There’s no better Sanrio star for this job than the golden retriever who’s named after custard.

At a quick glance, a Sanrio and Pastel collaboration might not seem so noteworthy, given that the majority of Sanrio’s cute characters have bright and cherry colors as a major part of their visual design. But we’re talking about capital-P Pastel, one of Japan’s favorite makers of custard pudding.

Of course, as Japanese dessert fans know, custard pudding is more commonly called purin in Japan, and so for this team-up with Pastel’s purin masters there’s no one more qualified to represent the Sanrio side of the partnership than Pompompurin.

▼ Pompompurin’s name is no coincidence, because even though he’s actually a golden retriever who wears a brown beret, he bears a very strong resemblance to a custard pudding topped with caramel sauce.

“We love ‘purin’” might seem like it should go without saying for Pastel, Sanrio, and their fans, but it doesn’t make the collaboration’s theme any less true, nor its lineup of coming-soon special Pompompurin purin sweets any less adorable-looking and delicious-sounding. And on the subject of adorableness, let’s now all take a look at Pompompurin’s butt.

Pompompurin’s behind is often referred to as his most charming physical feature, but it’s not so much the contours of his hindquarters as their, well, let’s say “cavity,” that gets depicted. In the case of the Purin Purin Purin-Pompompurin’s Bottom puddings, said cavity is rendered in chocolate, creating a scene of the Sanrio pooch diving headfirst into a cup of pudding.

▼ As for why it’s called the “Purin Purin Purin,” the third purin is a Japanese onomatopoeia for “jiggly,” so yes, this is a jiggly Pompompurin’s Bottom.

Now, on the off chance that “doggy tush” isn’t your preferred dessert motif, there’s also the Mogu Mogu Purin-Pompompurin’s Face pudding, identically priced at 680 yen (US$4.50)

Mogu mogu is also Japanese onomatopoeia, this time for the sound of someone happily munching or chewing a tasty treat, and the Pompompurin’s Face puddings come with little decorative flourishes that show him gleefully holding a spoon. A real version of that spoon can be yours as part of the Pompompurin Loves Purin Set (2,480 yen) which gets you two puddings, one of each end, and the utensil.

▼ As an added bonus, selling a set of two puddings and one spoon seems to be Pastel providing explicit permission to eat both of them yourself.

If you want to get even fancier, Pastel is also offering the Pompompurin Loves Purin à la Mode (700 yen), a cup of sponge caked topped with swirled whipped cream, fruit, and a mini custard pudding, with Pompompurin and his pals encircling it on the wrapper.

Or you can pare things back with the simple appeal of the Pompompurin Mini Purin (460 yen), which puts the caramel sauce at the bottom to make room for cocoa powder illustrations up top.

And if you’re of the opinion that true goodness comes from what’s on the inside, the Pompompurin Fluffy Roll Cake has a purin core surrounded by cream which is then surrounded by cake, with artistic touches that make it look like Pompompurin is leaping through the center.

▼ Somewhat confusingly, the Pompompurin Fluffy Roll Cake comes as either a “slice” (500 yen) or a “half” (1,280 yen), suggesting that there’s a purely hypothetical version that’s twice as big as the largest actually available one.

All of these go on sale at Pastel branches across Japan on March 1, and are slated to be around until April 30 with the important caveat of “while supplies last.” In addition, starting March 1 at Pastel branches and March 3 at supermarkets, you’ll be able to find Pompompurin’s Bottom Tarts (300 yen).

Pastel describes these as “custard-flavor brownies with caramel syrup” baked to a tart-like consistency. You’ll notice that they’re the only sweets in the lineup to not include purin itself, but they did make sure to include Pompompurin’s cavity.

Related: Pastel location list
Source, images: PR Times
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