Will you be paying by cash, check, or anime magical girl plastic?
In Japan, the cash-averse anime fan can already pay for purchases with a Pokémon or Attack on Titan Visa card. Now Japanese credit service provider JCB has decided to enter the world of otaku finance with an anime-themed card of its own.
With Pikachu and Captain Levi on their side, Visa has already scored endorsements from arguably the biggest stars of children’s and action anime, but JCB now has the medium’s most famous magical girl in its corner with its new Sailor Moon credit card.
Emblazoned with a saluting Sailor Moon, the credit card also doubles as a T-Card, Japan’s most widely used rewards card. Originally a membership card for video rental chain Tsutaya, customers at various convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and gas stations in Japan can also accumulate points, or use them for discounts, when making purchases.
One might argue, though, that while Sailor Moon does a fine job protecting humanity from evil monsters, her perpetually scatterbrained nature makes her a less appropriate champion of personal finance than, say, the studious Sailor Mercury or self-reliant Sailor Jupiter. By working part-time at her family’s shrine, Sailors Mars also shows much more industriousness than the titular heroine. Thankfully, although unintentionally, these three Sailor Senshi are at least present in sprit on the Sailor Moon credit card, in the form of their image colors.
▼ As luck would have it, JCB’s blue, red, and green logo matches perfectly with the order in which Sailor Moon meets Sailors Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, whose uniforms are correspondingly colored.
Meanwhile, if you’re committed to cash, there’s also a non-credit card T-Card with the anime’s five-member core cast shown in silhouette.
Holders of either Sailor Moon T-Card can also redeem their accumulated points for exclusive merchandise such as mirrors or chopsticks inspired by the franchise.
JCB will begin issuing the Sailor Moon credit card on April 1, while the non-credit Sailor Moon T-Card is available right now. Applications can be made at Tsutaya locations or online here.
Follow Casey on Twitter, where it’s only a matter of time until he reveals more reasons Sailor Jupiter is the series’ best character.
Source: Nijimen
Top image: Sailor Moon official website
Insert images: Sailor Moon official website, T-Site (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)
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