With hits like Gudetama, Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi under its belt, character and goods company San-X knows a thing or two about developing cute characters you can love. Fans of San-X will be happy to learn that the company has now teamed up with famous toymaker Takara Tomy on a brand new character, web animation series, and toy lineup called "Utatte Nyakko Island."

Utatte Nyakko Island

The musically-inclined Nyakkos are ancient ancestors of cats and otters. Living fossils, they have the head (and body?) of a cat but the tail of an otter, and live on the remote Nyakko Island, where they communicates with their friends through singing.

As a toy, you interact with Nyakko by either touching its tail, its nose or its whiskers, and it plays different songs depending on the various included items you attach to its body, in the shape of seashells and seaweed. The toys come in Mike Nyakko (orange) or Sora Nyakko (light blue) versions and will cost 2,980 JPY + tax when they go on sale from September 10th, 2020.

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How to play

1. Touch the nose to turn it on.

2. Attach the shell or seaweed frond of your choice to its body.

3. Start playing!

By changing the shell or seaweed front type, Nyakko's singing voice or song selection will change accordingly. There are up to 50 different songs or phrases Nyakko can say. For example, if you attach the mermaid shell, Nyakko will sing beautifully like a mermaid. This voice was actually recorded by a professional vocalist, so you can enjoy an authentic singing performance.

Squeezing the tail makes the song progress note by note...

... while touching the nose, or stroking the whiskers will play instruments or "cheering" voice effects to go along with the music.

Watch those whiskers, though. Touch them too much and Nyakko will let you know and sing in an annoyed voice...

Songs

Depending on which version Nyakko you get, there will be a different set of seashell and seaweed frond attachments which play different songs.

Both versions include a "normal shell" which play the following:

• Picnic
• The other day, I met a bear
• Yankee Doodle
• Nyakko theme song
• 3 "secret" songs

Mike Nyakko:

• Shibu wakame frond: Soran-bushi
• Shibu wakame frond: Sakura Sakura
• Shibu wakame frond: Heigh-Ho
• Mermaid shell: Amazing Grace
• Mermaid shell: Nessun Dorma (plays when Nyakko is upset)
• Nemunemu shell: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
• Nemunemu shell: My Grandfather's Clock

Sora Nyakko:

• Rock'n wakame frond: Kurenai (X Japan)
• Rock'n wakame frond: Pomp and Circumstance
• Rock'n wakame frond: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
• Lovely shell: Flohwalzer
• Lovely shell: If You're Happy And You Know It
• Lovely shell: Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf
• Aloha shell: Aloha Oe
• Aloha shell: Old MacDonald Had A Farm

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Videos

Discovering Nyakko Island

Two brave adventurers finally find the object of their mission when they reach the mysterious Nyakko Island, where they ... give a product intro of the Utatte Nyakko Island toy!

Nyakko concert

A short, more practical video showing the toy in action.

Web Anime Episode 0

In this first episode, we're introduced to Mike Nyakko who enjoys upbeat music and Sora Nyakko who enjoys more sentimental tunes, along with the entire cast of island denizens, the ammonite taiko (Japanese drum) player Ammo-taiko, the coelacanth maracas player Mara-canth, the turtle (kame in Japanese) castanet player Kame-tanet, and the tambourine playing dinosaur Tamba-don who's continually chasing after the Nyakkos.

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Product Details

• Name (JP): 「うたって♪にゃっこアイランド」
• Transliteration: Utatte Nyakko Land
• Varieties: 2 (Mike Nyakko: Orange, Sora Nyakko: Light blue)
• Price: 2,980 JPY + tax
• On sale from: September 10th, 2020
• Recommended ages: 6 and up
• Mike Nyakko set : Mike Nyakko, Normal shell, Shibu wakame frond, Mermaid shell (initial lot includes Nemunemu shell), instruction manual
• Sora Nyakko set: Sora Nyakko, Normal shell, Rock'n wakame frond, Lovely shell (initial lot includes Aloha shell), instruction manual
• Dimensions: W 680 mm (2'3") x H 800 mm (2'7.5") x D 500 mm (1'8")
• Weight: approx 72 g (2.5 oz)
• Available at: toy stores and toy corners in department stores and shopping malls nationwide, online shops, certain bookstores, and Takara Tomy's official shopping site "Takara Tomy Mall", etc.
• Official Website