BODY: For anyone who grew up tapping out kanji lessons with a chatty white cat on a PlayStation memory card, this one hits the nostalgia nerve hard. Bisai announced on May 3, 2026 that it will release a pair of poseable plush toys featuring Toro Inoue and his rival Kuro, the mascots of Sony's long-running "Doko Demo Issho" (Together Anywhere) series. They go on sale July 22, with pre-orders already open at ¥2,970 (tax included) each.
The hook is in the joints. Unlike the standard sit-and-stare plush that have populated Japanese gachapon machines for decades, these figures have articulated limbs that let owners actually pose them — waving, sitting cross-legged, lifting a paw, or recreating the wide-eyed shrug Toro is famous for. It's a small engineering touch, but a meaningful one for a fanbase that has been collecting these characters since the original 1999 PocketStation release.
The timing is deliberate: 2026 marks the 27th anniversary of "Doko Demo Issho," and Sony has been quietly stoking the brand back to life over the past few years. Toro has appeared in PlayStation 5 startup animations, collaboration cafés, and a steady stream of stationery and apparel — most of it aimed squarely at adults who remember him from elementary school.
Bisai, the company behind the figures, is the original developer of the franchise and now operates as the rights holder for Toro-related merchandise, which is why this release feels more curated than the usual licensing churn.
The insider take
In Tokyo, Toro occupies a strange space — he's not a current cultural force the way Chiikawa or Pokémon are, but he carries enormous goodwill among people in their 30s and 40s who associate him with a more innocent, pre-smartphone era of gaming. Bisai has been smart about this, releasing limited, slightly premium items rather than flooding Don Quijote shelves. Expect both Toro and Kuro to sell out fast on Amazon.co.jp and the Sony Store within hours of opening — and to reappear on Mercari at roughly double the retail price by the weekend.
Originally reported by 4Gamer.net − 最新記事 (Japanese).