Taking oshi culture into new realms of fandom.

Mister Donut always has its finger on the pulse when it comes to local trends and obsessions, and its newest release taps into the culture of “oshi“. Literally translating as “push”, the word “oshi” is used among fans of idols, anime, and other similar fandoms to refer to a favourite character or performer — someone you “push” or support enthusiastically — and now Mister Donut is applying that idea to doughnuts.

The new release, called “Aki no Imo Kuri Oshi Do Kassen” (“Autumn Sweet Potato Chestnut Oshi Donut Battle”) pits two autumnal favourites against each other, with promotional posters asking the question: “Which one do you support?” Like idols, which are attached to a specific colour that fans can use to show their support, the chestnut group is identified by brown while the sweet potato group uses a dusty pink for their faction.

▼ “いもド推し?” (“Imo Do Oshi?”) asks the question, “Do you push/support Sweet Potato Doughnuts?”

By the looks of things, it’ll be a hard decision to choose between the two groups, as every single doughnut has a lot going for it. Starting with the Sweet Potato side, we have three on offer, and all of them contain 1.3 percent sweet potato powder in the dough.

▼ Moist Sweet Potato (205 yen [US$1.38] takeout; 209 yen dine-in)

This combination of moist dough and sugary sweet potato-flavoured cream recreates the smooth sweetness you find inside an actual baked sweet potato.

▼ Rich Sweet Potato Sauce (183 yen takeout; 187 yen dine-in)

This doughnut recreates the rich honey-like goodness of the sweet potato, which oozes out of it as it cooks.

▼  Crispy Brûlée (205 yen takeout; 209 yen dine-in)

This one recreates the baked potato’s caramelised exterior, with a slight crunch giving it a satisfying texture.

On the other side of this taste battle, we have two chestnut doughnuts, both made with a dough containing 0.1 percent chestnut paste and shaped like chestnuts for visual appeal.

▼ “くりド推し?” (“Kuri Do Oshi?”) asks the question, “Do you push/support Chestnut Doughnuts?”

▼ Chestnut Whip & Honey (237 yen takeout; 242 yen dine-in)

This sweet is filled with chestnut-flavoured whipped cream and finished with a crunchy glaze.

▼ Angel & Chestnut-Flavoured Chocolate (237 yen takeout; 242 yen dine-in)

This stunner is coated with marron-flavored chocolate, and topped with light and smooth whipped cream.

With doughnuts this great, the only way to pick our “oshi” is to try them all. Rest assured we’ll be doing exactly that when the range is released on 27 August, and when we settle on our favourite we’ll be showing our support for them all the way to late October, when they’re scheduled to retire from the business.

Source, photos: Press release
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!