relatable. This is why I like Opanchu. What is your relationship with Cinnamon Dew? What is your relationship with Rilakkuma? Maybe a little, because sometimes you want to be lazy, but with Opanchu, everyone has struggled in recent years. We have all been through a pandemic. I think with Opanchu, you love her because in the moment you’re with her, you can laugh about it. That’s what’s so great about the characters and storytelling of KAWAISOUNI! You can laugh it off and not worry about whether everything is perfect.
Animation Herald: I like this word, “poor and cute.”
Mike Melby: I want to be with KAWAISOUNI! Her humor spans cultures. if you are a fan rick and morty or fans family guyyou can also find qualities in the characters of KAWAISOUNI!
Animation Pioneer: I think Opanchu Usagi is not necessarily the King of Shit, but KAWAISOUNI! may be.
Mike Melby: Yes. I like this word. For us in the entertainment industry, we want something that makes you feel something, whether it’s laughing or cringing. This is why I like KAWAISOUNI!
Animation Herald: Do you have any questions for us?
Mike Melby: Yes. Related to KAWAISOUNI!, do you think her humor is suitable for Western audiences? Do you think she can have another one? Retsuko?
Animation Herald: I think it has a click-through rate. Some of her jokes were very popular. Some of these influences are different in the West than in the East, so some of them may not be encountered directly. But yeah, some of her stuff would be interesting.
Mike Melby: Do you think there’s still room for cuteness in Japan, or is it too much all at once?
Animation Herald: You have used the word “spectrum” before. I think there’s a lovely range of spaces. I think a lot of cuteness right now is focused on the feminine side. I do think there’s room for more cuteness on the masculine side. We see the growth of boy’s love, and yaoi and so on. When Old Man Yaoi hits, it’s a revelation. now we have Uncle likes cute things came out. I think there’s more room for that across the gender spectrum.
How did you get involved with KAWAISOUNI! ?
Mike Melby: Octas is an agency that manages multiple Japanese publishers and licensors. We provide all licensing, merchandising, e-commerce and event marketing for approximately 30 IPs. We cooperate with ITOCHU Corporation, which manages Usagi in Opan. We became their agent in America and Europe. We handle all their licensing and sales. Last year, we launched Opanchu Retailers like Hot Topic. Work with licensees like Bioworld, Wargames or Great Eastern to develop a range of amazing products.
Animation Herald: Do you feel like there are more doors open to you now than ten years ago?
Mike Melby: Absolutely. Retailers like Hot Topic are always willing to try something. They pay a lot of attention to Japanese pop culture. Their purchasing team and senior executives often travel to Japan to learn about fashion trends there. And then they’re going to bring a lot of those brands to the U.S., so it’s easy to have conversations with them. This is already on their radar.
What I’ve really enjoyed over the past few years are the emerging e-commerce brands that are building communities online. They focus on serving the community through Discord or direct marketplace. We see this with things like my violet or any means necessary. They don’t necessarily need other doors. They do a lot of fan service business.
Same as Los Angeles, Japan. Jamie (Rivadenera) has a very loyal and passionate fan base. So we’re working with a lot of these companies to bring Opanchu to market because they already understand the customer. We are also looking at other brick-and-mortar retail opportunities in fast fashion and high-end boutiques. I think America is more prepared. The question is how do we make things trend here like what happened in Japan? Usually we’re about a year or two behind.
Animation Herald: How long is your runway? How much time do you have left to prove yourself? If you get into a trending topic, how quickly do you have to pitch to them to show that they believe in you?
Mike Melby: I’d say they’ll know within eight to 12 weeks. Typically, you’ll start with clothing and quick-turnover items like enamel pins. Stickers are really popular. In Japan, puffy stickers. The craze has caught on here. This is a fast-moving and easy-to-enter category.
Plush takes a while. Development takes nine to twelve months. Typically, soft lines will fall here first. We will start to see plush toys in the fourth and first quarter of next year, and now we have multiple partners such as Max Limited, SK Japan and Great Eastern producing plush toys for us. I think this is a core category for kawaii character branding. Squishable, cute pieces. I’d say that’s close to half of sales.
Animation Herald: Wow! I thought clothing was going to be the dominant market, but apparently not.
Mike Melby: For animation IP, clothing often accounts for 50% of the copyright fee. Often, clothing is king. But when you think of Sanrio’s character brands, you think of coin purses, phone cases, charms and jewelry. I don’t think costumes are an important category in terms of character branding. But for anime, it’s the way to go. For character brands, plush toys account for a large portion of sales.
Animation Herald: Very cool. Thank you so much.
Mike Melby: Thanks.