Monchhici has been around for a long time, created by Sekiguchi in 1974 and conquered the world in mere years. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
I remember owning a few when I was kid, but alas with all stuff you release too late you never wanted to get rid of them when you grew older. Atleast I have all my Playmobil stored. But thinking about my old Monchhichi it makes me a little sad, because I see a lot of preloved ones pop up with a hefty vintage price. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!
But I now have small collection of these little monkey cuties again with Monchhichi-chan being my favourite.
They were born from the mind of Mr Sekiguchi, president and owner of Sekiguchi Co. They already had several toys on the market but when he introduced the Monchhichi twins they became an instant hit in Japan. ✧｡◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜✧*｡
What was so cool about Monchhichi is that you could dress them up with all kinds of apparel. They even designed playsets for them, but I have never seen those.
In 1978 Monchhici was introduced overseas. Before I was born. Σ(°ロ°) They were mainly introduced in Germany, France and the US. Eventually becoming the cute global icon. Because of the spelling, Monchhichi was renamed in some countries. Kiki in France, Moncicchi in Italy and Chic-a-Boo in the UK.
In 2014, for its 40th anniversary, Monchhichi original name became the global name replacing the local exceptions.
You can even join the fan day in Köln, unfortunately I this year I can’t go. ; (◞‸◟)
I was very fortunate to find the reissue of the original design today at Hoog Catherijne in Utrecht. And it was on sale too. (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭
Which is your favourite Monchhici version?