On August 15, Gunma Denki gave the first public showing of its in-development new “Yobikomi-kun” model at Comic Market 108. The new version lets users load their own audio onto a microSD card to play custom background music, and photos from the event went viral on social media.
On 5ch, comments like “who needs custom BGM, the original tune is all you need” piled up one after another, and the thread even spun off into a debate over whether playing BGM and voice announcements in stores at all is a uniquely Japanese business custom.
August 15, 2026, 7:48 PM
On August 15, Gunma Denki unveiled its in-development new “Yobikomi-kun” model at Comic Market 108, held at Tokyo Big Sight. The new unit shown at the venue has become a hot topic on social media.
Yobikomi-kun is a promotional audio POP device known for the “Popo- popopopo♪” background tune played in supermarkets and elsewhere. It can play a combination of BGM and recorded voice announcements, and also supports a motion sensor.
Source: x.com / Original article here
2Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:19:47.26ID:cpdfIF1o
There are reports on X of the Yobikomi-kun playing, but…
is it really that great?
3Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:25:39.20ID:QmkGxzLb
Thought it was Nezumi-senpai for a second (a viral mid-2000s meme song).
4Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:27:41.57ID:G8+fFrE5
Po~! Po~ Po! Popopopopopo! Popopo! Po~♪
Popopopopopopopopopopopo Po~Po! Po~♫
6Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:37:46.44ID:ZQIGUuLX
If it were "to-tsu-to-to-to," that would mean "please wait a moment" (like old Morse-style telegraph signals), though.
7Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:39:21.60ID:Lu0Iu5C4
I kind of want the twist to be that no matter what you load onto the microSD,
it forces the usual tune on you anyway.
9Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:40:14.59ID:bpM9YvuJ
Who needs custom music… all you need is that Chiikawa radio-calisthenics tune.
10Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 22:52:01.25ID:l1XC/kxc
Popopopopo-
Popopopopo-
Popopopopo-po-po-po-po-po-
isn't that different from this?
12Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 23:00:37.24ID:nwHzzlAf
Isn't that Hasshaku-sama? (the towering ghost woman from a famous Japanese horror creepypasta)
13Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 23:04:14.45ID:68LGjHDX
Biggest hit song of the last decade
14Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 23:05:19.67ID:l1XC/kxc
>>11
Hmm…
but there shouldn't be a melody like the one in the thread title, though…
16Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 23:40:05.48ID:68LGjHDX
>>14
>The continuation of >10 is
"popo- popopopo"
What does the rest of >10 sound like in your head?
15Anonymous2026/08/15(土) 23:28:24.76ID:n12yUdqK
Popo- popopopo♪
Is that Noripi!? (nickname of celebrity Noriko Sakai)
17Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 00:53:22.16ID:vnjY8Nxp
Huh, Comiket has that kind of thing too?
18Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 00:54:20.02ID:L5YtZ5p2
The B-side is a classic too
19Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 01:23:56.60ID:R5Lo6qYK
Back in the day we used to call this the "Donki sound" (short for Don Quijote, the discount store chain).
20Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 01:57:51.96ID:eObNb+BW
Va-nilla, Vanilla, Va-nilla job listings♡ (the earworm jingle from Vanilla, a Japanese nightlife job-ad service)
21Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 06:12:59.88ID:GFA2UeFE
Well yeah, pushing a proprietary audio-card format these days just gets you branded as running a shady racket, and people hate that.
23Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 07:08:26.92ID:3hn+zxFw
Haven't heard Aya Uchida's name in a while
24Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 07:56:21.39ID:P2JTWcIJ
Anything other than "Goba-i, goba-i♪" is fake
25Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 08:53:25.63ID:OrxP0uKq
No, it's pointless without that BGM — if they want it to sell, they should keep the BGM exactly as is and just put out a Chiikawa edition.
26Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 09:54:19.78ID:o/Hewucg
> A product made in collaboration with voice actress Aya Uchida, who's from Gunma Prefecture, is also on display.
Somebody give Yui Ogura some work too — she's the tourism ambassador for Midori City, where Gunma Denki's headquarters are.
27Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 11:05:36.02ID:xh/Q2Gzp
I want a collab with Milky Subway
28Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 11:37:34.23ID:F5LJVWOG
Popo~~popopo♪ Popo~~popopo♪ Popopopo~~~po po-po po~♪
Let's eat meat♪ Let's eat meat♪ Meat meat meat meat, I wanna eat meat♪
Fish, fish, fish~~~♪ When you eat the fi~sh♪
(riffing on Japan's famous "Fish Fish Fish" grocery jingle) Japan's probably the only country blasting music like crazy in every single store nationwide.
32Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 16:15:42.22ID:sGxfAubC
>>28
Maybe Japanese people just hate silence?
Dunno though
36Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 22:34:25.80ID:ZzW89Tpc
>>28
Honestly that stuff is unbearably noisy.
Am I in the minority in Japan for wanting to shop somewhere quiet?
I'd love to know how much it actually affects sales and foot traffic.
29Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 15:04:14.92ID:21eypyeL
Head, head, head— if you eat the head—
Body, body, body— all that's left is the body—
33Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 16:22:34.00ID:ZMv/owpF
I came here just to see it and nobody's even posted it.
https://youtu.be/GFP4aH4dmMU?t=561
34Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 17:02:26.27ID:voHneOt7
The shamisen and shakuhachi are a bit much
35Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 17:42:29.69ID:QSXQsSso
The Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (comedy theater) theme song goes ♪Punwaka punwa~ punwaka punwaka punwaka punwawa
37Anonymous2026/08/16(日) 23:39:47.58ID:wAQuP8C2
>>32
Ski resorts play music nonstop too, for some reason
38Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 06:27:36.33ID:3VdccxM8
If using original songs becomes the standard, you won't be able to use it as a Chiikawa dance track anymore
39Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 06:56:23.86ID:F9p6ikDa
Ba-na-na King~, Ba-na-na King~🎵
Banana! Banana! Ba-na-na!!
40Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 12:13:16.84ID:yzRw2/6p
No voice-actor versions, no anime tie-in songs needed at all.
It's good exactly because it was written by a professional composer who specializes in unassuming background tunes meant to evoke a bright supermarket interior.
41Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 12:15:30.48ID:FnAc73gM
Yobikomi-kun No. 4 (Ver. 2.1) / covered by 雨衣 (voiced by Shigure Ui)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNWTMqjquIc
42Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 14:32:49.28ID:EwezgOIv
The only ones I know are Bobobo (from the anime Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) or Popopo-n
43Anonymous2026/08/17(月) 15:45:30.69ID:0TNCh1ap
Isn't that an AC Japan PSA jingle? (Japan Ad Council public-service ads, infamous for endless repetition)
44Anonymous2026/08/18(火) 20:07:10.32ID:bAP5Z7io
Equals Donki (Don Quijote)
45Anonymous2026/08/18(火) 20:22:26.45ID:XYw07txL
>>32
Playing the Yobikomi-kun actually boosts sales.
Same goes for clothing-store staff calling out to customers.
Even if some customers hate it, stores keep doing it because playing music and calling out ends up being more profitable in the end.
*This article is composed as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Business News+) thread “New “Yobikomi-kun” model (in development), known for its “Popo- popopopo♪” tune, becomes a hot topic at Comiket — can play custom BGM from a microSD card”.
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