Key Takeaways
- MLB launches "Heroes of the Game," transforming top players into anime characters for its 2025 brand campaign.
- Wieden+Kennedy and Hiroshi Shimizu bring the vision to life, blending live action with hand-drawn animation.
- By integrating anime into its marketing, MLB is positioning itself to capture a larger international audience, particularly in Japan.
Major League Baseball (MLB) brings a new dimension to its 2025 season with "Heroes of the Game," a campaign that reimagines the league's biggest athletes in anime form.
Developed by advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the effort brings together top-tier animation talent, including Passion Pictures, Echelle Studios, and renowned director Hiroshi Shimizu.
Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge lead the campaign as animated versions of themselves, embodying their unique strengths through the lens of Japanese animation.
Every scene in our #HeroesOfTheGame film was hand-drawn, resulting in hundreds of sketches of Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto 📝
— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2025
MLB teamed up with Director Hiroshi Shimizu, Executive Producer Eddie Mahong and a team of anime artists to create the epic… https://t.co/T5Dyy3psGrpic.twitter.com/23wvhDnAnD
According to a press release, the project fuses live-action footage with hand-drawn anime sequences, a technique that MLB plans to extend across its social platforms for in-game moments throughout the season.
J-Pop artist Ado, known for her work in "One Piece," provided the campaign's musical score.
As part of MLB's broader "Baseball is Something Else" initiative, the campaign will appear across MLB Network, MLB.TV, digital OOH placements, and social media throughout the season.
MLB is swinging for the fences with its new anime initiative, proving that great brand storytelling thrives at the intersection of sports and pop culture.
By blending baseball with Japan's beloved animation style, the league is scoring big with global fans and younger audiences.
Bringing the Energy of Anime to the MLB Stage
Beyond digital content, MLB is making a major real-world push for the campaign.
A large-scale celebration will take place outside MLB Headquarters in New York on March 27.
Fans can check out life-size baseball cards of nine stars, including Ohtani, Judge, Soto, Skenes, Ronald Acuña Jr., Jose Altuve, Bryce Harper, Julio Rodríguez, and Mike Trout.
The campaign follows the momentum of the Tokyo Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs played to sold-out crowds in Japan.
Welcome to #HeroesOfTheGame
— MLB (@MLB) March 26, 2025
An anime journey featuring Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto
MLB teamed up with anime artists whose credits range from One Piece to Fullmetal Alchemist, and director Hiroshi Shimizu to create the films. Every scene was hand-drawn… pic.twitter.com/tdwoAuMmuH
Key out-of-home video placements will appear in major global locations, including Shibuya (Tokyo), Times Square (New York), Museo Soumaya (Mexico City), and Flannels Flagship Store (London).
Meanwhile, additional player-centric films are in development, ensuring the series extends throughout the 2025 season.
Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani also debuted on bottles of ITO EN's Oi Oicha earlier this week, building on his status as a household name.
