Set: I ♡ Pikachu
Company: Banpresto
Year: September 30, 2011
Size: 14 inches (bottom to tip of ear)
Main distribution: Japan
This is a Pikachu plush from the I ♡ Pikachu line. One of my favourite Pokémon merchandise lines to date. This particular one is the large, fuzzy standing version.
The plush stands 14″ tall (from bottom to tip of its ears) and has a soft, fuzzy texture with pastel colours. This means its iconic yellow and red cheeks are of a softer colour, and the black eyes, nose, mouth and tip of its ears are a soft brown much like on its tail and back stripes. It comes with a hang string on its head.
It has a cute baby pink I ♡ Pikachu tush tag to indicate its line. Behind it is a much smaller Banpresto Tush Tag with the year 2011 on it.
Its hang tag has a simple pastel rainbow background and says “I ♡ Pikachu” with the little Pikachu icon centered below it. The back features the same rainbow background with several logo’s and Japanese text.
I absolutely adore the I ♡ Pikachu line due to its cute pastel colours and soft nature. I managed to get it for a good price from a Pokémon Facebook Group.
The fuzzy version is very soft and its fuzziness makes it look cute. It looks great in a light room.
The 14″ plush is a decent size and slightly bigger than the average plush (which I find is about 12″).
Its pose is fairly standard; Pikachu simply standing. However it has a nice shape which tapers in at the neck. The proportions on its face are spot on and the slightly bigger head adds to its cute look.
The only negatives I can find in this plush is that the bottom is slightly round (or mine just has a big bum!) which can make it hard to have it stand up on its own. But with a bit of balancing it can actually stand on its own. The fuzzy texture can also collect a lot of dirt, hairs etc. so keep your plushy clean!
Other products in this line include plush, pouches and keychains.
However I find many of the plush in this line have the same shape / pose, but have a new accessory, a different face or are in a different size, and I’m not the collector who wants one of everything but picks its favourites, which in my case is based on uniqueness. I understand it’s easier to (re)produce something that’s already made and change one small feature, be it face or size, or add a little something extra like a flower, but it’s simply not for me and find it personally a bit of a cash cow.
That said there are still some cute Pikachu (and Raichu!) in this line I would like to add to my collection so if you have some for sale you can always shoot me a message.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own the same plush? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!