SAITAMA -- Sweet manju buns themed on a mobile "Dragon Quest" video game have proved to be hot sellers for a maker of Japanese snacks in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

       The limited-edition "Juman Gold Manju" buns were made by Jumangoku Fukusaya Co. in the Saitama Prefecture city of Gyoda, in collaboration with the game "Dragon Quest Walk." They feature the popular character Slime that recurs in the game franchise. The company says they have been selling out by around noon even when the shelves are stocked in the morning.

       Jumangoku Fukusaya Co. is known for its Jumangoku Manju confections, made famous by a TV commercial that describes them as "Good, too good." Dragon Quest Walk is an augmented reality role-playing video game first published in September 2019 by Tokyo-based Square Enix Holding Co. According to Tokyo-based Gameage R&I Co., even after nearly two years, the game is still popular, with about 1.1 million users who play at least once a week.

       Store staffers hold up "Juman Gold Manju" buns produced by Jumangoku Fukusaya Co., in Saitama's Midori Ward. (Mainichi/Mineichiro Yamakoshi) =Click/tap photo for more images.

       Users can get special items called "souvenirs" by visiting "landmarks" in the games, which are linked to actual locations. In the game, users have been able to obtain oval-shaped white buns near Seibu Dome in the prefectural city of Tokorozawa. According to a Fukusaya representative, some people within the company suspected that the items were inspired by its own products.

       After that, the company was asked by Square Enix to co-develop the buns as the second part of its "real souvenir project" to reproduce items that appeared in the games. The buns have a white outer layer, made from ground Yamato potatoes mixed with Koshihikari rice powder, and are filled with Tokachi red bean paste, and look just like the buns in the game.

       Producers designed two types of branding irons, one with "100,000 G," (read "Juman G" in Japanese) as G is a uniform currency in the games, and another showing a Slime Tower. The outer box features Slimes with bold calligraphic characters.

       According to a company official, ideas such as making the buns into the shape of the Slime, or turning them blue, as the Slime is blue, were also floated, but in the end the company settled on the shape it was most confident about producing. It invited employees to write the calligraphy and chose from the candidates.

       A company representative commented, "The game is exclusive to smartphones, and announcements were made only online," and confided, "The products didn't overlap with our customer base, and we weren't sure if they would sell well." However, when the buns went on sale on June 13, a wide range of customers from their 20s to 70s, including many men in their 30s and 40s who had presumably played "Dragon Quest" games as children, flooded in.

       Many customers reportedly come in cars with license plates from outside the prefecture. Initially, 10,000 boxes of the buns were produced, but then an additional 20,000 boxes were made that the company subsequently decided to make 40,000 more.

       One box of five buns costs 780 yen (about $7). As they are considered souvenirs of Saitama Prefecture, they are sold only at 38 stores in the prefecture, and the day of the week they are selling the products depends on each store. The buns are also sold via an online store from 10 a.m. every day. Currently there is a limit of three boxes per person. They will be available until Aug. 31.

       For more inquiries, please contact those in charge of customer service at the company (closed on Mondays) at 0120-07-1059 (in Japanese).

       (Japanese original by Mineichiro Yamakoshi, Saitama Bureau)

       In Photos: 'Dragon Quest' buns spell sweet success for Japanese snack maker

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