The Unkindest Cut

Looks like Hikonyan isn't the only super-cute character to find himself in trouble. Meet the otherwise unassuming Kiritanpo-kun, stalwart mascot of the beloved rice dumpling dish from Akita prefecture. The culprit? Akita-based souvenir manufacturer Fru-Ru, who announced a series of similarly-named merchandise called Kirichimpo-kun.

What a difference a syllable makes: while "Kiritanpo-kun" (pictured above) evokes warm feelings of hot pot dishes served over an open hearth, Kirichimpo-kun sounds suspiciously like "Mr. Cut Penis." Yikes! Alas, after web-magazine Gigazine introduced the gag goods (which included Mr. Cut Penis phone-straps and ear cleaners (!)) several days ago, Fru-Ru found itself receiving "so many angry phone calls that they have decided to cancel the release... It's a real shame."

Comments

[jg]

You might be interested in this:

http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0803/04/news084.html

[Matt]

Thanks for the link. On a related note, I covered Mame Mokkori, one of the "Ero-Kawa" ("erotic-cute") characters mentioned in that piece, here:

http://altjapan.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/03/questionable_ja.html