Japan Envy: Shibanban x Capcom

Capcom has just announced its latest line of collab merchandise, and it’s with the adorable shiba line Shibaban by illustrator Yasuteru Ogoshi! There are five main designs from four of Capcom’s iconic game series, Okami (Amaterasu and Oki), Monster Hunter (Palamute), Mega Man (Rush), and Resident Evil (Cerberus). The Shibanban shiba looks absolutely adorable in all of the different themed costumes!

The merchandise lineup includes everything from acrylic standees to washi tape and sticky notes. The products will be released both online on the Parco Capcom store and in official Capcom stores in Tokyo, Osaka, and Umeda on March 25th. Check out all of the super cute items below!

I find it really interesting that they chose to include Oki, as I feel like he’s not featured in a lot of merchandise. Plus, there are two dogs from Okami, and only one from each of the other games. Did they run out of Capcom dog characters? Can you think of any others that could’ve been good candidates?

Though, I’m certainly not complaining, as I love every one of the designs!

In addition to the items you can buy outright, Capcom is also releasing UFO catcher exclusive items that must be won through Capcom’s UFO catcher app, Capcom Net Catcher, or an arcade in Japan offering one of the machines.

There are two cooler bag designs at the top right! How cool is that?

All of the UFO catcher items will also release on the 25th. Guess I’ll scouring the Japanese second hand market…

Finally, there are two special tote bag designs! The Amaterasu design will be offered as a free gift at Capcom stores with any purchase of the Shibanban x Capcom line products totaling over 4,000 yen. The Palamute bag will be offered at Capcom arcades to people who spend 1500 yen on the Shibanban x Capcom UFO catcher machines; you will collect one ticket for every 500 yen deposited, and can exchange three tickets for the tote bag.

The Amaterasu and Palamute designs are definitely my favorites, so I love that they chose to put them on the promo tote bags! You bet I’d get desperate to get my hands on at least one of them if I was in Japan. Neither promotion will be available for online orders, so unfortunately they will be harder to get than the other products.

For those unfamiliar with Yasuteru Ogoshi’s Shibanban illustrations, I highly recommend checking out their Instagram account! They release lots of super cute shiba merch through Mindwave such as stickers and other stationery, as well as products with other companies. They even have a wide range of stickers for LINE!

If you are interested in trying to snag some of these items from the Parco Capcom online store when they go up for purchase on March 25th, you can do so using a forwarding service such as Tenso. For more information on my experience with Tenso, check out this post!

Japan Envy: Super Mario x Parco Collaboration Item Fair

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The Japanese shopping center chain Parco is teaming up with Nintendo for a massive Super Mario collaboration! First, around 60 stores are participating in the Item Collaboration Fair, which starts on July 1st, offering a range of exclusive Super Mario crossover merch (over 300 items total!). Then, Nintendo will be expanding it’s official Nintendo Store locations from its flagship Shibuya Parco location to other Parco centers in cities across Japan in a limited series of pop up shops over the next few months, allowing people who haven’t been able to go to the Shibuya location a chance to shop a range of great Nintendo products.

Finally, there’s Parco Grand Bazaar, which as far as I can tell is a regular Parco summer sale running from June 25 to July 11 with some Super Mario branding (the poster on the left in the image above).

I love when nerdy things cross over into fashion, so it’s really fun to see how all of the different bands are using the Super Mario brand for the giant Collaboration Item Fair starting on July 1. I was tipped off to this fun event by Thymine on Twitter, who posted about this amazing Angelic Pretty Princess Peach dress, complete with crown!

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to check out what other collaboration items were available! I personally love how this lolita dress blurs the line between fashion and cosplay.

While Angelic Pretty doesn’t have any other clothing in the Super Mario collab, it is releasing a number of accessories: star and Boo-themed necklaces, rings, and earings. You know, I would proudly rock a sparkly Boo necklace.

I’m also a fan of the brand Samantha Thavasa, which often does collaborations with different pop culture media such as Sailor Moon. Both Samantha Thavasa and the spinoff brand Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice have Super Mario handbag and wallet designs, but the short and long wallets below are my favorites.

Finally, the kimono brand Kimono by Nadeshiko has a range of summer yukata with Super Mario designs! Check these out:

How cool are they?! The line comes with Super Mario obi (the sash you tie around kimono/yukata) as well as the yukata themselves, so you could style the Mario obi with a plain kimono for lots of fun looks such as the light blue yukata example above. I really like the black yukata, which looks like it’s depicting Mario in a castle or underground area (sorry I’m not a Mario expert). It’s not quite as flashy as the first bright blue example, and the M logos on the chest are reminiscent of the hakama Mario design!

There are tons more items in the Super Mario x Parco Item Collaboration Fair such as business ties, purses, and underwear, but these are some of the main standouts for me. You can view the whole list of participating stores and items on the official website. If you want to try to score any of these items outside of Japan, try to hit up the online stores on July 1. Make sure you have a proxy service set up!

Moyoco Anno 2019 Calendar

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This is my first year purchasing a calendar by manga artist Moyoco Anno (Sakuran, Sugar Sugar Rune), so I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share! I don’t know how long Moyoco Anno has been selling limited run calendars in Japan, but I’ve been pining for one for a couple of years.

For 2019, I decided to get the wall-mounted calendar design featuring characters in kimono, which was 3,500 yen (approximately $35) with free shipping within Japan and limited to only 1000 units. At the time of this post, there are still some available, but keep in mind that you’ll need a forwarding service if you don’t live in Japan.

The calendar is a traditional style where you rip the pages off every month instead of flipping it, which is a bit daunting, so all the more reason to take a few pictures beforehand!

Cardcaptor Sakura Flower Garden Cafe (+ Giveaway!)

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The new Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card anime means there’s a ton of new Cardcaptor Sakura events and merchandise, and I’m all for it! Currently there’s a Sakura and Tomoyo Flower Garden Cafe being held at Sweets Paradise locations throughout Japan through the end of July. Cardcaptor Sakura art is always gorgeous, but the flower garden and sweets theme makes this collaboration extra adorable!

Japan Envy: Animal Crossing Ichiban Kuji (+ How to Buy!)

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The Animal Crossing Ichiban Kuji is coming out in Japan on March 17th, and the prizes are drop-dead adorable! It’s a great excuse to bring back my Japan Envy series! Let’s take a closer look at the prizes you can win, and at the end I’ll share ways for you to purchase these awesome items for yourself!

Japan Envy: Sake Kit Kats

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As regular readers of Chic Pixel are well aware, I am a huge fan of Japanese Kit Kats. Well, Nestlé Japan has just announced that the latest in exclusive Japanese Kit Kat flavors is none other than nihonshuu, or the classic Japanese alcohol sake! According to Rocket News 24, these special Kit Kats contain “sake powder which has been kneaded into the white chocolate-encased wafers, giving the chocolates all the flavour and aroma of a top-quality rice wine, while providing a light and refreshing aftertaste.” Fancy!

The sake Kit Kats will come packaged in two versions, the three stick pack at the top of the post, and this nine stick pack featuring an actual sake bottle design! I really like the contrast of the pink package with the blue bottle, and the added cherry blossom flourish definitely screams Japan.

I’ve tasted my fair share of Japanese Kit Kats, and in my noble pursuit to try them all, I think I’ll have to add sake Kit Kats to my list. Luckily Jlist is currently taking preorders for the nine stick pack for only $9, so now’s your chance to grab some too! Maybe I’ll add some red sweet potato Kit Kats and wasabi Kit Kats to my order while I’m at it…

Note: Jlist is a Chic Pixel affiliate. Thanks for your support!

Japan Envy: Nerdy Christmas Cakes

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Christmas is just around the corner, and in Japan that means reservations for Christmas cakes are everywhere you look. While most western cultures probably associate fruit cakes with Christmas, Japan has popularized a light, usually white cake with strawberries and cream as a common Christmas eve treat. Now, Christmas cakes are so popular that they come in nearly every flavor imaginable, and every decoration imaginable, too! From Monster Hunter to Yowamushi Pedal, all kinds of nerdy fandoms are represented in Christmas cake form… And I’ve rounded up some of the best to share with you today.