Character spotlight: Pingu
I discovered Pingu when I was in college; the whimsical claymation cartoons were a welcome reprieve from essays and exams. This was a good ten years after the show’s heyday, but I hunted down videos on YouTube and browsed merchandise on eBay. Occasionally I’d splurge— a tasteful bento box, a practical day planner— but mostly I made do with my own fan art. Until I went to Japan.
The summer before my senior year, I studied abroad in Kobe, not far from Osaka. There, to my surprise, I discovered that Pingu was still a known character. Not nearly as mainstream as Pokémon or timeless as Hello Kitty, but still there, if you were willing to look. Pingu socks in the discount store. A lunch bag set in a little shop beneath the station. My host family, learning of my love for Pingu, presented me with some old trinkets; tiny figurines, a pencil sharpener, a ruler, things they’d found lying around the house. As my study abroad came to a close, they gave me a heartfelt parting gift— plushies of Pingu and his sister Pinga, locked in a hug.
In 2017 a Japanese company rebooted the series as Pingu in the City. Though computer animated, it maintains the soft, clay-like shapes of Pingu and his family, while introducing new friends and adventures to the series. Pingu maintains his subtle popularity in Japan, hanging out in the stationery aisle, peeking out from a capsule toy machine. There is even a ski resort in Tokyo where you can hang out with Pingu and Pinga while sledding.
2020 marks the 40th Anniversary of Pingu. If you live near Tokyo, you can attend the 40th Anniversary Exhibition in Ginza, you lucky thing you. I'll be at home with my penguin plushies, enjoying a Pingu movie marathon. Noot noot!
