Kanako to Sarara: voice actress idols bringing the goods every week

Love Live! Sunshine!! fans should know Takatsuki Kanako, the voice of Kunikida Hanamaru. Her buddy, Yashima Sarara, is a game/anime seiyuu with credits on Yugioh ARC-V and Idol Jihen. Sarara also knows what it’s like to be an idol – she was ‘Reimi Heavenly’ in Afilia Saga.

Together, they’re ‘Kanako to Sarara’ – Kanasara for short. They host a weekly live show on NicoNico Douga. And they have their own merch.

A weirdly dark parka

All the items are (obvs) aimed at idol otaku – but not the tiny or short ones. Nope, more like this lot:

What’s with all the baby dummies? Never mind… thought about it a little, and decided we don’t wanna know.

Yep, you can see at a glance the apparel’s made for a certain type of idol fan. The Kanasara black parka’s listed in M, L, and XL sizes. The T-shirt doesn’t even have the M option. Maybe they’d look okay as dresses?

‘DARKNESS’ is printed down one arm of the parka, with ‘MADNESS’ down the other. If those words rep Kanako and Sarara (in either order), we’re kinda scared. The ‘KNK+SRR’ on the front’s a bit clearer.

But the black design’s not meant to be creepy, emo or goth. It’s so dirt and stains don’t show up on it as much. That’s some clever thinking. The first Kanasara parka was the same design, but bright white. Looks great – until those awkward wotagei sweat marks appear.

Kanasara: the musical

If what’s written in the special pamphlet’s true, we’ve all ignored the crazy runaway success of the ‘Kanako to Sarara’ musical. The notes explain how the show became a smash hit. As if a fake musical starring, y’know, actual voice actresses wasn’t gonna rake in the cash.

We love this idea. (Love Live Sunshine musical, anyone?) And it’s thought out enough to fill 20 full-colour A4 pages. A highlight is the exclusive Kanasara interview – as long as you can read Japanese.

A smartphone case to make you smile

The item description has the line: ‘Kanako and Sarara not included’. That’s a shame! But think about how much international shipping for 2 cute humans would cost…

Anywho, what we do get is cartoon versions of both girls. Standing on some other planet looking down at Earth, and way too close to the sun. Oh, and surrounded by weird colourful blobs with faces.

They look happy enough to be there. Can’t tell how happy that bird trying to carry a line of fresh laundry is.

Spot the same front and back designs on the Kanasara photo folder. Holds up to 40 of your fave pics. As long as they’re pics of Kanako, Sarara, or both. Filling an album with some other idol girl would be kinda harsh, unless you’re a DD fan.

Request Kanasara goods on DEJAPAN

When ‘Kanako to Sarara’ official merch shows up on sites like Chara-Ani, you can order it with our item request service. Drop URLs from this Kanasara goods page – or from loads of other Japanese shopping websites – into the request form. To make sure your order goes smoothly, check out our guide to requesting items first.