Young at Heart

Classic entertainment properties looking for fresh programming ideas, a way to reach new audiences, and/or a boost to merchandise sales have long created child or baby versions of their well-known characters. Examples extend from Tiny Toon Adventures in the early 1990s to Spidey and his Amazing Friends in recent years—to name just two of many.

Recently, this trend has been noticeable in the anime space, with licensors of classic, globally recognized properties creating spin-off TV series and/or merchandise brands featuring baby or child versions of their characters:

• The Pokémon Company launched its Monpoké collection, featuring baby versions of the characters on a range of infant and toddler merchandise, in Japan in 2019. As announced this week, it is introducing a full Monpoké collection this month for the first time outside of Asia. Initial products include board books from Scholastic and onesies, denim jackets, pajama sets, sweaters, caps, tote bags, and other apparel and accessories, plus a four-item, limited-edition skincare range, from Maison Bonpoint. A YouTube series starring puppets, called Fun Times on Monpoké Island, complements the merchandise, and more products and experiences are planned. (The characters also appeared on a limited-edition UT t-shirt collection at Uniqlo in 2020.) In Japan, where licensed merchandise extends across a wide swath of categories for babies, toddlers, and expectant mothers, the brand opened its first physical store, Monpoké Marché, in the Odaiba shopping and entertainment district of Tokyo in 2022.

• Toho created Chibi Godzilla Raids Again (Chibi Godzilla no Gyakushu) in 2019, timed to the property’s 65th anniversary, as a short-form TV series that reimagines the characters as cute, younger versions of themselves in a style of anime called chibi. It was inspired by a 2018 children’s book, Do Your Best, Chibi Godzilla. The content launched globally on the Godzilla Official YouTube channel. A second series premiered on TV Tokyo this month, as did a collection of t-shirts and hoodies featuring the characters, released globally through Toho’s Godzilla Store. The capsule, which includes both newly designed products and re-releases of some items available in conjunction with the first season of the series, highlights the characters Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla in chibi form. Licensees distributing Chibi Godzilla products in the West have included Bioworld and Bandai. In Japan, products have ranged from children’s sneakers and jigsaw puzzles to calendars and plush, from licensees including Ensky, Cospa, Sync Innovation, Axel Graphic Works, and more.

• Toei Animation plans to launch a new anime series for its long-running Dragon Ball franchise called Dragon Ball Daima, in which all the characters turn into children. (A previous series, Dragon Ball GT, featured a similar plot.) The premiere of the series, which was announced at New York Comic Con last fall and is expected to have a more light-hearted tone than other recent iterations, is currently still on track for a fall 2024 debut, despite the death last month of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who was heavily involved in the production of this series. No merchandise plans for Dragon Ball Daima, which will air first on Fuji TV in Japan and likely on Crunchyroll in the U.S., have been announced yet. This iteration is directed primarily at the property’s core fans rather than very young children.

The objectives, audiences, and implementation of each of these initiatives are unique. But collectively the examples illustrate a shared strategy for classic anime properties that mirrors that of many entertainment/character licensors around the world, especially after the properties are established long enough to span generations of fans. These cute baby and child versions of favorite characters tend to appeal to children, their parents, and fans of all ages, whether loyal, hardcore followers or consumers who are attracted by the new versions themselves.