Can you believe it’s Rilakkuma’s 20th anniversary this year? There’s lots happening to celebrate including new products and a US tour!
There’s a special 20th anniversary website with all the upcoming events and releases, plus free wallpapers. They’ve also made a special video that shows some of the designs and themes over the years and makes me very nostalgic. I think I first came across Rilakkuma during our 2007 trip to Japan so he’s been one of my favourite kawaii characters for a long time.
As well as the Japan events, there will be a a US tour. The Rilakkuma pop up will be visiting Newark, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago over June and July so check the dates and locations to see if you can visit. They’re promising interactive exhibits and exclusive merch and you can sign up to their mailing list or follow @rilakkuma_usa_tour on Instagram for updates.
There haven’t been a lot of special products released – yet! – but the recent Happy For You collection is themed around celebrations and gratitude. You can find most of the products at San-X (JP – requires forwarding service), VeryGoods (JP) or Cuteness (EU) including plush, stationery and home goods.
There’s also an incredible 20th anniversary Halloween plush with Rilakkuma as Dracula! He’s poseable and has a removable outfit, plus a coffin to sleep in. This is a made to order item that’s exclusive to the San-X shop (JP – requires forwarding service) and won’t be available anywhere else – get your order in before June 4th if you want one. PS. If you’re a Sumikko Gurashi fan, they also have a Halloween candy plush set.
20 years is a huge milestone so we’ll definitely plan some more special Rilakkuma posts this year.
Marceline is the co-founder and editor of Super Cute Kawaii and the author of The Super Cute Book of Kawaii. She lives by the seaside in Scotland in a flat full of kawaii, creating cute character goods as Asking For Trouble, working on endless craft projects and playing Nintendo.
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