Licca-chan
Encyclopedia
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
series introduced in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on 1967-07-04 by Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
, enjoying the same kind of popularity in Japan as the Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
series does in the United States. The Licca-chan dolls tend toward a more Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
body as far as height and features. Takara had sold over 48 million Licca-chan dolls as of 2002, and over 53 million as of 2007.. Licca-chan was created by former shōjo manga artist, Miyako Maki
Miyako Maki
is a Japanese manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1957 with . She received the 1989 Shogakukan Manga Award for General for Genji Monogatari, a Japanese manga version of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. She is the creator of Licca-chan, a popular Japanese doll. Her husband is...
, who is also the wife of Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
is a well-known creator of several anime and manga series. His wife is also known as a manga artist.-Space opera:Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato...
.
Takara has provided an extensive background story for the Licca-chan doll, including an age (11), where she attends school, names and occupations for her parents, and her favorite books (Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
and A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
). Licca-chan also likes Doraemon
Doraemon
is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise...
.
Rough Trade Records teamed up with Takara in the late 90's to release "Street Licca", who was a DJ that carried a Rough Trade record satchel, and mini, doll-sized LPs from the labels' artists. Along with her Ursula 1000, Gants and Spearmint records, she toted a pair of pink Converse running shoes, grey "leather" pants, headphones, layered hoody and a blond bob haircut. This incarnation of Licca was only available through the Rough Trade records site, at a high price. Street Licca was the ultimate "indie rock" doll.
In 2001, a pregnant adult version of Licca-chan was introduced which included a postcard the purchaser could send to Takara for a baby doll. The baby came with a key which allowed the doll to be returned to its standard proportions. The release of the doll happened to coincide with the birth of Aiko
Aiko, Princess Toshi
, born 1 December 2001, is the daughter and only child of the heir apparent to the Japanese throne, Crown Prince Naruhito, and Crown Princess Masako....
, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito
Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
is the eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, which makes him the heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan.-Early life and education:...
and Crown Princess Masako
Masako, Crown Princess of Japan
is the wife of Crown Prince Naruhito, the first son of the Emperor Akihito and the Empress Michiko, and a member of the Imperial House of Japan through marriage.-Early life and education:...
of Japan, a factor which helped boost the sales of the new doll. Since then, other versions of Licca-chan have been introduced, including a new "Departure Licca", released just ahead of the 40th anniversary in 2007.
A Licca-chan video game was released for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
in Japan on November 29th, 2007. http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/gamesoft/catalog/licca-ds/. This game was later released in the U.S. on October 14th, 2008 as Lovely Lisa. http://www.tomy-usa.com/products.php?c=17&p=78&bb=all
The doll has also spawned an urban legend amongst Japanese High School students, with a cursed three legged version of the toy called Three Legged Rika-Chan.
See also
- Super Doll Licca-chan (animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series) - JennyJenny (doll)right|thumb|Takara Jenny is a 10½ inch fashion doll produced by Japanese toy company Takara since 1982. The doll was originally known as the Takara Barbie, but became "Jenny" in 1986 after Takara ended their licensing agreement with Mattel. The differences between the Takara Barbie and the Western...
- Asian fashion dollAsian fashion dollAsian fashion dolls are fashion dolls that are made by Asian manufacturers or primarily targeted to an Asian market. Some have received international attention, such as with Momoko Doll, and in 2005 the first annual Dollstyle convention was held in Tokyo....