Obungu and Friends gets seven oden-themed Gashapon figures

Our opinion

Obungu and Friends (お文具といっしょ) is getting an oden-themed mascot collection, with Bandai opening online pre-orders for seven small figures based on the popular character series.¹

The collection is called Obungu and Friends Mascot Figure Collection: Warming Up with Oden in English. It turns the series’ characters into oden ingredients, including an oden Obungu, Mochikin Pudding, Knotweed Kelp Nameless One, Hanpen Obungu, Octopus-Leg Cat, Mustard Kitten and Red-Lantern Jelly.¹

Each figure is about 3cm tall, and the official product page lists the set as a coloured PVC figure collection for readers aged 15 and over.² The online Gashapon release costs ¥300 per play, including tax. Because this is an online capsule-toy purchase rather than a conventional boxed set, buyers are paying for the chance to receive one of the seven figures. The product page lists the payout rate at roughly 14.3 per cent for most designs, with Red-Lantern Jelly listed at 14.2 per cent.²

Bandai Namco says the artwork is exclusive to Gashapon, and the figures are based on newly drawn oden versions of Obungu and the surrounding cast.¹ The product page warns that the pictured items are prototypes, so final figures may differ slightly from the promotional images.²

When can you order the figures?

The pre-order window is scheduled to close at 11:59pm on October 26, 2026, although Bandai Namco says orders can close earlier if the prepared stock sells out.² Deliveries are listed for late February 2027. The company also notes that the figures may appear in capsule machines across Japan before those home deliveries begin.²

The official listing gives the collection a clear short-term hook: it is a limited pre-order rather than a permanent catalogue item. Anyone interested in the full seven-character line-up will need to decide before the order window closes, while still allowing for the fact that the product photography shows prototypes rather than final retail stock.²

Our opinion

This is a neat, unusually focused bit of character merchandise: the oden theme gives all seven figures a shared visual idea instead of simply shrinking familiar designs. The online capsule format is the catch, though. A ¥300 play sounds modest, but completing the set means accepting duplicate risk, and the official listing makes clear that buyers are purchasing a draw rather than choosing a specific figure.

For fans of Obungu and Friends, the appeal is obvious; for everyone else, the collection is best understood as a playful limited-run Gashapon release rather than an essential figure set.