An advertisement in a newspaper in November 2010, seeking sponsors for the heroes.
I was at a loss over what to spend today’s time killing post on, but then I got a suggestion from the guys on #sternbild chat to talk about the companies sponsoring the heroes. For placement of the advertisements on the hero suits, please refer to the official site.
WILD TIGER
SoftBank
A Japanese telecommunication and media corporation, operating on several fields such as broadband, e-commerce and mobile phone communications. It’s the official carrier for iPhone in Japan.
S.H.Figuarts
A line of figures produced by Bandai, launched in 2008.
BARNABY BROOKS JR.
Bandai
World’s third largest producer of toys, a member of Namco Bandai Group. It also produces video games and plastic model kits. (Sunrise is a subsidiary of Bandai.)
Crusade
A series of trading card games from Carddass, a subsidiary of Bandai.
Amazon.co.jp (since episode 7)
Amazon.com is a US-based multinational electronic commerce company. Barnaby is sponsored specifically by the Japanese Amazon site.
BLUE ROSE
Pepsi NEX
A zero calorie version of Pepsi developed by the Japanese brewing and distilling company Suntory. Producer Ozaki mentioned that they really wanted Suntory to sponsor Blue Rose, and that’s why the character got her hero name. (Suntory and Florigene developed the first genetically engineered rose with blue pigment.)
SKY HIGH
Ustream
A website offering livecasting and video streaming services. (Tiger & Bunny has its own Ustream channel available only in Japan, and each new episode airs simultaneously on Ustream and MBS.)
Tamashii Nations
Part of Namco Bandai, a webzine for figure collectors.
DRAGON KID
DMM.com
A popular site for online rental of movies and music in Japan.
Calbee
A major Japanese manufacturer of snack foods, also popular in the States.
ROCK BISON
Gyu-Kaku
A yakiniku (Korean barbeque) restaurant chain. It also has restaurants abroad and an English site. The name Gyu-Kaku means “bull’s horns” in Japanese.
FIRE EMBLEM
Fire Emblem’s original sponsor actually retreated when they discovered that the character was gay. Good thing there are companies with better judgement, because he got another sponsor for 2nd cour.
FMV
A brand of personal computers produced by Fujitsu.
Animate (since episode 14)
Animate is Japan’s largest retailer of game, anime and manga goods.
ORIGAMI CYCLONE
The real surprise for 2nd cour was the amount of new sponsors Origami Cyclone got, photo-bombing clearly pays off…
.Anime
Read “dot anime”, this is Bandai Visual’s official store. The products range from Blu-rays and DVDs to digital music downloads.
Takasu Clinic (since episode 14)
Takasu Clinic is a Japanese plastic and cosmetic surgery clinic, founded by Dr. Katsuya Takasu.
Namu Kyara Ouendan (since episode 14)
Namco Character Cheering Party are mascot characters that represent the 47 prefectures of Japan, appearing for example in store events. The original Namco was a well-known developer of arcade and video games until it merged with Bandai in 2005 and formed Namco Bandai Games with Bandai’s game development department. The company was since re-established to promote amusement parks and arcades in Japan.
Livedoor (since episode 14)
Japanese internet provider and portal site with a scandal ridden history.
This is Sternbild 
Now i’m curious to know which company didn’t sponsor on the grounds of “he’s gay”. Wonder if it’s regretting it now…
I don’t think we’ll ever find out, but they might be regretting it now that the show made it so big.
Would really like to know which company retreated from sponsoring Fire Emblem. They should be ashamed. Props to Fujitsu, now I like their products even more.
so, was the sponsorship secured before production or did they all sign on after? i wonder if the product placement was part corporate solicitation before this all aired and part artistic license by the animators. because if all the companies signed on before the airing, that’s a major coup considering everyone had such low expectations for the show.
Production started back in 2008 or 2009. The ad you see on top of this post was in a newspaper in November 2010, some 5 months before the show started airing, and at that point only one ad had been reserved.
Also, a number of advertisers are subsidiaries of Bandai or members of Namco Bandai Group. Sunrise, the studio that produces Tiger & Bunny, is also a subsidiary of Bandai.
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