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Sanrio's Salmon Mascot's 1st Set of Anthropomorphized Goods Released

Anime News Network's merchandise coverage sponsored by Tokyo Otaku Mode.

Sanrio's recently transformed salmon mascot Kirimi-chan and his friends are getting their first wave of goods. Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries already appointed Kirimi-chan (voiced by Tsubasa Yonaga). as the "Ambassador of Let's Eat Fish." His friends are other meats reimagined as cute boys, including the Saba-kun (mackerel fillet, voiced by Takuma Terashima), Sasamin (chicken tenderloin, Daiki Yamashita), Same-senpai (shark, Takuya Satō), Tai-kun (sea bream fillet, Nobunaga Shimazaki), and Chateaubriand (Chateaubriand steak, Kenjirō Tsuda).

The goods include a clear file (350 yen) and six button pins (300 yen each). Sanrio will distribute the goods at Animate Ikebukuro head office this weekend.

Customers who arrive first will get a promotional card for the Vanguard card game. Customers who buy more than 1,000 yen worth of goods will also get a Kirimi-chan "special situations CD."

The mascot's official account previously tweeted a coded message that translated to "The anthropomorphic products will be released soon..."

Sanrio debuted the original Kirimi-chan. character in February 2014, after it garnered popularity in Sanrio's edible character voting competition the year before. It has since spawned a hit line of character goods as well as image stamps in the Line app, and it has drawn crowds at event appearances.

[Via Nijimen]