Games Happy

I first discovered about Chubby Lungs in an Anime Expo press e mail. In it, the event group at Hypergryph highlighted mini-games that includes the Lungs as a part of the Arknights: Endfield sales space at this yr’s conference. I didn’t know these bean-shaped dragons had a selected identify, despite the fact that I’d seen them in passing on the Wuling map.

I performed Arknights: Endfield at launch and its a number of demos up to now, by no means fairly attending to the purpose of delving into Chubby Lungs and their historical past. So, I got down to change that by truly visiting the Arknights: Endfield sales space at Anime Expo 2026.

My expertise on the Anime Expo sales space

Chubby Lungs are straightforward to conceptually perceive if you understand what a “Lung” is in Arknights. The world of Arknights (and Endfield by extension) options many humanoid races with animalistic options like cat ears and horns. Lungs, probably coming from the Chinese language phrase for dragon, are based mostly on Jap dragons and have skinny, pointy horns and serpentine tails. Operator Chen Qianyu, one of many first characters to affix your celebration in Arknights: Endfield, is a Lung.

Chubby Lung basketball and curling video games had been simply a part of the carnival of Endfield-themed actions at Anime Expo. What I discovered on the conference was an elaborate show embellished with Arknights’ futuristic aesthetic, vibrant promotional banners that includes widespread characters, and replicas of in-game landmarks like Tele-Protocol (TP) Factors (fast-travel factors that would heal and join together with your depot) and Protocol Dataloggers (a.okay.a. “wavy tube males”). 

Different highlights included a boxing recreation impressed by operator Mi Fu and her martial arts-inspired combating model, picture alternatives with skilled cosplayers dressed as the principle characters, and an on-site retailer for followers to purchase Arknights: Endfield branded merch. (I missed the Arknights: Endfield Reflective Folding Umbrella, which was in high-demand with that sky-high UV index that weekend!)

As meant, I performed the Chubby Lung mini-games. The sales space featured two branded basketball machines with Chubby Lung plush toys because the “balls,” which I then needed to throw right into a basket like I’d in an arcade recreation. There have been two Chubby Lung designs, one smiling, relaxed Chubby Lung and one frowning, extra critical Chubby Lung (extra on that later). 

The curling recreation featured the identical Chubby Lung designs, simply as handles on a puck somewhat than balls. Curling (the game) makes use of massive granite pucks as an alternative of small ones like the type within the mini-game, however it’s all about inspiration. Just like the true recreation, the objective was to slip a Chubby Lung puck throughout an extended board towards a goal on the finish. The nearer the puck is to the middle, the upper the rating. 

These video games had been a extra participating option to expertise the fanfare surrounding Arknights: Endfield somewhat than simply flyers and merch. Nevertheless, it simply made me extra curious concerning the growth group’s involvement with the sales space and the way Chubby Lungs turned a large enough deal to make all of it the way in which to Anime Expo. Shortly after visiting, I adopted up with the group to ask about their imaginative and prescient with the Chubby Lung mini video games and the origin of Chubby Lungs for funsies. 

Regarding the mini video games, they replied, “Their spherical and cute form makes them very easy to think about as a part of easy, playful mini-games, and basketball and tabletop curling are each actions which can be straightforward for guests to know and take part on at a sales space. After we had been designing the sales space actions, we thought it might be actually cute to show Chubby Lungs into basketballs and curling pucks.”

“Extra importantly, we did not need the sales space expertise to simply be about lining up, checking in, and receiving freebies. We needed guests to have one thing extra interactive and entertaining to do, whereas nonetheless ensuring the actions felt related to the sport somewhat than added on randomly. Chubby Lungs had been a fantastic match for that, as they helped make the mini-games really feel extra enjoyable, extra visible, and extra related to Endfield.”

This made sense, contemplating there are solely so many spherical, memorably cute objects in Arknights: Endfield. It will be tough to play sports-based mini-games with a non-round object. I couldn’t deny that it was straightforward for me to select up as nicely, at the same time as I raced across the sales space to attempt the video games with out disturbing different friends. 

Additionally, they talked about, “We additionally had this enjoyable picture in thoughts of the Zhuang Fangyi cosplayer holding a Chubby Lung basketball for images, since within the recreation, Zhuang Fangyi is thought for liking Chubby Lungs as nicely.”

Zhuang Fangyi is Arknights: Endfield’s resident Chubby Lung fanatic. She was launched as a 6-star operator in model 1.2 practically three months earlier than Anime Expo and launched within the second area of Wuling, the place Chubby Lungs seem in Endfield. Funnily sufficient, despite the fact that she loves Chubby Lungs, she is definitely a Kylin and never a Lung. (Kylins are based mostly on qilins, a Chinese language mythological creature that has the highest of a dragon and backside of a goat. For reference, one other widespread qilin-inspired character is Ganyu from Genshin Impression.)

On the which means and design behind Chubby Lungs

The builders additionally defined to me the inventive benefits of Chubby Lungs, particularly how their spherical form might be used as an simply customizable base for a number of forms of characters (a couple of creature or archetype). In addition to being cute, the roundness of Chubby Lungs additionally has which means in Chinese language tradition.

“When designing mascot-like characters corresponding to Chubby Lungs, the group didn’t wish to restrict them fully to 1 particular conventional creature or fastened character archetype. As a substitute, we needed to present them a extra versatile and expandable visible language,” builders advised RPG Website by way of e mail. “A rounded base form makes it straightforward so as to add completely different options and parts, permitting extra variations to be created whereas protecting the general impression lighthearted, enjoyable, and approachable.”

“On the similar time, spherical shapes additionally carry a way of “reunion” in Chinese language tradition,” builders mentioned. “In Arknights, we regularly launch festive content material round Spring Pageant, so this rounded, cute, mascot-like design additionally suits nicely with the sensation of gathering collectively and welcoming a brand new yr.”

Chubby Lungs didn’t have an official identify for a while. The primary bean-shaped Lung designs appeared in Arknights to symbolize the Sui siblings, and due to their form, the neighborhood largely referred to them as “Beans.” 

Chubby Lungs didn’t symbolize a single character, however a number of. Nevertheless, when requested concerning the design for the Chubby Lungs seen in Arknights: Endfield, builders referenced Fangxing Avenue, a industrial district in Wuling, somewhat than a specific individual.

With regard to Wuling, “We felt that it actually wanted a “mascot”: one thing cute and pleasant, one thing that would carry the “previous” inherited from Yan whereas additionally representing the “current ” and “future ” embodied by the thought of Tianshi being a part of on a regular basis life. With that in thoughts, making a Chubby Lung felt like a really pure reply, and we rapidly settled on that total path.”
 
The group additionally advised the story of how they selected two Chubby Lung designs, the identical ones featured within the basketball and curling actions at Anime Expo. 

“From there, we continued brainstorming round Wuling’s early idea of “a metropolis of Tianshi and a metropolis of studying.” Ultimately, we made a particular choice: why not make two of them? Ranging from the concept that Tianshi ought to be each scholarly and martial, we designed one relaxed and cheerful “Pen” Chubby Lung, and one disciplined and critical “Blade” Chubby Lung.”

The Pen and Blade Chubby Lungs are coloured white and inexperienced respectively. As seen in images, the white one has a mischievous w-shaped smile (e.g. uwu) and the inexperienced one has a extra grumpy “the other way up v” kind (e.g. :<) of mouth. 

“This not solely matched the spirit of Wuling, but in addition gave the 2 mascots a enjoyable sense of distinction, nearly like a pair of pleasant rivals or shut companions. From there, many street indicators, security notices, and pleasant reminders naturally adopted,” builders mentioned. “Because the design developed additional, the Chubby Lungs had been now not restricted to Fangxing Avenue. We started utilizing them all through completely different corners of Wuling, they usually step by step developed from road mascots into “life ambassadors” for your complete metropolis.”

On reputation and demand for Chubby Lungs

It’s the primary time we’re seeing Chubby Lungs at a conference like Anime Expo. Nevertheless, followers had been capable of purchase them as merchandise approach earlier than that. Gryphline began making Chubby Lung plushies after they’d been a neighborhood meme for a while and the official Gryphline retailer nonetheless has a limited-edition Chubby Lung t-shirts and  show items on the market.

I requested an Arknights consultant why they hadn’t introduced Chubby Lung plushies to the con, they usually replied that it was as a result of demand was so excessive that they had been at the moment offered out. (Even now, a short Google search confirms that–no less than, from the U.S. market. Your finest guess is to attend for restocks on on-line marketplaces like ACGGO or pop-up markets.)

Builders famous that, whereas they hoped gamers would really like Chubby Lungs, the extent of enthusiasm was “past what [they] initially anticipated.” The neighborhood additional nurtured the unique imaginative and prescient for Chubby Lungs with their very own creations. 

“Many gamers created their very own Chubby Lung illustrations, memes, and different fan works, and people creations additionally gave us inspiration. They helped us see the vitality and potential of this picture.”

They added, “On the similar time, whereas Chubby Lungs have turn out to be very talked-about, we additionally know that many gamers are trying ahead to seeing us discover new mascot-like designs and new visible collection. In order we proceed increasing Chubby Lungs and associated designs, we’re additionally creating different forms of characters and mascots, hoping to carry gamers extra recent and completely different experiences.”

This didn’t shock me, contemplating how frequent it’s for builders to create mascot representations of their characters. For instance, Honkai: Star Rail even has “cake cats” associated to the character Ruan Mei and her experiments. These cats have an uncanny resemblance to HSR characters, very similar to the Chubby Lungs paying homage to Arknights’ Sui siblings. The builders’ response additionally highlights that Chubby Lungs could have competitors because the fan-favorite Arknights mascot illustration due to different concepts they’ve for the long run.

The group couldn’t affirm every other Chubby Lung-related occasions developing, however they did say this:

“For future plans, we can’t discuss something that hasn’t been introduced but, however we do hear the suggestions from our neighborhood. If there are probabilities the place Chubby Lungs match naturally with the theme or format of an occasion, we might positively like to discover extra methods to carry them into the expertise, whether or not that is by means of sales space design, decorations, or enjoyable little interactive actions.”

That’s neither a sure or no. There are not any Chubby Lung-related occasions within the newest 1.4 replace, however we’ll see what occurs past that.