A pudding that bounces back when pressed, 44k people watched: a Japanese indie dev put squishy toys into a phone

A solo developer in Japan built SQUISH LAB, an app for squishing virtual squishies on your phone. It's been live for just over three weeks with only a few dozen ratings, but almost all its users came from one squishy video on the developer's own TikTok with no BGM. The topic is riding a real squishy revival in Japan, the feel and sound are convincing enough that the screen recording works as ASMR content, and monetization just started. Still tiny, but it shows the pattern: take a trending physical toy onto the phone, post screen recordings on TikTok posing as real-toy videos, and one person can pull in the first users.

「I got the app after seeing it on TikTok」

On Oct 27, the developer posted a video on their TikTok account @wakemode_jp: a pudding-shaped squishy, press with a finger, it goes 「ぐにゅっ」 and slowly rebounds after release. The caption is three lines: 「What happens when you press this pudding?」「BGM なし。アプリの操作音をそのまま使っています」 (no music, just the app's own tap sounds). The account had about a thousand followers, and earlier videos mostly got a few hundred views. This one hit 44,174 views and 1,191 likes by 11-06 (TikTok, 11-06).

The first comment asked 「What's the app called?」, the second 「Is it free?」, then 「Does it work on Android?」 and 「No Android yet…」.

Two days later, a five-star review appeared on the Japan App Store, opening with 「TikTokを見てアプリを入れました‼️」 (I saw it on TikTok and installed it). The reviewer listed seven strengths: good sound, the right amount of dent, you can feel it through a bag, it's cut open when you take it out of the bag, you can customize it, you can stretch it sideways, and every finger leaves a mark. Then three requests: more bag styles, wax-shell versions in the customizer, and an adjustable wax thickness.

On Nov 2, the developer shipped a major update: every shape can now get a wax shell and a bag, with adjustable wax thickness and bag types, plus 6 new shapes. The update video got 37,292 views and 127 shares. The reviewer commented under it: 「My review turned into an update, so happy 😭」.

What it is

A squishy simulator app (Japanese: スクイーズ, soft squeeze toys), iOS only, listed on 2026-10-12, developer credited as KANON ISHIGAMI. The store description is detailed:

• Only the pressed spot 「じわっ」 sinks in, and it takes several seconds to slowly rebound (スローライズ, slow rise). Pinch two fingers apart to stretch it, and twist to wring it.
• Wax-coated versions 「パキッ」 crack when pressed, and the pieces break off one by one. Tap 「重新涂」 (recoat) to reset as many times as you like.
• Vibration and sound change with press speed and depth. Squeeze it in a plastic bag and you hear the bag's 「かさかさ」 rustle.
• The shapes are the Japanese favorites: 食パン (toast), 大福 (mochi), プリン (pudding), メロンパン (melon bread), どら焼き (dorayaki), おにぎり (rice ball), plus strawberry, matcha, and mugwort flavors and seasonal limited editions; also cats, bears, rabbits, and paw pads.
• You can make your own: shape → flavor → feel → face → sparkles → name. There's also one free gacha pull per day.

Free, no forced ads. Monetization for the 11-02 version only started with 1.0.3: 「はじめてパック」 (first-time pack: 5 gacha tickets plus gold sparkles, one purchase per account), seasonal sets where you see the contents before buying, and rewarded-video gacha capped at 3 pulls a day.

How big: very small

Rating growth lines up right after the two viral videos. Revenue is not visible yet, since monetization only started 11-02.

Where users come from: the developer's own account, and a topic that fits

The developer has 4 apps, all launched between 2026 and 9 November: 信用卡账单管理クレスケ (credit card bill tracker, 0 ratings), ねこ目覚まし (a cat-wakes-you alarm, 2), SQUISH LAB (26), and Memon (reminder notes, 0). Their TikTok account also promotes a cat focus timer called 「ねこと作業中」. Every app's demo videos rotate through the same account, and the bio links to a collection landing page that says 「pick SQUISH LAB in the link」.

This account posted rabbit memes, spot-the-difference mini games, and follow-for-follow posts for account warming through August. Starting late September it switched to its own apps. Same method, same account: the alarm and timer videos got a few hundred views, while the squishy videos occasionally broke tens of thousands. The difference is the topic: a squishy screen recording makes you want to touch it, and an alarm doesn't.

Squishies are back for 2026. Faire's holiday toy trends report says squishies may be the most talked-about toy this year, with over 1.9M posts on TikTok. Japanese site dotate.co.jp's headline is straight up 「スクイーズが再ブーム! 2026」. MELOJOY opened its first physical store in the world in Harajuku in Sep 9, and at iBLOOM's Harajuku store, they hand out numbers when it gets crowded. Physical stock means lines, restocking, and spending money. On the phone, squeezing costs nothing.

His video format is fixed: no music, only the app's tap sounds. The frame shows a finger pressing, slowly rebounding, and the wax shell cracking, every post tagged #音フェチ (sound fetish). It looks nearly identical to real-squishy ASMR content on TikTok.

No ad buys, creator collaborations, or press coverage found. Nothing on X about it in the last ~30 days. The traffic is just his own account.

Who it's competing with

Plenty of people have turned physical squishies into phone apps over the past 2026 years, but they're aiming at different things:

Numbers from Google Play and the App Store, data as of 11-05/06.

Most are hyper-casual, ad-heavy, built around opening and merging. Only SQUISH LAB designs shapes for Japanese taste, nails the feel, and skips forced ads. As far as I can see, it's the only one in the Japan store. I also haven't found anyone copying it.

What it got right

1. Topic chosen on the trend. Same person, same account: only the app riding the squishy comeback took off.
2. The product is the content. The feel and sound are real enough that an unedited screen recording works as an ASMR video.
3. Localized aesthetics. The same topic, but others did Western or Southeast Asian flavors with ads. This one does mochi, pudding, and melon bread, in line with Japan's physical bestsellers.
4. Listens to users. Requests from users 10-29 were shipped in 11-02, with a dedicated update video that became the second hit.
5. Build reviews first, then charge. The first three weeks were completely free with no ads, which built a group of people who pull gacha daily (one review: 「Daily gacha pulls are part of my routine」). Only then came the starter pack and seasonal sets. Seasonal limited flavors suit constant new releases.

If it were you

Verdict: B. Worth a try, the opportunity is there, but it's still too small and monetization is unproven. The most obvious gap is Android: both viral videos had people asking about it, and the top-liked comment under 11-02 was 「Please make it on Android too」 (23 likes), while SQUISH LAB is iOS only.

Who it suits: mobile developers who can build touch feedback, physical deformation, and sound (Unity or native), one or two people; ideally with a feel for a specific market, since squishy styles differ across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the US. Someone willing to post screen recordings on TikTok every day.

Who it doesn't suit: anyone who plans to buy installs or push ads to scale (the dumpling-opening crowd has already saturated Android and you can't outspend them); anyone who can't build 「sinks where you press, slowly rebounds」 feel. A version that just plays an animation on tap won't look like a real toy on screen, and the videos won't take off.

How to do it:

• Use its playbook in a different place: an Android version for the Japan market (it doesn't exist yet, and commenters are asking), or a set rebuilt for Korea, Taiwan, or the US using each market's local squishy hits (US: butter and dumplings; Taiwan: wax shells).
• The core is one thing: feel. Local dents, slow rebound, stretching, wax shell cracking, bag sounds, and vibration that changes with press force.
• Free, no forced ads. Revenue comes from gacha tickets, first-top-up bundles, and seasonal packs.

How they acquire users: open a TikTok account and post one or two App screen recordings a day. No music, keep the in-app sounds, and tag #音フェチ / #asmr / #squishy or similar. Each clip demos one action (press, pull, peel the wax shell). Collect requests in the comments, then post "the update you asked for is here" once it ships. Warm up the account first, then push. Whichever shape takes off, make more of that shape.

Timing: this squishy wave peaked in the second half of 2026, and physical toys sell best in the holiday gift season. Faire lists them as a holiday toy trend, so a version you can post video about should be ready before end of January. SQUISH LAB could ship an Android version at any time, so the Android window in the Japan store is probably only a month or two (inference).

What would mean you read it wrong:

• SQUISH LAB's ratings stalled around thirty over the next two weeks, and it fell out of the top 300 in the Japan store. That suggests the two videos drove a short spike, not sustained demand.
• A month after its seasonal pack launched, it still couldn't crack the top 500 of the Japan Entertainment Top Grossing chart (estimate). Going ad-free and monetizing through gacha doesn't bring in the money.
• SQUISH LAB ships an Android version, or a team like Wakppuball, which already has traction, releases a Japanese-style shape version and charts in Japan. Then the Japan opening is gone and you have to switch countries.
• New #squishy posts on TikTok drop noticeably. The trend is fading, and apps like this go cold with it.