We Love Anime, But I Admit It: There Is Some Really Weird Anime Merch Out There
The world of Anime is no stranger to producing merchandise, of course; many fans have oodles of t-shirts, figurines, and other run-of-the-mill merch items. However, things rarely stop at the predictable when it comes to anime merch, and some of the most outlandish examples will leave even the most dedicated fans scratching their heads as to who exactly this was made for.
Anime is colossally popular in Japan, so much so that it permeates nearly every facet of life in the country. It's not uncommon to see foodstuffs branded with anime characters, even when the food has little to nothing to do with the series itself. Anime characters can be seen promoting all manner of stores and events as well, and sometimes even cosplayers are involved. The weirdest anime merch out there often has a tenuous connection to the main franchise, but that doesn't have to be the case. Sometimes it's weird because of how specific it is, bringing a single joke to life in a way no one would expect.
Jojo Golden Wind Shoes
Anime Franchise: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
- Created by
- Hirohiko Araki
- TV Show(s)
- JoJo Bizarre Adventure
While anime collabs with shoe brands are relatively common, they’re often sneakers. This Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure collection by Mayla is instead aiming to take the series into the world of high fashion with pumps, each designed after one of the seven main characters from Golden Wind, the fifth installment of the series. The pumps were available for preorder through September 2024, and were distributed in special shoeboxes, each coming with an art card featuring the character the shoe was designed around.
The shoes sold for around $200 USD a pair, but when it comes to high fashion, that’s just how much fans can expect to drop. The design is quite an obvious reference to those in the know, while those who aren’t familiar with Jojo will just see some particularly colorful kicks, making them a perfect piece of subtle fandom wear. It's certainly better than Jojo underwear, right?
Space Battleship Yamato Watch
Anime Franchise: Space Battleship Yamato
When it comes to accessories for anime fans, watches are another piece that isn’t too uncommon to see branded with an anime franchise. However, not every franchise is landing a super-high-end collab like the one Space Battleship Yamato just did. To celebrate the series’ 50th anniversary in 2024, Seiko announced that it would be producing a limited run of Yamato-themed watches. These watches feature the ship’s red and black color scheme, as well as special dials that reflect those seen in the series.
Limited to just 5,000 pieces, the watches are being sold for around $425 USD each, and come in a special box featuring original artwork from the series. Given Space Battleship Yamato’s age, the target audience for these watches is definitely working professionals, so the watch’s elegant design is a good fit for showing your love for the series in a work-appropriate way.
A Gengar Mouth... Pillow?
Anime Franchise: Pokémon
- Created by
- Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
- First Film
- Pokemon: The First Movie
Have you ever wanted to sleep, but really need your head in something’s mouth to get that proper rest you need? Well, Pokémon and Premium Bandai are here for you with their moderately confusing Gengar hooded headrest. Just place your weary head in Gengar’s mouth, and let it whisk you away to a dreamless sleep--after all, it’s in the perfect position to use Dream Eater. If the mouth’s not enough for you, roll out Gengar’s 170 cm (About 5.5 feet) tongue to provide your body with a little extra padding.
These Gengar headrests were infamous for selling out in just a few hours when they were first introduced, despite an expensive $250 USD price tag. If Gengar isn’t the right match for you, you could always go for the Metapod sleeping bag they introduced first, although size may be an issue for taller fans.
Goku's Computer Chair
Anime Franchise: Dragon Ball
- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First Film
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
Transform the computer gaming experience into that of a Super Saiyan with this Goku-themed computer chair, crafted by Secretlab. Based on their Titan EVO design, the chair features upholstery that matches with Goku’s iconic gi, featuring the seven dragon balls on the back. Created to help celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary, there’s also a Vegeta skin, themed around the Prince of All Saiyans’ iconic armor. The chair comes in a variety of sizes as well, to accommodate fans of all body types.
Selling for north of $600 USD, it’s an expensive office chair, to be sure, but it comes with a variety of features, such as lumbar support and a magnetic memory foam head pillow. Whether it’s worth the cost is a question only buyers can answer, but there certainly aren’t many chairs out there like it.
Neon Genesis Evangelion Eye Drops
Anime Franchise: Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Created by
- Hideaki Anno
- First Film
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
If there’s any anime franchise out there that will seemingly strike a deal with anyone, it’s Evangelion. Not long ago, it was revealed that Evangelion happy meal toys would be appearing at McDonald’s in Japan, but that’s far from the weirdest. Instead, give these Evangelion eye drops a look. Featuring four designs that focus on the EVA pilots, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Kaworu, they all seemingly contain the same eye drop formula. This is no short-time promo, however; the deal originally began in 2012, and was still going as late as 2022.
The connection between Evangelion and eye drops seems tenuous, at best, but if there’s not a big difference between various brands of eye drops, then why not grab the ones with Evangelion characters on it? At least, that seems to be the thinking behind these products.
Attack on Titan Detergent
Anime Franchise: Attack on Titan
- Created by
- Hajime Isayama
- First Film
- Attack on Titan: The Crimson Bow and Arrow
Attack on Titan took the world by storm, and became wildly popular not long after the anime started. That opened the door for all kinds of promotional opportunities, but one stands out. A certain brand of clothing detergent in Japan is known as “Attack”, and, well, the marketing seemed to write itself. Attack joined forces with Attack on Titan, creating a poll for fans to determine which character should grace the packaging. Levi Ackerman, a man who likes things clean, took the poll, and came to be featured on the bottles when they hit shelves.
Things got even more bizarre when a commercial aired with some meta discussion of the artwork used on the packaging, featuring other characters from Attack on Titan. While the promotion ended a long time ago now, fans can still be found buying and selling empty jugs online.
Bocchi the Rock Audio Interface Device
Anime Franchise: Bocchi the Rock
Many fans of music series Bocchi the Rock! were inspired to start creating their own music by the show, and Yamaha is here to hook those fans deeper with some highly specific equipment that’s been branded for the series. In 2024, Yamaha released a special version of the Steinberg UR22C USB 3 audio interface, branded with Bocchi the Rock! logos and an image of the protagonist herself. Functionally, the device is identical to others of the same model, of course, but its unique case make it instantly recognizable.
Since this is some high-end audio equipment (selling for around $230 USD), it’s certainly not going to appeal to everyone, but Yamaha conducted all kinds of lessons and courses over the summer of 2024 to help get fans engaged with music themselves. It might be pretty niche, but at least this crossover marketing makes a bit of sense.
Al's Helmet Sake Glass
Anime Franchise: Fullmetal Alchemist
- Created by
- Hiromu Arakawa
If drinking from the skulls of your enemies isn’t your thing, then perhaps the helmet of a favorite anime character will do instead? Fullmetal Alchemist teamed up with Castem Co. to create the “Cup of Alphonse,” a stainless steel sake glass in the shape of Al’s iconic armor helmet. Given that the helmet is round and not exactly suited to being set down on a table, it comes with a stand to help offer a little more balance. Once it’s empty, fans can set it upside down and admire the details on Alphonse Elric’s helmet.
Selling for just about $50 USD, it’s one of the more affordable items looked at so far, but that doesn’t make it any less strange. Users who are hoping to attach a soul to this helmet will need to provide their own blood seals, of course.
Initial D Wireless Car Mouse
Anime Franchise: Initial D
Initial D: First Stage
- Release Date
- 1998 - 1998-00-00
- Directors
- Shin Misawa
- Writers
- Koji Kaneda
Turning collectibles into functional items can be a good way to increase the value offered to the consumer, so why not take that model car and turn it into a wireless mouse? With buttons and a scrollwheel in the hood, this mouse looks just like Ryosuke Takahashi's RX-7, and it’s just one in a series of wireless mice themed around Initial D cars. The lights can even light up when it’s powered on. The mouse also comes with one of three mouse pads, each featuring art from Initial D.
One can’t help but wonder how effective the car is as a mouse; while it seems to have all the requisite buttons, it seems like the wheels might cause it to move in an awkward manner that would make using it as a mouse difficult. Let’s be real, though: who’s using this as their primary mouse, anyway?
Hellshake Yano's Guitar
Anime Franchise: Pop Team Epic
Hellshake Yano is a character who originated from Pop Team Epic, a show that’s a nonstop barrage of bizarre gags and bits. Hellshake Yano became an infamous bit from the series, with Pipimi daydreaming extensively about this legendary guitarist. Apollon Music brought the design of Hellshake Yano’s iconic guitar to life, making the drawing into something that would actually function as a guitar. The end result is pretty sick, even for those who aren’t interested in Pop Team Epic.
Of course, as a real, functioning guitar, this thing doesn’t come cheap. With the black version available for 85,000 Yen (roughly $560 USD) and the red and gray versions slightly less (about $525 USD), fans will have to drop a pretty penny if they want to rock out like Hellshake Yano. Considering it all springs from a one-off bit in a sketch show, Hellshake Yano’s guitar is definitely one of the weirdest pieces of anime merch a fan can buy.
