Further adventures of the mango girl

She’s everywhere these days, and not just in Thailand – although Thailand is the only place you can buy a bra and panties with Mamuang Chan patterns on them.

That’s another reason why this is Amazing Thailand!

Not content to exist merely in 2D comics and animations, Mamuang Chan and her little pooch Manao can also be found on Tshirts, Line stickers, cartons of milk, Japanese Docomo smartphones, and collectible merchandise that AirAsia offers its passengers. They’ve also teamed up with the Double A Paper Man in some catchy advertising bits.

Mamuang Chan and Manao are in fact readily available in convenience stores and shopping malls here, and their fans in Tokyo can find them at a place called Shibuya Loft. 

And, now that mango’s in season, every 7Eleven is selling mango flavoured Meiji milk with Mamuang Chan on the outside. Judging by the buzz on the social networks, it’s a hit, with some consumers insisting the milk somehow tastes better when she’s on the box.

Meanwhile the ladies – mostly very young ladies, we presume – are buying Mamuang Chan undies that Tum recently designed for Sabina. Meanwhile, again, there are two versions of the Mamuang Chan Line stickers, both commissioned by Japan’s Amuse Inc. Tum collaborated with Japanese actor Takeru Sato in creating a “Takeru and Cat” sticker set, sold online in Thailand for Bt100.

It’s the social networks that have really made Tum one of the country’s highest paid cartoonists. Not that his original artworks are given away for nothing, mind you.

There was a good crowd out for the opening last year of the Bangkok CityCity Gallery on Sathorn Road, which had as its centrepiece Tum’s sprawling interactive installation “Melo House”. It was set up as a maze through which visitors tracked Mamuang through 135 watercolours lining the black walls.

The same show had hilarious Mamuang and Manao ice cream bars available in the gallery cafe, enjoyed among the 16 limited edition prints of the characters on display, all of which sold for Bt50,000 each. Another unlimited edition, unsigned, was commanding Bt1,100 per print. Anyone short on satang could settle for a poster or a keychain.

What makes the Mamuang comics so appealing – apart from how adorably the characters are drawn – are the straightforฌward storytelling involved and the frequent allusions to Buddhist philosophy. Tum gets his ideas from everyday life, and our own lives are instantly recognisable in the comic books that have sold the best, like “Hesheit” (Hesheit) and “everybodyevฌerything”.

Keep up to date on what Mamuang Chan’s doing at “WisutPornnimit” on Facebook and @wisut at Instagram.