
Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends team up with Spy x Family for adorable merch and popup shop【Pics】
Anya and Kitty-chan form friendship and swap outfits.
There's a lot to like about anime/manga Spy x Family, between its ongoing espionage, exciting action sequences, and deft use of both low-key and slapstick humor. Of course, there's also the fact that it's an incredibly heartwarming and cute series.
Hold on, heartwarming and cute? That's also an accurate description of Hello Kitty and her Sanrio pals, and sure enough they're joining the Spy x Family cast for an adorable new merch line and popup store.
Following up on her team-ups with Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and the magical PreCure girls, Hello Kitty is now saying hello to the Forger family. Each member of the core Spy x Family cast gets a special Sanrio friend, and naturally Kitty-chan herself is paired with Anya, the precocious scene-stealing psychic who's the only one who really knows what's going on in the Forger household.
Each piece of artwork has the Spy x Family and Sanrio characters swapping costumes. That means Anya dresses up in Hello Kitty's overalls, and she exchanges her usual hair accessories for ones that look like cat ears too. Kitty, meanwhile, slips on Anya's Eden Academy uniform.
Dapper dad/doctor/secret agent Loid loans his snappy suit to fellow blondie Pompompurin…
…and mom/office worker/professional killer Yor hangs out with My Melody.
Even the family dog, Bond, gets in on the fun, partnered with Cinnamoroll and getting a new bowtie in the same shade of blue as the Sanrio pooch's eyes.
The lineup hits all the must-haves for a merch collection, with the characters appearing as/on acrylic mini standees, clear files, hand mirrors, towels, pouches, and tote bags.
There are, naturally, blind-buy trinkets too, with 10 possible designs for pins and trading cards…
…and five for keychains.
If you're a completionist kind of collector, you'll be glad to know that the ordinarily random items can also be bought as box sets, guaranteeing you one of each item at the same price as if you'd been lucky enough to acquire them all individually without any duplicates.
The whole lineup is available for preorder now through the Toho Animation Store online shop here, but the items aren't scheduled to ship until September. If that's too long for you to wait, though, a Spy Family x Sanrio popup shop will be running at the Ikebukuro branch of lifestyle goods shop Loft in downtown Tokyo from August 13 to 31 where you can get your hands on the items a little sooner, and popup stores are also planned for Loft branches in Osaka and Fukuoka as well, with their dates yet to be announced.
Related: Loft Ikebukuro branch
Source: Spy x Family official website via Yahoo! Japan News via Game Watch
Top image: Toho Animation Store
Insert images: Spy x Family official website, Toho Animation Store (1, 2)
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Tokyo Weekender
3 days ago
- Tokyo Weekender
Untranslatable Japanese Words: Onomatopoeia for Complex Emotions
For avid manga readers, Japanese onomatopoeia words are likely a very familiar concept. When characters, their actions, dialogue and emotions are restricted to the confines of comic book panels, the recurring flash of onomatopoeias breathe in extra life to our beloved 2D heroines. The Japanese language has a wide library of onomatopoeia words, and they make a frequent appearance in daily life. While onomatopoeia in the English language is usually bound to phonetically imitating or suggesting real sounds — such as animal noises and clashing objects — in Japanese, onomatopoeia words go way beyond those limitations. There are thousands of onomatopoeia words in Japanese, used to convey everything from the rumble of thunder to the feeling of being sweaty. These can be divided in many ways. One common classification divides them into giongo ( 擬音語) , which mimic actual sounds, like a dog barking or water bubbling; gitaigo ( 擬態語) , which represent conditions or input from non-auditory senses — for instance, the feeling of being soaked or the sensation of walking unsteadily; and gijogo ( 擬情語) , which represent psychological states. Instead of approximating direct sounds, gijogo words sonically evoke feelings and abstract concepts. Learning them provides an interesting way to not only add pizzazz to everyday conversations, but may also help to describe emotions and sensations that aren't always easy to articulate. Here are some of our favorite emotion onomatopoeia words and their meanings. List of Contents: Doki Doki Kyun Waku Waku Gaan Ata Futa Sowa Sowa Kyapi Kyapi Niko Niko Guutara Uru Uru Related Posts Doki Doki A speedy heartbeat from nervousness, love Arguably one of the most recognizable gijogo, doki doki emulates the pulsing beat of an excited or nervous heart. Colloquially, this is most often utilized during romantic confrontations, such as making contact with a crush or a climactic love confession after a season-long buildup, but it may also be used in a scarier setting — before a test or a big presentation, for instance. Whether your heart is preparing for a fun surprise or an uneasy situation, we all know the feeling of our hearts nearly bursting out from anticipation. Kyun Tightening of the chest caused by strong emotions Another cardiac-affiliated expression, kyun describes the sense of your chest tightening in response to strong feelings. Compared to doki doki's speedy beats, kyun is a quick and sudden wring. This sensation may be summoned by the separation from a loved one, or perhaps when a romantic interest smiles and you feel like swooning. Waku Waku Excitement, anticipation Waku waku has gotten quite well known as well, thanks to the adorable telepathic Anya Forger from the popular ongoing manga and anime series Spy x Family. As a lively little girl, Anya often expresses herself through spontaneous bursts of energy, and 'waku waku' is one of her signature catchphrases. The expression encapsulates a thrilling excitement— the kind that makes your eyes widen and almost sparkle with childlike joy. It's a bubbling enthusiasm that's hard to contain. Gaan Negative shock, extreme disappointment When used in its traditional sense, gaan describes a loud, sudden impact. But in popular use, gaan has also become a word that reflects shock and disappointment, like a heavy cloud that now looms over your head, or as if the news literally slapped you across the face. 'Gaan' even physically makes your jaw drop when you say it. Ata Futa Running in a panic Ata futa is the onomatopoeia for those of us who always seem to be running a little late. The word describes a feverish state — running in a panic, and in a fluster. Ata futa is a compressed iteration of the phrase awate futameku , which translates to 'a swelling of panic.' It conveys an image of inflating rage, stress and/or panic from a series of unexpected events that has burst into a loss of composure. Sowa Sowa Restless anxiety and fidgeting, feeling uneasy from unpredictability Sowa sowa describes the feeling of being agitated, jittery or unable to focus — it describes a state of being fidgety and restless, either from anxiety or impatience. Kyapi Kyapi A high-spirited cheerful state, when someone is lively and having fun As TW writer Alina put it: 'When the girlies are girlying.' Kyapi kyapi describes someone who is brimming with youthful energy— especially girls and young women, who are exceedingly cheerful and animated. A person with a kyapi kyapi disposition is living their best life and isn't afraid to loudly display their intense passion. The image of fangirls passionately engaged in oshikatsu often comes to mind. Be cautious of the slightly negative implications, as hyper-active overenthusiasm may highlight someone as a little too excited, at the cost of bringing down the peaceful environment of the people around you. When said towards girls in a negative tone, 'kyapi kyapi' can be received as derogatory. Niko Niko Smiling You may already be familiar with this word through the popular Nico Nico Douga (now named Niconico) video hosting platform, akin to Japan's version of YouTube. Niko niko describes a bright, cheerful smile. It'll even force you to smile when you say it. This gijogo stems from the word nikori , which refers to a tender grin. Through repetition of the phrase, niko niko excites a more beaming and expressive smile. To contrast, a close alternative onomatopoeia is niya niya — though this gives a more mischievous, sneering image. Guutara Slacking, feeling lethargic For all of those who enjoy a good bed-rot on the weekends after a week of grueling work and everyday responsibilities, guutara will come in useful — it means lazy, sluggish or idle and is used to refer to slackers who lack the willpower to do anything. This onomatopoeia word evokes feelings of procrastination and lethargy. Perhaps the poster child of this expression is Sanrio's lazy egg, Gudetama. Gudetama's moniker combines tamago (egg) with gude gude (lazy). Gudetama is not just simply lazy — the egg's entire personality is rooted in debilitating inactivity, where any effort is synonymous with pain. Uru Uru Teary-eyed and close to crying Through one definition, uru uru can mean damp or moist. But it can also be applied to describe being teary-eyed. When one is at the verge of sobbing, the eyes become glazed with a glossy sorrowful wall of built-up tears. Related Posts Untranslatable Japanese Words You Need To Know Japanese Words We Can't Translate: Betsubara – Fill Your Second Stomach 23 New Japanese Words Added to Oxford English Dictionary


SoraNews24
13-06-2025
- SoraNews24
Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends team up with Spy x Family for adorable merch and popup shop【Pics】
Anya and Kitty-chan form friendship and swap outfits. There's a lot to like about anime/manga Spy x Family, between its ongoing espionage, exciting action sequences, and deft use of both low-key and slapstick humor. Of course, there's also the fact that it's an incredibly heartwarming and cute series. Hold on, heartwarming and cute? That's also an accurate description of Hello Kitty and her Sanrio pals, and sure enough they're joining the Spy x Family cast for an adorable new merch line and popup store. Following up on her team-ups with Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and the magical PreCure girls, Hello Kitty is now saying hello to the Forger family. Each member of the core Spy x Family cast gets a special Sanrio friend, and naturally Kitty-chan herself is paired with Anya, the precocious scene-stealing psychic who's the only one who really knows what's going on in the Forger household. Each piece of artwork has the Spy x Family and Sanrio characters swapping costumes. That means Anya dresses up in Hello Kitty's overalls, and she exchanges her usual hair accessories for ones that look like cat ears too. Kitty, meanwhile, slips on Anya's Eden Academy uniform. Dapper dad/doctor/secret agent Loid loans his snappy suit to fellow blondie Pompompurin… …and mom/office worker/professional killer Yor hangs out with My Melody. Even the family dog, Bond, gets in on the fun, partnered with Cinnamoroll and getting a new bowtie in the same shade of blue as the Sanrio pooch's eyes. The lineup hits all the must-haves for a merch collection, with the characters appearing as/on acrylic mini standees, clear files, hand mirrors, towels, pouches, and tote bags. There are, naturally, blind-buy trinkets too, with 10 possible designs for pins and trading cards… …and five for keychains. If you're a completionist kind of collector, you'll be glad to know that the ordinarily random items can also be bought as box sets, guaranteeing you one of each item at the same price as if you'd been lucky enough to acquire them all individually without any duplicates. The whole lineup is available for preorder now through the Toho Animation Store online shop here, but the items aren't scheduled to ship until September. If that's too long for you to wait, though, a Spy Family x Sanrio popup shop will be running at the Ikebukuro branch of lifestyle goods shop Loft in downtown Tokyo from August 13 to 31 where you can get your hands on the items a little sooner, and popup stores are also planned for Loft branches in Osaka and Fukuoka as well, with their dates yet to be announced. Related: Loft Ikebukuro branch Source: Spy x Family official website via Yahoo! Japan News via Game Watch Top image: Toho Animation Store Insert images: Spy x Family official website, Toho Animation Store (1, 2) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!


SoraNews24
30-05-2025
- SoraNews24
Is this Hello Kitty hotel room in Tokyo good enough to impress an 8-year-old girl?
Find out what happens when a father books a night here to impress his daughter. Our reporter P.K. Sanjun loves his daughter Rei, encouraging all her interests which, over her eight years, have ranged from Anpanman to Precure, Pokémon, Conan, Doraemon, and Crayon Shin-chan. In between, Rei has had a soft spot for Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, so P.K. has travelled to Sanrio Puroland with her, and even bought up stacks of Happy Meals when they came with little Hello Kitty plushies, all to put a smile on her face. So when he heard about a new Hello Kitty-themed room at Asakusa's Tobu Hotel in Tokyo, his daughter immediately sprang to mind. However, he hadn't heard her mention Hello Kitty in a while so he wasn't sure if that was a phase that had passed, but when he asked her if she wanted to stay there, her eyes widened as she told him, 'I want to go! I definitely want to go! I absolutely want to stay there!!' ▼ So off they went. Though there are a few hotels around Japan with Hello Kitty-themed hotel rooms, this is the only one in Tokyo's 23 wards, and there are actually two rooms to choose from: the 'Sakura Celestial Maiden Room' and the 'Wa-Modern Room'. ▼ At his daughter's request, they stayed in the Sakura Celestial Maiden Room. Just as the name suggests, Hello Kitty, or 'Kitty-chan' as she's known in Japanese, was dressed as a celestial maiden, welcoming P.K. and Rei to their night's stay with an array of traditional motifs, and swirls of cherry blossoms in full bloom. There were two large murals of Kitty-chan on the walls, and although the sweet cat was in costume for this event, Kitty-chan's signature bow was still evident, appearing on the beds, in the form of pillows… ▼…and as handles on the bedside drawers. With four beds inside, there wasn't a lot of room to move around, but there was a beautiful Japanese-style space in the corner, with a low table and chairs, pink tatami mats with Hello Kitty bows on the edges, and a large plushie of Kitty-chan, as celestial maiden, sitting on the floor like a hostess at a traditional Japanese inn. Rei-chan squealed in delight upon seeing Kitty-chan, giving her a huge hug that showed P.K. just how strong the Sanrio bonds still were in his daughter. Hello Kitty was like a magnet for Rei, giving her a burst of excited energy that saw her jumping around the room. P.K. was so delighted to see her so hyped that he let her run wild for a little while, figuring she would eventually wear herself out from all the excitement. However, P.K. didn't quite realise the extent of his daughter's love for the cat, and the themed room, because at 10 p.m., after they'd had dinner and their nightly baths, Rei, who would normally be dozing off at this time, was as excited as ever. ▼ In fact, her voltage just kept rising. With her eyes wide open, Rei didn't look sleepy at all, and although P.K. couldn't match her excitement at being inside a pink Hello Kitty-themed room, he was happy to indulge her, allowing her to leap and squeal until she eventually wore herself out, by which time it was past 11:30 p.m. ▼ Rei fell fast asleep as if her battery had run out, hugging Kitty-chan instead of her dad. They both slept like logs in Hello Kitty's celestial paradise, and the next day, before checking out, Rei gave Kitty-chan one last hug while whispering, 'I'll definitely come and stay again.' Although P.K. couldn't see Kitty-chan respond to Rei's whispers, he had a feeling his daughter and Hello Kitty were on a different wavelength to him, communicating in secret ways he wasn't able to understand. After their night in the themed room, P.K. learned that a girl's love for Hello Kitty has the power to outlast all other character obsessions, and he also learned that if you stay in this room with a Kitty-obsessed child you may not get a lot of sleep, but you will get a ton of brownie points as a parent. Hotel information Asakusa Tobu Hotel /浅草東武ホテル Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Asakusa 1-1-15 東京都台東区浅草1-1-15 Website Photos©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]