Interest

Peach-Pit Character Now Has Her Own Soda

The duo Peach-Pit is well-known for their 2003 manga Rozen Maiden about dolls that come to life, so it's appropriate that they are also involved with promotion for the "Ashiya Ningyou Kanshasai" (Ashiya Doll Thanksgiving), a local festival in the Kitakyushu suburb of Ashiya that celebrates dolls. The legend goes that once upon a time, a doll drawn from the sea lifted a plague that was ravaging the area. The festival, held at a local shrine every April 29, gives thanks to dolls for saving the town. Peach-Pit has collaborated with the festival since 2006, bringing many more visitors to it than before.

Last year Peach-Pit designed an original character, Komari (who has a doll called Minako), to serve as a mascot for the festival. This year, she's making an appearance on a line of sodas — which, naturally, are peach-flavored. Playing off the name of the festival, the sodas are called "Ashiya Ningyou Kanshasai-der" ("cider" is the Japanese term for fruit-flavored soft drinks).

A single bottle of doll soda sells for ¥280 ($2.75) while a gift box of three bottles costs ¥1,080 ($10.62). The gift box comes with two original postcards not available for sale. The postcards are necessary for invitation to a Peach-Pit fan event sometime in the future. Customers may also get a special prize for ordering a carton (24 bottles). The soda may be bought at stores and a government-run lodge in the Ashiya area.

[Via Comic Natalie, Ashiya Ningyou Kanshasai official site and Oka-no Minato Jinja official site]