Putting an anime twist on the traditional Japanese celebration, with adorable character details.

Studio Ghibli is world-famous for its animated feature films, but some of the associated works that pre-date the studio’s founding tend to fly under the radar, and Panda Kopanda, or Panda! Go, Panda! is one of them. Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, two greats who founded Studio Ghibli with friend and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985, Panda Kopanda was released in 1972, so although not officially a Ghibli work, the studio is still able to lay claim to it, shining a spotlight on the characters every now and then, like it’s doing now, with a bumper collection of goods released just in time for New Year.

Whether you’re a fan of the film or simply love pandas, this is a range that’ll steal your heart with its cuteness. Not only does it feature the main characters of Papa Panda and its baby Pan-chan or “Panny” (Panda Kopanda literally means “Panda Baby Panda”), it gives them special celebratory details that allow you to use them as New Year’s decorations.

The red-and-white squares that hang off ropes worn by each panda, for instance, resemble gohei, a sacred paper that sits under the kagami mochi New Year’s cake decoration.

The plump, white body of the panda makes it look similar to the two-tiered kagami mochi rice cake decoration, and that resemblance is highlighted in each design, with an orange citrus completing the look.

There are two plushies in the range, with Papa Panda measuring 97 millimetres (3.8 inches) in height and priced at 2,200 yen (US$14.37).

▼ The baby panda measures 70 millimetres in height and is priced at 1,980 yen.

Each plushie comes with a detachable keychain, so you can either keep them at home or take them out and about on your travels.

Joining the plush pandas are a duo of drawstring pouches, which are ready to be stuffed with all your favourite things.

▼ You can even stuff your plushies into them for double the cuteness!

▼ The Papa Panda Drawstring Pouch is priced at 1,980 yen.

▼ The Baby Panda Drawstring Pouch is priced at 1,760 yen.

Rounding out the five-piece collection is perhaps the cutest item of all.

▼ The Pan-chan Plush Measuring Tape (1,870 yen).

Simply pull on the panda’s ear and the measuring tape reveals itself, ready to measure anything up to two metres (78 inches) long.

▼ With a contraption this cute, you’ll want to measure anything and everything!

This adorable collection of Panda Kopanda goods will be available at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online from 10 a..m. on 14 December.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
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