Iconic character from Hayao Miyazaki anime is ready to terrify and/or charm you at mealtime.
Just about every Studio Ghibli anime features a plucky heroine who has an adventure, or at least a dramatic coming-of-age experience. Along the way, she generally meets a handsome, helpful young man who supports her without stealing the spotlight.
But though the myriad representatives of those twin Ghibli archetypes are always memorable, they usually don’t end up getting a lot of merchandise made in their images. No, Ghibli’s male and female leads are often too earnest and tightly bound to their film’s profound thematic ruminations to serve as inspirations for anime trinkets. That job falls instead to members of the supporting cast, such as Spirited Away’s unsettling yet endearing No Face.
In the past, we’ve seen No Face on a cool pattern-changing umbrella, and now he’s back as a delightful (or disturbing) soy sauce bottle.
Thankfully, unlike the No Face piggy bank we save our spare yen coinage in, the contents of the 1,980-yen (US$18) No Face soy sauce bottle aren’t disgorged through the character’s mouth. Instead, No Face demurely lets the soy sauce pour from his hands, mimicking his body language from when he initially offers gold coins to protagonist Chihiro in Spirited Away (and, in the process, encouraging anyone pouring soy to mimic his “Uhh…uhh” gasps).
But No Face isn’t done helping in the kitchen just yet. He’s also willing to lend a hand as an 800-yen rice scoop.
At a quick glance, it might appear to be just a chic, all-black scoop. But you’ll soon (and ironically) spot No Face’s face staring back at you. The scoop is self-standing, which means you can prop it up on your kitchen counter and freak out houseguests when they suddenly realize one of anime’s most famous monsters has his eyes on them.
And assuming you’re not having finger food, you’ll need some kind of utensils to enjoy your meal. If you’re using chopsticks, No Face can provide one more service for you by acting as a chopstick rest, in one of two forms. Joining No Face in this role are Spirited Away’s Otori-sama and Boh (in his mouse form).
▼ Each chopstick rest is priced at 900 yen.
All of these items will be available in September from Ghibli merchandise specialist Donguri Kyowakoku, so start planning what soy and rice-based dishes you’re going to make now.
Related: Donguri Kyowakoku online shop, location list
Source, images: PR Times
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