001

Cats love cardboard boxes, so why not combine the two and create a cute new lineup of adorable characters?

Everyone knows that cats and cardboard boxes automatically means cute, hilarious, fun times. So it really was just a matter of time before Danbo, the cardboard box robot character from popular manga series Yotsuba&! spawned a veritable litter of pointy-eared feline friends in the form of cute figurines.

▼ While Danbo has been melting hearts around the world since he first appeared in the manga in 2006, the cat characters created in his distinctive shape only came into the world late last year.

3

The first 10-piece figure collection featured a variety of breeds and colours, including brown calico, grey-and-white, black, orange calico, tabby, and black-and-white. There’s also a “normal” version that comes in cardboard brown.

6

A second collection has just been released, complete with a cute collar-and-bell design around the kitties’ necks.

2

▼ There are also new Persian and Siamese varieties.

7

While Danbo takes his name from danboru, the Japanese word for cardboard, the cute cats are known as Nyanbo, which is an amalgamation of the words nyan (meow) and danboru. Given the popularity of the toys, it’s now time for a cardboard cat to star in his very own anime series, with Shirogumi Inc., the producers of the 2014 Stand By Me Doraemon movie, developing the new project.

001

Called Nyanbo!, the anime will air on Tuesdays at 6:40 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. on NHK-E TV, starting this October. While details regarding the cast and storyline are yet to be revealed, with each episode being five minutes long, there are sure to be lots of cute moments packed into each adventure!

Source: Culture Lab, Mantan Web (h/t Anime News Network)
Top image: Twitter/@SENTINELcoltd
Insert images: Amazon Japan/Sentinel, Amazon Japan/Sentinel