Candy Blog

1. 

   i bought this candy after watching an Japanese anime called ‘Grave of the Fireflies’. It’s a very sad anime about 2 brothers in Japan during WWII. The younger bro had a candy tin very similar to this - even the colours of the candies look identical. whenever i see this candy on the shelf it would remind me of the movie and the story of the 2 brothers.

   Comment by johnz on 4/29/06 at 2:19 am #
2. 

   Ummm, the younger one is a girl…

   Comment by someguy on 8/14/06 at 11:05 am #
3. 

   I bought a tin of sweets that is exactly the same as the one in the film, it even has a picture of the little girl on one side. The tin also has a chocloate flavoured sweet. The shop is called Globally Sweet in Aberdeen, the sweets were just over ?4 for the tin.

   Comment by Ali on 8/22/06 at 2:25 am #
4. 

   I used to love these when I was little. Every time we went to Chinatown, I’d either want Pocky, these candies, or these little bubblegum packs that came in like a sixpack of little square boxes and each box had four little gumballs that were very fragrant and flavorful and had flavors like strawberry, grape, or melon (cantaloupe).

   Comment by Trish on 11/04/06 at 7:21 pm #
5. 

   I just figured out the name of the bubblegum I mentioned in the above post.

   It’s Marukawa Bubblegum. It’s comes in one of two packs- either a seven pack with seven flavors or an eight pack with two packs each of the original four flavors (orange, strawberry, grape, and melon (cantaloupe).

   The original four flavors are little gum balls, but soft with a flavorful thin candy coating. They are wonderfully fragrant when you get the boxes open- not only is the entire thing plastic wrapped, each box is also plastic wrapped with a little tab to pull like Orbit gum plastic wrap. The flavors are bold and delicious and last. the gums texture is smooth and slippery (not in the gross way), not gritty in the least. For a good wad, you might need all four balls in the box, though I prefer two at a time.

   The green apple, peach, and mixed fruit ones included in the seven pack are slightly different. Instead of being four gum balls, they are actually soft rectangles of gum, much like Bazooka, though I thing they are indented in the middle so you ca break it in two. The mixed fruit gum doesn’t have any writing on the wrapper, just a cartoon frog not unlike Keroppi (of Sanrio fame).

   Here are some pics on the Amazon pages:
   http://www.amazon.com/Marukawa-Sampler-Orange-Strawberry-Shipped/dp/B0009WCFO8
   http://www.amazon.com/Marukawa-Sampler-Orange-Strawberry-Shipped/dp/B0009WAESM

   
   I highly recommend trying them. They are in the candy aisle at nearly any chinese/asian grocery store in Chinatown, and sometimes at the checkout displays.

   Comment by Trish on 11/04/06 at 7:50 pm #
6. 

   Ali- I just found one yesterday priced RM12.50 (USD3+). Fruity candy, but one colored white we cant tell what it is.Not barley or any Asian fruit. Red with a girl on the other side. Its written all over in Japanese except a sticker seal written ‘SINCE 1908’ with a sail boat in diamond like logo ;( no Meiji logo. (is it FAKE?)

   Comment by Anuar Salleh on 9/10/07 at 9:21 am #
7. 

   where can buy this candy ? coz i hv been eat, it is tastely

   Comment by lee yee on 9/16/08 at 2:59 am #
8. 

   people, you can buy this in china town if you live in london!!!

   Comment by Saki Osakura on 9/24/08 at 3:55 am #
9. 

   I remember this candy from Grave of the Fireflies, which someone has already mentioned, I don’t think I could eat these without thinking about that sad movie…When the little girl and her brother had not food left I think they ate these, and right at the end, the little girl was hallucinating that pebbles were fruit drops…

   Comment by Sara Em on 10/23/08 at 7:23 pm #
10. 

    I watched that movie before…
    Yup recently I discover the same candy drops in Malaysia and it reminds me of the story in the movie and so I purchase one too!
    Life is bittersweet…

    Comment by Li Lian Wah on 11/03/08 at 5:30 pm #
11. 

    Oh, I just bought this precious can of fruit drops!
    i.i
    Imagine my expression when I first saw it on the store! I remembered Grave of the Fireflies the moment my eyes laid on it! My mother almost hit me because I kept shaking it in my ear, just like the little girl in the movie when it was almost empty.
    I ran to my house pick up some money and by, because the price of imported japanese stuff here in Brazil is VERY high.
    In the end, it was worth it! When it’s empty, I’m gonna put some water on it, shake it, and drink the sweet liquid! /o/
    Really good!

    Comment by Fernanda on 12/19/08 at 9:22 am #
12. 

    I recently bought one of these but i cant open it!! :( i know, it sounds pretty pathetic. HELP!!
    oh and yesss i saw these at the asian supermarket and i thought of that movie! its really amazing. Miyazaki is my hero.

    Comment by Alicia on 3/08/09 at 1:38 pm #
13. 

    They look yummy. Can we order on line?

    Comment by Candy on 3/11/09 at 5:15 am #
14. 

    my sister and i totally got this just because of grave of the fireflies!  it took me forever to figure out what on earth “hakka” flavor was.

    Comment by claudia on 11/09/09 at 6:40 pm #
15. 

    Alicia:

    If you’re still trying to open the tin, here’s how to do it. Find a coin of some sort- I recommend one roughly the size of a quarter. You could also use butter knife (which is how I remember opening them in my youth, but you run the risk of stabbing yourself that way). Taking the coin and put one edge between the side of to the tin and the the lid/plug. Now push down on the coin (go from upright/on edge to face up/down so it’s edge comes up under the lid. Do this on both side alternately until the lid loosens enough to remove.

    Meiji’s drops are the ones I grew up on, but Morinaga also makes one that comes in a yellow tin more rectangular than oval and they are called Mixed Drops. The drops are all oval in shape and are coated with powdered sugar to prevent them from sticking together. The flavor set is similar to Meiji’s, but with the addition of a chocolate flavor which tastes like the hard candy part of a chocolate flavored Tootsie pop-only cheaper. I have seen a soda flavored set of the Morinaga version, but I have not tried it.

    Comment by Trish on 11/27/09 at 5:03 am #
16. 

    I am surprised how many people here don’t know their candy. 

    The Grave of the Fireflies movie had Sakuma candy which have square box with rounded edges and are much better tasting than Meiji. 

    Meiji - in oval box, are a cheap knockoff of Sakuma.

    Comment by Giovanni on 1/26/10 at 4:03 pm #
17. 

    I know this is an old post, but would you know if these fruit drops have been discontinued? I can not find them for sale (at a decent price) online, and honestly don’t know where to look locally. I’ll be in NYC this coming week, so was wondering if ya’ll knew of a place possibly there that I could find them?

    Comment by Sara on 11/20/10 at 2:35 pm #

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