Jujutsu Kaisen Merchandise – Shoulder Bag, Zippered Pouch and Drawstring Pouch from Shimamura – Product Review

NOTE: This is Part 2 of the Jujutsu Kaisen Shimamura products review. Part 1 is here.

What do you call a person who is late to everything? There’s got to be a term for someone who blogs about stuff weeks after the trend has already peaked. 

These products I’m reviewing today I bought from Shimamura mid-May, but have only gotten around to photographing them the other day. The bad thing about this is that those looking to buy the products will find this blog useless (as they’ve probably already made the decision to buy/not buy), with the one good thing being that I actually used these products in my day-to-day so I can make a been-there-done-that opinion about them.

(English continues below) 今更なんですが、5月中旬のしまむら戦利品についてです。いつもレビューが遅くなって申し訳なく思っています。巾着は安くて可愛くて、旅行する際とても役立つもの。ジッパー付きポーチは歯ブラシや磨きが楽々入れるほど大き目で、お化粧や携帯用品はたっぷり入れます。ショルダーバッグはしっかりしたしたキャンバス素材でできており、A４ファイルの持ち運びに余裕がありで大変便利です。しかし、中には小さなポケって1枚しかないので荷物が散らかしてしまいます。そこで、無印良品の「ナイロンメッシュ バッグインバッグ タテ型A4サイス用」を買ってちょうど良い大きさで中身が整理できました。全部おすすめの商品です！

Decisions, Decisions

I feel that half my energy is spent trying to decide which amongst the latest Jujutsu Kaisen official merch to buy, and which to pass up. There seems to be dozens of new products coming in each week, but since I do work on a limited budget, I have to decide which ones are worth spending money on and which I should just look at admiringly from afar. I mean, I can’t have every product out there, I’ll run out of space to sleep in my small flat, not to mention my weeping bank account. It’s hard, especially seeing stuff on Instagram and having some kind of owner’s envy, questioning myself, was I right in not buying it? 

Well, fortunately, the products I’m showcasing today are worth every penny. They’re not just affordable but also quite practical, useful in making life easier. Here we go:

Drawstring Pouches

We call them 巾着 kinchaku in Japanese, and these practical little bags can be used for organising luggage when traveling, or for putting in knick knacks that need dust protection. Made of a washable fabric, they’re perfect for taking to the onsen or sento (Japanese public bath). 

I was able to get three designs: Yuji Itadori in orange, Nobara Kugisaki in red, and Megumi Fushiguro in turquoise.

The backs have a barely there pattern featuring Itadori’s fist, Kugisaki’s rose and nails, and Fushiguro’s hands in the Divine Dog pose.

It looks absolutely cute when the strings are drawn!

Satoru Gojo’s pouch was out of stock that day, as well as the week after, then the week after… Lucky them who got a hold of one!

• Price – JPY 429 tax incl (about 4 USD)
• Recommend – Yes

Zippered Pouches

These are roomy, fake leather pouches with matching zippers, with a satiny lining and one small pocket on the inside. For this product Gojo’s was available, as were Kento Nanami’s, Kugisaki’s and Itadori’s designs. 

I only picked Gojo’s and Fushiguro’s, though, since blue and blue-green (teal or turquoise) are my fave colours and I love the idea of taking them to the ladies’ room to freshen up. 

As with the rest of this product lineup, the pouches feature the chibi versions of the characters, along with their identifying logos.

Here’s the pouch next to a standard tube of 120g toothpaste and an unopened toothbrush. They fit very easily (with toothbrush taken out of its packaging), with room to spare.  It’s the perfect toiletry bag!

• Price – JPY 979 tax incl (about 9 USD)
• Recommend – Yes

Canvas Shoulder Bag

There were two bags in the lineup: a canvas shoulder bag with snap-on closure and removable strap, and a canvas tote with zipper and short fake leather handles. When I went there only the former was available, just waiting for me. Yay!

One one side are the first-year students plus Gojo-sensei, while on the other side are the second-year students plus Nanami.

I don’t think it shows too well in the pictures above but the bag is the purest, easily-soiled type of bright white. In fact, it’s so glaringly white the only seasons you’ll feel comfortable using it will be in Spring or Summer. The black-and-pastel design looks more fit for a beach bag than a shoulder bag. 

Needless to say, I wish the background colour was something more staid, such as grey or beige, but I suppose they wanted to print the design in the least expensive way possible, thus the bright white canvas. A darker, duller canvas would have required a white underbase beneath the design, increasing the production cost. 

So I’ll live with the bright white. I’m sure they’ll come up with an Autumn-Winter look soon enough!

The bag is large and roomy, with a large-format traditional print magazine fitting easily, and A4 files having room for more. Problem is that there’s only one measly little pocket inside, meaning the stuff you put in will just be a jumbled mess. 

The Downside – (1) The bad thing about something this white is that the handles/straps will soil very easily, as will the bottom part since you’ll need to rest it on a chair or the floor or somewhere other than your lap; (2) Instead of a button-type closure I’d rather it was a zipper instead, like with the tote bag, as this will keep anything from spilling out in case the bag is turned upside down by mistake; (3) Needs a separate organiser as it lacks pockets.

The Upside – Large, roomy, with a print of our favourite characters on either side. I guess this stamps out the downside! xD

• Price – JPY 1969 tax incl (about 18 USD)
• Recommend – Yes, if you can live with the downside. Me, I’m just happy to have a JJK bag large enough for me to use! xD

Muji Bag Organiser

Downside #3 can be easily solved with a separate bag organiser, though. I bought one from Muji (Mujirushi Ryohin), an A4, vertical-orientation nylon mesh bag organiser made of sturdy material, at JPY 1290 (about 12 USD).

It fits perfectly, and keeps its shape enough that putting a largish smartphone (such as the iPhone Plus type) on the topmost pocket won’t bend it out of shape. There are seven pockets in this organiser, so everything you carry with you – house keys, car keys, wallet, phone, metro card or railway pass, extra face masks, organiser and so on can have a room of their own. 

That’s it for my two-part series of Shimamura product reviews. Let’s hope I’ll get my act together and publish articles in time with the products being available on shelves.

Availability

As of this writing, the zippered pouches were still available in the Shimamura store I frequent, and there are plenty enough Instagrammers still uploading pics of their latest purchases. So yeah, I’d say there’s still a chance for anyone in Japan who has not yet gone to their friendly neighborhood Shimamura store. The next best thing would be to order from the official Shimamura online shop. As of 25 May 2021, some keychains and leather pouches are still available.

If you live outside Japan, you can buy these products by proxy and have them shipped to you. Check out my Buyer’s Guide. This guide also works for anyone in Japan who missed out on them. They’re still available in the specialty stores!

Search key phrase: 

呪術廻戦 しまむら

Thank you so much for reading! Please take a moment to share a thought or two in the comment section below. Your comments give me life and are a real source of encouragement. xoxo – hana

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