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Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji Store To Open in Harajuku
posted on by Choo Sum Lee
The "Maruko & Coji-Coji Store," a specialty store dedicated to Momoko Sakura's Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji series, will open permanently on the second floor of Kiddyland's Harajuku store on March 26. To commemorate the store's opening, an illustration depicting the characters from Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji holding hands and playing together has been released.
Items featuring the above illustration and the store's logo will be released as the first limited-edition products of "Maruko & Coji-Coji Store". The lineup includes acrylic key chains, stickers, and eco-bags.
For every 1,000 yen worth (including tax) of merchandise purchased in the store, buyers will receive one sticker out of a collection of 16 different character stickers, which includes a secret one. Those who spend over 8,000 yen including tax will receive a marche bag.
The store will also feature pre-sale items such as "Maruko and Coji-Coji Plushie" and "Maruko and Coji-Coji Letter Type Flat Mask Case," as well as new products such as postcards and tote bags. In addition, there will be a corner in the store where original drawings and lithographs of Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji will be displayed.
Furthermore, from the same day as the store's opening to April 20, a limited-time collaboration cafe titled "Maruko and Coji-Coji Happy Easter Cafe" will be held at the Anipara Cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo. Based on the theme of an Easter party joined by Maruko and Coji-Coji, the store offers an Easter-inspired menu as well as limited merchandise featuring Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji characters in colorful Easter costumes.
Finally, stamp rallies will be held at both the "Maruko & Coji-Coji Store" and the "Maruko and Coji-Coji Happy Easter Cafe". Visitors who collect the stamps from both locations and present them at the cash register of either will receive a special hologram sticker.
Chibi Maruko-chan and Coji-Coji's creator Momoko Sakura passed away due to breast cancer at the age of 53 in August 2018. She serialized the Chibi Maruko-chan manga in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from 1986 to 1996. The manga inspired a television anime that is almost consistently the #3 rated television anime series after Sazae-san and Detective Conan. The first anime series ran from 1990 to 1992, and the ongoing second series premiered in 1995.
Sakura serialized the Coji-Coji manga from 1994 to 1997. She also contributed to the script of the anime adaptation, which aired from 1997 to 1999.
Source: Comic Natalie
