Subaru Can Badge from Wish Upon the Pleiades: A Guide for Collectors
What You’re Looking At: The Badge and the Series
This is an official licensed can badge featuring Subaru, the main character of Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japan as Houkago no Pleiades), an anime produced by the legendary studio GAINAX. A can badge is a round, flat pin with a safety-pin clasp on the back — one of the most common and beloved formats for anime merchandise in Japan. This particular badge shows Subaru against a soft pink background scattered with white sparkles, her uniform rendered in white and navy with a pink ribbon and a distinctive gold star emblem at her chest. A vertical title band runs along the left edge in white Japanese text. Copyright markings visible on the badge read “©G/PP,” indicating GAINAX and the series’ production committee.
The actual manufacturer of the badge cannot be confirmed from the item alone — Japanese licensed merchandise of this type is commonly produced by companies such as Movic, Broccoli, Gift, or Cospa. Based on the copyright format, the badge most likely originates from the period surrounding the TV anime broadcast in 2015, though a connection to the earlier 2011 net anime release cannot be entirely ruled out.
The Story Behind the Series and Its Unusual Origins
Wish Upon the Pleiades has one of the more unusual origin stories in modern anime. It began in 2011 as a four-episode original net animation released free on YouTube — produced by GAINAX in direct collaboration with the automaker Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries). This corporate tie-in was genuinely rare for the medium, and the series is remembered as a distinctive moment in anime history because of it.
In 2015, the property was revisited and expanded into a full 13-episode television series, which aired from April through June of that year and was streamed internationally on Crunchyroll with English subtitles. The series blends magical-girl storytelling with science fiction themes centered on stars and space. The main character, Subaru, takes her name directly from the Japanese word for the Pleiades star cluster — the same cluster represented by Subaru the automaker’s six-star logo. That layering of meaning, from astronomy to character identity to corporate branding, is woven deliberately throughout the series.
Subaru herself is depicted with pink hair and brown eyes, and the gold star emblem on her uniform connects to the magical core of the show’s mythology. The “Pleiades club” uniform she wears on this badge is her signature look throughout the series.
Why International Collectors Take Interest
GAINAX built its international reputation through titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and FLCL, and fans who collect across the studio’s catalog naturally extend that interest to Wish Upon the Pleiades. The series also holds appeal for fans of the magical-girl genre, given Subaru’s classic visual design and the star-heavy aesthetic that runs through the show.
Can badges in Japan are sold primarily through anime specialty retailers, event venues like Comiket and Anime Japan, and limited event-only channels. They are produced for the domestic market, and no formal international distribution exists for most releases. For collectors outside Japan, obtaining officially licensed merchandise from this series means sourcing it through import or the secondary market.
Price: $15.29 | View on eBay
