Double Prizes: Hangry and Angry

I'll come right out and admit that I had no idea what Hangry and Angry were until last week, when I started looking up the origins for a number of my crane game winnings. Just like Nyanpire, these things  were quirky plushes that I found interesting and tried to win whenever I saw them. Still, they had a certain feel to them like they were connected to something else.

Turns out Hangry and Angry are the cat plush mascots for the female rock duo of the same name comprised of two former Morning Musume members. The band's sound is okay. Of the songs I've heard from them, I think Top Secret is my favorite.

You may have noticed that several plushies show up in the video and that the girls themselves play crane games to win them. The Wikipedia article mentions that Hangry and Angry exist in part to promote their toy line. Well, mission accomplished. They did so well at pushing stuffed animals that I never realized they were a band, despite most of their singles debuting while I lived in Japan. Anyway, let's look at some more toys.

This one is Hangry. She always sports a red mohawk and frequently wears an eyepatch. Her style is more punk whereas Angry is more gothic lolita. Consequently, I like Angry's look a bit better. I'm slightly disappointed I never won an Angry doll in this size.

Here are a few coin purses featuring the characters. Angry looks very excited to have found a skull. These purses aren't really large or durable enough for practical use.

These coffin shaped holders are a bit more solid. These were pretty easy to get, hence the two styles of each. Probably have some extras lying around somewhere as well.

This is my favorite of the four. You wouldn't be able to fit much inside.

Hangry and Angry are a weird case of related merchandise outstripping source material. Even though I didn't initially seek out the Nyanpire manga and anime, I was aware they existed shortly after I found the plushies. Had I not started these blog entries, I would never have learned about Hangry and Angry's music. I don't know what this says, especially considering merchandise sales are one of the goals of the band, but it is an interesting case to consider.

Double Prizes: Nyanpire

As I've mentioned before, I love Japanese crane games. No visit to Kumamoto was complete without a visit to UFO Catcher, Geo, or the basement of Tsutaya (though that last one rarely produced any results). In fact, on more than one occasion, prizes from these machines would introduce me to some aspect of Japanese pop culture I was not aware of before. One such property was The Gothic World of Nyanpire.

The Gothic World of Nyanpire began as a doujinshi in 2009. Though often associated with adult content, the term doujinshi refers to any self published material, be it book, magazine, or manga. In this case, Nyanpire is nothing more than some short stories about the titular character and his friends. They are relatively short as well, the first two volumes weighing in at 18 and 24 pages respectively. We learn about Nyanpire's origins and watch as he meets new friends and is taken in by a girl named Misaki. The manga is ongoing and was popular enough to get a 12 episode OVA last year.

For me, however, Nyanpire began as an adorable cat plush in a crane machine. I can't remember which one I won first, but I became hooked on collecting them pretty quickly. This one's sash reads "血を下さい" which means "Blood, please". Adorable and perhaps just a little frightening.

Nyanpire goods come in all shapes and sizes. The upper plush is meant to be attached to a bag or phone. The lower one is a coin purse. I remember it being exceptionally hard to win. I probably could have filled it twice over with the change I used to get it.

As I said, the Nyanpire manga largely consists of Nyanpire hanging out with his friends. The first one he runs into is this guy. His name is Masamunya and his look is based on the historical figure Date Masamune. You may have noticed that both Nyanpire and Masamunya both have "nya" in their names. This is because "nya" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound cats make. Also, how easy was it to get me to try for this twice? All they did was put him in festival wear, opened his mouth, and gave him a little fan.

Another of Nyanpire's friends, Chachamaru is the only cat I know of in the series without "nya" in his name. He is the last cat Nyanpire befriends. I have a larger version of this one somewhere, but I believe it's currently boxed away somewhere.

There's a fourth cat as well, whom Nyanpire meets at the end of the first manga. He is an angel/cat who has been thrown out of heaven named Nyatenshi. I don't have any plushes of him...yet.