Canva enters its anime era with tale of music and community

Canva Japan has launched its first-ever fully animated television commercial, leaning into anime-inspired storytelling and music to showcase how creativity can bring communities together.

Titled “Beside your feelings: The blue sea shopping street”, the campaign is airing nationwide in Japan and follows the story of Natsuki, a young musician who returns to her coastal hometown only to discover that the shopping street she grew up with is slowly disappearing.

Determined to revive the area, Natsuki reunites with her childhood friend Minami and uses Canva to create recruitment flyers, posters, presentations, videos and social media content to rally local residents around a community revitalisation effort.

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The pair are later joined by Misaki, a fishing YouTuber, with the trio forming a band that helps transform the initiative into a town-wide movement centred on creativity, collaboration and local pride.

Set to Hump Back’s anthem Haikei, Shonen Yo and featuring voice actor Kaori Maeda as Natsuki, the campaign explores the aspirations and challenges of young people seeking to make a positive impact in the communities they care about.

Directed by filmmaker Toshitaka Shinoda, the campaign marks Canva Japan’s most ambitious brand initiative to date and reflects the platform’s growing presence among individuals, creators and communities looking to bring their ideas to life.

The film culminates with a letter designed by Minami in Canva, underscoring the campaign’s central message that creativity is not only about producing something visually appealing, but also about helping people communicate what matters most. The campaign closes with the tagline, “Canva. For every feeling worth sharing.”

Available as a 30-second television commercial and a three-minute web-exclusive animated film, the campaign uses anime’s distinctive visual language and emotional storytelling to reinforce Canva’s positioning as a platform that empowers people to turn ideas into action.

According to Canva Japan, the campaign is designed around the belief that creativity can serve as a catalyst for connection, momentum and change when people are equipped with the right tools to express themselves.

“Some of the most meaningful ideas start small: a conversation between friends, a handwritten note, a poster pinned to a wall. This campaign is a celebration of those moments. It’s about the courage to care deeply about something and invite others to care alongside you,” said Asumi Yamayoshi, brand marketing lead, Canva Japan

She added, “Through creativity, ordinary people can spark extraordinary change, whether that’s revitalising a local community, bringing a dream back to life, or simply helping someone feel seen. That’s the story we wanted to tell, and it’s the role we hope Canva can play in people’s lives every day.”

The campaign comes as Canva continues to explore unconventional storytelling to reinforce its creativity-first positioning. In May, the company rolled out “The thing that makes anything a thing“, a global brand campaign that began with the appearance of a giant, unbranded squirrel statue in New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The activation was accompanied by a fictional “Squirrelites” movement, complete with knitting circles, squirrel-themed performances, billboards, social content and influencer activity that fuelled public speculation before Canva revealed itself as the mastermind behind the stunt.

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