“We know you’re flush with Mario goodies… but who can resist a squishy keychain to show off your Nintendo Fanboy (or girl) dedication? Since this is “New” Super Mario Brothers paraphernalia the coveted Mega Mushroom is included in the random assortment. But please don’t let your dog chew on the power mushroom… lest he grow huge and start jumping on Goombas.
Please keep in mind that these New Super Mario Keychains are limited edition Japanese imported capsule toys and are random packed. When we sell out, these are gone and we cannot get more. You cannot choose the specific model you receive. Please read the sidebar below for more information.”
“A pair of Winnie the Pooh drawings are expected to fetch up to £30,000 each when they go on sale at a London auction house later this month. The coloured crayon drawings by Ernest H Shepard – Tiggers Don’t Like Honey and Pooh Visiting in Owl’s Parlour – will be auctioned at Bonhams on 22 May. Tiggers Don’t Like Honey was drawn for the 1958 edition of AA Milne’s The World of Pooh, but never published. The Owl illustration was published in Methuen’s 1929 Winnie the Pooh.”
He’s a cute little small fry isn’t he? Seen above is Optimash Prime, a Mr. Potato Head action figure done up as your favorite Transformers robot leader Optimus Prime.
Seen above is a detailed RX-93-2 Hi-v Gundam made entirely out of paper. To check out the Japanese website that this is from go here. Found via japanator.com and dannychoo.com.
What impressed me most about this Kabaya package design (click on the image to see at full size) is the character design of the panda bear which is featured all over the box. I love the primitive joy that the featured character design conveys with a powerful childlike scribble. Sadly the box is a bit too crammed to show off this prized mascot, however the side panel (shown on the far right) is a bit more easy on the eyes. It also always strikes me as odd when we encourage kids (or snack lovers) to save endangered wildlife by eating their chocolate cookie representations.
Upon doing a google search for “Sakusaku Panda” I was also pleasantly surprised to discover I’m not the dweller in Williamsburg Brooklyn who has an interest in Japanese panda cookies:
I guess Transformers is “more than meets the eye”, it’s the ears too:
“Japanese toymaker Tomy Company employee Chie Yamada poses wearing “Transformers Music Label Frenzy & Rumble playing earphone” in Tokyo, April 25, 2007. The earphone can be transformed from into a robot and will go on sale in Japan on July 19, 2007 for 3,950 yen.”
Seen above (click to see at full size) are two tin robot toys which I spotted sitting in a Soho storefront window in New York City. Even though the robots shown are based on a very old school design that was a bit before my day, seeing these two always brings me back to my childhood (and an appeciation of a sense of wonder and play).
Photographed by Michael Pinto on February 17, 2007
Yujin’s Time Capsule series features a variety of well known characters like Astroboy and Disney characters, and now they’ve added a Spiderman series to their collection:
There’s some sad news for a poor fanboy in Japan, it seems his local tax dept. has decided to make him (and his valued toy figurine collection) an example:
“A tax office here has put a set of figures of young girls seized from a tax delinquent up for auction on the Internet “to deepen understanding about the prefectural government’s tax collection,” taxation officials said.
The figures, which were put up for auction by the prefectural government’s Otaru tax office, included characters from a love simulation game marketed in the 1990s. The figures are no longer produced and are considered valuable collectors’ items.
“Our aim isn’t to sell them for a high price, but to deepen understanding about tax collection in Hokkaido. We want to draw people’s attention,” an official from the tax office said.”
Seen above is an amazing model dollhouse based on Lord of the Rings. I love the sheer amount of detail and loving craftsmanship that went into this project:
Shown above is the Supergirl vinyl statue designed by the Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya. If you want to do the Ken/Barbie thing Kotobukiya also has a Superman statue too! For more details check out this article at Toy News International.
Meow! Seen above is the Catwoman vinyl statue designed by the Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya. For all the full details check out this article at Toy News International.
“She’s watched the movie hundreds of times, seen the West End show and even has a lunchbox featuring the magical flying car. Now, thanks to her husband and four years of oil, sweat and tears, Carolyn Pointing has her own full-size Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The 42-year-old police constable, who fell in love with the film as a three-year-old, said: “It’s a dream come true.”
Husband Nick, 41, a manager for Marks & Spencer, spent every spare minute building his creation using the chassis of an old Land Rover. Now the couple, from Sandown, Isle of Wight, plan to take a 12-month career break and tour the world with the car raising money for charity.”
“It looks like Hello Kitty’s rampage through the gadget world isn’t showing any signs of letting up, with an otherwise unremarkable iPod car charger / FM transmitter the latest device to get its irresistible stamp of approval. Compatible with 3G, 4G, 5G, Photo, Mini, and nano varieties of iPods, the device will plug into your car’s cigarette lighter and pump tunes straight to your car’s radio at the same time, promising a minimum amount of distortion in the process. We have to say we’re a bit skeptical of the stated 3 mile operating range, however — that seems a stretch even with the mighty Hello Kitty behind it.”
No it’s not a prop from a Dr. Seuss story, but a green tea flavored Japanese pastery with a sweet sticky center (click the photo to view it at a larger size). I love how the color of the package design plays off the color of the pastery. Here the description of the treat under the logo:
“Using the fine ingredients, we’ve arrived at a fantastic harmony of deliciousness.”
Here’s yet another example of playful product design from Japan, Fujiya Peko Poko Chocolate (click on the image to see it full size). The girl character on the left is can be found on other Fujiya products. My favorite is the little piggie in the middle. The back of the package was designed for an American audience, and you can tell this because it warns you not to let your child consume the small plastic sticks.
I love to collect (well in the short term sense) examples of Japanese package design. Seen above is “Fujiya Choco Enpitsu”, which features four chocolate pencils. The object in the center is a button that has a sticky back so you can put it any where, which is a nice keep sake. However I have to say that I was surprised that the chocolate pencils didn’t taste too bad!
I love Japanese package design! Not just the high end items, but the silly stuff as well. This is a recent purchase from the m2m market on the lower east side here in Manhattan. Seen here is “Kabaya” Hello Kitty Stawberry Pretzel (click to see full size), although from a casual glance the product looks like a Pocky knock off. I sampled the contents, and let’s just say that the packaging is the selling point of the product!
Alas what’s a fanboy to do? You need to rid your car of that certain Taco Bell odor, but most air filters just aren’t cute enough. Well fear no more, the Hello Kitty air cleaner uses an AC adapter or a cigarette lighter adapter for your car, neither of which are seen in any of the above pictures. You can get Kitty-cleaner from March 21st from the Sanrio stores for ¥7140 ($60).
