Anime about characters inspired by sweet rice cakes debuts on Friday
Kim Sukwon's Mameshiba character franchise is inspiring a spinoff short net anime titled Oyatsushiba that will premiere on YouTube on Friday, November 14 at 6:00 p.m. (4:00 a.m. EST). There are 20 weekly episodes, each about one minute long, in what the staff describes as the "first batch" for Oyatsushiba . KaKa Creation 's KaKa Technology Studio is animating this "bean trivia x sweet comedy."
Image via PR Times © 豆しば ／ おやつしば製作委員会
Mameshiba (literally, "bean-shiba") are mysterious creatures that are not quite beans nor Shiba dogs, but something in between. Each character sports a different piece of trivia, which is also part of the pun (the Japanese word for trivia is "mamechishiki"). The popular Mameshiba brand characters began starring in a series of animated television shorts in Japan in 2008. Dentsu brought the characters to the United States in 2009.
The characters in Oyatsushiba are in the shape of snacks ("oyatsu" in Japanese), and each will similarly feature their own trivia.
The anime's cast includes:
Akari Kitō as Daifuku Shiba (inspired by sweet bean rice cake, center front in image above)
as Daifuku Shiba (inspired by sweet bean rice cake, center front in image above) Honoka Inoue as Ichigo Daifuku Shiba (strawberry rice cake, right front)
as Ichigo Daifuku Shiba (strawberry rice cake, right front) Natsuki Hanae as Mame Daifuku Shiba (whole-bean rice cake, left front)
as Mame Daifuku Shiba (whole-bean rice cake, left front) Miku Itō as Matcha Daifuku Shiba (green tea rice cake, far left back)
as Matcha Daifuku Shiba (green tea rice cake, far left back) Takuma Nagatsuka as Yaki Daifuku Shiba (toasted rice cake, far right back)
as Yaki Daifuku Shiba (toasted rice cake, far right back) Kotone Izumi as Ohagi Shiba (red bean rice cake, center right back)
as Ohagi Shiba (red bean rice cake, center right back) Yumiri Hanamori as Sakura Ohagi Shiba (cherry rice cake, center left back)
Content creator duo MofMofMo is creating the music for the anime.
Viz Media released the Mameshiba: On the Loose! and Mameshiba: We Could Be Heroes graphic novels, as well as the Meet Mameshiba character guide in North America.
Sources: PR Times, Comic Natalie