Getting Gude vibes: A Gudetama superfan eggs-plains the appeal

SINGAPORE – Gudetama fans are nothing like their hero, judging by how excited they were about the opening of Singapore’s own Gudetama cafe at Suntec City Mall last week.

Gudetama himself, of course, would probably just roll over and bleat a halfhearted, “meh”. But his adoring devotees will make sure he earns enough money lending his image to omelettes and puddings to sustain his lifestyle of indolence.

One Gudetama superfan is Delphine Tan, a geography teacher in her 30s and mother of three. “It’s well known amongst my friends and people who follow me on Instagram that I’m crazy about Gudetama,” she said.

“It’s so Instagrammable,” she said, not just about the decor but also the food. “You squeeze his butt and things come out. It’s just so cute.”

Tan’s Instagram account (@lifeintheweehours) features photos of her extensive collection of Gudetama merchandise. Many of the little knick-knacks, stationery, stickers, socks and stuffed toys are gifts from friends who know of her passion for the lazy egg.

“Whenever someone sees a Gudetama item, they’ll buy it for me,” she said.

But her favourite Gudetama item is a suitcase she purchased herself in Tokyo last year. “When you’re pulling it along, everybody looks at it. It looks like tamago sushi with seaweed wrapped around it. When it comes out on the conveyor belt at the airport, it really looks like a piece of sushi on a conveyor belt,” she said, although “I try not to check it in because I’m afraid someone will take it.”

She also has a range of Gudetama-themed makeup. “It’s under the Korean brand Holika Holika. I got my friend to buy the makeup range for me from Seoul – a lot of it, actually,” she said. “I don’t even wear makeup!”

But the hobby helps her bonds with her students, Tan said. And her children, aged seven, five and two, are also fond of Gudetama. “They probably don’t like him as much as I do, but they like playing with Gudetama stuff,” she said.

For the most part, Tan sees Gudetama as a character more suited to grown-ups, which is why she relates to him. “The other cartoon characters and mascots are always so ridiculously cheerful, idealistic, upbeat, overachieving, and a bit annoying. Who’s like that? Nobody’s like that. It’s a bit childish,” she said. “Gudetama may appeal more to grownups because we’re all a bit jaded, right? We feel like retreating into our shells – not literally, but you know, like Gudetama. It’s so realistic. Anyone can identify with that.”

She continued: “Gudetama embodies a lot of things that may be considered negative, like being lazy or unmotivated, and not wanting to socialise with people. (But) all of us feel like that at some point ... so when you see a character that’s like that, it’s amusing. He reminds me of my husband when he’s being lazy and ‘nua’. It’s really cute.”

The key thing, she added, is that it’s “not irritatingly cute.”

That is why Gudetama’s five more minutes in the spotlight will probably drag on for a good while yet — especially since the cafe combines Singaporeans’ top hobbies of eating and ‘nua’-ing.