YouTooz Turned Chiitan, Japan’s Craziest Mascot, Into a Plush

YouTooz will release a Chiitan plush. The stuffed animals based on the Japanese mascot will go on sale from 12pm PT/3pm ET on October 30, 2024.

The plush has on Chiitan’s signature hat and bowtie. It also has Chiitan’s default expression, where it has its mouth open in a wide smile and it’s looking in some distant direction. The official account for Chiitan replied to YouTooz’s announcement tweet with lots of cheers, a self-introduction, praise for YouTooz, and a video of Chiitan in a skydiving simulator.

There are two versions of the plush, which are both 9” in height. One of them is normal Chiitan and the other is Crazy Chiitan. Crazy Chiitan is wielding a bloody baseball bat, and there’s blood on one side of the plush’s body. Both plushes cost $29.99 as well. Though pre-orders will open on October 30, 2024, YouTooz will ship it out some time in April 2025.

Here is the official announcement from social media, which showed both versions of the Japanese mascot:

Chiitan first appeared in 2017 as an unofficial representative for Susaki. It’s modeled after a real-life Asian small-clawed otter Chiitan, who was the honorary tourism ambassador for Susaki. The government for Susaki rejected Chiitan after complaints regarding Chiitan’s controversial and dangerous stunts, as well as its similarity to Shinjo-kun, the official mascot for Susaki. Nowadays, most people who use X (formerly known as Twitter) probably know of Chiitan, Japan’s craziest mascot. This is because the account keeps buying ad space to protect other users from ads, and its replies often go viral for its positivity or chaos.

The YouTooz Chiitan plush will go on sale on October 30, 2024 and it’ll ship out some time in April 2025.