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Love is in the air, and this Valentine’s Day, Blue Archive is here to steal your heart! Yukari, Kikyo, and Izuna are ready to be your ultimate Valentine squad, bringing a mix of charm, mischief, and sweetness to the celebration by giving out honmei choco. Wait, shouldn’t they be the ones receiving the love?
 
In Japan, Valentine’s Day flips the script: guys are the ones showered with chocolates. This tradition started back in the 1950s, thanks to a genius marketing move by a candy company. One month later on White Day, guys who received chocolates are expected to reciprocate the gesture. As a holiday created solely to increase spending, not all chocolate is equal.

Giri choco or obligatory chocolate is given to co-workers, bosses, and acquaintances out of appreciation and politeness. Tomo choco is given to friends and people you actually want to be around while the special someone in your life receives honmei choco, true feeling chocolates.

Of course, this holiday has spilled into an integral part of merchandising and sales for the anime industry. Around Tokyo you can find many, many pop up shops, collab cafes and various campaigns leaning into the valentines day spirit. In the otaku capital of the world, Akihabara, this also means receiving that coveted honmei choco from your favorite characters. As has become tradition, a valentines chocolate handout event is being held this year with Blue Archive as the focus.

Prior to Covid, these events required lining up well in advance and fighting through hordes of otaku to secure your prize. Now, these are done through a lottery system so the chaos should be a lot less. What is all the hype for? Literally just a piece of chocolate and a special limited postcard. Cosplayers of Yukari, Kikyo, and Izuna will also be there and likely assist with the chocolate distribution.

If you find yourself alone and in the Tokyo area this February 14th, head to Akihabara’s Atre store and see what's going on. It may be too late to apply for the choco lottery but you can always take a peek at the cosplayers and the pop up store which is also being held should be free entry.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you for reading!