Tarepanda

Tarepanda (たれぱんだ) is a cute panda character owned by the company San-X サンエックス (San Ekkusu). The term "tare" (垂れ) means "lazy" or "droopy" in Japanese.

History

Creation

Tarepanda is licensed by San-X, the company that introduced Tarepanda stickers in 1995. It was designed by Hikaru Suemasa (末政ひかる) and was inspired when he was being tired.

Characteristics

Tarepanda is a character that moves by rolling over, with a record speed of 2.75 m/h. Tarepanda's favorite food is mochi (餅), especially suama (寿甘).

Popularity

In February 1998, San-X launched Tarepanda erasers and letter pads, which proved enormous hits. San-X believed these products were successful because they were released shortly after the Asian financial crisis of autumn 1997, a time when many people in Japan were facing layoffs and, consequently, were sympathetic toward a "worn-out" panda character. By 1999, sales of Tarepanda goods had reached 30 billion yen. Character Databank, a Japanese character popularity monitoring firm, has claimed Tarepanda was a huge hit in Japan. It was rated one of the most popular characters in Japan for its cuteness.