I recently got a message in my tumblr about cleaning Rilakkuma plushies, and that became the inspiration for my next photo!
See short answer here.
Ready for a bath!
Anyway, I posted my response on tumblr, but this ask got me thinking about cleaning and maintenance of Rilakkuma plushies, so I thought I would pass on a few tips:
Hoshifune over on tumblr found this Rilakkuma on the wall of a game center in Machida – it’s Rilakkuma in Edvard Munch’s famous painting, The Scream!
Edvard Munch was an expressionist artist who was famous for depicting (and evoking) strong emotions through his artwork. Learn more about Edvard Munch and his works over at Artsy’s Edvard Munch page!
Spotted by: hoshifune
Tried to Google and reverse image search to see if I could find the original, and didn’t have any luck, but found another cute variation on this Flickr. Anyway, what a coincidence – a few days ago, my sister and I were thinking that this kind of thing might be a good idea for the Rilakkuma Lifestyle tumblr: inserting Rilakkuma into famous works of art! We actually thought of The Scream as a great way to start, too. Maybe there will be some artful Rilakkuma photos to come?
Disclaimer: these tips are specific to the smaller ~22 cm collectible plushies (like this, this, and this) sold in stores and events, not the UFO catchers, licensed goods, larger sizes, or extra-company collaborations (like Lawson plushies). These guidelines may be more applicable to recent releases and may not hold true for older ones. I am not affiliated with San-X; this list was compiled strictly from personal observation and experience.
San-X is bringing back the popular Rilakkuma-shaped cheesecakes from last year!
Rilakkuma cheesecakes
Rilakkuma will be caramel crème brûlée flavored, and Korilakkuma will be blueberry mousse flavored! Looks yummy – apparently the cream cheese is from France haha. Too bad they don’t ship internationally! But maybe I would feel weird about eating Rilakkuma’s face?
To celebrate Rilakkuma’s 10th anniversary next year, San-X will release the Zodiac Series in January 2013. Each of the plushies represents one of 12 astrological signs of the (Western tropical) Zodiac.
To be honest, I’m kind of lost on the official name: Horoscope? Astrology? Constellation? I’ve seen this series referred to as so many different things in so many different languages (Google translate just made me more confused). I guess the naming seems ambiguous to me because San-X also releases the annual Chinese Zodiac plushies, too.
10th Anniversary Zodiac Series
I might want to order the Taurus, the Cancer, and the Scorpio in the future. However, I’m looking forward the entire release because they each have such great details – like the Gemini holding two Korilakkumas and Sagittarius’s quiver. Libra is even weighing dango against a star! That must be some pretty heavy dango. Also, there’s a nice (and appropriate) star motif, and each one has has their astrological sign embroidered in gold. I’d take them all if I could!
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that this series is being released during the Chinese year of the snake? In sidereal astrology, Ophiuchus/Serpentarius (the Serpent Bearer) is often considered the 13th symbol! And look: next year’s annual lunar new year’s release is a serpent-bearing Rilakkuma!
Year of the Snake Series 2013
ETA (1/28/13): Acquired!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
My brother was home for the weekend, so I snapped a few shots of his Rilakkuma plushies! They are from the Marine Series, which was released in May 2012. Because San-X did not release a Kiiroitori for this series, this is actually the complete set!
Aww! So cute together!
Their hats are so well done!
“daradara since 2003” – this means that they have been lazy since their birth in 2003!
It’s so nice to see the full set! I have to admit that I am personally biased towards Rilakkuma, so all of my plushies are Rilakkuma only, but having the matching set is so sweet! They’re sized perfectly, so that when they are standing together, it looks like they are holding hands!
This mint chocolate chip ice cream Rilakkuma was released in September 2012 to celebrate the Sapporo Rilakkuma Store’s 1st anniversary – even the tag is ice cream shaped! Breathtaking details as always, down to the tiny chocolate sprinkles all over the hood and the little mint leaves at the top. The back of the hood also has a celebration message (Happy 1st Birthday! Sapporo.) embroidered in gold! Luckily, I know a bunch of places selling them, but for now I’m going to restrain myself from splurging since I’ve been on a Rilakkuma shopping spree for the past few months already.
Happy birthday, Sapporo branch!
In general, all of the special store anniversary releases in 2012 were super cute, from Kichijoji’s 2nd Anniversary strawberry cake plushies to Umeda’s 4th anniversary chocolate pudding plushies. I would love to have any of them, but I’ve got my eye out for the Sapporo version because he’s a combination of my favorite ice cream flavor and my favorite Rilakkuma clothing item, the poncho!
ETA (12/15/2010): Acquired!
San-X has announced that they will be releasing a new Rilakkuma series called “Let’s Play With Rabbits!” in December 2012:
They look like Energizer bunnies! Looks like Rilakkuma even gets a little front pocket! The new rabbit ears aren’t too much longer than their existing ears, so it kinda seems like they’re just wearing fuzzy pink pajamas. The animal costumes are always super cute, but when have we seen Rilakkuma as a bunny before?
Year of the Rabbit Series 2011
Bunnies Series Rilakkuma with removable suit released December 2010. Also, this series has a strawberry motif, and this Rilakkuma has a little embroidered strawberry on his butt hahaha.
Korilakkuma has worn another pink bunny costume before back in 2007!
So many bunnies! No complaints here though – these new rabbit plushies look super soft, and San-X always seems to continually improve in quality! The newest edition looks a little fluffier than the previous versions. It’ll be lovely to see these new bunny plushies when they hit the market!
This Rilakkuma was a gift to my sister for Thanksgiving! He is her first themed Rilakkuma (she already has a medium-sized bear like the one I use for Rilakkuma Lifestyle photos). He comes from the same Chicken/Egg Series as the Caravan version I posted earlier, which came out this past October. He also came in the same decorated package as my Hamburger Rilakkuma! This Chicken Rilakkuma has some pretty adorable details:
He looks so cozy! And he has a front pocket like a kangaroo.
The inside of his chicken suit is lined with a soft red checkered gingham. This fabric is also used to pad the feet of the suit.
Fabric tag illustration: looks like Rilakkuma is breaking out of an egg!
The costume is so soft and well-made! His chicken suit is actually fully removable, but doing so is tantamount to dressing/undressing a cat so I think that may be more trouble than it’s worth.
I received this Hamburger Series Rilakkuma plushie before I started this blog, but I never got a chance to share so here he is now!
Decorated package came with Hello Kitty cream puff squishy, little packets of furikake decorated with anime, and Rilakkuma stationary.
I guess he’s technically a cheeseburger.
Rilakkuma tomato ketchup! I’m always in awe of their details.
Burger hat detail
He’s so cute – I’m glad to add him to my personal collection! This bear came out in February 2012, as a limited edition corollary plushie set of the Happy Picnic Series:
RilakkumaLifestyle 
