is a Japanese merchandise franchise created by copywriter and Korean Japanese national Kim Sukwon. The Mameshiba are different varieties of
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s (and other
legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
s and nuts) that have dog-like faces and tell trivia. The name is a pun based on the Japanese word for "bean", ; the
toy version of the
Shiba Inu, called ; and the Japanese word for "trivia", .
Mameshiba became popular through a series of animated
interstitials produced by
Dentsu that were sold to Japanese television networks to air instead of commercials. Their popularity in Japan and Asia eventually led to their release in the United States via
Viz Media,
Hot Topic, and some Mameshiba are sold at
FYE. They were famous in France thanks to the now-defunct television network
Nolife.
Characters
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*, referred to as "The Scream" in English after the
painting to which its face refers.
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References
External links
Official websiteMameshiba World{{in lang, en
Mass media franchises introduced in 2008
Fictional dogs
Dentsu