Magazine: Kirapichi August 2020

In which we get a Sanrio character poll, a ton of cool character coverage, enough dinosaurs to rend my wallet into shreds, and a couple of nifty furoku. I’m back with another really sweet issue of a kid’s magazine, this time the August 2020 issue of Kirapichi. This magazine is aimed at older elementary school […]

Sumikko Gurashi: Ebi Furai no Shippo + Tonkatsu Okigae Agekko Plush

In which we have an unboxing and a half. I’ve been spoiled (and my money devastated) by the recent Sumikko Gurashi designs! Lately they’ve gotten me with lots of Tokage with dreamy colors and then the Age Age Agekko lineup starring the fried characters that are my very favorites. (I thought I might get off […]

Sumikko Gurashi: Whipple

In which I try to do crafts, and we all know how that goes, but somehow things turn out pretty nifty nonetheless. Hopefully I haven’t fooled any readers into thinking I’m some sort of crafts wizard, what with my skilful application of stickers and such, but I am in fact pretty consistently bad — and […]

Candy Toys and Miniatures: Re-Ment: Uki-Uki! Sumikko My Room

In which I gripe some here and there, but ultimately love this collection. It feels like a while since I’ve written about Sumikko Gurashi! Two of my favorite things in the world are, of course, Sumikko, and Re-Ment miniatures. So it’s always an especial pleasure to open up a new Re-Ment set with a Sumikko […]

Dagashi Sagashi: Four New Snacks: Featuring Sumikko Gurashi!

In which the Sumikko toy with the basic laws of time and space, you know, as one does. And there are snacks! Aoringo means green apple—well, actually it literally means “blue apple” because what’s called blue and what’s called green often differs between Japan and America for complex reasons. Mochi is Japanese rice, uh, sort […]

The Get List: Tokyo Catch: Sumikko Gurashi Tokage Plush Double Feature

In which I ask you to ignore the weird sound of our air conditioning as Tokage skitters cutely across the screen. I’ve still got some stragglers left over from my last Tokyo Catch haul, and since both of these are of Tokage I thought I may as well combine them. I like Tokage a lot, […]

Sumikko Gurashi: Age Age Agekko Lunch Plush Set

In which the lunch definitely isn’t free, but it’s a hell of a meal nonetheless. There’s something to say for all of the Sumikko and Minikko — there’s no favorite that surprises me. Love Neko’s sweet worried nature or Zassou’s positivity or Tokage’s love for his mom or Nisetsumuri’s shame over his identity the best? […]

Magazine: Hand Made Parfait Mook

In which I finally find a level of crafts appropriate for my experience and talent levels (that for Japanese elementary school kids). Here’s a fun mook (magazine/book) related to Chara Parfait magazine — Handmade Parfait is full of mostly character-based crafts I genuinely found interesting and enjoyable. If you’re looking for a bunch of great […]

Magazine: Otomodachi August 2020

In which I know it’s odd to say I’ve found two favorite furoku in a week, but look at this! I’ve got another kids’ magazine to discuss today — Otomodachi! Otomodachi means friends, and this 90ish-page educational elementary schooler magazine is full of friends like Sumikko Gurashi, Sanrio, and more. At a cover price of […]

Magazine: Oekaki Hime July 2020

In which we find a whole pile of Hime, and just when we can’t tell which one is which we get distracted by fun furoku. These Hime publications seem to have no end! There are so many of them, all titles ending with ひめ (hime means princess). There’s Jewel Hime, Kisekae Hime (kisekae can mean […]