It's hard to believe that in a few months, my daughter will turn 5 years old. That's around the age when kids in Japan start to give up their Anpanman obsession, much like American kindergarten kids abandon Sesame Street and hide their Elmo dolls in the closet.
If you're not familiar with the bread-head superhero and his cohorts, that's Anpanman ("bean paste man") in the middle. To the top right is his nemesis, Baikinman ("germ man") and at the top left is Dokinchan (no clue on her meaning, actually, though they refer to her as another germ), Baikinman's sidekick. Down on the bottom left is Shokupanman ("white bread man") and on the bottom right is Currypanman ("curry bread man"). Both are friends of Anpanman and help him out of whatever plot Baikinman always concocts.