Character Spotlight: Koupen-chan
Created by Japanese illustrator Rurutea, Koupen-chan is a cheerful baby penguin who is always rooting for you. The name is a play on Koutei Pengin (皇帝ペンギン), which means Emperor penguin. Koupen-chan's friends are Adelie-san, an adult Adelie penguin; Yokoshima Enaga-san, whose name literally means Evil Long-tailed tit; Otona no Pengin, the adult Emperor penguin; and Shirokuma-san, the polar bear.
In Japan, the cute little penguin is everywhere to be found: books and stationary, toys and stuffed animals, clothing and home goods, even as LINE stickers. One of my favorite stores to visit when out shopping is the local Kiddyland, which has a section devoted to Koupen-chan, including a complimentary stamper so that you can emboss the penguin's likeness into your journal, for example. They used to have a talking Koupen-chan plush that would respond to preprogrammed phrases in a cute little voice. I used to love stopping by to say "konnichiwa" to Koupen-chan!
Much of the appeal of Koupen-chan, despite being an adorable baby penguin, is the encouragement they offer for the simple things in life. My first encounter with Koupen-chan was a little figure I purchased from a Gashapon toy dispenser -- a black and white penguin wearing a red cape and holding a sign that said "Did you save the Earth today? Great!" Ok, that's not quite a simple thing in life, but most of Koupen-chan's encouragements are more mundane. "Staying hydrated is great!" "You woke up, great!" "Tidying up is great!" If you haven't guessed, "Great!" (えらい) is one of Koupen-chan's catch phrases, but not in a sarcastic way! Look at that cute face and believe in Koupen-chan's sincerity the way Koupen-chan believes in you.
Koupen-chan has become so popular in Japan, they are even used in government promotions--but that's for a different blog post. Coming up next: Koupen-chan Rides the Rails!
Koupen-chan the Positive Penguin (English)
Learning Japanese with Koupen-chan (English)
Rurutea Official Twitter (Japanese)