Taiko no Tatsujin: Don Don Festival Adds Chiikawa Collaboration Pack
The Chiikawa collaboration brings one of Japan's most commercially pervasive character franchises into a long-running rhythm game, crossing a broad demographic audience with a dedicated arcade-adjacent player base.
Reporting from 2 sources: Inside, Anime Anime.
Bandai Namco Entertainment released a paid downloadable content collaboration pack for Taiko no Tatsujin: Don Don Festival on June 25, themed around the anime adaptation of Nagano's manga Chiikawa. The pack makes the song "Hitorigotsu ~Band Ver.~" playable and includes limited in-game items such as Chiikawa characters' puchi characters, collaboration name plates, and titles. The game is available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Alongside the DLC, a free update added the new song "Shanimuni Hanabi" as the second installment of the Taiko no Tatsujin 25th anniversary commemorative song project, a four-part plan to release new songs fulfilling Don-chan's dream of becoming a music producer. The song is described as conveying passion for immersing oneself in activities like Taiko no Tatsujin to overcome real-world hardships.
The collaboration pack is the first time Chiikawa characters have appeared in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. The DLC launched on June 25 and costs 660 yen. The pack includes puchi characters for Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi, along with name plates and titles themed around the series.
The free update adding "Shanimuni Hanabi" is part of a four-part 25th anniversary song project. Bandai Namco has not announced the release schedule for the remaining two songs. The song's title translates roughly to "Sparkling Fireworks" and its lyrics encourage players to channel their passion into the game as a way to push through difficult times.
Chiikawa began as a manga by illustrator Nagano, first posted on X (formerly Twitter) in 2020. The anime adaptation started airing in 2022 and has accumulated over 400 million total catch-up views on YouTube. The franchise's first film, "Movie Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island," is set for release on July 24.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.