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Canned fish rings now on sale at capsule machines across Japan!

Master Blaster Aug 23, 2019
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Saury we didn’t tell you sooner.

The capsule toy market in Japan has been so heavily saturated for so long, it’s hard to believe that it all hasn’t already been done before. We’ve seen everything from headwear for cats to butt cleaners to working (more or less) air conditioners pop out of machines in little plastic balls, so what else could they possibly offer?

Rings shaped like cans of fish, that’s what!

Now on sale from Art Univ Techni Color and officially licensed by major fish cannery Maruha Nichiro, the Canned Goods Ring Collection is proud to offer a line of rings intricately modeled after Maruha Nichiro’s most popular brands of canned fish.

We sent Mr. Sato to try them out, but since we don’t pay him much he could only buy two for 300 yen (US$2.80) each.

The paper insert shows all the types available: Akebono Salmon, Akebono Snow Crab, Mackerel Boiled in Curry, Tsukihana Boiled Mackerel, Akebono Boiled Hotate Scallops, and Boiled Pacific Saury. The Mackerel Boiled in Curry is special as the only silver-colored can of the bunch.

Even better, the paper also has little cut-out lids for each can, so even if you don’t want to wear your love of canned fish on your finger, you can make it into a miniature can replica to place on your shelf for private viewings.

After cracking open his capsules, Mr. Sato became the proud owner of Boiled Pacific Saury and Tsukihana Boiled Mackerel rings.

These were no useless and gimmicky novelty rings either. They were sized just like normal rings, and so small that there was little chance that Mr. Sato’s meaty paws or aging eyes could possibly cut out those tops. So, he opted to use them as regular rings.

Of course the cans’ labels were all faithfully miniaturized in exact detail.

▼ Boiled Pacific Saury

▼ Tsukihana Boiled Mackerel

But more impressively, so was all the nutritional information, and even the Maruha Nichiro customer service hotline number. It gives a functional edge to these rings as well, should the wearer ever need instant advice or information regarding canned fish.

The ingredients, packaging information, and warnings were all there too – or at least Mr. Sato assumed they were. The print was so fine he couldn’t really make it out. This photo shows it next to his fingerprints to give you a good sense of scale.

And despite all this detail, people probably wouldn’t even notice you had canned fish on your fingers at a glance while wearing these rings.

We have Twitter to thank for the creation of these rings. When photos of some concept rings were originally posted on the social network by an artist back in April they went viral. They also quickly caught the attention of Maruha Nichiro who lent their support in making these a reality a few months later.

The widespread attention these rings are getting would lead us to assume the Canned Goods Ring Collection has only just begun. It’s also an indication that the fertile imaginations of capsule toy producers is still alive and well. I thought for sure we had hit the high-water mark with the figures of Godzilla holding a press conference to apologize.

Photos: SoraNews24
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