Japan Envy: Seed Boyfriends (Tabegoro Kareshi Ikusei Setto)

Japanese companies have transformed everything from ramen to beauty products into anthropomorphized boyfriends, but the Tabegoro Kareshi Ikusei Setto marks the first time I’ve ever seen everyday vegetable seeds marketed as cute anime boys. Aimed at encouraging women to start their own home gardens, there are six different seeds available, each with their own male mascot. So, who’s your type?

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The tagline reads, “Which boy will you raise? ” which, as you can imagine, has a lot of weird connotations…

Starting at the top left and going clockwise, we have Mini Eggplant, Mini Tomato, Arugula, Mini Carrot, Mint, and Habanero. Each has a different difficulty level meant to help potential growers choose the appropriate seed boyfriend for their skill level, along with a set of personality traits that range from “flirtatious,” (Mini Tomato) to “loves children, but they don’t really like him” (Mini Carrot) and  “hates cabbageworms” (Arugula).

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Each seed boy comes with a seed packet, pot, potting soil, name plate, and character book with information on how to grow the seeds.

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Normally I would just import something as awesome as this, but did you know that it’s illegal to ship seeds internationally to most countries? As such, it will be difficult to get your hands on these awesome kits unless you live in Japan. Luckily, Official Chic Pixel Tokyo correspondent Sarah agreed to try the seed boys so we can live vicariously through her! Can you guess who she picked?

Which seed boyfriend tickles your fancy? I’m partial to Mint… He has such lovely hair! And check out that sweater. I think I want to be him, not date him..

About Anne

Also known as apricotsushi. Anne can be written with the kanji for apricot (杏), and sushi was the most quintessentially Japanese thing I could think of when I was 13, resulting in my goofy, albeit memorable, nickname.

12 thoughts on “Japan Envy: Seed Boyfriends (Tabegoro Kareshi Ikusei Setto)”

  1. Mint reminds me of the character Aloe from the anime “Binchotan.” Green hair and cute expression. I would choose Mint or Carrot since he seems like a carefree dude who’s ready for good times.

    1. I’ve never heard of Binchotan! I just looked it up – the different characters are all anthropomorphized charcoal?! How funny!

  2. Bellpepper-kun! Or is he a habanero? Well he is sitting on a bell pepper anyway ^^

    1. He’s definitely a habanero, but it does look like he’s sitting on a bell pepper! Or red capsicum, as they call them in Australia :O

      1. Well they go well together.
        Hack’n’slash them up in tiny pieces. Throw them in some Turkish yoghurt and add some more spices to your liking and you have a cheap and quick sauce for whatever 🙂
        Or dip! Ignore thinning it out with whatever and you have a dip for those carrots 😉

          1. Same thing different name….I Think haha, nah I have no idea. Can’t taste the difference. I usually just use it as a base for whatever I’m doing and if it’s Greek or Turkish depends on which I see first in the store 😀

  3. This is really crazy to me, reminds me of that game Hatoful Boyfriend. Although it does make me want to purchase the seeds more than if they were plain….

    1. It does kind of fall in the same category of Hatoful Boyfriend of… weird things that have been made into boyfriends? Hehe

  4. Mini carrot all the way guys. Even if there are unfortunate implications with a name like that.

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