This day, 99 years from now, was (will be?) Doraemon’s birthday! And to celebrate, Bandai has decided to loose this behemoth Doraemon doll on the world to delight fellow Doraemon fans and send small children screaming out of the room and directly to the therapist. Especially after you explain to them that, don’t worry, it’s just a time-traveling robot cat with magic powers. He’s basically an adorable anime Terminator!
As fans probably know, Doraemon is the titular character from a long running and culturally influential manga that started in 1969. Doraemon’s adorable features and the series’ light-hearted comedy and kid-friendliness have made the character a hit and the most popular feline in Japan second only to Hello Kitty.
This commemorative plush doll sits at about 110 cm high, putting him at Doraemon’s “real” height of 129.3 cm when standing; if the doll were capable of being put in a standing position.
You may want to put down that credit card before you make a rash decision, though: The privilege of make-believe dinner and tea parties with this life-sized plush will set you back 19,4250 yen (about US$2,000).
▼ Looking at the life-size version, we wonder how poor little Nobita-kun wasn’t absolutely horrified by this creature hanging around all the time.
The price is partly justified for super fans by the fact that each plush is apparently handcrafted to order and probably comes with a free Doraemon dinner plate or something. You can order your own at Bandai’s website, but it looks like shipping is Japan only. Probably for the best–customs would probably destroy it on sight.
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