This post will cover all the Banpresto Pokemon releases from mid to late May.
While the Nebukuro (sleeping bag) line of Pikachu plush is not new, these plush were the official start of the Banpresto prize line of plushies. (The previously released Charizard sleeping bag plush was a sort of preview for the start of the series).
About mid May, we got smaller sized Pikachus wearing Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Flareon sleeping bags. These plush are not mascot plush, as they don’t have the ball-chain used to connect mascot plush to bags, so I consider them medium sized plush.
Out of the set, Flareon was my favorite, because of his cute expression.
Even though they’re small, it’s still possible to move the hoods up…
…and down! Sometimes Pikachus can look weird when not wearing their little costume hoods, but in this case, I think they’re equally cute regardless of hood status.
There was also larger versions with Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander sleeping bags. As with the smaller plush, you could lower and raise the sleeping bag hoods, but unlike the Ichiban Kuji prizes, it’s impossible to remove the sleeping bag entirely from the plush.
Around the same time, a Ditto mini-series also started, with two huge cushions: a Ditto cushion and a Ditto face Pikachu cushion.
About a week after the nebukuro collection, these plush Pikachu pouches were released. There are three designs in total, and the pouches are very soft and useful!
At the very end of May, new Pokken Tournament prize figures were released, this time of Suicune. As with the previously released Lucario figures, Suicune came in two colors: 1P and 2P versions.
I think the figures are pretty nice considering they’re claw machine prizes. If you’re a Suicune collector, definitely look into getting one, if not both, of these cuties.
Following the two cushions, large Ditto plush came out near the end of May.
There were two versions of the plush: one Pikachu and one Dittochu.
Smaller versions of the larger plush came out around the same time.
The smaller sized plush, also not mascots as they are missing the ball chain, include an actual Ditto plush as well.
The second batch of Nebukuro plush also came out near the end of May. The two sleeping bag designs were Ditto (quite possibly the oddest shaped sleeping bag ever) and Raichu.
Here is a good shot of the Sega game center set-up for plushies and cushions. In order to win, you have to move the plush so it’s sideways and then push it down between the bars. It’s semi time consuming, and not the easiest to win, which is why Sega always ends up with an excess of older plush, as no one can win them!
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Special thank you to Meep for providing half of the photos used in this report~
