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Preorder:
Domokun Plushes and Cushions
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Adorable
weirdness from Japan...
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Not that Domo-kun needed Wired Magazine's stamp
of approval but this month's Wired/Tired section
comes up with Domo-kun/Badtz-Maru. Good ol' Badtz and
the Sanrio crew are on the outs because a big walking chocolate
bar with angry teeth is on the popularity rampage. Domo-kun's
cool, and at least for now, he's deftly supplanting tried
and true Sanrio characters and the almighty Tarepanda for the
hearts and souls of Japan's populace. Domo-kun awareness is also on the
rise stateside.
Created as a mascot for Nippon Hoso
Kyokai (Japan Broadcasting Corp), Domo-kun first
appeared in short movies that detailed his origins and
adventures. As the first movie begins, we see an upright egg
amidst a snow-strewn backdrop. The egg shakes a bit and
falls on it's side, dropping through a snow covered hole and
down a flight of stairs. Below, Usajii the wise old rabbit
is watching television and the egg plops between him and the
TV, raising curiosity in the old hare. Moments later,
Domo-kun rises, eggshell atop his head in a whimsical "Hello
World" entrance. In the
second serial, Usajii introduces Domo-kun to the magic of
television. At first, Domo-kun leaps back at the sight of
cathode ray spray but gets closer and attempts a few
experiments. First he tries to eat the TV. No go. Watering
the TV shorts it out as viewers bear witness to smoke and a
puzzled brown water bearer. Wearing the TV as a hat
doesn't really work out either... In the third episode,
Domo-kun and Usajii really rock it out to a video from
Japanese garage band Guitar Wolf. Domo-kun waves his arms up
and down furiously, hilarity ensues...
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Domo-kun
exploitation
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Bandai beats the Domo-kun franchise for all it's worth in June
2002 with an assortment of plushes, keychains, and
cushions. Things get a little ridiculous with the 120cm (4
feet tall) Domo-kun plush priced at Y38,000 per unit. That's
roughly US$300. For a plush. Other sizes include 75cm
(29") at roughly US$100 and a decent sized 45cm
(17") plush at roughly US$60. Not certain why the
plushes are so expensive but unless our suppliers got the
retail levels wrong, they're the priciest ones we've seen
thus far. Domo-kun cushions in sizes of 10cm, 20cm, and 30cm
are priced at US$12, US$25, and US$40 respectively. A keychain on offer goes for Y980 or about US$8.
We'll update accordingly in June once our shipments arrive
but we'll clarify any prices within the next few days.
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