Donguri Kyowakoku, the official Studio Ghibli retailer in Japan, is surely heaven on earth for fans of the beloved animation studio. Not only do they stock all kinds of cool items featuring all the fan favourite characters, but they also release things based on the lesser known characters, much to the delight of die-hard Ghibli enthusiasts.

In particular, a new lineup of capsule toys that they have started selling this month stars a pretty obscure creature from My Neighbor Totoro. The ‘Mei Crab’ comes from a drawing on Satsuki’s letter to her mother, reimagining her little sister Mei as a crab.

These adorable crab figures are a cute reference to an often forgotten motif in the animation, but you may not realise at first that they are actually two items in one.

As Mei wears a straw hat with a red band, her crab figures also come wearing their own tiny summer headwear. There’s a version of Mei’s own hat, along with a blue Totoro hat, a grey Totoro hat, and a Cat Bus hat, making four in total.

These hats can actually be removed from the crabs’ heads and worn as adorable rings.

Since these items are capsule toys, you don’t know which one you will get when you buy it, but any of the options are sure to bring joy to any fan of the movie.

They can be found in the capsule toy machines at branches of Donguri Kyowakoku in Japan. Check their website for a full store list.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.