"Minions & Monsters" Film Collaborates with Manga Artist Natsumi Eguchi! Special Cards Themed on the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons to Be Given Away

To celebrate the Japanese release of the film "Minions & Monsters," a newly drawn collaboration illustration has been unveiled, created by manga artist Natsumi Eguchi, who continues to depict a truly unique world of the afterlife and yokai in works such as "Hozuki's Coolheadedness" and "Dekin no Mogura: The Earthbound Mole."

The "Despicable Me" and "Minions" franchise is a "monster"-class animated film series with a cumulative worldwide box office of $5.6 billion (approximately 890 billion yen). Four years after "Minions: The Rise of Gru," which topped the box office rankings for foreign animated films released in Japan in 2022, the Minions return to the big screen as the stars of this hit franchise's latest installment, "Minions & Monsters," opening nationwide on August 7.

Eguchi took the manga world by storm with her signature work "Hozuki's Coolheadedness," a comical depiction of daily life in the Japanese hell that has sold over 15 million copies, and she is currently serializing "Dekin no Mogura: The Earthbound Mole," about a hero who confronts otherworldly threats caught between this world and the next. She is a top creator in the contemporary manga world, unrivaled when it comes to depicting yokai, ghosts, and Japanese-style comedy.

The newly unveiled illustration is a playful piece in which Eguchi has drawn the Minions and monsters from the latest film, themed on the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, a legend passed down in Japan since ancient times, since yokai are the quintessential Japanese monster. Under a brilliantly shining full moon, James, Henry, and Ed, the Minions who serve as the film's protagonists, are attempting to film a movie from atop a pine tree. Gathered in front of their camera is a colorful cast of characters, including Goomi, a small and adorable green monster, and Dort, a new candidate to become the boss of the Minions in their scheme to invade Earth. The illustration, in which Minions dressed in kimono and traditional wide-brimmed hats not usually seen elsewhere blend harmoniously with Eguchi's meticulous and richly textured Japanese-style brushwork, conveys a sense of anticipation for the big commotion to be depicted in the latest film.

It has also been decided that special cards featuring this collaboration illustration will be given away as a limited-quantity gift to moviegoers starting August 7, the release date of "Minions & Monsters" (excluded at some theaters). Transit advertising featuring the collaboration illustration is also scheduled to be rolled out going forward.

In addition, to commemorate this collaboration, Eguchi has sent in comments about her feelings toward the "Minions" series and the care she took in creating the newly drawn illustration.