{"id":4354,"date":"2026-02-05T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4354"},"modified":"2026-02-05T07:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:00:33","slug":"mcdonalds-japan-partners-with-anime-english-teacher-but-did-they-commit-a-cultural-errorvideo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4354","title":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s Japan partners with anime English teacher, but did they commit a cultural error?[Video]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ellen-sensei is the latest otaku spokesperson for McDonald\u2019s, but there\u2019s one organization she\u2019d never endorse<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s Japan<\/strong> has been warmly embracing otaku culture as of late. Tie-ups with mega-hits such as Dragon Quest<\/em><\/a> and Pok\u00e9mon<\/em><\/a> seem like obvious fits, but the fast food giant has also shown that it\u2019s comfortable with franchises a little farther outside the family-focused mainstream, such as Evangelion<\/em><\/a> and Kimagure Orange Road<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

But McDonald\u2019s Japan is going especially deep into the otaku icon roster today, as their latest spokesperson is none other than Ellen Baker!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You see, with McDonald\u2019s Japan getting set to launch a trio of new sandwiches collectively called the \u201cNew York Burgers\u201d<\/strong> line, they wanted to recruit a famous anime character who\u2019s an American, and Ms. Baker was apparently very enthusiastic about the opportunity, as can be seen in the video below.<\/p>\n

\n

N.Y.\u30d0\u30fc\u30ac\u30fc\u30ba\u306e\u304a\u796d\u308a\u306f\u3058\u307e\u3063\u305f\uff01 pic.twitter.com\/EWQgH5VxLV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u30de\u30af\u30c9\u30ca\u30eb\u30c9 (@McDonaldsJapan) February 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, while she definitely has the aesthetics to have started off as an anime character, Ellen doesn\u2019t originally hail from a Japanese animated series. She didn\u2019t make her debut in manga or video game either<\/strong>. No, Ellen, or Ellen-sensei<\/strong>, as fans call her, rose to fame by appearing in an English-learning textbook used in Japanese schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ellen\u2019s popularity began skyrocketing a few years back when images of the anime-style illustrations in a new edition of publisher Tokyo Shoseki\u2019s New Horizons <\/strong>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<\/strong>, which is why she can be seen holding a bat and ball while introducing McDonald\u2019s Japan\u2019s New York Juicy Chicken Hot and Pepper, New York Thick Beef Patty Pepper and Beef Saut\u00e9, and New York Tarutaru Shrimp Garlic and Basil<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out that these sandwiches aren\u2019t really indicative of New York or McDonald\u2019s American menu, and the theming tends to mainly stem from the conception that \u201cAmericans really like meat and fried food.\u201d Also kind of pseudo-American is Ellen\u2019s on-screen \u201cHere you are\u201d<\/strong> as she extends a New York Thick Beef Patty Pepper and Beef Saut\u00e9 for you to try a bite of. Odds are McDonald\u2019s was trying to translate the Japanese word douzo<\/em>, which is similar to \u201cplease, go ahead\u201d but in this context would be more naturally rendered as \u201cGo on, try it.\u201d Douzo<\/em> is also used by restaurant workers when serving food to diners, though, which is probably why Ellen says \u201cHere you are\u201d in the video.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the other hand, full marks for the use of \u201cI\u2019m full\u201d<\/strong> after Ellen chows down on three combo meals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s something that, to many Americans, will be even more jarring the linguistic or culinary curiosities<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And with this being a promotion for the New York Burgers, of course McDonald\u2019s wanted Ellen\u2019s batting helmet to sport the city\u2019s initials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: Ellen\u2019s backstory isn\u2019t just that she\u2019s from America. In her New Horizons<\/em> self-introduction, she informs her students that she\u2019s from Boston<\/strong>, and when one of them asks if she\u2019s a Red Sox fan, she says \u201cYes, I am\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u30a8\u30ec\u30f3\u30d9\u30fc\u30ab\u30fc\u5148\u751f\u3068\u8a00\u3063\u305f\u3089\u3053\u308c\u3063\u3066\u3084\u3064\u304c\u3042\u3063\u3066\u826f\u304b\u3063\u305fw pic.twitter.com\/qxVi3d7v4S<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u3059\u3053\u3059\u3053\u4f8d\u3000\u30d6\u30eb\u30a2\u30ab\u3075\u3047\u30592\u65e5\u76ee\u3060\u3051\u306b\u5909\u66f4 (@KZK04108752) February 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For pretty much their entire existence, the Boston Red Sox\u2019 most hated rivals have been the New York Yankees<\/strong>, with more than a century\u2019s worth of bad blood between the teams.\u00a0Knowing that, the cynical way to look at Ellen\u2019s attire in the video would be to say that McDonald\u2019s made a mistake, or maybe even than Ellen sold out. However, while the helmet she wears has \u201cN.Y.\u201d written on it, it\u2019s a different N.Y. from the one used by the Yankees for their uniforms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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\u2019s said they wanted her to wear a New York helmet, she put her foot down and said she\u2019d only do the video if they designed a completely different N.Y. logo. After all, she\u2019s a teacher, which means she\u2019s supposed to be a role model for young kids, and so she obviously wouldn\u2019t feel right encouraging anyone to root for the Yankees.<\/p>\n

Source: Twitter\/@McDonaldsJapan<\/a> via Hachima Kiko<\/a><\/em>
\nImages: Twitter\/@McDonaldsJapan<\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ellen-sensei is the latest otaku spokesperson for McDonald\u2019s, but there\u2019s one organization she\u2019d never endorse. McDonald\u2019s Japan has been warmly embracing otaku culture as of late. Tie-ups with mega-hits such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}