Trickcal Revive, the Game Where You Pull Characters' Cheeks, Is Getting a Short Anime in Korea

A game about pulling on cheeks

Trickcal Revive is a character-collecting RPG made by the Korean company EPID Games. It came out on the Korean App Store on September 27, 2023, and its age rating there is 12+.

According to the Korean App Store description, the game is set in a world that spreads out around a World Tree, and it has more than 100 characters with squishy cheeks. You bond with them by pulling their cheeks or patting them. The main and event stories are fully voiced in Korean, and a new character and story arrive every two weeks.

Even the overseas titles are about cheeks. The Japanese title contains mochi mochi hoppe, which means squishy cheeks, and the Chinese title, 嘟嘟脸恶作剧, includes a word for a chubby face. In English, the game is called Trickcal: Chibi Go.

Mondays at 8 p.m. on Laftel

The anime is titled 트릭컬 만화동산 (Trickcal Manhwa Dongsan). Laftel, a Korean anime streaming service, says it will release one episode for free every Monday, starting at 8 p.m. Korea time on September 28.

Laftel's listing files the show under slice of life and comedy. It also lists three of the game's characters along with their Korean voice actors.

According to the Korean games outlet Inven, EPID Games said in a third-anniversary special broadcast, released on September 18, that it was making an anime with a streaming service. It later announced that the show is being produced with Aniplus and Laftel and will run six episodes in total.

Watch episodes 1-3, post proof, enter the draw

Two events start alongside the anime. The first is a viewing event: between September 28 and October 18, watch episodes 1-3 on Laftel, then capture your viewing history or a scene you enjoyed and post it on the proof board of the game's official Naver Cafe.

Winners are drawn by lottery, with 11 people each getting an acrylic stand that sits on a monitor, a layered character keyring or a 'favorite roulette' keyring.

Photos in front of the Aniplus wall in Hapjeong

The second is a photo event. From September 28 to October 31, take a photo in front of the Aniplus building in Hapjeong, Seoul, whose outer wall is covered with the game's characters, or shoot yourself watching the anime, and post it on social media. You have to include all four hashtags: #트릭컬 #트릭컬만화동산 #트릭컬리바이브 #트릭컬숏애니.

Aniplus runs this event, and winners hear about it by DM from the Aniplus account. Posts from private accounts or posts missing the hashtags may not count. The prizes are three kinds of character goods, with 10 winners for each kind. The dates may change depending on how long the wall display stays up, and you can enter both events.

If picking just one favorite is the hardest part for you, try DoYouBox's Snack Bracket: Sweet 16. Sixteen convenience-store and street snacks face off, and you keep choosing until only one is left. If you want a message glowing on your phone for your photo, there is LED Sign: type anything and it scrolls across the screen like a lit-up sign. Both are made by DoYouBox and have nothing to do with Trickcal.