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Doron Dororon’s Kusanagi has an adorable look, a recognizable design, and a unique ability that makes it perfect for turning into merchandise.
Cute mascots are a common trend in Japan. Small, lovable characters are a quick and easy way to make fans want to buy merchandise for something. The obvious examples that may come to mind are Hello Kitty and Pikachu. Looking at Shōnen Jump alone provides examples of characters like Pochita, Chopper, Kon, Baby Beel, Sadaharu, and Nero. All of these characters are optimal for making and selling merchandise.
Gen Oosuka seems ready to add to the Shōnen Jump readership’s pile of plush toys with the mascot of Doron Dororon Kusanagi. This Mononoke is small, soft, and above all, cute. It’s difficult to say whether Doron Dororon will achieve long-term success, but, if it does, it’s safe to say that fans will be ready to buy anything with Kusanagi’s face on it.
To talk about Doron Dororon, some key context is required. The series takes place in a modern version of Japan where evil spirits or “Mononoke” attack humans on a regular basis. It’s up to the samurai of the Izanagi Force to fight these malevolent beings and protect the people.
The main story revolves around Dora, a boy who failed to get into the Izanagi Force due to his lack of spiritual energy. However, he manages to fight Mononoke with the help of Kusanagi, a shapeshifting Mononoke he can use as a powerful sword among other things. Currently, in the series, Mononoke are still largely viewed as a threat, so Dora and Kusanagi must go on their crusade to make the world a happier and kinder place discreetly.
This is where both Kusanagi’s power and potential for marketability become readily apparent. The Mononoke attempts to hide by taking the form of accessories for Dora. It took the shape of a cap and a bag before eventually settling on a pair of headphones. It also took the form of a motorcycle helmet and will probably take many more forms as the series progresses. All of these transformations have the potential to be made into real-life merchandise.
Kusanagi’s marketability is further suggested by the female lead of the series, the Samurai Yagyu Ginchiyo. She invited Dora and Kusanagi into her room mainly to talk about Kusanagi’s intentions, but there was another reason. It was also so she could have an opportunity to cuddle Kusanagi. She likely thinks of the Mononoke as one of the many stuffed animals her room is filled with. As if turning into accessories wasn’t enough, this moment almost felt like a direct message from the author about how badly they want Kusanagi to be merchandised.
As for how marketable Kusanagi actually is, that seems pretty high, too. The Mononoke has a compact figure that makes it easy enough to make life-size dolls. Additionally, Kusanagi is canonically soft and squishy, so so whatever plush it’s made into, it will probably be a good approximation of how the creature would actually feel.
Kusanagi also has a simple-yet-recognizable design. Its body is amorphous but generally takes a shape similar to a bird floating in the water, which is definitely unique as far as main character designs go. It doesn’t have many facial features, but its eyes are big and expressive and have a unique shape even among anime characters. It also seems to have some sort of unique symbol, possibly a sigil, on its forehead. Kusanagi has so many distinguishing features that people only need to see one of them to associate a piece of merchandise with the character.
Of course, this is all dependent on how popular the Doron Dororon becomes and how well it sells. The manga currently only has a chapter count in the single digits. It will have to at least get past 18 chapters. This is around the point where most new series in Shōnen Jump would be abruptly canceled due to a lack of popularity. Doron Dororon will have to make it past this 18-chapter mark with no signs of concluding before it can even be considered a moderate success.
That’s to say nothing about an anime adaption. The anime is meant to boost the manga’s popularity, so it’s usually where the merchandise actually starts getting sold. Kusanagi certainly has the makings of an iconic mascot, but saying that he’s ready to sell merchandise at this early stage of its parent series is optimistic.
Kusanagi’s overall ability to sell merchandise remains up in the air. On one hand, it’s a nearly-perfect ideal mascot. On the other hand, Doron Dororon is too new to make any definitive statements. If the series does eventually take off, then Kusanagi will certainly be good for emptying shelves.
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