Cute carnage is back in vogue right now, but don’t worry–this new product series doesn’t come with any actual blood splattered on it.
character goods
With original goods and seven fully-decorated stores, it’s the perfect event for any Pokémon fan.
Otaku across the generations can appreciate this plum wine, sourced from hundred-year-old plum trees!
Kikkouchan the rabbit loves traditional Japanese tortoise shell bondage.
Fans of magical girls and Sanrio, rejoice–this is truly a collaboration destined by moonlight.
Cats love cardboard boxes, so why not combine the two and create a cute new lineup of adorable characters?
It’s no secret that Disney has been hugely successful in Japan. The Japanese anime industry may have cultivated a unique style over the years that’s quite different from that of the international entertainment giant, but the public here in Japan definitely seems to love all things Disney, from beautiful lingerie to adorable mini-cakes.
So we guess it’s not too surprising that Disney characters have now been recreated using traditional Japanese crafts, which is the concept behind the Disney Japan Classic Series of merchandise. Join us for a look at what delightful forms the familiar Disney characters have taken at the hands of traditional Japanese artisans! Read More
In Japan, where the market for character-based merchandise is intensely competitive, it’s not always easy to predict what’ll take off. Sure, it was easy to see Hello Kitty and Pikachu coming, since either one could serve as the accompanying illustration for the definition of “adorable” in the dictionary, but who’s going to be the next big star?
There’s a new dark horse entry to the character goods arena, with one company hoping Japanese consumers’ ravenous hunger for all things kawaii will lead them to embrace something so ugly it just might be cute, in the form of T-shirts, notebooks, and purses all featuring the humongous marine bug called the giant isopod.
Tokyo DisneySea mascot Duffy the Bear has a brand new friend! And that means new character goods now on sale at the park, and of course hundreds of Disney fans eager to get their paws on them.
It can take a while to wrap your head around the concept of “character goods” in Japan. It’s a term used to refer to licensed merchandise such as notebooks, stickers and figures featuring the likenesses of fictional characters. What sets character good apart from plain old cartoon or movie merchandising, however, is that its characters generally don’t appear anywhere else, and are created solely for the purpose of having an excuse to produce their associated knick knacks.
It’s a tradition that was firmly established by Hello Kitty, and carried on by newer characters such as Rilakkuma. A blending of the words “relax” and “kuma” (Japanese for “bear”), Rilakkuma is exactly what you’d expect, a bear who loafs around, usually depicted in the prone position.
But what if the world had greater things in store for Rilakkuma than just yawning and eating stack after stack of pancakes? If humanity needed a savior and destiny called, could he be bothered to pick up the phone?
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Move aside, convenience store egg sando – there’s a better version of the iconic sandwich in Japan- Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
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Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]- Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to Tokyo
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Kyoto’s “ikezu” culture of backhanded compliments explained in hilarious souvenir sticker series
Temple with 600-year-old tree near busy Tokyo station is like a tranquil pocket dimension
One-handed pizza from Domino’s Japan is the ultimate convenience
New rules allow Japanese adult film actresses to stop the sale of their videos after five years
Burger King adds peanut butter burgers to its menu in Japan
Starbucks vs. Tully’s — Is there such a big difference between Japan’s coffee giants?【Taste test】
Makers of frozen snack sincerely apologize for a 9-cent price increase
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