What this is
Animate Cafe's Gratte service — themed drinks, cookies, and ice cream sold at anime retail stores rather than a dedicated cafe — gets the Nintama Rantarō treatment across two rotating halves of a summer collaboration. Nintama Rantarō is a long-running NHK anime about bumbling ninja apprentices, beloved by generations of Japanese viewers since 1993, and this tie-in covers both its musical and stage play adaptations. The menu and bonus items refresh between the first half (July 24–August 26) and second half (August 27–September 29), giving fans a reason to visit twice.
Who should go
Nintama Rantarō fans, particularly those following the musical or stage play productions. Anime merchandise collectors who enjoy limited-run cafe collaborations will find the rotating bonus items worth tracking.
Good to know
Gratte is Animate's in-store drink and dessert service, not a standalone cafe — you order at a counter inside the Animate store, so browsing merchandise and grabbing a collaboration drink can be done in one visit. The Osaka location is Animate Nipponbashi, a short walk from Nipponbashi Station in Den Den Town, Osaka's electronics and anime district. Menu items and bonus goods differ by location — Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka Nipponbashi, and Okayama offer drinks and cookies only, while Shibuya, Kichijoji, Sendai, and Umeda also include ice cream. Bonus items typically come with a minimum spend and are distributed while supplies last, so arriving early in each half is advisable. Payment is generally by cash or card at Animate stores, though policies vary slightly by branch.
This event was sourced and translated from Japanese by What's On Japan. Details may change — verify with the official source before attending.