Bikkuriman is a line of wafer snacks produced by Lotte, made notable for the randomly assorted bonus stickers included inside each snack. First released in 1977, Bikkuriman become wildly popular in Japan with the introduction of the Akuma vs Tenshi Seal series of stickers, leading to a prolific amount of media tie-ins.
History
Bikkuriman is a chocolate and peanut wafer snack made by Lotte that sold for 30 yen at the time of its introduction. Originally, the pack-in stickers were called “Dokkiri Seal”. Each seal featured a realistic image on a clear background, with the intention of using them for pranks or gags By the 1980s, the Seals began featuring individual gag-based characters with a theme that united a particular set of Seals. These style of stickers would remain for the first 9 sets of Seal releases. In August of 1985, Lotte released the first of the Akuma vs Tenshi Seal series. While remaining the same humorous art style of the earlier series, the Akuma vs Tenshi Seals featured characters based on assorted mythological, folklore, and even metaphorical sources engaging in an overarching story-line. Akin to the Mars Attackstrading card series from America, the battle between the Tenshi and Akuma is told on the back of each sticker, with the plot progressing with each new set. Each set was divided into several themed tiers featuring a Tenshi, Akuma, and an Omamori, with an ultra-rare "Head" seal that serves as the main character of its particular set. The Head Seals were typically printed with a prism or holographic holofoil to set them apart from the Tenshi's metallic silver or gold backing, the clear backgrounds of the Omamori and the multi-colored backgrounds of the Akuma. The rarity of the early Akuma vs Tenshi seals were, in order: Head, Tenshi, Omamori, Akuma. These stickers were a huge success, leading to a multitude of media tie-ins. The original Bikkurimananime series, created by Toei Animation, aired from October 11, 1987 to April 2, 1989. Sequels include Shin Bikkuriman and Super Bikkuriman. Two Bikkuriman video games were made for the PC Engine console in Japan. Unfortunately, the popularity of the stickers led to trouble for the series. The zeal for trying to obtain Head Seals would lead children to buy Bikkuriman in mass quantities, retrieve the stickers inside, and simply throw away the snack. This, along with the fact that children and collectors were willing to pay high amounts of money for the rarer cards, led to parent groups expressing concern of possible gambling undertones to the stickers. This led to action by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, and the number of Head Seals per pack was increased from the average 4 to 24 individual Seals.
