It’s like a fidget spinner, but amped up by about 1,000 percent.
As one of the world’s most popular Japanese characters, Hello Kitty has mountains of merchandise on the market. Between home and kitchen goods, fashion items, foodstuffs, and of course, toys and keychains, Hello Kitty fans are likely able to furnish and supply their entire house with Hello Kitty merchandise. And why not?
But with so many products coming out all the time, there are bound to be some strange items out there. Take the Hello Kitty Happy Morijo Set, which is a Hello Kitty decorated set of spiritually purifying salts. A little bizarre, but with a purpose, at least. What we can’t figure out the purpose of is this ridiculous Hello Kitty toy that author and netizen Souhei Wakusaka (@wakusaka) picked up in Vietnam:
▼ “Look! I bought this toy in Vietnam. I have no idea what they were thinking when they designed it. Sound is a must!”
「どんな企画書を書いて開発したんだ」という玩具をベトナムで買ったから、見て。必ず音アリで見て pic.twitter.com/eITGwhR89j
— ワクサカソウヘイ 新刊『出セイカツ記』(河出書房新社) (@wakusaka) March 4, 2019
The toy looks normal enough. It’s Hello Kitty’s usual cute face, with the red ribbon on her right ear. There’s some weird cylindrical thing coming out of her head, but it’s easily ignored. Then Wakusaka pushes a button at the top of the cylinder and Hello Kitty’s head launches onto the ground, transforming into some kind of spinning disco ball of flashing lights as it plays the synthwave intro to Axel F, the theme song to the 1980’s film Beverly Hills Cop.
Why? For whom? And for what purpose? That, we cannot say. Hello Kitty has been known to take on the role of a police officer, but a disco ball is probably something she’s never tried before. We can’t say we hate it, though. The ’80s synthwave played at super speed with its weird dubstep intervals, coupled with the spinning head’s bright flashing lights mysteriously make us want to party, in spite of the fact that any trace of Hello Kitty disappears once her head starts spinning.
Perhaps the best part is the end, when the spinning runs out of momentum, and the music just sputters out as the head slowly spins to a stop, once again returning to view the cute, innocent Hello Kitty features. We’re left feeling like we just experienced something inexplicably profound, while at the same time like something was taken from us when the music stopped.
It’s a deep experience, one also appreciated by Japanese netizens:
“What have they done to our Hello Kitty?”
“This is why people say that Hello Kitty can’t say no to a job.”
“Why is the ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘ theme song playing to a Hello Kitty toy?”
“All of my exhaustion from work seems ridiculous now. Thank you very much.”
“I think I want one.”
“I don’t understand why it’s Hello Kitty’s head.”
“Sanrio must be thinking, ‘What the heck is this?!'”
By the way, there is also a Doraemon version playing the same song, and a Pikachu version that sings its own catchy Pikachu techno rap, which should not, by any means, be missed. These were bought in Taiwan, and there were apparently other characters available too, so these little gems can probably be found across East and Southeast Asia.
https://twitter.com/Tenyearsgone03/status/864117368112283649Yes, it seems that Hello Kitty really can’t so no to a job, otherwise she might have said no to being subjected to this. Either way though, we’re glad it exists, and can’t wait to get our hands on one ourselves.
Source: Twitter/@wakusaka via Hamster Sokuhou
Featured Image: Twitter/@wakusaka

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