LEGO fans are calling for sets based on this anime – but an official release is far from certain

On LEGO Ideas, fans can submit concepts for new sets – and if those ideas attract enough support from the community and pass LEGO’s internal review, they may eventually be turned into official products. One anime classic is currently attracting especially strong interest: My Neighbor Totoro. No fewer than six fan designs based on the Studio Ghibli classic have now reached the 10,000-supporter milestone and entered LEGO’s official review process. Among them are concepts featuring Totoro at the famous bus stop as well as the iconic Catbus.

This not only shows that the Ghibli anime, which was first released in 1988, remains immensely popular, but also points to a broader trend. After successful sets based on franchises such as Pokémon, One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh!, anime-inspired LEGO sets seem to be gaining traction. Even so, strong demand for specific Totoro sets does not mean they will actually become official sets. Reaching 10,000 supporters is only the first hurdle. During the review phase that follows, LEGO evaluates not only the creativity of a concept, but also whether it can realistically be produced from both a legal and a commercial perspective. In the case of Studio Ghibli in particular, licensing may prove to be the decisive obstacle.

Before expectations among fans rise too high, it is worth noting that similar projects have already been rejected in the past despite attracting considerable support. One example is the My Neighbor Totoro project by ZeusBricks, which reached the 10,000-supporter milestone but was ultimately not approved after review. Its project page currently shows 382 comments and six LEGO updates. LEGO also displays a notice stating that the idea did not pass internal review.