BODY: For every Dragon Quest fan who has ever watched a Metal Slime flee before they could land a hit, Square Enix has a small consolation prize you can actually keep.
The company has launched two new A4 clear files as part of its "Dragon Quest Stationery Shop" (Dragon Quest Bunguya) series, one designed around the Metal Slime and the other around its rarer, higher-XP cousin, the Liquid Metal Slime (Hagure Metal). Both went on sale September 5 through the Square Enix e-STORE, priced at 770 yen each.
The two monsters are an inspired choice for stationery. In the games, Metal Slimes are famous for their glittering metallic sheen, sky-high defense, and habit of bolting from battle — making them a coveted source of experience points for players patient (or lucky) enough to defeat one. That mix of scarcity and prestige has turned them into two of the franchise's most beloved mascots, well beyond the battlefield.
Clear files remain a staple of Japanese daily life, used to protect documents, sort paperwork, and — let's be honest — sit on a shelf looking nice. The Stationery Shop line leans into that everyday-collectible appeal, pairing recognizable Dragon Quest iconography with practical office goods that won't break the bank.
At 770 yen, these are firmly impulse-buy territory, the kind of merch that tends to move fast among collectors before quietly disappearing from stock.
The insider take
Here in Tokyo, the clear file is practically a national art form — bookstores, cafes, and museum gift shops all deal in them, and anime and game franchises treat them as entry-level merch. Dragon Quest occupies a near-sacred place in Japanese pop culture, so a Metal Slime clear file isn't just office supplies; it's a low-commitment way for lifelong fans to carry a piece of the series into the mundane. Expect these to reappear at events and pop-up shops, where the Stationery Shop brand has quietly become a reliable seller.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).