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20-year-old anime cakes sell online for an eye-popping price

Casey Baseel Mar 29, 2020
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These Azumanga Daioh sweets are older than many anime fans, and they’re not the only uneaten collectors’ food otaku have hung on to.

Japan loves both anime and sweets, so from a marketing standpoint anime-themed sweets are really a no-brainer. Here’s the thing, though. You know how collectors like to keep things in their original packaging? Sometimes that goes for anime sweets too.

But the key difference between keeping a figures and soundtrack CDs in their original packaging versus cakes and cookies is that eventually the munchies are going to go bad, which brings us to an alluringly repulsive item on Yahoo! Japan Auctions from user sada0623sato.

https://twitter.com/x_hisabilly_x/status/1241032105980649472

Spotted by Twitter user @x_hisabilly_x, the listed item is a pack of manju, bite-sized sweet dumplings usually filled with sweet red bean paste, a tasty treat loved by both young and old. These manju are definitely not for eating, though, since they’re “Azumanju,” a promotional tie-up for anime series Azumanga Daioh.

The name Azumanga Daioh is about equally likely to elicit “Oh yeah, I remember that show!” as it is “Never seen it.” A far less likely reaction, though, is “I’m watching it right now,” because the Azumanga Daioh TV series finished all the way back in 2002. What’s more, these manju predate the TV series, originating in the era when Azumanga Daioh was still only in manga and net animation format, with a listed best-eaten-by date of September 30, 2001!

Because of that, sada0623sato, who listed the Azumanju with a buy-now price of 20,000 yen (US$187), describes them with:

“This is former food. Eating them probably presents a severe danger to your life. Please do not eat them.”

Still, sada0623sato, who bought the sweets at a pop-up shop back when the series was first starting to build a fanbase, has done a great job of selling them. He admits to removing the outer paper wrapping once about ten years ago to confirm that the contents had not been damaged in the decade since he purchased the manju, and has taken great pains to keep the package in otherwise mint condition. He also points out that “This is probably the last box of Azumanju left in the world,” and shockingly, the box has now been sold.

However, that “probably” turned out to be prescient, because following @x_hisabilly_x’s tweet, a different Azumana Daioh super fan popped in say that he too still has his box of Azumanju, which, with the same best-by date, was likely bought at the same pop-up store.

開封済みプリティサミー版なら持ってます。わずかにカビ生えてますが見た目は食べられそうです。 #あずまんじゅう pic.twitter.com/YJYmkdQi2d

— へけけくん (@hekekekun) March 21, 2020

And while their treasures weren’t quite so old, other otaku also chimed in with photos of their antique anime food and drink.

▼ KanColle “Coolant Water” (best by March 6, 2015)

艦娘冷却水（期限:2015,3,6）なら出てきた
ワインも年代物は高くなるしこいつも値上がるな！（混乱） pic.twitter.com/bqlz6wwFxu

— クロマグロの白身 (@Gouki717) March 21, 2020

▼ Macross Frontier Canned Grapes (best by October 2010)

枕元に記念としていつも飾っているマクロスFのブドー缶でも賞味期限が2010年10月… pic.twitter.com/WBtDkmUgwK

— 河邑P (@msk_kawamura) March 21, 2020

▼ Love Plus manju (best by September 7, 2010)

うちには、ラブプラス温泉饅頭未開封しかない…
賞味期限10.9.7

あと10年寝かすか… pic.twitter.com/i7WqsyWwH6

— はー@Historical Parade (@hayato_j) March 21, 2020

▼ Lucky Star fish sausages (best by August 10, 2009)

らき☆すたin武道館
あなたのためだから
賞味期限2009年8月10日 pic.twitter.com/PHo4YacaTo

— はー@Historical Parade (@hayato_j) March 21, 2020

But remember: no mater how strong the fandom in your heart is, eating food of such advanced age is bad for your stomach. Trust us – we know what we’re talking about after trying to eat 16-year-old ramen.

Source: Yahoo! Japan Auctions via Twitter/x_hisabilly_x via Otakomu
Top image: Yahoo! Japan Auctions/ sada0623sato
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he really wishes that one restaurant in Shibuya would bring back its Macross Frontier ramen.