Following the incredibly viral name drop of Kuantan in Jujutsu Kaisen by Kento Nanami, the Pahang government is interested in officially partnering with the anime to promote its beaches.
According to The Star, state Unity, Tourism and Culture committee chairman Leong Yu Man said her office was trying to contact Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege about some sort of collaboration.
“We hope the creators of the anime can endorse the beach further so that it will be a tourist attraction for anime fans across the world,” she said.
Malaysian social media was abuzz after the release of the episode, in which Nanami fantasizes about going to Kuantan, Pahang before he’s unfortunately offed.
Some fans had even put together a waypoint on Google Maps to a “Kento Nanami Memorial” while many more fans made their own edits of the Jujutsu Sorcerer getting to feel the sand between his toes.
It’s not uncommon for anime to drive tourism- Zombieland Saga infamously drove an increase of traffic to the Saga prefecture, hilariously imitating the premise of the show itself.
Meanwhile, Pokemon had collaborated with local governments via their manhole project, decorating cities with related Pokemon manhole covers.
Similarly, games like The World Ends With You and Persona 5 are almost synonymous with Shibuya, often featuring near-identical recreations of iconic locations like the Scramble crossing.