Studio Ghibli unveils new anime hug pillow from Whisper of the Heart
Studio Ghibli characters tend to take centre stage in its stable of movies, and its related merchandise lines as well. However, sometimes the studio throws us a curveball by shining a spotlight on items that aren't really characters at all, and that's what it's done with its latest release, which brings a humble cushion from Whisper of the Heart to life.
The cushion only appears in the film for around two minutes, during a scene where main character Shizuku visits the house of her best friend, Yuko. As they chat in Yuko's room about their boy troubles, Shizuku wraps herself around the log-shaped pillow, wallowing as she hugs it until she comes upon a realisation for a new goal to try her hand at writing. This lightens her mood and makes her spring to her feet with a newfound sense of energy and excitement.
▼ The cushion doesn't appear for long but its colourful stripes and sleepy-eyed lion face makes it memorable.
Image: Studio Ghibli
The scene captures a cosy moment between friends that changes the course of the character's storyline, and now we can seek similar solace from the sleepy-eyed lion too, with the Whisper of the Heart Yuko's Room Hug Pillow.
The hug pillow looks exactly like the one from the movie, with the face on the end bearing the exact same expression, complete with lion's mane.
The chunky size of the pillow has also been faithfully replicated so you can wrap yourself around it, just as Shizuku does in the film.
The item measures 25 centimetres wide, 60 centimetres long and 25 centimetres deep (9.8 × 23.6 × 9.8 inches).
Made from polyester, the pillow is said to have an irresistibly soft texture so you won't be able to resist hugging it.
It's the perfect product to help you get through a bad day, and like the plush toys from Howl's room in Howl's Moving Castle, it'll serve as a soft companion whenever you need it. Priced at 8,800 yen (US$61.38), the hug pillow can be preodered now through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store, with shipping scheduled for mid-to-late May.
Source, images: Donguri Kyowakoku unless otherwise stated
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Mister Donut's New Home Cut doughnuts take nostalgia to extremes with barely any sweetness
By Oona McGee, SoraNews24 Mister Donut is known for its limited-edition collaborations with famous big names like Gion Tsujiri, Pokémon, and Disney, but recently it's been wowing customers with completely new types of doughnuts. Now, following on from the explosive popularity of the ultra-soft 'Mocchurin' series released this past June, the chain is giving us another original doughnut developed in-house, and it's called the 'New Home Cut.' According to Mister Donut, this new series is reminiscent of the 'Home Cut' doughnut sold in Japan when the company first opened its doors here 55 years ago. The 'New Home Cut' is an evolution of that doughnut from the founding era, and there are six varieties to choose from. ▼ Original (Takeout 183 yen/Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Honey (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Cinnamon (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Maple (Takeout 194 yen /Eat-in 198 yen) ▼ Butter Crunch (Takeout 205 yen /Eat-in 209 yen) As for the sixth doughnut, the An Butter (Takeout 226 yen /Eat-in 231 yen), unfortunately that had sold out when we visited to try the series, suggesting that might just be the most popular flavor of them all. Still, with the focus being on texture — the mouthfeel is said to centre around a fluffy, moist dough with the aroma of egg and vanilla — we didn't feel like we were missing out, and when we ripped into the doughnuts, we could see what made them so special. Our immediate impression was of an old-timey classic doughnut, but when we bit into them, our surprise grew. Not only did they have a light yet chewy texture that was different to what we're used to getting at the chain, but they were barely sweet. In fact, we'd go so far as to say they weren't sweet at all — if you were to rate the chain's regular Old Fashioned doughnut as a 10 on sweetness, the New Home Cut would barely make a blip at 1 or 2 on that scale. This barely sweet base meant that even the cinnamon and glazed varieties felt subdued in sweetness, yet there was something innately appealing about their understated charms. Each bite took us back to the days when our taste buds were able to ease into a flavor like an adventure that slowly revealed itself, instead of being assaulted from the get-go by overly sweet and salty ingredients. Our taste buds loved taking this journey back in time to a simpler, quieter period, and although the plainness of the range might lead some customers to liken these to soft breads instead of doughnuts, we like to see it as the embodiment of decades of experience, where one can learn from the old to create the new. The range is familiar yet surprising, which is what we like in a sweet treat, and they'll be on the menu for roughly six months, until late February 2026, so you'll have plenty of time to try them. Photos ©SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Donuts beyond mochi mochi: Mister Donut's new donuts are so soft they're almost drinkable -- Mister Donut releases new Uji Matcha doughnut with Gion Tsujiri -- Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with Diglett as the star! External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
18 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Is corn potage-flavored shaved ice the best or worst synthesis of summer flavors?
We try to recreate an unlikely favorite popsicle treat of years past by turning corn soup into an icy dessert. Our Japanese-language foodie reporter Natsuno Futon was recently reminiscing about Garigari-kun's rich corn potage-flavored ice popsicle bars. Initially sold in September 2012, she remembers being shocked at how good they were, despite her initial apprehensions about the combination of creamy corn soup and frozen treat. Since they're not on sale at the moment, she came up with a creative idea to try making corn potage-flavored kakigori (shaved ice) at home using Riken Vitamin's 'Just-Dilute-It Corn Soup' (298 yen [US$2.02]) and her personal kakigori maker. This soup base comes in the form of a concentrated liquid to which you just need to add either hot or cold water depending on your mood. Natsuno personally prefers adding milk for the richest, creamiest taste, especially now that it's mid-summer. ▼ Soy milk is another possibility. OK, on to the shaved ice experiment. Following the instructions on the package, Natsuno diluted the soup concentrate with water in a 1:10 ratio and mixed it well. She poured the liquid into her kakigori maker's special container and put it in the freezer to chill overnight. The next day, it was frozen solid and ready to go. It looked like some of the soup base had settled on the bottom, but it wasn't anything too drastic. Worst case scenario, she could always mix the finished shaved ice to more evenly distribute the flavor. She popped the frozen block into the device, flipped the on switch… …and watched as corn soup-flavored shaved ice flakes began to magically appear before her eyes! She decided to display the very last pieces of the frozen soup block as stylish accents in her bowl, and then voila–it was ready to sample. Natsuno was both anxious and excited about its taste as she raised the first spoonful to her mouth. Thankfully, it tasted almost exactly like the Garigari-kun corn potage-flavored popsicles of her memory–a perfect harmony of salty, sweet, and corn flavors. Sure, there were minute differences in the taste, texture, and smell, but she was pretty darn pleased with how accurately it had turned out. She fed it to some members of her family who also agreed that it was a faithful recreation. Whether the flavor was actually delicious or not, however, was a slightly different story, and she received mixed reactions. Some thought that it tasted more like a palate cleanser at a fancy restaurant than something they would want to eat on its own. ▼ Which is fine in her book because it means more for her! Of course, the good news is that if corn soup shaved ice isn't to your taste, you can always thaw the ice and eat it as soup instead. Natsuno wants to express her gratitude to the developers of the Garigari-kun corn potage-flavored popsicles for creating the original winning summer flavor combination from unlikely ingredients. While she can't eat that original product at the moment, she's pleased to have found a faithful substitution for whenever she starts craving that creamy, corny flavor. Lastly, Natsuno would like to clarify one point with readers–namely, that she will NOT be making shaved ice out of Riken Vitamin's 'Just-Dilute-It Scallop Chowder' soup concentrate in the same product series. Even she's not quite that adventurous. For another fun do-it-at-home summer treat idea, you may want to check out the cotton candy maker currently being sold at 3 Coins locations in Japan as part of its summer festival series. All images © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Manga superstars Clamp team up with Godiva Japan for sweets featuring Cardcaptor Sakura and more
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 It's been said that one mark of truly strong anime art is when characters are so distinctively designed that they can be identified from silhouette alone. The latest example of showcasing such talent came from an unexpected source earlier this week: the official Twitter account of Godiva Japan. With the symbol X often being used to denote crossovers in Japanese media, it was clear that the chocolatier was teasing a collaboration of some sort, while still being coy about who their partner was. The mystery wasn't hard for to solve for fans of a certain storied manga creator team, who immediately recognized the outlines of Mokona, and so were able to deduce that Godiva is teaming up with… …Clamp, the four-woman creative collective behind such series as "Cardcaptor Sakura," "xxxHolic" and "Magic Knight Rayearth." Image: Godiva Japan The full details of the collaboration won't be announced until next month, but Godiva has at least said that it will involve a brand-new set of illustrations of Clamp characters from across their collected works, including "Cardcaptor Sakura's" Sakura and Tomoyo, "xxxHolic's" Yuko and Kimihiro, and even "Chobits'" Chi. Though Godiva hasn't said exactly what the tie-up is going to entail, the most likely scenario is that the Clamp artwork will grace special sets of chocolates, likely packaged in tins or boxes that also feature the illustrations in order to give fans something to enjoy even after they've had their dessert. There's also a chance that some exclusive merch, like the Pikmin pouches that were part of Godiva's collaboration with Nintendo earlier this year, could be in the mix. As for the Clamp characters all being drawn in a super-deformed style rather than their more intricate standard character models, trying to apply such high-line-count illustrations to space on top of a chocolate would probably blur the defining details, and Clamp has long had a penchant for suddenly giving their characters the SD treatment for comedic purposes, with the "Magic Knight Rayearth" TV anime being particularly fond of such lighthearted visual punctuation of its gags. Whatever shape the Godiva x Clamp collaboration ends up taking on, the associated items are scheduled to go on sale October 1, so fans will at least have something to snack on as they wait for more info about that new "Rayearth" anime. Source: Godiva Japan Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Nintendo and Godiva team up for fancy fun chocolate line【Photos】 -- Groundbreaking '90s isekai shojo anime series Rayearth getting new anime adaptation【Video】 -- Uniqlo teams up with shojo manga/anime masters Clamp for new World of Clamp T-shirt line【Pics】 External Link © SoraNews24
