Tamagotchi

The Tamagotchi (たまごっち) is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis had been sold world-wide. Most Tamagotchi are housed in a small egg-shaped computer with an interface usually consisting of three buttons, although the number of buttons may vary.

According to Bandai, the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch". Consequently, the name is sometimes romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan. Most Tamagotchi characters' names end in 'tchi' or 'っち' in Japanese, with few exceptions.

Background

A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game for people of all ages. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. Beginning with the 2004 Tamagotchi Plus/Connection, a second wave of Tamagotchi toys emerged, featuring a different graphic design by JINCO and gameplay which elaborated upon the first generations. However, the story behind the games remained the same: Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature. The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention. Gameplay can vary widely between models, and some models, such as TamagoChu, require little to no care from the player. Tamagotchi has a large fan base.

Tamagotchi! (anime)

Tamagotchi! (たまごっち!) is a 2009 Japanese fantasy slice of life anime series produced by OLM's Team Kamei division, officially based on the Tamagotchi digital pet jointly created by Bandai and WiZ. It is directed by Jōji Shimura of Pokémon and written by Aya Matsui of Boys Over Flowers, with character designs done by Sayuri Ichiishi, Shouji Yasukazu and Miwa Sakai. It officially aired on TV Tokyo and other affiliate stations in Japan from 12 October 2009 to 3 September 2012, lasting for seven seasons.

The series is the third Tamagotchi anime produced since Saa Ikou! Tamagotchi and a follow-up to the movie Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe!. After the series's airing, it has gained three anime sequels, two manga adaptations and ten light novel adaptations by Kadokawa Shoten. The first series has been translated in a few countries, however there are currently no plans for a full English release in the United States. The series came to end as of March 2015 and became replaced with Kamisama Minarai Himitsu Cocotama.

Tamagotchi (song)

Tamagotchi (たまごっち) is a single by the Japanese band Kigurumi. It was released on November 21, 2007 by Victor Entertainment. Currently, "Tamagotchi" is the only single in which Kigurumi performs songs as a trio, and was the last single that Rena participated in with Kigurumi.

Background

After performing "Hottottotto na Mainichi" in Kigurumichiko, Kigurumi, who had only one member at the time (Rena), was given the opportunity to sing the opening theme to Tamagotchi: The Movie. However, the song required a trio. Auditions for the band were held, and on November 7, two new members, eleven-year-old Miki and seven-year-old Kei, were added to the band. The song was released with two different albums, and was slightly edited and used for the intro of "Tamagotchi: The Movie". Another version, "Tamagotchi: Happy Version", was released for use in the second Tamagotchi movie, using only Miki and Kei as singers.

Music video

A music video was released for the Japanese version only. In it, Rena, Miki, and Kei dance and sing to the song in a white room in which constantly morphing white shapes bounce around them. Occasionally, they will sit on white inflatable balls, appear on TVs, or watch a scene from the movie. Their outfits consist of short-sleeve, button up, knee-length dresses with white, puffed-out collars and sleeves, white boots with fringes matching the color of their dresses, and headwear that resembles characters from the movie; Rena stands in the middle and wears a yellow dress and a hat shaped like Mametchi's head, Miki stands to her left while wearing a green dress and a hat shaped like Kuchipatchi's head, and Kei stands to Rena's right while wearing an orange dress and a hat shaped like Memetchi's body.
Additionally, a flash video of Mametchi dancing to "Rena's Version" of the song was released on the official site and on the press-release version of the CD.