For the most part, people in Japan take pride in being well-groomed. Skin care gets particular priority, and individuals especially concerned about looking their best carry around packs of oil-blotting papers called abura torigami. When you don’t want to wait until you get home to wash a day’s worth of grime off your face, they’re handy little things, and we mean that literally.
Abura torigami tend to be pretty small, so much so that you’ll usually see people stretching them out with both hands to get the maximum use out of the precious surface area each one offers. Granted, this looks dainty and adorable when a cute girl does it. Other people, though, such as the RocketNews24 male writing team, are far too ruggedly handsome to ever be considered “cute.” Are there no larger abura torigami for the rest of us?
Indeed there are, thanks to a tie-up with anime smash hit Attack on Titan.
While Tokyo’s biannual Comiket routinely gets more attention, Kyoto has its own manga extravaganza, the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair. This year’s event will be held on September 8 and 9 at the Miyako Messe convention center, where attendees will have the chance to purchase a number of unique, limited-edition pieces of manga and anime merchandise.
As the current darling of fans around the world, it’s no surprise that some Attack on Titan goodies will be on offer, too. We’ve already seen titan-themed coffee mugs to help you relax and tights to keep you warm, but the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair is your chance to pick up some Attack on Titan-themed abura torigami.
▼ Translation: “I’ll drive out every last drop of oil from this face!”
More cynical observers might imagine this is nothing more than a low-concept cash grab of slapping a special Attack on Titan illustration onto a pack of everyday abura torigai. On the contrary, not only are the papers titan-themed, they’re titan–sized as well.
▼ Before….
▼ ….and after
Produced by Kyoto-headquartered beauty supply manufacturer Kamiya, the Attack on Titan papers are 33 times the size of regular abura torigami. Measuring 32 by 50 centimeters, (12.6 inches by 19.7 inches) they’re just the right size for the fashion-conscious titan who’s worried about the greasy buildup on his or her face that naturally comes from munching on messy humans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
A pack of 30 sheets of Attack on Titan abura torigami goes for 4,900 yen (US$49). Pricy, but you could always economize by cutting them up into smaller pieces as need be.
If for some reason you’re not self-conscious about cleaning your face with a giant piece of cosmetic butcher paper, but somehow still feel silly pulling one out of an anime-styled package, you can also purchase the extra-large papers from Kamiya in a case adorned with the company’s traditional kitty mascot.
These are available in a bundle of 80, but at 11,880 yen, carry a premium of 2,080 yen over an identical quantity of the Attack on Titan version.
You know, maybe we’ve got the titans all wrong. If they’re doing something to save us a few bucks, can they really be that bad? Perhaps we’re not so different after all. Now if they’d just stop trying to eat us…
Source: IT Media
Insert images: Kamiya, Lovesoku