The Vampire Dies in No Time – Shibuya Marui Collabo Cafe Space – Drinks, Coasters, Pinback Buttons – Event Review

I missed the Animate Cafe collab with The Vampire Dies in No Time (‘Kyūketsuki Sugu Shinu’, shortened to ‘Sugu Shinu’ from here on) last autumn, so this winter I made sure to go to B-fantasy’s collaboration just days after the event began. Let’s see how things turned out!

(English continued after Japanese)

渋谷マルイのコラボカフェスペースへ友人と一緒に「吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ」のドリンクを飲みに行きました！選んだのは友人が「フクマのアイスコーヒー」、私が「半田桃のモナンブルートニック」〜美味しかった? おまけのコースターはジョンとロナルド様に当たり、嬉しくてお店の前で歓声上げて飛び上がりました? 大好きなジョン可愛すぎます? 持参のぬいぐるみをアレンジしてパシャ? 残念ながら同フロアのB-fantasyのニューオープン店舗で販売されていた限定缶バッジは売り切れ? 14日以降の再入荷だそうです。今月8日の販売開始でしたが12日に行ったら完売って、それだけ作品のファンが多いということで嬉しい反面、来週も人混みがすざましい渋谷に足を運ばなくちゃ、という複雑な気持ちですが、できれば買いに行きたいです?

Shibuya Marui 1F

There’s a booth on the first floor of the popular Marui department store in Shibuya (aka Shibuya Marui), and from December 8th to 21st they’re doing a collab with the Sugu Shinu anime. My friend and I go there on a Saturday afternoon. Shibuya was crowded with young people as usual, and there were other customers in the cafe space, though we didn’t need to wait in line.

On the glass panel there’s a poster of the Sugu Shinu gang, the one we’ve seen everywhere in bookstores, though this one is pretty large. 

Character-Themed Drinks

Below the poster is a framed menu of the available themed drinks. So fun to choose from! 

• Ronald’s Strawberry Soda – with cream on top. Inspired by Ronald’s red-and-white outfit, of course.
• Draluc’s Cassis Milk – with purple powder on top to represent our favourite vampire’s peculiar way of dying. Draluc always orders hot milk at the Hunters’ Guild, so I was hoping they’d have this version hot. Unfortunately not!
• John’s Mango Milk – this one’s sweet, warm, and brownish, just like our beloved armadillo.
• Fukuma’s Iced Coffee – inspired by our scary but competent editor’s all-black Goth-like outfit.
• Hinaichi’s Colour-Changing Orange Juice – our heroine’s a brilliant police woman yet she’s also sometimes daffy. These two sides to her personality are represented in this bi-coloured drink – mix the yellow with the blue and get… you know!
• Handa Tou’s Monin Blue Tonic – this half-vampire, half-human ‘danpire’ is a bit crazed in his obsessions, so we get this crazy-coloured drink. Dried cranberries on top represent drops of blood.
• Satetsu’s Good-Natured Calpis – this bloke looks tough but he’s really a softie, just like this drink: serious-looking but is actually everyone’s favourite Calpis (yogurt-flavoured soft drink), with cream on top, sprinkled with silver dragee to represent Satetsu’s metallic arm.

I chose Handa’s beverage because like him I’m a bit crazy, while my friend picked Fukuma’s because it looks like a very straightforward drink. Well, the drinks tasted the way they looked – Handa’s was sugary, while Fukuma’s wasn’t sweet at all, just like their characters!

Giveaway Coasters – John and Ronald

For the giveaway paper coaster we got John the Armadillo and Ronald in battle mode, yey! 

John is super cute and I was so happy to get him I jumped for joy in front of the shop – how utterly embarrassing! xD 

I’m thinking if I had a Fukuma-like editor in my life, then I could’ve reached my full potential as a writer. Editing’s such a tough, mind-numbing job, and the fact that I’m both the writer and editor of my own works is one big reason I don’t enjoy writing fanfic anymore. It’s not just about the lack of readers, but has actually a lot to do with my hating the editing bit. Ronald owes a substantial part of his writing career’s success to motivational, capable editors like Fukuma, that’s something we can say for certain!

Speaking of characters’ personalities, I really like that Handa has a love-hate relationship with Ronald, and seems to be in love with him in a weird sort of way. It’s funny the way he tries to sabotage his self-appointed rival’s life, yet when we see his Shrine-to-Ronald room, it’s so obvious he can’t get the vampire hunter out of his mind! I ship them, actually! 😀

I bought my Sugu Shinu plushies and they looked great arranged with the drinks and coasters. Sadly, there was only a single plank of wood to serve as a counter, with more than half the stickers peeled off. 

B-fantasy Merch Store

Next to the coffee shop there’s a new store by B-fantasy selling anime merch. There were floral bouquets here and there celebrating the shop’s opening. 

Here’s a display of the limited-edition Sugu Shinu pinback buttons, featuring scenes from the anime. I love the hand-made frame by the store staff!

Let’s see who’s here: Draluc grinning wickedly, Aunt Gorgona, Henna Doubtsu (Strange Creature), Genranium, Hinaichi, John, Bosatsu, Shot and T Handa. What a peculiar selection – I mean, we have Gorgona but not Hiyoshi or Draluc’s dad, Drauss! Not complaining, though. Give me anyone from Draluc’s family and I’m happy!

Unfortunately, the Sugu Shinu pinback buttons were all gone by the time we got there. I asked the salesperson when they sold out and she said Friday. So that’s three days of availability. We missed the boat, ugh! 

A new shipment is scheduled to arrive on the 14th, meaning I’ll have to go to ultra-crowded Shibuya again next week… Not too happy about this but Sugu Shinu merch is rather hard to come by, so I best not be lazy.

I’m really not sure if I can get there on time, though, or if I’ll have the money to pay for the train fare, honestly! Who knows how fast the pinbacks will sell out? I asked the storeperson if they’ll be announcing the replenished stock via twitter, and she said she’s not sure so the best thing to do is to call the store beforehand. *Sigh* (that’s the sighing of a person who hates making real phone calls… )

Where to Buy Sugu Shinu Official Merch

That’s it for my review of The Vampire Dies in No Time event by B-fantasy. While we missed out on the pinbacks, we did get the coasters (and precious John and Ronald to boot!). For those who can’t make it to Shibuya, here are some online shopping options:

Suruga-ya has a selection of Sugu Shinu merch from all kinds of events.

Resellers on Mercari are also offering a bunch of items. 

If you live overseas, one way to get a hold of these products is to use a proxy shopper that ships worldwide. See my Shopper’s Guide for details.

Search keyphrase (coasters):

吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ　コースター

Search keyphrase (plushies):

吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ　ぬいぐるみ

Search keyphrase (pinback buttons):

吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ　缶バッジ

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