Still have a sweet tooth from Cupcake Rilakkuma? Check out this Winter Donut Rilakkuma!

“Would you like a donut?”

Pretty little pearl beads on his winter cap!

A glazed donut with sprinkles! (Is it “donut” or “doughnut”?)

Delicate pastel colors on the tag: “More Relax by Rilakkuma”

Building a donut community here in Bear Nation with Mister Donut Rilakkuma!

Yum! Still trying to understand the connection between the donut and wintertime, but I like to think it has something to do with donut frosting and a frosty winter hahahaha.

Though we’re in the opposite season of a snowy winter, every season is certainly donut season haha, so I think this plushie is still very appropriate for the moment, especially following Cupcake Rilakkuma. Or perhaps we can pretend we are living in the southern hemisphere for the moment.

This fluffy Rilakkuma is from the Fansclub Winter Pastel Series, which was released in November 2010! This release has such a lovely color scheme!

For sending me this donut-y Rilakkuma sweetheart, thanks so much to reader Trinie, who has a fantastic knack for sending me Rilakkumas that happen to be holding some of my favorite foods hehehe.

Since I was out of town this past weekend, imagine my surprise when I see all the new Rilakkuma releases flooding in!!

So strap in for the gigantic Rilakkuma wave of news: the Rilakkuma Space Series is here!!

Really beautiful art with this one! Absolutely love the small details, like the dango with its own rings :)

Super fly full spacesuits for the standard release: 1,780円 each. HILARIOUS that Kiiroitori got a set of bear ears for its spacesuit hahahaha

Rilakkuma and pals get their own planets for the Rilakkuma Store Exclusive release: 2,500円 each. I love the extra design motifs like the pile of donuts (perfect for this post)!

Looks like the team met the local Kumartians for the Rilakkuma Store and Kiddyland Exclusive: 2,300円 for Rilakkuma, 2,000円 for Korilakkuma and Kiiroitori (each). I wonder what the Kumartians look like from the back – will they have zippers and tails too?

Really phenomenal artwork!

WOW really this is such a beautiful series! I want them all haha I’ve pre-ordered the standard release Rilakkuma (yellow space suit solo), the whole set of “Kumartians” (great name coined by Ariel!) Rilakkuma Store/Kiddyland exclusives, and the Rilakkuma Store exclusive Rilakkuma (yellow space suit on a planet).

Ariel translated the long tagline name for us as “Outer space is far away from here~no gravity, time to relax” (Uchu No Kanatade Fuwa Fuwa Goron) – what a fantastic perspective to have! The abbreviated title for this you might also find (like on the poster and goods page) is 宇宙でだららん, which roughly means “Relaxing in Space” – seems like Rilakkuma would be really talented at that!

I think this series is absolutely incredible because of its creativity and detail! I really can’t wait to see the rest of this series (Caravan, Net Shop Exclusive) – too cool!

Super perfect release in so many ways, because I want to start playing Kerbal Space Program soon; it was on sale recently on Steam!

And of course, when when it rains Rilakkuma news, it pours: Harajuku Rilakkuma Store’s 2nd Anniversary designs were announced as well!

Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma having fun on their inner tubes… and Kiiroitori as a mermaid (merbird)? 2,300円 each.

Such beautiful beach bums! I love these a lot because they remind me of my own beachy hometown in Florida – what a perfect series for the summer! Love that Korilakkuma even had little flippers on hehehe.

And finally, last but certainly not least, is another particularly striking plushie release: Rilakkuma’s tribute to Claude Monet’s La Japonaise!

Very accurate Rilakkuma-fication of Monet’s La Japonaise, IMO! Beautiful attention to detail on the fans, too.

And the painting is brought to 3D, in Rilakkuma plushie form, for just 2,484円.

Stunning! This release honors Looking East: Western Artists and the Allure of Japan, an exhibition about japonisme organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Did you know Claude Monet had a collection of over 200 Japanese prints, more in both quantity and quality of any other painter of this period?

Japonisme is a really fascinating facet of art history – and as a modern Japanese interpretation of piece of art produced by a European artist inspired by Japan, I think this Rilakkuma version is quite a subversive take on the Western gaze on the East that was so characteristic of japonisme. Go Rilakkuma!

I’m really excited about this plushie too since it merges art and Rilakkuma, a combination I really cherish posting about on this blog! I’m really temped to commit and purchase this one, but whew, gotta see what my budget looks like for the rest of the year. It’s a really beautiful tribute/collaboration piece!

Wow, Rilakkuma is so adventurous this summer – from beach, to art, and all the way to space! I think he has a more lively social life than most of us do hahaha.