Rilakkuma

Rilakkuma
San-X character
First appearance 2003
Created by Aki Kondo
Information
Gender Male
Family Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori
The Rilakkuma display at Kiddyland in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan
A Rilakkuma outside a Lawson store in Shanghai, China

Rilakkuma (リラックマ Rirakkuma) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company San-X, created by former employee Aki Kondo. Companies such as Re-Ment have collaborated with San-X to create Rilakkuma merchandise. Rilakkuma appears on items such as stationery, dishware, backpacks, and stuffed animals.

Character

Rilakkuma's name is a combination of リラックス rirakkusu, a Japanese transliteration of the English word "relax", and クマ（熊）kuma, the Japanese word for "bear". Rilakkuma's origin story is that he mysteriously appears in the office lady Kaoru's apartment one day.[1] He is a soft toy bear who has apparently decided to take up residence there. On his back there is a zipper which when opened reveals a light blue polka dot patterned material. The reason for the zipper on his back is because of people's depiction of the character on pencil cases.

He was first seen in a series of picture books called Rilakkuma Seikatsu produced by San-X but since has become equally popular as a soft-toy character. In the picture books, he is often seen dressed up in a variety of costumes such as a kappa costume. In addition, it is implied that even in his usual appearance, his entire lower body is a costume, which he will often replace when it gets old or dirty (Rilakkuma is frequently seen sitting around waiting for suits that look exactly like him to dry on the clothes line). However, it is not clear whether his head is also part of his costume.[2]

Relationships

Rilakkuma is often accompanied by his friend Korilakkuma. While Rilakkuma is a brown bear cub, Korilakkuma is white. She also wears a red button on her chest. Kiiroitori fictionally named her Korilakkuma because she looks like little Rilakkuma ("ko" means a little child in Japanese.). She also mysteriously appeared at Kaoru’s house. She is full of vigor and is very mischievous.[3]

Kiiroitori lives at Kaoru’s house. Kiiroitori means “yellow bird” in Japanese, although he is known as "pig nosed chicken" outside of Japan. He used to be in a birdcage but now he comes out at his own discretion and scolds Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma because Rilakkuma is too lazy and Korilakkuma is too mischievous. Sometimes he feels down because he thinks he scolds them too much. He plays a tsukkomi role (considered to be the smarter, more logical one who criticizes others for making mistakes). His favorite thing is to save money (such as the loose change found while cleaning). Kiiroitori is basically the opposite of Rilakkuma because of the bird's hard-working nature and love of cleaning.[4] Kiiroitori is Kaoru's pet chick.[3] Korilakkuma frequently plays pranks on Rilakkuma while he is sleeping, such as drawing on him, putting headphones on him and sewing odd color patches on his bear suits. Most of the time, Korilakkuma does not speak, but occasionally she knows what Rilakkuma is saying.[2]

In 2016, another brown bear Koguma was introduced via Twitter. Korilakkuma met Koguma while in the woods. He can be seen with Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma and Kirroitori.[5]

Success

Rilakkuma launched in 2003. Rilakkuma and Tarepanda, another San-X character, have been described as "huge hits in Japan" by The New York Times. As of May 2010, Rilakkuma ranked as the fifth most popular character in Japan in a survey of the Character Databank.[6]

The San-X company puts staff members under obligation to create one cute character per month. Aki Kondo (also the creator of Okutan to Dannachan) saw a TV show about dogs. She wished to own a pet because at that time she was very busy working and hoped for a more relaxing life. Rilakkuma is an embodiment of her wish.[7]

In July 2009, Bandai released an exclusive edition of Rilakkuma-themed notebook computers.[8]

Between August 2, 2013 and September 16, 2013, the San-X Company collaborated with ENJOY!BASEMENT DINING to create a Rilakkuma-themed cafe in Harajuku. [9]

Picture books

Sticker books

Games

"LINE Rilakkuma Loop (LINE, {Android, ios} 2016)

References

  1. ↑ "CUTE JAPANESE CHARACTER RILAKKUMA HITS LOS ANGELES WITH PARTIES AT JAPANLA, UMAMI BURGER". LA Weekly. August 17, 2010.
  2. 1 2 ja:リラックマ
  3. 1 2 San-Xネット
  4. ↑ Sutekina Okusan Magazine January 2009
  5. ↑ "May 24, 2016". Twitter.
  6. ↑ Tabuchi, Hiroko (May 14, 2010). "In Search of Adorable, as Hello Kitty Gets Closer to Goodbye". NYTimes.com.
  7. ↑ Interview with Aki Kondo (in Japanese) . November 11, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Bandai Rilakkuma netbook suffers from serious supercutitis", Engadget, July 13, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  9. ↑ "You Will Die of Cute Overdose! Rilakkuma Cafe Opens for Limited Time". Retrieved November 29, 2013. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
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