Weird Japanese Toys
The Robot Butterfly
Now this one definitely comes under the heading ‘cool’. Any budding lepidopterist would be thrilled to have one of these robotic butterflies fluttering in a jar in their home and there is no need to fret about the oxygen running out. Beautifully designed, this toy represents a wonderful combination of nature and machine.
Belching Coin Munching Face Bank
Eerily resembling the Face of Boe from Doctor Who, this rather stomach-turning gurning coin gobbler devours cash with the gusto of the tax man. Genuinely creepy and clearly without manners, why anyone would want one of these monstrous mush-slabs chomping down on their money is beyond any rational person, but luckily there are queues of nutty consumers waiting to feed these freaky face banks their pennies.
Marshmallow Robot Gets Its Groove On
Mr Blobby meets John Travolta in the chubby form of this Japanese dancing robot with dance choreography straight from a Timberlake video. OK, so its moves are more like those of your mad uncle who dances at family parties after a cocktail too many, but it would still be fun to have next to your stereo until the novelty wore off after a song or two.
Green Slime Pig
It’s a common feeling. You’re walking the toy aisles being met by loads of run-of-the-mill action figurines, but what you’re really after is a pig made from ectoplasm that regains its shape from a disgusting splat once thrown against a hard surface. Luckily, this elderly gentleman stumbled across a Japanese guy who sold him this rather freaky oinker fashioned from what looks like atomic gloop.
Sticky Blinking Eyeballs
They’ve got their eyes on you. Who wouldn’t want to be stared at by these huge blinking eyeballs? Anybody with the slightest shred of sanity, that’s who. Can you imagine getting dressed in front of those spying blinkers? Obviously designed to be fun, these unsettling orbs are just plain odd, but it would be a laugh to leave them in unsuspecting victims’ bedrooms. What will they come up with next?
Chomping Snake Finger Trap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcih16EIzJo
They came up with this. Certain to scare the living daylights out of young users, this snake- like contraption securely fastens itself to the victim’s finger and bites down hard. Modelled on the finger traps once used to terrify people, this bizarre toy slithers along the fine line between torture and entertainment. Every home should have one.
Potty Training Dog Toy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfrBnRVzwAs&feature=related
Designed to help toddlers understand the need to get their toilet deposits properly dumped and flushed, this cute dog toy drops the kids off at the pool when placed on the toilet seat, which just leaves the child to hit the handle and flush the poop away. Be sure to inform children that singing boisterously after relieving themselves is optional and is in fact frowned upon in some countries.
Chuckling Poop Toy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4FPJjIbC_8
The natural progression from the example above, this giggling pile of poo is modelled on the jovial waste deposits which feature in the Japanese Dr Slump Manga cartoons. More traditional toy buyers may wish to stay with Disney. When exactly did poop become fun? Either way, most toy collectors in the West would view this vibrating chuckler as nothing more than a piece of crap.
