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Nintendo star’s latest transformation is into Tabemasu sweets.

Earlier this week, we had out hearts warmed and our stomachs filled as Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart kicked off its Kirby Super Satisfied Fest, with a new line of food and drink inspired by the star-riding Nintendo star. However, there was one item missing from our Kirby feast.

If there’s one lesson that Kirby has made very clear in his decades-long video game franchise, it’s that you should always eat everything you can. In accordance with this sage advice, a follow-up was going to have to be done in order to taste-test the final foodstuff in the Kirby Super Satisfied Fest: the Kirby and Waddle Dee Tabemasu Mocchi.

Tabemasu Mocchi is part of the Tabemasu sweets line. While tabemasu is ordinarily the Japanese word for “to eat,” in this case it’s short for taberareru masukotto, or “edible mascots,” as the treats are soft mochi dumplings shaped like famous anime or video game characters.

As is often the case with limited-time Kirby items, the Kirby and Waddle Dee Tabemasu Mocchi quickly sold out at many locations. Luckily, friend of the site Marcus Lai of video game/tech website Punch Jump, who previously helped us destroy Metal Gear, managed to snag a few packs, and graciously offered to let us share in his Kirby wealth.

While the ingredients and filling are the same for each, there are four different possible expressions for the Kirby mochi, and four different Waddle Dee faces too. They’re not linked, either, meaning that there are 16 possible combinations per pack.

Given Kirby’s rotund physique, he’s an easier character to render in mochi than, say, Spy x Family’s Anya or Dragon Ball’s Shenron. That said, the lower degree of difficulty doesn’t in any way diminish how incredibly cute mochi Kirby and mochi Waddle Dee are.

As you may have noticed in the earlier photos, the Kirby and Waddle Dee Tabemasu Mocchi are sold refrigerated, and while they won’t turn into puddles of liquified mochi on you, they will get a little melty if they’re out at room temperature for too long. If you’re not headed straight home from the convenience store, you’ll probably want to try to keep the package as flat as you can in your bag, lest Kirby and Waddle Dee’s feet start to get misshapen like they did for us.

Although you could also argue that the way Kirby kept smiling even in the face of this unexpected adversity is a testament to the positive energy he’s always ready to transmit to his fans.

▼ Okay, mochi Kirby! We won’t give up either, no matter how tough things get!

Though the Tabemasu series has been around for quite a while now, this was actually my first time to personally taste-test one, and I wasn’t 100-sure what to expect. On the one hand, I’ve been living in Japan long enough to know that betting against mochi desserts being delicious is generally a foolish choice. On the other hand, Tabemasu is produced by Bandai Candy, the candy/snack division of Bandai, a company that’s first and foremost a toy maker. With all of Bandai Candy’s products either looking like a popular character themselves or coming with some kind of toy, a big part of the intended appeal is clearly the character tie-in, so might that mean they don’t really put much effort into how their sweets taste?

There was only one way to find out.

▼ Hey, Kirby, wake up. You’re about to be eaten.

It took about half a second to get the answer I was looking for: the Kirby Tabemasu Mocchi tastes great! The outside is a very soft, very stretchy mochi that’s moist and sweet, and the inside is anko (sweet bean paste) enhanced with custard flavoring. If you like purin (Japanese-style custard pudding), you’ll love this too.

What you might not be quite as crazy about, though, is that the mochi will stick to your fingers as you eat it. The dumplings aren’t big enough to eat with a regular-sized knife and fork, but a compact dessert fork or even a toothpick to skewer it with, or at the very least moist toilette, might come in handy.

Also, while it’s a given that character desserts are going to look strange in their half-eaten states, it really was startling how much Kirby looked like a thumb after the first bite.

Don’t worry, Waddle Dee, I haven’t forgotten about you.

Even with the newfound knowledge that Bandai knows what it’s doing making desserts, there’s still some room for potential uncertainty with the Waddle Dee, since its anko filling is caramel-flavored, a rather unorthodox taste to mix into Japan’s traditional sweet bean paste. Once again, though, the combination ends up working really well, with the caramel coming on as a gentle aftertaste that doesn’t cover up the anko notes nor saturate your taste buds and prevent you from fully enjoying the second bite.

Waddle Dee also looks pretty weird half-eaten…

…but like they say, appearance is only skin-deep, and it’s what’s on the inside (caramel anko) that counts.

At 378 yen (US$2.50), the Kirby and Waddle Dee Tabemasu Mocchi are easily within the impulse-buy price range, and their high quality makes them not just a fun memory, but a tasty one too.

Photos ©SoraNews24
Kirby ©Nintendo/HAL Laboratory, Inc.
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