Marukawa Kirby Mix 'n Match Gum

Even though I've gone through the anime snack box, this is Japan, so there's always more on the horizon! Or at my local Japanese market. This one is equal parts cute and iconic being Kirby, and what better way to celebrate a character that can copy so many powers by swallowing them with this gum having many different flavors and combinations? Since Kirby swallows so many enemies to do this, it'll maybe make me feel like I'm doing the same, except the powers I'd get from these... wouldn't be all that interesting.

There are a total of five flavors here, which are yogurt, soda (ramune), orange, apple, and the ever-enigmatic prank gum. That last one in particular scares me, what could it be? The combinations add another layer to this, where I can get flavors like... an orange apple hybrid? Intetive. Also lemonade, apple cider, milk tea, ice cream float, and cola. The last type of mix 'n match snack I had actually delivered on its wacky mixing promises, so maybe I'll get just those flavors here too.

Splatoon Gummies

One little known thing about me is that I LOVE Splatoon. Like whenever I get the chance to play video games I'm addicted to this game. So seeing a Splatoon snack in this month's box was quite the delight, and just like the colors of the game it comes in unique melon and orange flavors. I'm not the biggest fan of melon but Japan seems to do it justice. Will this make me a woomy pup?

I unfortunately did not get the rare octopus gummy but still the assortment of colors here is quite nice (they appear yellow but are in fact orange). They have a more opaque appearance than I'd expect, but still some nice smells. I'm much more a fan of the melon one here smell-wise, it's quite vibrant with the added sweetness in a way that I wouldn't expect. The smell of the orange one on the other hand is just confusing to me.

But nevertheless I'll try the orange one first. I'm less confused upon tasting it, maybe the smell just blended with the lemon. These gummies are quite chewy, a little bit more than I like, and have a bit of a gritty consistency to them, but some nice flavor from the orange one. It is a little bit too on the sweet side for my liking, to the point where I think it clouds up the orange flavor, like overly sweet orange juice.

The melon one works much better, as melon on its own needs a bit of extra sweetness. Same situation though, the sweetness seems to cloud out a bit of the wonderful melon flavor that I've experienced from some other snacks. Overall these are not my favorite gummies out of the ones I've tried, but still nice flavors in their own right. No "booyah" or "woomy" from me but it's enough to ink my flavor turf.

Rating: 5 - Ruff!

Baby Bear Gummies

Gummy bears finally make their way into my grasp! For a while I'd think these aren't a thing in Japan, but they copy American snacks like the best of them. I do remember Haribo being mentioned in a manga, so clearly they have a presence in Japan. The question is whether they've elevated these to a whole level of flavor... they've at least elevated the cuteness level, that baby bear is so adorable!

There aren't many in here unfortunately (this is the whole package), but what's in here smells quite delightful. The sweetness makes its way all the way over to my nose from the package, and I can make out the individual flavors of strawberry, lemon, and orange quite clearly.

They're very chewy which is surprising, although actually a little less chewy than those. Nevertheless, the flavor lasts a long time and it's quite wonderful! The strawberry pops with so much vibrance and sweetness. It's really powerful for a tiny little gummy. The orange is very sweet and tangy and actually pretty natural tasting. And lastly, the lemon is a little sour and has a really nice, albeit artificial flavor. Why did this snack have to be the one with only 5 gummies, they're so good! I'll see if I can find a big bag of these, but for now these are bear-ly enough. Heh heh...

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!

Meigum Colorful Seeds Soft Candy

So many flavors in this one little package, how exciting! True to it's name, Colorful Seeds seems to have... a lot of color. Three colors to be exact. It's comprised of orange, ramune, and grape candy. It even encourages you to mix the flavors together, for flavors such as orange soda, grape soda, and... apple? How does that work from combining orange and grape? Meigum is a genius if they can get that one to work.

As expected, purple, orange, and white candies lie within. The ramune candies have both a different shape and texture from the others as it's in tablet form and grittier. Sniffing the bag... is a wild experience. So many fruity flavors colliding with each other. Maybe apple is lurking within there somewhere?

Starting with the orange one, it has a texture to it that I absolutely LOVE. Reminds me of Sprees, the way it puts up a little resistance to my canines as they make their way through and unleash the layers of orange flavor. The flavor is what you'd expect from an orange flavored candy, a little tangy and a little sweet, not the most natural tasting ever but quite pleasant. The grape one I like even more, the flavor really pops out and has this really nice rich taste to it, like I was biting through a slightly chewier grape. Lastly the ramune one. The texture is vastly different, it's that chalky texture where ramune bursts in my mouth with its light airy flavor. It's really nice and refreshing, and no liquid required!

As for the combinations... grape soda combines the refreshment of the ramune and pop of the grape and it is quite amazing! Orange soda actually seems very accurate to its name, as the tangy orange flavor gets a little lightness and coolness to it with the addition to the ramune. And the moment of truth? Somehow the combination of grape and orange actually does remind me of apple. The two seem to neuter each other out in a way that creates a light crisp apple flavor. I'm actually shocked by this. What kind of mad scientist came up with this??? This is so impressive! The three together... it's pretty chaotic and really hard to tell what's going on. You'd think it makes apple soda but then you get the grape and orange soda flavors in there too...

I wasn't expecting to like this that much, but after discovering the apple combination this is truly something special. Meigum managed to make this candy both delicious and fun!

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOO)O!!!

Gudetama Orange Yogurt Hard Candy

If I was rating candies based on cuteness, this would probably get a perfect 10 already. Making a candy in the likeness of Gdetama himself? What a great idea! For those who don't know, Gudetama is a very lazy, possibly depressed egg, meaning he is probably all of our spirit animals at some point in time. And the flavor of this candy sounds very appealing, not too often we get an orange candy.

Well, it's a little disappointing that the outside of the candy isn't orange, nor does it actually have the Gudetama face on it. It's just the wrapper. To compensate though, there are lots of different faces on the candies. The bottom right one bother me the most... what became of this egg? Is that when he's hard boiled? There's only a very slight orange flavor from the candy, which makes sense since it's in the yogurt shell.

Instantly though upon putting this in my mouth I get a very yogurty flavor with an orange taste, and it's quite pleasant! It captures the taste of both things perfectly, the orange tastes perfectly natural and I get the milk tanginess of the yogurt too. After a while the candy breaks and I get this wonderful strong orangey sauce running though, I guess that would make this the yolk? It's very in your face and I appreciate that it isn't the flavor for the entire thing so it would get annoying, but that burst right at the end is pleasant and leaves quite a strong impression. Certainly doesn't make me feel lazy like Gudetama.

Rating: 8 - Rowf!

Kit Kats - White Chocolate Citrus, Pumpkin, Beni-Imo

Now that I've gotten past some of the standard fruit flavored Kit Kats, things are starting to get a little stranger. There's a white chocolate citrus flavor which sounds great and also has a baseball theme to it. Then there's some kind of pumpkin, which is always welcome, and a peculiar purple sweet potato flavor that sounds like it could be a recipe for success.

Oh no, the citrus one is melty! It has been a hot day, but I don't think I expected this. It's a plain white color, but has a distinctly orange smell that's really nice actually. Kind of reminds me of a creamsicle? I could go for one of those in this hot weather.

Despite the meltiness, this one really doesn't disappoint. It somehow creates such a refreshing feeling in my mouth that it's unreal. It's so creamy and orange-y yet feels so light at the same time. I don't even understand how it can be like this. You'd think that something with white chocolate would be so much heavier, but it isn't. This tastes like all those light refreshing orange-y drinks out there, except unlike those it's candy! I hope they hand these out at hot ballgames... except they'd melt. But you feel so relaxed and cool after eating these. Like a fan blowing orange scented goodness in my mouth.

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOOOO!!!

Kracie Popin Cookin Bento

Alas, this is the final Kracie product that I ordered from a box on the internet... for now. I'm sure there will be more, but for now it's been a fun journey, wading through all the powders, generic fruit flavored chewy candy, triangle cups, weird utensils, bags, molds... they've really made something special with all of these, where anyone can play with their food and eat it too. And speaking of playing with your food, I've always had an appreciation for bento. It shares a lot of the same concepts, so in a way this is a meta-DIY kit of sorta, and even has some of the cuteness that bento is known for with that panda face!

This one, as expected from the large number of items on the picture, is quite heavy in components: a whopping 7 packets, a bag, fork, lots of molds, and some guides. Unfortunately the bowl shown on the box is looking a little flat and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.

Orangina Cassis Orange

I must admit, I've never been the biggest fan of orange juice. It's tolerable enough, but sometimes it's not sweet enough or the pulp gets in the way or I'd rather just have grape or apple juice. But this isn't just any orange juice, it's cassis and orange. And I know about as much about cassis as you probably do. Apparently it's a black currant, considered a super food, and has a sweet tangy flavor. Will it be an orange juice that finally appeals to me?