RocketNews24

During her recent trip to the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain, RocketNews24 Japan writer Megumi stumbled upon something that, to her videogame-tuned eyes, could look like only one thing.

The above image is one taken by Megumi when she visited the fantastic Brunells patisserie, or Pastisseria i salode te Brunells to be more exact, showing what is known as a “melonmelon” sweet. Although you and I see little more than a piece of rich, sugary confection, when Megumi first laid eyes on this delightful little green tongue pleaser, she could only think of one thing: a Bubble Slime from the hugely popular Dragon Quest role-playing games.

When I first read our writer’s words, I wasn’t convinced. A Dragon Quest Slime!? Really? We were making edible versions of those just yesterday and this looks nothing like them, I argued.

But hearing what she had to say and after taking a look at a couple of images of the creature in question, I can’t help but agree. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the sugary embodiment of a Bubble Slime!

The above cartoon rendering of a green Bubble Slime, known by some as a Babble, may not look quite like the sweet that Megumi bought, but squint a little and take a look at this old-school, pixely image instead, then back up to the top of the page. Now tell me that isn’t a (admittedly delicious-looking) blob of dark green goo just waiting to dive into someone’s mouth!

Over to the lovely Megumi for the full explanation and a brief insight into her mind:

• All I see is slime!

I bought this little slime – sorry, melonmelon – during my visit to Barcelona from the branch of Brunells situated near the Picasso Art Museum. As well as selling sweets like these, Brunells is famous for its superb croissants and pastries and always gives off such a rich aroma that it’s impossible not to peek inside.

Browsing the mouth-watering treats, I suddenly spotted, sitting conspicuously among its friends, this dark green crystalline creation. With a name like melonmelon, one would surmise that the sweet is intended to look like the fruit of the same name, but with its dark green, gel-like surface just begging for a good squeeze, it struck me instantly as one of those little dungeon crawlers from Dragon Quest- the Bubble Slime.

• But Bubble Slimes were never this tasty!

After I finished playing with my food, I took a bite.

I must have stood there staring at my sweet like a madwoman after sinking my teeth into it. The texture; the taste; the fruit juices; this is melon!!! But no matter how hard I stared at the thing, it looked like a man-made creation. The colour is unnatural. The sparkling outer coating screams “processed”. And yet it tastes exactly like melon.

This couldn’t be the actual, real thing… could it!?

I closed my eyes and took another nibble. There was no denying it; the taste is identical to the fruit. And not just some cheap, supermarket-bought melon, either; this tastes like one of those special, shipped in an individual wooden crate with masses of padding and a ribbon tied around it royal melons. Ripe, juicy and surprisingly firm.

And yet, it’s so very, very sweet. Once the taste fills your mouth and tingles your taste buds, the smell of natural melon wafts over you, bringing that real melon taste forward again. Perhaps why they deemed to call this sweet melonmelon!

Happily munching away, I started to wonder why a Spanish company would put so much effort into creating something with a taste so unbelievably close to the genuine article. “Is it so difficult for people in Spain to pick up the real thing?” I wondered.

To most Japanese, this sweet would no doubt appear unnaturally dark, and perhaps even make them think of other, altogether less wholesome, dungeon-worthy things. But perhaps to Spanish eyes, this dark, emerald-green conveys a feeling of class and sophistication. Is this, to the Spanish, the perfect embodiment of melon in a tiny foil wrapper?

The world is full of mystery, Megumi. Long may it continue to amaze and tantalize you!

Bubble Slimeimages (C) スクエアエニックス

[ Read in Japanese ]