I’m figuring with all the appreciation for all things Japanese on this forum, there have to be at least a few.
I have a question that’s been bugging me: with all the slice of life shows taking place in high school, I’ve seen quite a few animated exam, note-taking and doodling scenes yet I never caught a mechanical pencil that I recognised. Even in shows about animation (like Shirobako, Eizouken or more recently Zenshu) the pencils always seem very generic.
I find this surprising because you’d expect animators to be, if not as passionate as the members of this forum, at least knowledgeable about MPs. And in general, shows set in contemporary Japan tend to draw recognisable cars, phones, buildings and landmarks. I can’t rememember how many times I’ve seen the Google and McDonald’s logos drawn on screen. Music shows like K-On or Bocchi the rock contain whole cuts that are basically just lavishly drawn instrument porn. And let’s not go into anime food, just thinking about it makes me salivate… But it seems that MPs get no love from animators.
Do you know why this is, or can you possibly point me towards the Kuru Toga or Orenz show that I missed when it aired?
I don’t watch anime if there’s no sci-fi, mecha or action in it… Every now and then there are X posts with screen grabs of pens and sharps from various contemporary school-life or romance anime. Usually the designs are like 75% recognizable and 25% ‘originalized’ to avoid lawsuits.
I’m not sure if it is considered anime but I love the old Studio Ghibli stuff like ”My Neighbor Totoro,” “Spirited Away,” and “Princess Mononoke” .
I probably still watch Akira once or twice a year. I really liked the old “Vampire Hunter D” stuff, and back in the day was a fan of the excessively violent stuff like “Dark City” and “Ninja Scroll”, etc. I liked the original “Ghost in the Shell” (but haven’t seen the new version). I’m currently watching Neon Genesis Evangelion as time permits.
I am am not starting another collection I am am not starting another collection I am am not starting another collection I am am not starting another collection I am am not starting another collection I am am not starting another collection
In the Japanese school anime K-ON!, one of the main characters, Ritsu, uses a yellow LAMY Safari mechanical pencil, and it caused a huge craze in Japan. Even anime fans who weren’t into stationery started picking up the yellow Safari just because of the show.
The anime started back in 2009, but even now, a lot of fans are still on the hunt for that old-style yellow Safari with the black clip.
Sorry for the back-to-back posts—I’m just really passionate about anime!
In the upcoming anime adaptation of Kore Kaite Shine (English title still TBD), set to air in 2026, the Pentel Smash shows up quite a few times.
It’s not about whether the animators like it or not—if the manga artist included it in the original story, it’ll appear in the anime too.
Rather than being worried about lawsuits or anything, I feel like manufacturers want their products to show up in anime—because fans love buying the exact same pens their favorite characters use.
In live-action movies and TV shows, companies often provide items for free in exchange for a credit in the end roll or somewhere in the production. I’ve actually supplied a few items to films myself.
If it’s a big project, there might even be official collaborations where the products appear in the story.
But when it comes to anime or manga, it really depends on the creator’s personal taste. Whether a real product shows up or not usually depends on how strongly the creator wants it to.
the ditzy princess from 
