San-X (サンエックス, San Ekkusu) is a Japanese stationery company known for creating and marketing cute characters such as Tarepanda, Rilakkuma, and Sumikko Gurashi. The characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects. Each character has its own quirky traits; for example, Momobuta is a pig with a head shaped like a peach, who enjoys karaoke and painting her nails. San-X head designer and creator of Tarepanda, Hikaru Suemasa said in 1999: "It's not just being cute. There is something different - a relaxed look, powerless".[1]
San-X characters can be found on stationery sets and pencils, as collectibles, keychains and stuffed toys. They are sold as blind boxes, gashapon and in UFO catchers and other prize machines in Japan's arcades. There are also anime series, video games and books featuring the characters.
History
San-X was founded in April 1932 as a privately owned business under the name Chida Handler. In October 1942, Chida Handler became a limited company. Chida Handler's name was changed to San-X in May 1973.[2] The name San-X derives from an earlier logo which was a row of three X characters. San is three in Japanese. The X in the logo is often illustrated as an anthropomorphic four leafed clover.
Before Tarepanda became a hit, most of San-X products did not rely on characters. They continue to sell products like stationery with scenic shots and illustrations. In 1987 San-X created Pinny-Mu, their biggest character up until then. Tarepanda was created by Hikaru Suemasa (ja:末政ひかる) in 1995 and went on to be such a success that in 1998 San-X turned into a full-scale character development and licensing company. In 1999 Kogepan was created, which was adapted to an anime series in 2001. Mamegoma was created in 2005 and adapted to an anime series in 2009. In 2003, Aki Kondo created Rilakkuma, San-X's most successful character to date.
In 2010 The New York Times described San-X as a smaller, nimbler company, with potential to surpass the Sanrio corporation. The San-X characters Tarepanda and Rilakkuma were described as "huge hits in Japan" that were rising in the Character Databank character popularity charts while Sanrio's Hello Kitty character slumped in popularity, especially in Japan.[3]
Sumikko Gurashi was created by Yuri Yokomizo in 2012, and an animated theatrical feature film with the characters was released in 2019.[4] Also in 2019, a stop motion animated series featuring Rilakkuma, called Rilakkuma and Kaoru, began streaming on Netflix.[5] As of 2019 San-X had about 35 designers, creating original characters and making designs for stationery and other merchandise.[6]
Nemurineko - A sleepy cat that sleeps with good posture[22]
Nijinomukō - Another collection of happy animals, drawn in a more sketchy style[23]
Norucchi - A tiny, fluffy yellow cat, often seen with Kutsuitanyanko, but it becomes smaller.[24]
Nyan Nyan Nyanko - Small, usually white kittens that imitate various items, most commonly food. They also appear as everyday items, such as toys, school supplies, or household necessities.[25][26] The term "Nyan" or "nyaa" is a Japanese onomatopoeic word for a cat's meow. "Ko" is a word which in Japanese connotes with "child" or "young." Together they make the childish/cutesy word for kitten.
Nyanpuku - A good luck cat god which resembles a maneki-neko[27]
Piggy Girl - Nails today, shopping tomorrow. For the sake of being cute every day, she does her best with all her might. A young female pig.
Amagurichan - A chestnut character.[36][37]Amaguri (which translates as sweet chestnut) is a popular snack in Asia. Amagurichan is always energetic, and the phrases 'eat me' and 'peel my skin' are his favourites. He is happy but doesn't have a very patient character and runs away when people don't eat it quick enough. Chestnuts from Tienjin, which is Amagurichan's home, have natural sweetness and roast deliciously.
Cheese Family - A collection of cheese characters.[38][39]
Ginshari-san - A little rice grain who is often found at the bottom of the rice bowl. It is believed that he is always found there, because he doesn't want to be eaten. By hiding in the bottom of the bowl, he gets to take a nap and avoid chopsticks.[40][41]
Goringo - A yellow girl apple and a red boy apple[42]
Kinakochan to Ankochan - Little soy bean flour and little red bean paste who are close friends.
Kogepan - A burnt red bean bread bun who lives in a bakery, trying to fit in and make friends with the other bread items. Happiness for him is always short-lived, so he has the tendency to get drunk on milk.[43]
Wanroom - a collection of household items with dog faces. Their slogan is "Let's enjoy Wanroom life!"[53] Each Wanroom character has a name like Inusofa (a couch), Wano'clock (an alarm clock) and Sabowan (a cactus).[54]
Spirits
Atsugari-san - a spirit who hates the cold and loves hot dumplings. He's a fairy who is found at places where the temperature is over 30 degrees Celsius - like tea, hot food and such. He is also called "Hot Head". He operates in groups, and perspires 10 buckets of sweat per day. He's not of danger to mankind - although not of much use either. Atsugari-san is afraid of Samugari-san, who is his exact opposite.[55]
Baketamachan - Little ghost egg. He is extremely runny and half-cooked. His hobby is changing his form.
Beer-chan- a 20-year-old beer fairy who enjoys beer.[56]
Boku Tsucchii - a tsuchinoko character that loves shimeji mushrooms, released February 2002[57]
Chokotto Iikoto! - A little kappa who lives in my house. Able to put me at ease with a single heart-warming word.
Nagomimakuri - a friendly spirit who lives in clear waters and deep in the forest. It resembles a salamander but is still different in some ways. Her main features is her soft form and the way she moves around. It leads a lazy life in the nature and rolls here and there slowly.[58]
Oyasumi Bakura - a tapir dream spirit who looks like a pillow[59]
Sabokappa - a kappa combined with a cactus. The toys come with small scented packets so they can be used as air fresheners.[60]
Samugari-san - a spirit who loves the cold and is the antagonist of Atsugari-san. He's a faerie who is found at places where the temperature below zero and stays beside people who tell scary stories or boring jokes. He is also called "Cold Head" and is only seen when captured inside ice cubes. As soon as the ice melts he vanishes. He operates on his own. His weakness is that if his scarf (which is made from his hair) is removed, he'll catch a cold. His favorite food is jelly. Samugari-san and Atsugari-san dislike each other.
