>>11478541>is it landing well, or does it come off as shallow "how do you do" pandering?Definitely well-received. Fans of Moukona/Marutchi are quick about getting merch related to him or posting about his appearances in games. A lot of the love comes from his simple, cute design that resonates with fans (a lot of overly simple cute character designs in general are popular in Japan, like Sakura Momoko's character designs) and the bluntness of a young child saying something so honest and harsh. "Dekababymarutchi", the adult form of Marutchi in the Paradise, has also been well-liked.
The Plus era in general has been getting a lot of love in Japan because of Omisecchi's popularity too, so a lot of collaborations with other brands and new merchandise focus on that era more than the anime, post-m!x and even vintage era. It's also why you see a resurge in Ichigotchi/Ringotchi, Furawatchi (they seem to have abandoned the purple Violetchi used in Western material for consistency), the "Young" characters and Gozarutchi alongside Marutchi in merchandising, since those were also main characters of that era.
