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Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends Anime's TV Ad Streamed

Bandai Japan began streaming a 30-second commercial on Thursday for the anime series Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends, which also began airing on Thursday. Chiwa Saitō and Emiri Katō narrate the ad as main characters Miraitchi and Kururutchi.

The story follows twins Miraitchi and Kururutchi as they travel from the future back in time to modern-day Dream Town. (Their names are a wordplay on the Japanese words for "future" and "miracle.") To get back to the future, they must collect all eight Dreambakutchi — mysterious Tamagotchi who have escaped throughout the town. Mametchi joins the twins on their mission to find the Dreambakutchi, but then, an enigmatic Tamagotchi named X-Kamen (X-Mask) appears.

Director Jōji Shimura and head writer Aya Matsui return from the previous two Tamagotchi series at the anime studio OLM. Rie Kugimiya returns as Mametchi, one of the Tamagotchi creatures who live in Dream Town.

Bandai launched the Tamagotchi franchise in 1996 and sold about 40 million virtual pets in that first batch. The company then revived the brand in 2004 and sold more than 38 million more Tamagotchis, 1.72 million of them in the Tamagotchi iD line that launched in 2009.

The first two Tamagotchi television anime series were the 1997-1998 Anime TV de Hakken! Tamagotchi television series and the 2007-2008 Saikō! Tamagotchi television series (which Bandai is still streaming in seven languages on You Tube). There were also the 1997 Tamagotchi Honto no Hanashi theatrical short, the 2007 Eiga de Tōjō! Tamagotchi Doki Doki! Uchū no Maigotchi!? feature film, and the 2008 Eiga! Tamagotchi Uchū Ichi Happy na Monogatari!? feature.

After Bandai revived the franchise in 2004, a new Tamagotchi! television anime premiered in 2009. The current Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream television anime followed in 2012.