Rilakkuma is a combination of Japanese words combined pronunciation
meaning relax and bear. So it is safe to say that our favourite bear is a
cute relaxed little fellow.
San-X produces the Rilakkuma bear along with Tarepanda which is a massive hit in Japan, voted 5th best character in a recent survey there.
Aki Kondo is the creator of Rilakkuma who wished for her own pet. She watched a TV show about dogs with envy, but did not have the time to look after one due to being so busy at work. Her wish came true when she decided to create her own ‘pet’ in the form of Rilakkuma!
The story...
Rilakkuma mysteriously appears in the female office worker Kaoru's apartment one day. He is a soft toy bear who has apparently decided to take up residence there. On his back is a zipper which when opened reveals a light blue polka dot patterned material. The contents or nature of this zipper is unknown.
His favourite foods are pancakes and custard pudding. After eating a bowl of his favourite pudding, he likes nothing more than to live up to his name and relax watching television, listening to music and even soaking himself in hot springs! When relaxing he loves to use a yellow bean bag pillow to get the most comfort.
Rilakkuma is male and his smaller friend Korilakkuma is a female which is clearly stated on the San-X website. (Just to clear up any confusion there). Korilakkuma is smaller in size and has a very mischievous personality indeed. Korilakkuma frequently plays pranks on Rilakkuma while he is sleeping, such as drawing on him, putting headphones on him and sewing odd colour patches on his bear suits. In addition, there is another small character called Kiiroitori. Considered to be the smarter, more logical one who criticizes others for making mistakes; Kiiroitori is the total opposite of Rilakkuma because she is hard working bird.
Rilakkuma (in Japanese is a combination of the pronunciation of relax and the Japanese word for bear) is a Japanese character produced by the San-X company.
Characters
He is brown.
He has a zipper behind his back. (His entire lower body is a costume!)
He loves dango, pancakes, omurice and custard pudding.
He loves to sleep, relax and listen to music.
He has friends! - Korilakkuma (the White Bear) & Kiiroitori (the Little Chicken)
As of 2010, Rilakkuma is into it's 7th Anniversary!
Rilakkuma - which has charged up the Character Databank charts, ranking fifth in the latest survey (2010) for most popular character in Japan.
Rilakkuma was initially a character in a series of picture books, but become as popular as other soft toys.
Now, theres also Rilakkuma Wii game available! Watch the video below. It's a game footage. =D
Let's take a stroll through the history of Rilakkuma. From it's very first year, September 2003 to the seventh year, 2010.
When Rilakkuma debuted, their target audience was secondary school to college students. Their products were mainly stationeries and notebooks etc.
Approximately
after almost a year, San-X release Rilakkuma products again! On August
2004, Korilakkuma made its first appearance! Korilakkuma, as described
by San-X, loves prank, like pulling Rilakkuma's ear, drawing graffiti on
the face.
Targeting at a wider audience - ranging from secondary school to office ladies and the general public!
The
hardworking little chicken, known as Kiiroitori made its appearance on
the 3rd release in the same year after Korilakkuma. Now with 3
characters, Rilakkuma franchise is more spiced up, and gaining more
attention than ever.
More products are launched, including the Super huge 1m tall Rilakkuma & Korilakkuma Plush!
The
Korilakkuma Draw String Plush (The one in the middle). It's so cute! We
believed many who owns this cute little plush, will never imagine it
was already released back in 2004 and is still so popular!!
More
popularity for RIlakkuma = more variety of Rilakkuma products!
Rilakkuma drawing gets more refined; look at the difference in the color
choice used previously and in this 4th release.
The refined version looks more comfortable to the eyes, and appeals more!
2005
is the year of Rilakkuma. Due to the popularity of Rilakkuma is
receiving, San-X started to launched monthly Rilakkuma products to feed
the growing demand.
There's no stopping to this cute little bear and its friends!
To celebrate the success of Rilakkuma, San-X launched the 3rd Anniversary with special limited editions of Rilakkuma.
It's party time~!
San-x
have constantly created new themes for Rilakkuma. One of the popular
ones are known as the Rilakkuma Cafe series, where Rilakkuma and friends
dressed up in the Cafe theme, looking so adorable and extremely
irresistible.
There are many other themes going out over the years, it would be amazing if someone have collected them all!
Are you one of them?
Rilakkuma
makes its mark to the 5th Anniversary! (We believed that every two
years San-X will hold an anniversary for Rilakkuma!)
This round, the theme seems to be a magical fairyland theme, where Rilakkuma and friends dressed up in Royal costumes with magical wands!
Another
special themes released recently in 2010. The Paris Series, where
Rilakkuma and friends are dressed up like "tourist" travelling in Paris.
They released interesting lifestyle products like Microwavable Pasta Maker, Maggi Mee Cooker & even Rice Cooker!
How cool is that! Making a quick meal with your favorite Rilakkuma!
Rainbow Series - 7th Anniversary of Rilakkuma is estimated to release on Jul 2010.
We are expecting this series to be a quick sold out! Get it fast before it is gone!
Cute
isn't it? We believe Rilakkuma History will continue going, and we do
hope to see it's success worldwide, hopefully even replace Hello Kitty.
(It's a hope, no offense to Hello Kitty Fans, we respect the phenomenon
success Hello Kitty has done, simple wish our cute little bear from
San-X will be able to break new grounds!)
What a cute brown bear! :3
San-X produces the Rilakkuma bear along with Tarepanda which is a massive hit in Japan, voted 5th best character in a recent survey there.
Aki Kondo is the creator of Rilakkuma who wished for her own pet. She watched a TV show about dogs with envy, but did not have the time to look after one due to being so busy at work. Her wish came true when she decided to create her own ‘pet’ in the form of Rilakkuma!
The story...
Rilakkuma mysteriously appears in the female office worker Kaoru's apartment one day. He is a soft toy bear who has apparently decided to take up residence there. On his back is a zipper which when opened reveals a light blue polka dot patterned material. The contents or nature of this zipper is unknown.
His favourite foods are pancakes and custard pudding. After eating a bowl of his favourite pudding, he likes nothing more than to live up to his name and relax watching television, listening to music and even soaking himself in hot springs! When relaxing he loves to use a yellow bean bag pillow to get the most comfort.
Rilakkuma is male and his smaller friend Korilakkuma is a female which is clearly stated on the San-X website. (Just to clear up any confusion there). Korilakkuma is smaller in size and has a very mischievous personality indeed. Korilakkuma frequently plays pranks on Rilakkuma while he is sleeping, such as drawing on him, putting headphones on him and sewing odd colour patches on his bear suits. In addition, there is another small character called Kiiroitori. Considered to be the smarter, more logical one who criticizes others for making mistakes; Kiiroitori is the total opposite of Rilakkuma because she is hard working bird.
Rilakkuma (in Japanese is a combination of the pronunciation of relax and the Japanese word for bear) is a Japanese character produced by the San-X company.
Characters
He is brown.
He has a zipper behind his back. (His entire lower body is a costume!)
He loves dango, pancakes, omurice and custard pudding.
He loves to sleep, relax and listen to music.
He has friends! - Korilakkuma (the White Bear) & Kiiroitori (the Little Chicken)
As of 2010, Rilakkuma is into it's 7th Anniversary!
Rilakkuma - which has charged up the Character Databank charts, ranking fifth in the latest survey (2010) for most popular character in Japan.
Rilakkuma was initially a character in a series of picture books, but become as popular as other soft toys.
Now, theres also Rilakkuma Wii game available! Watch the video below. It's a game footage. =D
When Rilakkuma debuted, their target audience was secondary school to college students. Their products were mainly stationeries and notebooks etc.
2nd Release! Korilakkuma Appears!
August 2004
Approximately
after almost a year, San-X release Rilakkuma products again! On August
2004, Korilakkuma made its first appearance! Korilakkuma, as described
by San-X, loves prank, like pulling Rilakkuma's ear, drawing graffiti on
the face.Targeting at a wider audience - ranging from secondary school to office ladies and the general public!
3rd Release! Kiiroitori Appears!
November 2004
The
hardworking little chicken, known as Kiiroitori made its appearance on
the 3rd release in the same year after Korilakkuma. Now with 3
characters, Rilakkuma franchise is more spiced up, and gaining more
attention than ever.More products are launched, including the Super huge 1m tall Rilakkuma & Korilakkuma Plush!
4th Release. Sleepy Rilakkuma
Februrary 2005
The refined version looks more comfortable to the eyes, and appeals more!
2005 - The Year of Rilakkuma
They just keep coming!
There's no stopping to this cute little bear and its friends!
3rd Anniversary
August 2006
To celebrate the success of Rilakkuma, San-X launched the 3rd Anniversary with special limited editions of Rilakkuma.It's party time~!
Special Themes: Rilakkuma Cafe
October 2007
There are many other themes going out over the years, it would be amazing if someone have collected them all!
Are you one of them?
5th Anniversary
July 2008
This round, the theme seems to be a magical fairyland theme, where Rilakkuma and friends dressed up in Royal costumes with magical wands!
Special Themes: Rilakkuma Paris Series
March 2010
How cool is that! Making a quick meal with your favorite Rilakkuma!
7th Anniversary
Coming Soon in 2010!
We are expecting this series to be a quick sold out! Get it fast before it is gone!
What a cute brown bear! :3
1 comments:
hi,
Do you collect Rilakkuma stationery?
I have hundreds if you are interested in swap some :)
Let me know. letterset@outlook.com
Post a Comment