Recently, customers of Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart have been finding themselves in random encounters with slime, Dragon Quest’s monster mascot.

Hoewever, while it’s usually the slimes that attack novice adventures, Family Mart is offering customers the chance to bite back with their new, limited-time slime-shaped nikuman (steamed meat bun), which became available for purchase at stores nation-wide on November 29.

The Dragon Quest series commands unparalleled popularity in Japan and even before these slime nikuman hit the shelves, the internet community was abuzz with excitement over the promotion, prompting Family Mart to kick up production and double their initial sales forecast of 50,000 slime buns to 100,000.

It seems that the slimes were put out before dawn on the 29 and many of said excited internet users trekked out into the cold to get one before initial stocks ran out. Of course, there are over 1500 Family Marts in Tokyo alone and, while some stores did run out on the first day, other stores had a case full of the little guys just waiting to be devoured.

We also wandered over to our local Family Mart on the 29 to vanquish a slime nikuman ourselves and had no trouble finding one.

Despite appearances, slime’s eyes and mouth are tasteless (we’re guessing they’re made from the same dough as the bun) and Family Mart assures customers that no artificial coloring is used in the dough.

When we tried breaking the cute little blue blob two, the meat inside didn’t break apart smoothly like a normal steamed meat bun. Instead, it was more they took a ball of meat and stuck it inside a pre-made doughy shell.

Each bun goes for 170 yen (US $2.20) and is filled with pork flavored with soy sauce, oyster sauce, bamboo shoots, and onions.

Quantities are limited, so those of you in Japan should make sure to stop by your nearest Family Mart as soon as possible!

Source：Rocketnews24, Family Mart

▼　Family Mart shows us that not all slimes are made equal
▼　Slime’s innards are more ‘meatball’ than ‘juicy meat filling’ (google ‘nikuman’ to see what we mean)

[ Read in Japanese ]