Ever wondered what literary greats like Natsume Soseki and Osamu Dazai would look like as felines?

Just when we thought we’d seen just about everything in gacha capsule toy form, Japan has proved us wrong yet again, this time with the release of a new range called “Bungo Neko“, or “Literary Master Cats“.

Created by the masterminds over at Content Studio Chocolate Inc., the new collection presents some of the country’s greatest-ever writers in a form we’ve never seen them in before, reimagining them as studious-looking felines.

There are five literary greats to collect, and instead of being packaged in round capsules, as most gacha are, each one is packaged in a delightful book-like case.

▼ Opening the book will reveal…

▼ …your literary master!

In Japan, a cat’s “meow” is “nya“, so this has been added to the name of each feline-styled literary great to give it a meow-like twist.

▼ Natsume Soseki, for example, is known here as “Nyatsume”.

▼ Ryunosuke Akutagawa becomes “Nyakutagawa”

▼ Kenji Miyazawa is “Minyazawa”

▼ Yasunari Kawabata is “Nyawabata”

▼ And Osamu Dazai is “Nyazai”

Given that cats are the true masters of the home, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine them as literary masters, whiling away their days deep in thought and contemplation. The cute collection is also a novel way to bring some of the country’s most esteemed authors back in the spotlight, a century or so after they were actively writing.

The Bungo Cats went on sale at capsule vending machines nationwide for 300 yen (US$2.65) each from 29 November.

Source, images: © CHOCOLATE Inc. © BUSHIROAD MEDIA via PR Times
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