Tarepanda

Tarepanda (たれぱんだ) is a kawaii (cute) panda-like character released by the Japanese company San-X in 1998. The term tare means droopy in Japanese. The character was created by Hikaru Suemasa (ja:末政ひかる), who was inspired by being exhausted at work. Three picture books and a fanbook by Suemasa were published in Japan. A Tarepanda video game was released for the WonderSwan in 1999, and another one for the PlayStation in 2000. A Tarepanda OVA was released in 2000.

Tarepanda was a major success and by 1999, sales of Tarepanda merchandise had reached 30 billion yen. The success of Tarepanda changed San-X from a stationery company to a full-time character creation and licensing company. The blank expression and unobtrusive presence of Tarepanda was the origin of the style that would come to be seen as emblematic of San-X.

Characteristics

San-X has said that Tarepanda's not an actual panda, but "a creature that resembles a panda". Whereas real pandas have white tails, Tarepanda has a black tail. The Tarepanda characters also vary widely in size, between 5 centimeters and 3 meters.[1] There is also mecha Tarepanda with riveted seams and a wind-up key, described as "hard but still drooping".[2] Tarepanda is a character that moves by rolling over, with a speed of 2.75 meters per hour.[3] Tarepanda's favorite food is mochi, especially suama.[4] Wired characterized Tarepanda as a "genderless sandbag of a bear so weak that it cannot walk", while T: The New York Times Style Magazine described it as a character that is "eternally prostrate" and "whose limbs are mere stubs".[5] Creator Hikaru Suemasa described Tarepanda as "strange", with a "fixed gaze".[6]

Creation

Hikaru Suemasa (ja:末政ひかる) studied graphic design at Tama Art University.[6] She joined San-X in 1995, and in November that year she was tasked with designing a panda character for stickers.[8][6] She tried drawing all kinds of pandas, like cute ones and lively ones, but her designs kept being rejected.[8][6][1] As she was getting exhausted, she drew a panda that was also looking exhausted and drooping.[8][6]

Reception

San-X did not have high expectations for the character when it was relaunched in 1998.[8] And creator Hikaru Suemasa did not expect people to like the character, which she described as strange, as much as they did.[6] But in February 1998, when San-X launched Tarepanda erasers and letter pads, they proved enormous hits. Before Tarepanda, the character stationery San-X sold was bought by women and children, but Tarepanda products also appealed to other demographics, like working men.[1] Dedicated Tarepanda stores were also opened in Japan.[6][1]

By 1999, sales of Tarepanda goods had reached 30 billion yen.[9] And by 2000 they were up to 70 billion yen.[10]

Books

Three picture books and one written and illustrated by Hikaru Suemasa were published in Japan by Shogakukan.

Tarepanda: Kyō mo Yoku Tareteimasu. (たれぱんだ: 今日もよくたれています.) from 1999 introduces the characteristics of Tarepanda, with numerous illustrations of how the characters move. It presents reports on different aspects of the Tarepanda characters, like how they play, the mystery of Tarepanda, and how to catch them.[13]

Tarepanda no Hon: Taregoyomi - Nengara Nenjū Tareteimasu. (たれぱんだの本: たれごよみ　年がら年中たれています.) from 1999 follows Tarepanda through the seasons and at seasonal events, like kagami mochi at new years, sakuramochi, Hinamatsuri, and Kodomo no hi in the spring, rainy season, morning glory flowers, going to the beach and Obon holiday in the summer, Tsukimi dango, reading, doing arts and sports in the fall, Christmas, ōsōji house cleaning and snow in the winter.[14]

Tarezukushi ~Tarepanda Fanbukku~ (たれづくし～たれぱんだふぁんぶっく～) from 2000 includes yonkoma manga, photos of stationery, other merchandise, and from Tarepanda shops, reports on how Tarepanda was created, how the merchandise is manufactured, and photos of Tarepanda plush toys in various locations, like on a playgound, in a traditional Japanese room, and in New York.

Media

A self-titled 30 minute long OVA with Tarepanda was produced by Bandai Visual in 2000. It includes short chapters showing the life of Tarepanda, animated in claymation and 2D animation.[17] Katsushi Bōda (ja:保田 克史) who did the claymation work in the OVA, later worked on the San-X stop motion series Rilakkuma and Kaoru.[18]

In 1999 Bandai released Tarepanda no Gunpei for their handheld WonderSwan console.[19] It is a Tarepanda themed game in the Gunpey series of puzzle games, and includes a mode showing Tarepanda in different seasons.[19] A special edition of the WonderSwan console with a Tarepanda theme was also sold bundled with the game.

Impact and legacy

Before Tarepanda, San-X characters were created for use on in-house produced products, primarily stationery but also zakka (miscellaneous goods.)[6] Tarepanda was the first San-X character to be licensed to other companies, a business model that would grow to become central to San-X.[1] As of 2020 about half of San-X products were licensed.[6] Tarepanda also brought San-X into the production of stuffed toys, which, along with other household goods, represented 60-70% of San-X's sales as of 2020.[6] Tarepanda was also a turning point where San-X started more long-lasting association with individual characters.[6] San-X used to create logo designs and products with simple patterns alongside characters.[6] But after Tarepanda they dedicated all their designers to character design.

List of media