When it comes to anime movies, Studio Ghibli stands out in a class by itself. Over the years, Ghibli and its legendary co-founder Hayao Miyazaki created many beautiful animated films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
If you’re a fan of Ghibli and Miyazaki, why not show it with some Studio Ghibli merchandise? We’ve put together a list of the best Ghibli items available from ZenPlus.
And it’s not just plushies, but a variety of things for all ages. (Although plushies are cool, too.)
List of Must-Have Studio Ghibli Merch
1. Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro:
This fluffy Totoro plush toy is only about 14 cm, but he’s big on cuteness. Of course, a life-size Totoro would have to be about seven feet tall.
Miyazaki’s tale about a magical forest spirit who befriends two little girls was one of Studio Ghibli’s first feature films. And it still remains one of the genius animation director’s better fantasy stories. This palm-sized version of Totoro features relatively long “fur,” which makes him look fluffier than some plushies.
2. Makurokurosuke from My Neighbor Totoro:
Makurokurosuke, a.k.a. Susuwatari or Makkuro Kurosuke, is a tiny sprite who lives in Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe’s house in My Neighbor Totoro. A similar version of the same friendly creature also appeared in Spirited Away.
The cute little guys are sometimes described as “soot sprites,” “sootballs,” or even “dust bunnies.” The literal translation combines “pitch black,” “black,” and “-suke,” as in “Sasuke,” “Daisuke,” etc. Susuwatari means “traveling soot.”
This plush toy Makurokurosuke is only about 7 cm. He comes with a suction cup so you can hang him from a window.
3. Full set of Studio Ghibli character keychains:
For those who can’t decide which Studio Ghibli character they like best, try this box set of six keychains. At the top left is a soot sprite. Next to it is Kodama, a forest creature from Princess Mononoke. Totoro is at the top right, and Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service is below him. Ace pilot Porco Rosso is in the middle. Finally, we have Yakul, Ashitaka’s serow (a goat-like mammal) from Princess Mononoke.
Each one has a simple “ball chain” design. Personally, I prefer “ball chain” keychains over the trickier-to-use loop keyrings, so that’s a huge plus for me.
4. Jiji house slippers:
These flowery pink house slippers feature Jiji the black cat from Kiki’s Delivery Service. The closed-toe, backless slippers are 24 cm. (Note: Different online shoe size conversion charts disagree on defining sizes. You might want to measure your own foot.)
This is what I would call a “stealth” anime fan item, because it doesn’t just shout anime. The cat also sort of hides in the cute pattern on the slippers.
5. Mei-chan in Totoro kigurumi (plushie):
Mei, Satsuki’s little sister from My Neighbor Totoro, wears a Totoro-themed kigurumi outfit in this cute plushie. People sell adult and child-size Totoro kigurumi onesies in real life, so this plush toy completes the circle.
You can reveal Mei-chan’s pigtails by pulling back the Totoro hood of the costume. A pair of acorns hang from the ribbon at her neck. Mei is approximately 25 cm tall.
6. Makurokurosuke cloth picture book:
This product is aimed at babies, and their Studio Ghibli-loving parents. It’s a cloth picture book featuring the soot sprite Makurokurosuke from My Neighbor Totoro. The book opens up to reveal various sprites hiding behind mushrooms, or inside a bucket, etc.
The beloved Miyazaki film is more than 30 years old, so it’s likely that some fans are now raising families of their own.
7. Kiki’s Delivery Service jigsaw puzzle:
This 300-piece jigsaw puzzle transforms a scene from Kiki’s Delivery Service into a beautiful and colorful picture in the style of a stained glass window.
Ensky makes a lot of anime-themed jigsaw puzzles. The “Art Crystal” puzzles feature transparent pieces. When you’re finished putting it together, you can put the puzzle in your window for a see-through “stained glass” look.
This particular jigsaw puzzle shows Kiki in the middle of one of her deliveries from the movie.
8. Totoro Zippo lighter:
If you smoke, consider this Zippo lighter featuring Totoro. Even if you don’t smoke, these iconic lighters do have a certain coolness factor about them. They’re collectible. And you could always say that you keep one around for emergency purposes.
Pennsylvania-based Zippo has manufactured its popular refillable lighters since 1932. Zippo lighters are known for being reliable and windproof (an important factor if you’re trying to keep a fire lit). This particular Zippo features the Totoro line art profile shot often used as a Studio Ghibli logo.
Please note: The ZenPlus website warns that the lighter “may be prohibited” from international shipping. However, the website also states they will check to see if the item can be shipped to your area.
9. My Neighbor Totoro board game:
Here’s a cute and clever little game for two players based on the classic board game Reversi (or its newer variant, Othello).
The game comes with 36 pieces (the whole board is only 6 x 6 square). Each game piece has a white side and a black side. The white side features “White Totoro” or “Chibi Totoro,” while the black side has soot sprites.
The game follows the same rules as Reversi. The goal is the have the most pieces in your color. Theoretically, you could also play a miniature version of checkers as well.
10. Laputa (Castle in the Sky) playing cards:
This deck of playing cards features the characters and scenes from the Miyazaki animated classic Castle in the Sky (1986). The film was Ghibli’s first feature film, and Miyazaki’s third.
The movie is sometimes overlooked (even on this list, where Totoro shows up multiple times). But Laputa is a very influential action-adventure fantasy film, with early steampunk vibes. With its quest for the flying castle, mysterious lost technology, and air pirates, it’s certainly much more of an adventure story than some of Miyazaki’s other films.
The cards themselves are quite nice, with a color scene printed on the face of each card.
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best Studio Ghibli merch items to check out in 2022. Full disclosure: The links above are from our partner ZenPlus, which has sponsored this content. We hope you check them out if you want to buy from Japan. We’ve been working with the company for more than a year and can vouch for their services!
