San-x: Three Kokoroaraiguma Delights

In which I spend the first of many, many wasteful expenditures on this adorable line and I just. Can’t. Help. It.

If you’ve been around the blog before, you might remember me mentioning Kokoroaraiguma and Ashiaraiguma. I’ve been smitten with this San-x series since its debut this February and so I was very happy to get my hands on some goods.

I have been thinking of this as the ultimate combination of Sanrio aesthetics and character types and the San-x version of the same. In a way it’s almost a literal combination with these two main characters — Kokoroaraiguma, at 120 percent heart-restoring power, is very Sanrio in his pureness and cuteness, while Ashiaraiguma, with his questionable past, mere 30 percent power, and general low self esteem and shifty looks, is pure San-x. I don’t know if I’ve loved a new character this much since….hm. Jinbee-san, maybe? Something great.

Between shipping costs and just plain splurging, I was trying to restrain myself somewhat with this order, so I just got three items. I didn’t really need a new makeup bag, as such, since honestly lately I’m doing pretty good if my hair has been combed and I’m wearing a different shirt than the day before. But I’m such a sucker for this type of zipper pouch it’s ridiculous.

The cute design continues on the back:

The bag measures about 4.75 inches high and about 6.25 inches wide, which makes it pretty typical of a zipper pouch. What’s not typical — rather so much better than most — is how nice the details are throughout the bag. The inside is blue, with a silky feel and a pocket. I was originally going to say it would have been nice to have a custom zipper pull featuring the heart, but it’s nearly as nice to have it tucked away as a design on the tag.

I also found myself unable to resist these two nigichoco plush — the にぎnigi part is from 握る nigiru, to grasp or hold, since these are just made to fit in your hand. The choco I am not so sure about, but I feel like it’s just referring to the fact that they’re little, a mix of 小 which can be read cho* and 子 ko, which means a child or a little guy in the general sense, so these are cute little guys that fit in your hand. That’s my best guess, at least.

* Geeky language note: I’ve only ever ran across cho as a reading of 小 in names, but it’s often read as shou, and saying shou in “baby talk” (like talking like a wittle baby in English) sounds like cho. See here for an example of a girl’s name using the meanings above. And if I’m wrong, please let me know!

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I was skeptical at first about these nigichoco plush, which they also have for many other San-x characters I love like Kogepan and even Mikan Bouya, as well as the others you would expect, like Sentimental Circus, Rilakkuma, and of course Sumikko Gurashi. But I held back because I didn’t see quite how they were different from the tenori plush, except more expensive at around $8.25.

But now that I picked these up, I feel very sure I’ll get more, especially of the less frequently featured characters. They’re generally a bit bigger (though size varies by character design) and even softer than the tenori plush, which are nice and soft to begin with. And they are simply perfect models for pictures. They add this awesome sense of drama wherever they go, like below, just placed on a stack of books on my desk.

For now, they’re living right where we saw them in our last entry — on the garden terrace of Tonkatsu’s little house. They’re a very welcome addition — I’m just crazy about them!