Works great for dolls, figures, and models too.

Back when smartphones really hit the scene, the invention of the selfie stick also took hold. Although they can still be seen here and there, selfie sticks aren’t quite as prevalent as they used to be. This must have made an impact on the stick industry as a whole, causing some to diversify and release products such as the Oshitori Stick sold at 100-yen chainstore Daiso.

These sticks are designed to hold graven images of your favorite idol, actor, or animated character, known as an “oshi” in Japanese, so that you can photograph them at a suitable distance while also holding your smartphone. There are two types of Oshitori Sticks; a Key Chain version with a clamp for two-dimensional representations like acrylic figures, or a Plush Toy version for three-dimensional likenesses.

Our reporter Puniko Ninoude, who’s always on the prowl for oshi goods, picked up one of each to try them out. First, she opened the Key Chain type Oshitori Stick. It was mostly made of a clear plastic to help it not show up on camera as much as possible.

There are clips on both ends of the stick. The wider one is meant to hold your key chain or acrylic figure in place, while the smaller one can latch onto various things like railings or the edges of tables if available. Of course, just holding it is fine, but it’s very convenient to have hands-free options too.

When Puniko tried it out with an acrylic figure of Rika Shimakura, she was amazed at the difference. It was like night and day how the first photo had her gigantic fingers underneath, making suspension of disbelief almost impossible, but the Oshitori Stick shot looked like Shimakura was strolling right before her eyes, with a little circle over her head.

▼ Left: With fingers, Right: With Oshitori Stick

The clips were also very sturdy and Puniko only needed to attach it to the very lower edge of the figure for it to hold firmly. This was perfect to ensure that you could get every inch of your person of worship into the shot unobscured.

That being said, because the clip is so strong, you also need to watch out for scratches or dents, so be careful how you use it!

Next, Puniko tried the Plush Toy Oshitori Stick. It had a very similar design to the previous one, but instead of a clip, there were two posable arms made partly of transparent plastic.

All you need to do is wrap the arms around your 3-D character of worship, which in Puniko’s case is the classic Anpanman character Akachanman (Baby Man), and watch them take flight.

The arms are entirely see-though so there are some noticeable plastic bits appearing from the rear. But their interference is rather negligible.

Both sticks have the same clip for sticking to objects, providing fans with a range of options when it comes to taking pictures of pictures of the people they hold dearest in a variety of compositions.

And the best part is it’s only 110 yen ($0.84) including tax. For the ability to get prime pics of your oshi, that’s a value that can’t be beat and everyone should grab one, but first you’ll need an acrylic figure of the one person we all should be looking up to…

Just print and cut that out, and you’re halfway there!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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