is a line of Japanese stuffed monkey toys from the Sekiguchi Corporation, first released in 1974. They were licensed by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

in the United States until 1985, and later distributed worldwide directly by Sekiguchi. Five television series were produced based on the characters: The Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series in 1980, produced by Tokyo 12 Channel (now

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Monchhichis'' in 1983, produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

, the French cartoon series ''Kiki, le Kiki de tous les Kiki'' in 2001, produced by Ben-J Productions, the Japanese stop-motion series in 2005, by

Kids Station Kids Station ( Japanese: キッズステーション, ''Kizzu Sutēshon'') is a Japanese cable and satellite television channel that launched on April 12, 1993. It primarily airs anime and other animation-related content aimed at children during ...

and the French CGI series ''Monchhichi Tribe'' (La Tribu Monchhichi) in 2017, produced by

Technicolor Animation Productions OuiDo! Productions (formerly known as Timoon Animation, Genao Productions and Technicolor Animation Productions) is a French-based entertainment production company that served as a production arm part of the French visual effects and animation c ...

History

The Monchhichi franchise is held by the Sekiguchi Corporation, a famous doll company, located in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Monchhichi was created by Yoshiharu Washin
ワシの良春
on January 25, 1974, as an improvement to the already successful Kuta Kuta Monkey (Exhausted monkey). Sekiguchi claims they created these characters in order to inspire respect and love in the young (Japanese) children and adults, their name is derived from the words "Mon" which translates to "Mine" in French and "Chichi" which closely resembles the sound a child's pacifier would produce according to Japanese phonetics, also the resulting word has a similar sound to the word "Monkey" in English. The dolls were successful in Japan, and the animated TV series, ''Futago no Monchhichi'' (ふたごのモンチッチ, ''Monchhichi Twins'') which ran in 1980, helped increase its popularity even further. Export of the doll line started in 1975, to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The following years would see the Monchhichi line marketed in more countries. The original name was officially changed to "Chicaboo" in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, to "Mon Cicci" in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, to "Kiki" in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and to "Bølle" in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, additionally non officially licensed by Sekiguchi clones popped up in several countries like "Moncsicsi" in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and "Virkiki" in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The height of the Monchhichi dolls' popularity was in Germany during the 1980s, surpassing even the Japanese figure sales during this period. The Monchhichi doll line reached North American shores in 1980.

bought the license for the toy line. The American cartoon series '' Monchhichis'' was produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

in 1983 and aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

(as part of ''

The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show ''The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show'' is a 60-minute American Saturday morning animated package show co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King World Productions and broadcast on ABC from September 10, 1983, to September ...

'') in an effort to promote the doll line. The line was dropped by Mattel due to poor sales in 1985, but was reintroduced during Monchhichi's 30 anniversary in 2004 by Sekiguchi. As of 2025, Monchhichi dolls are still available in the United States from retailers such as Urban Outfitters. In 2013 Sekiguchi decided to distribute Monchhichi worldwide directly and stopped the licensing and use of the different names in foreign markets and unified the brand under the name Monchhichi officially in all the distribution markets. As of 2025, Monchchichi are still popular in Europe, mostly as a nostalgic toy or for collectors. Many variants and sizes of Monchhichi have emerged. For example, the original Monchhichi is still available under the Classic variants in 10 cm, 20 cm, 24 cm, 45 cm and even 80 cm sizes. Also other variants like Boutique (Monchhichi in various dress styles), Mother Care (Monchhichi with a young one in her front pocket), and the Anniversary editions are available. Even dollhouses for Monchhichi exist.

1980 anime series

is a Japanese

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

series which first aired in 1980. ;Japanese voice cast * Monchhichi– kun –

Fuyumi Shiraishi was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Career Fuyumi was previously affiliated with Aoni Production and after she left Aoni and joined Ken Production founded by the late Kenji Utsumi until the time of her death. Death Shiraishi ...

* Monchicchi- chan-

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She sang the theme songs in productions, such as '' Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and '' The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island''. She is a fortune teller of western horoscopes. She ...

* Lily– chan –

* Sakura– san – Fei Fei Liu * Amy – Sanji Hase

American animated television series

The American ''Monchhichi'' cartoon aired on

in the 1983–1984 season.

References

External links

Official Monchhichi website
* {{Authority control 1970s toys 1980 anime television series debuts 1980s toys Doll brands Japanese brands Fictional monkeys Mattel Toy companies of Japan Toy animals TV Tokyo original programming Japanese popular culture

History

1980 anime series

American animated television series

See also

References

External links