Movies like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro feature in the exclusive new collection.
Japan’s Donguri Kyowakoku retail chain has been making dreams come true for fans of Studio Ghibli anime films over the years with official merchandise ranging from Baby-G watches through to burping No Face piggy banks.
Now the company’s retail stores will be stocking a brand new lineup of never-before-seen clocks featuring well-known characters from five of Ghibli’s most famous movies. Designed to be enjoyed from any angle, these three-dimensional table clocks capture the beauty of the animated world of Ghibli with motifs from Princess Mononoke, My Neighbour Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
The My Neighbour Totoro design (4,800 yen [US$43.88]) replicates the Dondoko Odori scene from the classic 1988 movie, where star character Totoro and two smaller Totoro friends help newly planted seeds grow into fresh sprouts and then tall, towering trees.
▼ The sprouting shoots also appear on the face of the clock itself.
The Kiki’s Delivery Service clock (4,500 yen) is dubbed “Jiji and Stuffed Toy Jiji“, after the scene from the 1989 film where Kiki’s talking cat Jiji pretends to be a stuffed toy cat for a boy’s birthday gift.
Kiki’s dark features are joined by Roman numerals that tie in with the Western-themed setting of the film.
The Spirited Away desk clock (4,000 yen) pays homage to Boh, the infant son of Yubaba from the 2001 hit movie. While Boh plays a supporting role in the film, his character leaves a mark on audiences with an impressive arc of personal growth in the narrative, transforming from a large spoiled baby to a chubby mouse before returning to his human form with more kindness for the star character of Chihiro.
The clock face has the character name “Boh” in large font, with kanji characters for the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac standing in as the numbers on the clock.
The Princess Mononoke clock (4,500 yen) pays homage to the mask of main character San, who also goes by the name Princess Mononoke or “Wolf Girl,” due to the fact that she was raised by wolves. The clock features motifs from the film that include the white fur of Moro, the god of the wolves, along with San’s spear and a kodama forest spirit.
▼ San’s iconic mask features on the clock face.
The Laputa clock (5,800 yen) is beautifully named “Hope of the Robot Soldier“. Featuring a bust of the benevolent robot soldier from Laputa, the Castle in the Sky, this gorgeous clock reminds us of both the tragic destruction seen in the film, and the happy ending where the robot lives on, tending to the flora and fauna in its natural environment.
The mark seen on the levitation stone from the film appears on the clock face, in a steampunk design in line with the tone of the movie.
The first three clocks in the list above go on sale at Donguri Kyowakoku stores around Japan from the end of December, after which time they’ll be joined by the last two clocks in the list from January.
And for those wanting to add some more Ghibli merchandise to their collection, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the store’s annual fukubukuro lucky bags on 1 January, which come packed with goods at discounted prices.
Source, images: PR Times
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