San-X
San-X is a Japanese company known for creating and marketing kawaii characters like Rilakkuma. Their closest competitor is the larger Sanrio company, which created Hello Kitty. San-X characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects. They are typically laid-back or lazy, often a bit mysterious or have insecurities. Since 1979 San-X have produced over 1000 different characters. In the 1980s, in their early days of character creation, San-X produced only stationery, and created several new characters every month. In 1998 Tarepanda was created by Hikaru Suemasa and by 1999 sales had reached 30 billion yen. It was such a success that it changed San-X from a stationery company to a full-time character development and licensing company. They shifted to increasingly producing toys and merchandise, as well as media like books, video games and anime. The blank expression and unobtrusive presence of Tarepanda was also the start of the character style that would become typical of San-X.
In 2003, Aki Kondo created Rilakkuma, San-X's most successful character to date, which by the end of 2016 had earned more than 250 billion yen. In 2019 the series Rilakkuma and Kaoru began streaming on Netflix. In 2012, Sumikko Gurashi was created by Yuri Yokomizo, growing to be worth about 20 billion yen a year as of 2019, with animated theatrical feature films being released. As of 2020, 60–70% of San-X sales were stuffed toys and household goods, with about half the products being licensed. San-X have gradually changed to investing more deeply in individual characters, and as of the 2020s they were aiming to release one or two new characters per year. They were also increasingly creating characters in collaboration with others, and for use in media products, like the characters in the Chickip Dancers anime from 2021.
History
San-X was founded in April 1932 as a privately owned business under the name Chida Handler. In October 1941, Chida Handler became a limited company. In its early days San-x primarily produced writing paper and envelopes with elaborate designs, selling to stationery stores. Chida Handler's name was changed to San-X in 1973. The name San-X was derived 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.The first original San-X character was [|Rompish Clown] in 1979. In their early days of creating characters, San-X was still purely a stationery company. The market demand at the time was for stationery with a variety of designs. San-X created 2-3 new characters every month, and according to one San-X representative, up to about 30 characters some months. Some hits from this era include [|Aquamarine] from 1980, [|Pencil Club] from 1984, [|Pinny-Mu] from 1987, and [|Kaijū Paradise] from 1988. Withnews describe these early characters, like Kaijū Paradise, as having more of a simple cuteness, with easier to read facial expressions, compared to the characters that would later be seen as typical of San-X. For these early characters, in addition to stationery, San-X also started producing zakka, or miscellaneous goods, like piggy banks, mugs and lamps, but everything was still produced in-house. From 1989 to 1995, San-X were selling [|Esparks], a manga series printed on stationery. It was the first San-X series aimed at boys and was a bit hit. Two Esparks video games were also released.
Tarepanda was created by Hikaru Suemasa and released in 1998, and by 1999, sales of Tarepanda merchandise had reached 30 billion yen. It was such a success that it changed San-X itself, from a stationery company to a full-time character development and licensing company. Tarepanda was the first San-X character to be licensed to other companies, and also brought San-X into the production of stuffed toys, both of which would grow to become central to their business model. San-X used to design logos and stationery with simple patterns alongside characters. But after the Tarepanda success they dedicated all their designers to character designs.
Tarepanda had a different style than earlier San-X characters. The blank expression and unobtrusive presence of Tarepanda became the origin of the style that would come to be seen as emblematic of San-X. In the years following Tarepanda, several characters that went on to become hits were released, like [|Buru Buru Dog], Nyan Nyan Nyanko, Afro Ken, and Mikanbouya. In the year 2000 Miki Takahashi created Kogepan, which was adapted to an anime series in 2001. Between 2000 and 2002 games for the PlayStation with Tarepanda, Afro Ken and Kogepan were released.
In 2003, Aki Kondo created Rilakkuma, San-X's most successful character to date, which by the end of 2016 had earned more than 250 billion yen. Rilakkuma plush toys were a big hit, and helped established plush toys as central to San-X. In 2019, a stop motion animated series featuring Rilakkuma, called Rilakkuma and Kaoru, began streaming on Netflix. In 2005, Mamegoma was created by Mayumi Yonemura and in 2009 it was adapted to an anime series. From 2005, games with San-X characters began to be released for Nintendo consoles, beginning with Nyan Nyan Nyanko and Rilakkuma games for the Game Boy Advance. Between 2007 and 2010, games were released for the Nintendo DS with Rilakkuma, Mamegoma, [|Kamonohashikamo], [|Kutsushita Nyanko], Monokuro Boo, and [|Kireizukin Seikatsu].
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. As of 2019 San-X had about 35 designers, growing to 40 in 2022-2023, most of whom were women. Over time, San-X began to develop a deeper and more long-lasting association with individual characters. As of the 2020s San-X was aiming to release one or two new characters per year. And as of 2020 60-70% of San-X's sales were stuffed toys and household goods, with about half the products produced in-house and half being licensed. In 2022 San-X established an overseas business department aiming to expand internationally.
In 2012 Sumikko Gurashi were created by Yuri Yokomizo, who since childhood was a fan of Tarepanda, and while at university attended lectures with its creator Hikaru Suemasa. Beginning in 2019 several animated theatrical feature films with Sumikko Gurashi were released. As of 2019, sales of Sumikko products were worth about 20 billion yen a year. In 2018, the Gesshizu group of characters were developed as a joint project between San-X and Nippon Columbia, who released three Gesshizu games for the Nintendo Switch between 2018 and 2022. Shiroi Omochi, a designer who previously worked on Sumikko Gurashi designs, was involved in the creation of the Gesshizu character designs. The short anime Chickip Dancers aired for three seasons between 2021 and 2024. The Chickip Dancers characters were developed by San-X and launched with the anime, rather than as stationery products, exemplifying the shift of San-X from a stationery company to a character creation company.
Characters and products
Between 1979 and 2022 San-X created 1000 original characters. They have been described as different from similar kawaii characters from other companies, coming across as apathetic or lazy, and often having some kind of insecurity. Representatives for San-X have said that the characters are often mysterious and have few defined traits, leaving room for imagination and exploration of the characters' backstories. For example, San-X has said that Tarepanda is not an actual panda but "a creature that resembles a panda", and that Rilakkuma's appearance is a costume with a zipper in the back, while the true nature of the character is unknown. San-X characters generally do not have voices, although some of them speak in text form.In 2020 Withnews said that San-X characters' uniqueness is "that they aren't particularly lively" and "this has an oasis-like appeal in modern society". San-X head designer Hikaru Suemasa said in 1999 that maybe people are exhausted, and that's why they appreciate characters that "do nothing but just stay by your side" and "It's not just being cute. There is something different – a relaxed look, powerless".
As of 2022–2023 San-X had about 40 designers, most of whom were women. The designers create original characters as well as designs for stationery and other merchandise. Even new hires were encouraged to create original characters. As of the 2020s San-X was creating about 200 new types of characters in-house yearly, holding in-house competitions five times a year, with the aim of selecting only one or two new characters per year to release publicly. Much of the creation of new characters is left up to the individual designer's sensibilities, though San-X has some guidelines, and depictions of alcohol, tobacco and violence are not allowed. San-X does not advertise new characters in newspapers or on television, but they rely on in-store marketing. Representatives for San-X have described the characters' immediate visual appeal and ability to evoke emotions as central.
San-X characters can be found on stationery, as 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 animation, video games and books featuring the characters. Aside from the video games with individual characters listed below, San-X released three games for the Nintendo DS with a variety of characters between 2006 and 2008. The mobile game Sumi Sumi from 2018 also features a variety of San-X characters.
The list below is chronological and contains media like books, video games, and animation with each character.