Make Believe Bonus: Racing Into The Bite Part 2

Eating The YOASOBI Curry I Found At A Bookstore

YOASOBI don’t immediately strike me as a group built for food-centric collaborations. While the duo’s music and visual aesthetic make sense as a central pillar of 2020’s J-pop, the members themselves aren’t quite the idea of a top-level pop star in the traditional sense. A respected project producing big songs? Sure. People capable of selling assorted lunch-time items? Sure?

Yet the pair of ikura and Ayase have a surprising amount of culinary tie-ups to their names. I’m not talking how cans of Suntory Nama Beer sport YOASOBI-inspired illustrations on them — though also, that’s pretty wild too — but rather specific items “produced” in part by the individual members themselves. Previously, this came in the form of instant ramen, available across convenience stores and supermarkets.

I have no idea how easy it was for people to get their hands on YOASOBI’s set of curry. Perhaps not many, because I found it on sale at my local bookstore as part of a special “curry fair” which is baffling enough in its own right. Complicating this further is that according to the official YOASOBI fanclub page, this was released in late 2023, which makes sense — group was at its peak power — but also makes me think the packs I came across near the “economics” aisle might be surplus.

Like that would stop me from eating it for journalistic purposes.