San-ei

San-ei Trading Co. (also known as Sanei, or San-ei Boeki) is a Japanese company that was founded in 1938. The company is responsible for most of the modern-era Mario plushies, next to Jakks Pacific. They started in 2002 making a plush set to promote Super Mario Sunshine.
In 2010, their plushies were finally localized by Little Buddy Toys, and Global Holdings. They were no longer Japanese exclusive.
==Super Mario Sunshine set ==
The Super Mario Sunshine plush set consisted of 2 (3) characters, and 6 plushes. Mario and Yoshi were the main focus, and both had 3 size variants each. There was a large variant, which had a basic Green Yoshi plush, and a Mario wearing F.L.U.D.D. Each Plush also looked to the right. The medium variants were extremely similar, and were around half the size. For the smallest variant, Mario did not wear fludd, and were magnets. The plushies also used different materials.
==Mario Party 5 set ==
One of the most popular sets, the Mario Party 5 set, made in 2005, had 12 plushies, and 8 characters. The first character is Mario, and he had 3 variants. He had a small, medium, and Large variant. The small variant is 7 inches, and had little detail compared to the rest of the variants. The plush, along with Luigi, has removable overalls if a few stitches are cut off. The medium plush is double the size, and had a lot more detail. The medium plush, despite having more detail, is basically the same plush, but bigger. The biggest variant, the large variant, is around the size of an adult man, according to it's original promotional image. 
The second character, Yoshi, had the same amount of variants as Mario did. He is a standing Yoshi plush, and looks the same as it's Super Mario Sunshine plush counterpart. All variants are around the same size as Mario is. The next plush is Luigi, he looks very similar to Mario, though he has the same amount of proportions as Mario does. He has beans in his bottom, and legs, and had his hat stitched to his head, and unstuffed. Princess Peach is the fourth plush in the set, and is a lot different compared to the rest of them. The plush only has one size, and had most details Peach does have, but is missing her eyebrows, and her nose.
The fifth plush, Toad, is a more basic plush. he is sitting down, and has a closed smile. His vest is stitched to his body, but can be removed by cutting two stitches. The 6th plush, Donkey Kong, is a flawed plush, as it is missing it's stomach, but has half of it. The plush is standing like a regular gorilla, and has a removable tie. 
Wario is the 7th plush in the set. He, despite being a similar character to the Mario Brothers, is not similar to their plushies. His overalls are stitched to him, and are part of his body. He has a double sided mustache to keep it sturdy, and is a lot bigger than it is supposed to be. The final plush, Bowser, is looking upwards, and can not be positioned to look straight.
==Yoshi's Island DS set ==
The Yoshi's Island DS plush set was made in 2006, and had 8 differently colored Yoshi plushes. Those being:
#Red
#Green
#Pink
#Yellow
#Dark Blue
#Blue
#Grey (Black)
#White
The plushies were refined compared to the ones in the Mario Party 5 plush set, having a rounded muzzle, and now sitting. Though, some features carried over, such as the outlined eyes. The plush design would later be used for the Super Mario Series plush set, and would be refined as well.
==Super Mario Galaxy set ==
When Super Mario Galaxy released, a plush set was released for it that had 4 plushies (3 unique,) that were all release in 2007. The first plush is Mario holding a Mushroom with both of his hands. He is in a sitting position, and was sold on Amazon until 2016, despite it's age. The second plush uses the same template, and was recolored to be Fire Mario, and the mushroom was removed, and replaced with a Fire Flower. The plush is also holding it with one hand instead of 2.
The third plush is based off of a debuting power-up, the Bee Mushroom. The plush is in a forced siting position, and has every detail Bee Mario has, though he is not holding anything. The fourth and final plush is also based on a debuting power-up, the Boo Mushroom. The plush is a basic Boo plush template, but had Mario's details. The hat also seems to be a different template than what is worn by the basic Mario plush.
=="Super Mario" Series set ==
The Super Mario Series set is a plush set created in 2008, and localized in 2010 to represent the whole Mario series, instead of a specific game. The plush set features most characters. The plush set was (possibly) made as a successor to Mario Party 5 set, and the Yoshi's Island DS set, due to their similarities between character designs. 
Because of the vast amount of characters, and refined designs, the plush set has become very popular by collectors. The plush set was later replaced by the Allstar set, a plush set very similar.
This set contained plushies of some characters for the first time, such as Pokey, Fuzzy, Porcupuffer, Chain Chomp, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro and the Piranha Plant, and some plushies of characters that haven't gotten plushies since the 80's and 90's, like Birdo, Monty Mole, Kamek, Lakitu and Wiggler.
===New Super Mario Bros Wii set===
The New Super Mario Bros. Wii plush set is a set made to promote New Super Mario Bros Wii. The set was made in 2009, and due to the time period the Super Mario Series set was made being very close to the release of New Super Mario Bros Wii, the set used slightly different variations of the plushies from the Super Mario Series, as well as the colored Yoshi's from the Yoshi's Island DS set, though there were less plushies, and typically looked a little bit worse. The coloring was also different between each set as well. The plush set came with 8 characters, those being:
*Mario
*Luigi
*Ala-Gold
*Bucken-Berry
*Different colored Yoshis
**Green Yoshi
**Yellow Yoshi
**Light-Blue Yoshi
**Pink Yoshi
The plushies, despite being very similar to the Super Mario Series plushies, was distributed by Global Holdings, as Little Buddy Toys didn't have the license until 2014.
==Super Mario 3D Land set ==
To promote Super Mario 3D Land, Sanei made a plush set featuring 2 plushies, and 2 variants for each of them. The 2 characters are Tanooki Mario & Tanooki Luigi. There is both a Small, and Medium plush for each of them. The plushies resembled the sizes of the Super Mario line.
The plushies were them in their basic Tanooki forms, their hood was removable as well.
In February of 2023, it would be revealed that San-ei is currently updating their small Mario and Luigi plushies, and would be ready to buy in July of 2023.
==New Super Mario Bros. U set ==
The New Super Mario Bros. U plush set was released in 2013 to promote the then new released game in the New Super Mario Bros series, New Super Mario Bros U. The plush set has 4 characters, those being:
*Mario
*Luigi
*Blue Toad
*Yellow Toad
~In their Super Acorn forms. They were in a flying position. They have their wings out, and have their acorn hats on, and acorn suits on. The plushies, similarly to the Super Mario 3D Land plush set, they are around the same size as their counterparts in the Super Mario plush set, besides for the Toad plushies, because they are standing instead of sitting.
==Luigi's Mansion 2 (Dark Moon) set ==
During the release of Luigi's Mansion 2, a plush set featuring 2 of the main characters was released. It has 3 plushies, those being Scared Luigi with Flashlight, Luigi with Poltergust 5000, and Polterpup.
The scared Luigi plush has the Flashlight attachment up behind his back. His hands are up while he has his mouth open, and is in a scared expression. The plush is in a sitting position, and is about the same size about the Super Mario Galaxy plushies.
The standard Luigi plush is close to the Scared Luigi plush, though he has the vacuum attachment instead of the flashlight. He is in a neutral / happy expression, instead of being scared. His hand is also attached to the vacuum, and his other hand is being held down.
The Polterpup plush is sitting down. He is portrayed by his appearance before the Dark Moon is restored. His tongue is out, and can be slightly shoved back into his mouth, which has a small hollow area. The mouth is also a different material than the rest of the plush.
==Super Mario 3D World sets ==
In order to promote the release of Super Mario 3D World, a plush set of 6 was made. The set featured Cat Mario, Cat Luigi, Cat Peach, and Cat Blue Toad. 
Mario and Luigi each had 2 variations, a Small and Medium variant. The Small variant is based on his size from the Super Mario Series plushies, similarly to the Super Mario 3D Land plushies. The Cat Mario Plush has similar proportions to many other San-ei Mario plushies, having beans in the bottom, and flexible. Luigi is a plush very similar to Mario, though he has his signature green dots.
The Cat Peach and Cat Blue Toad plushies are very different. Though Peach is similar, Blue Toad is in a forced sitting position, similar to how he is in a forced sitting position in other early San-ei plushies.
Later after the plush set released, San-ei made a successor to it, featuring 2 plushies. Those being Cat Mario and Cat Peach. These plushes were different from their previous variations, they had their head looking to the right, instead of looking straight, and had magnets in their arms and legs. The plushies, if positioned on a flat surface are also in a forced sitting position.
==Captain Toad set ==
After the success of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, San-ei released a plush seat featuring 2 plushies, and 1 character. The first plush is Toad in his pose from the Super Mario Series plush, he is sitting down and is wearing his Captain Toad suit. He has a backpack on his back, and is wearing red shoes. His belt is embroidered, and his headlamp uses overlay.
The second plush is of Toad standing. He is wearing the same suit as the Sitting variant is wearing, though he is holding 2 items in his hands. The first one being a pickaxe, and the second being a turnip. 
==Super Mario All Star Collection ==
The Super Mario All Star Collection is a direct successor to the Super Mario Series set. The plush set was released in 2015 (2017 outside of Japan,) and does not promote any specific games, rather the whole Mario franchise. It is currently known to be one of the biggest plush sets San-ei has released, having more than 70 in both full-sized plushies, and keychains.
The plush set also reuses the Super Mario Series Koopaling plushies, along with Spike, without making changes, making the total unique plush count lower by 8. 
As of February 2023, there are 6 waves released.
===Super Mario Maker 2 set===
When Super Mario Maker 2 released to the public, an official plush set was released for it. The plush set uses the main structure of the Mario and Luigi plushies from the All Star Collection, but with a hardhat on top. The plushies were also recolored to resemble their new overalls in the game's promotional material.
==Super Mario Odyssey set ==
In 2017, when Super Mario Odyssey was released, a jumbo plush pack of 4 was released. The first plush is Cappy, which uses his appearance before he becomes Mario's primary hat. His hair uses a gradient material, going from white (bottom) to blue (top). He has eyebrows over his eyes. 
The wedding and Cappy Mario plushies are much bigger than San-ei's standard plushies, and have much more detail. Mario's overalls on the Cappy plush use Jean material and multiple gold buttons to add detail. He has Cappy over his hair, which is complete, unlike the other San-ei Mario plushies, which are bald after removing the hat. He also has thick sideburns, something none of their other Mario plushies have done. The wedding Mario plush has the same body features the Cappy variant has, though he is wearing his wedding attire . He has a white top-hat on, and is wearing a white suit. Like Mario, he has gold buttons to add detail.
The final plush, the Wedding Peach plush, has Peach in her wedding suit. She has a white dress, and her Blue pin is over the top of her chest, above the suit. She is also wearing Tiara, but her eyes do not appear.
==Dr. Mario World set ==
In 2019, a Dr. Mario, and a pack of Virus plushies were made to promote the release of Dr. Mario World. The Dr. Mario plush resembles his appearance in the All Star Collection, though wearing his Dr suit. He has a big head mirror on his head, and his stethoscope on his neck and shoulders. He is wearing a buttoned white suit, and has a full head of hair, making this plush the only time a regular sized San-ei Mario plush has a full head of hair.
The Virus plushies come in a pack of 3, the order going by:
*Red
*Blue
*Yellow
The Virus plushies all have their mouths open, besides for the yellow virus. Unlike how they appear in the previous games, they do not have arms or legs, this is due to their appearance in Dr. Mario World, where they do not have legs.
Due to this plush set releasing in 2019, this is the newest San-ei plush set as of February 1st, 2023.
== Super Mario Bros. Wonder set ==
Some time after the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, San-ei would announce a smaller plush set based off of the game. Though, it either doesn't have more characters, or the list of characters hasn't been completed, they have announced an Elephant Mario plush.
==Trivia ==
*The Mario Party 5 set (especially Yoshi and Bowser) are known to be some of the most bootlegged pieces of Mario plushes (maybe even Merchandise,) ever.
**Most of their other plushies have been bootlegged as well, with the exception of a few such as most of the All-Star Collection plushies, Super Mario Series Spike, Super Mario Series Buzzy Beetle, their Dr Mario World plushies and their Polterpup plush.
*Both their Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Party 5 plushes have become some of the rarest Mario plushes as of 2023. This is because some popular plush youtubers like SuperMarioLogan (SML) and the Cute Mario Bros used them. 
** The Mario Party 5 Mario Plush is currently worth 350+ USD, and the Super Mario Sunshine Mario plush is currently 500+ USD.
** As of 2023, the Mario Party 5 set has been dropping in price. This is because SuperMarioLogan stopped using Mario plushies thanks to a cease and desist from Nintendo, and the Cute Mario Bros retired from making videos.
*San-ei is currently most known for their Mario plushes, as of 2023, searching up "San-ei" on Google gives a ton of Mario related articles.
*Outside of Japan, not much is known about the company, and many companies outside of Japan share it's name, such as Little Buddy Toys.
==External Links ==
*Official website
*San-ei Co., Ltd on mariowiki.com (May contain false info)
== References ==
Category:Merchandise