Totoro sequel anime short inspires cuddly T-shirt, adorable plushies at Ghibli Museum shop【Pics】

Mei and the Baby Catbus lineup includes spooky but cute “Ghost Totoro.”

One of the most bittersweet things about being a fan of Studio Ghibli anime is knowing that there’s a My Neighbor Totoro sequel short, but also knowing that you can only see it if you make a trip to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo or Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture. Even then, you have to be fortunate enough to be able to time your trip for when Mei and the Baby Catbus is playing in the museum or park’s on-site theater, since the anime they show are on a rotating schedule that changes every few weeks.

For example, Mei and the Baby Catbus is playing at the Ghibli Museum right now, but only until the end of the month. However, the museum’s shop, including its online store operations, offer merch from the Totoro sequel all the time, and there’s even a stylish new T-shirt that’s been added to the lineup.

-Mild potential spoilers for Mei and the Baby Catbus follow.-

Starting with the brand-new item, we have the Ghibli Museum Ghost Totoro Flocking T-shirt.

Don’t let the name scare you, Totoro isn’t dead in the sequel, but we’ll leave the exact nature of the “Ghost Totoro” unsaid here, for those who haven’t seen the anime yet. What we will say, though, is that “flocking” here refers not to the shirt’s assembled group of shadowy figures, but to the fluffy texture used for the one in the middle.

On the other hand, if you want even more fuzzy softness, and in a huggable form too, there are no fewer than four plushies inspired by Mei and the Baby Catbus.

The Baby Catbus itself comes in three sizes: a 13-centimeter (5.1-inch) strap and plushes with lengths of 24 and 33 centimeters (1,650, 2,750, and 3,850 yen, respectively).

▼ The non-strap plushies have an opening where their single rider would sit.

You might have noticed in the above photos that while a full-grown Catbus has six pairs of legs, a baby has only three. 12 isn’t the highest total number of legs for feline forms of transportation in the My Neighbor Totoro world, though. Not by a longshot, as shown here by the 43-centimeter Cattrain plushie (3,630 yen).

▼ The Cattrain also has three tails.

And if you want your Baby Catbus to serve a practical purpose beyond receiving your frequent cuddles, these three-centimeter magnets (660 yen each) are up to the task…

…and so is the one on this key ring (1,980 yen), accompanied by Mei and the Ghibli Museum crest.

Oh, and if you can’t get Ghost Totoro out of your head? There’s a 14-centimeter plush of him too.

▼ Individually they’re 1,430 yen, but for maximum visual impact you may want to get more than one.

The whole lineup is available through the Ghibli Museum online store here.

Source: Ghibli Museum
Top image: Ghibli Museum
Insert images: PR Times, Ghibli Museum (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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