Crunchyroll made its presence known at SXSW with its first activation of the weekend: Sentenced to be A Hero: Teoritta Doll Activation. Set up inside the Omni Hotel, it was perfectly placed for attendees like me who stopped in to pick up their badges but unexpectedly discovered a new anime to add to their watchlists.
Inside the hotel’s lobby atrium stood a large anime doll with bright yellow hair and shining red eyes. This doll was a life-sized depiction of the goddess Teoritta from Crunchyroll’s newest anime, Sentenced to be A Hero.
I stepped closer to admire the detail the creators put into making the animatronic so lifelike when I suddenly began to hear sounds.
The woman assisting with the activation told me this was Teoritta asking for pats on her head. I didn’t want to disrespect the goddess, so naturally, I obliged. I turned to walk away and explore more, but more sounds came from her direction.
I realized that she wasn’t simply asking for pats, she was demanding them. Subtitles on a screen above her translated what she was saying, most of which involved insisting on more praise.
I later learned this is the character’s way of demanding the praise she deserves through constant head pats.
What could have been an eerie animatronic encounter ended up being something very cute and wholesome. It was a clever way to draw in attendees unfamiliar with the anime, leaving them genuinely curious to check out the series.
Now, one of my fondest memories of SXSW weekend is patting a goddess on the head.
Sentenced to Be A Hero is now streaming exclusively on Crunchyroll.
📸 by Samantha Ysaguirre
Cover 📸 by Cesar Soto
