Digimon Kuta Chara Plush

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This page discusses the Japanese plush line known as "Digimon Kuta Chara" Plush. For information about individual plush in this line, click through the images in the gallery. For information regarding the international variants of these plush, see Digimon Digi-Pals Beanbag Plush

## Description

The Digimon Kuta Chara plush line ( デジモン くたキャラ ) (also known as "Japanese [Digimon] beanbag plush", "Japanese [Digimon] Beanie Plush", or simply "Japanese [Digimon] Beanies") was originally released in the year 2000 in Japan as small stylized Digimon beanbag plush toys, and was later localized into other countries by Bandai America [See; Digimon Digi-Pals Beanbag Plush]. The biggest identifying factor of these plush are the large hard black button eyes with two white sparkles of paint, usually nicknamed the "Eye Shines" by collectors.

The Japanese toy market was the only country to receive all 40 different variations of the Kuta Chara line, with 19 of them being released in foreign countries under a different name: Digi-Pals. Both collections share the same plush patterns and size. However, there are quite a few minor differences between the worldwide versions and the Japanese version, these being the stuffing, detail markings, and the tags.

Kuta Chara Plush were sold individually, and sat on store shelves in a large red and yellow cardboard display box.

## International Differences

Kuta Chara plush are stuffed much fuller compared to their international Digi-Pals counterparts, with most of them being filled with a much larger amount of beans, namely in the arms and legs. Kuta Chara plush also generally use a variety of vinyl material to accessorize the plush, for instance, the Gabumon Kuta Chara plush uses vinyl for his stripes and markings, while the Digi-Pals version uses dark blue dye in these same spots.

Finally, the biggest, most notable, differences are the tags between the two. The Kuta Chara plush have a large circular yellow or pink tag attached to a fabric string, usually hanging off the bottom of the plush. The tush tag is a small round pink lip attached to the bottom of the plush as well, a much smaller tag than the international version.

## Variants

40 different plush exist in the Kuta Chara line, which were released in several different waves. These include:

* Season One - Digimon Adventure
	+ In-Training forms
		- Koromon, Tsunomon, Tokomon, Bukamon, and Tanemon
	+ Rookie forms
		- Agumon, Gabumon, Piyomon/Biyomon, Gomamon, Palmon, and Patamon (Series One)
	+ Champion forms
		- Tailmon/Gatomon (Series One), Greymon, Garurumon, Togemon, Veedramon, Frigimon/Yukidarumon
	+ Ultimate forms
		- Piximon/Picklemon, Monzaemon
	+ Mega forms:
		- Marineangemon

The front of a Season One Kuta Chara Beanie Plush store display box from Japan. Not all of the plush from this set are pictured here.The side of a Season One Kuta Chara Beanie Plush store display box from JapanThe back of a Season One Kuta Chara Beanie Plush store display box from JapanThe side of a Season One Kuta Chara Beanie Plush store display box from Japan

* Season two - Digimon Adventure 02
	+ In-Training forms
		- Chibimon/Demiveemon, Poromon, and Upamon
	+ Rookie forms
		- Armadimon/Armadillomon, Hawkmon, Patamon 02, Plotmon/Salamon, Terriermon (Sitting), V-mon/Veemon, and Wormmon
	+ Champion forms
		- Tailmon/Gatomon (Series Two)
	+ Armor Digivolution forms
		- Flamedramon, Digmon, Halsemon, and Pegasusmon

* Season Three - Digimon Tamers
	+ Rookie forms
		- Guilmon, Impmon, Renamon, and Terriermon (Laying)
	+ Other
		- Calumon

## Gallery (Series One - Digimon Adventure Kuta Chara Beanie Plush)

Augmon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushPiyomon/Biyomon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushGomamon Kuta Chara Peanie PlushTailmon/Gatomon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushKoromon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushTsunomon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush (sealed)Tokomon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushGreymon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushGarurumon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushFrigimon/Yukidarumon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushPukamon/Bukamon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush

## Gallery (Series Two: Digimon Adventure 02 Kuta Chara Beanie Plush)

Chibimon/Demiveemon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushVeemon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushSeries Two Patamon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushPlotmon/Salamon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushWormmon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushFlamedramon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush
## Gallery (Series Three - Tamers Kuta Chara Beanie Plush)

Guilmon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushRenamon Luta Chara Beanie PlushImpmon Kuta Chara Beanie PlushCalumon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush
## Issues

* Parts on some beanie plush have fabric pieces that separate over time (located on claws mostly). While those parts are almost always additionally sewn on and are not at risk of falling off, a small dot of glue could help join those pieces back together if desired

* The eye shines that are painted or printed onto the black plastic eyes sometimes get scratched or worn off entirely based on how roughly the beanie plush is handled or played with. They can easily be repainted with white glass paint, which has been found to be the best paint for durability and adhering to the button's surface
* Many beanie plush include parts that appear to be made of a heat-transfered material. This mostly includes mouths, noses, and whiskers, though it also extends to certain things such as Gabumon's stomach symbol and Palmon's arm vines. While this material is much more sturdy than vinyl elements on beanies (mentioned in the next point below), it is still susceptible to cracking. The issue is not widely common, but it does happen sometimes with beanies in used condition. It is much harder for those parts to be removed than the vinyl parts, which flake off easily. Examples of where this material is used include:
	+ Any Digi-Pals beanie plush with a printed on (black outlined) mouth and/or nose
	+ Gatmon/Tailmon's paw pads (located on the feet of the series two beanie plush) and whiskers
	+ Gabumon's stomach symbol
	+ Palmon's arm vines
	+ Tokomon's blush marks
* Any beanie with vinyl details is at risk for those parts deteriorating over time. As it ages, Vinyl stretches, dries out, cracks, and flakes off. This is the ultimate fate of almost all beanies unless they are very carefully preserved. The plush is still fine underneath the vinyl parts, but those outer details eventually will flake off, with very few exceptions. The areas that vinyl cracking effects most in the Digi-Pals line are:
	+ Agumon's teeth
	+ Biyomonʻs tail marking and her anklet
	+ Bukamon's teeth
	+ Frigimon/Yukidarumon's red "buttons"
	+ Gabumon's ear tips and teeth
	+ Garurumon's stripes and ear/mane tips
	+ Greymon's teeth, stripes, and horn details
	+ Koromon's ears (underside) and fangs
	+ Palmon's flower accents (the yellow parts)
	+ Poromon's beak (though a version of this plush exists that has a fabric beak, which therefore does not have this problem)
	+ Renamon's gloves
	+ Tokomon's fangs
	+ Tsunomon's horn
	+ Veemon's markings and fangs
	+ Please note that while this issue does effect the Digi-Pals line, it is *much worse* for the Japanese versions of these plush (Kuta Chara), which have many more vinyl parts on them [See: Digimon Kuta Chara Plush]

An example of vinyl flaking off of a Tsunomon's hornAn example of well-loved Digi-Pals Beanie Plush. Note the pilling fabric, cracked symbol on Veemon, and scratched/worn off eye shines on the various plush. Veemon's eye-shines appear to have been repainted/restored.An example of damage to the eye shines on Veemon's eyes. This is a common problem for beanie plush.An example of vinyl flaking off of a Poromon Digi-Pals Beanie. Almost all of this plush's vinyl has flaked off, exposing the lighter fabric underneath.A Kuta Chara Poromon that has completely lost the vinyl off of his beakA Renamon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush whose vinyl gloves are flaking off. This is a common problem for these plush.A Renamon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush that has completely lost the vinyl on her gloves, exposing the fabric underneath.Cracked vinyl teeth on a Koromon Kuta Chara beanie plushan example of the vinyl starting to wear down and flake off of a Koromon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush's ear.A Koromon Digi-Pals Beanie plush that has lost all of the vinyl under its ears. This potentially could happend with Kuta Chara Koromon as wellCracked vinyl on a Kuta Chara Gomamon's backA "Sitting Patamon" Digi-Pals beanie that no longer had eye shines due to use. This is a common problem that also effects Kuta Chara beanie plush. It can easily be repaired by painting new eye shines one.

## Bootlegs

The Digi-Pals line has seen a large number of bootlegs due to their popularity and scarcity. This style of plush gets bootlegged so frequently that it becomes challenging to find and document every single knock-off out there. Some bootlegs opt to make embroidered or vinyl eyes in the same style as the hard-buttoned ones of official beanies to avoid any comparisons.

The most prevalent set of bootlegs are a group of large 20" regular plush designed to look like the beanies. These large bootlegs don’t include the entire line of Digi-Pals though, and only Agumon, Gabumon, Palmon, and Greymon (who never got a Digi-Pals release, but was found in the Kuta Chara line) have currently been documented from this set. Interestingly enough, a Tentomon plush (which is entirely original and never had a Digi-Pals version made) also exists in this bootleg style.

Tips for identifying a bootleg:

* Plush is only stuffed with fluff and contains no beans (However, note that there are official plush similar in style that also do this [See: Toys R Us Asia Digi-Pals Plush])
* Plush is significantly larger or smaller in size than a standard beanie plush
* Plush is made of a different material than a normal beanie plush (official beanies tend to be made out of a velboa-like fabric, whereas bootlegs might be made of a thinner or more scratchy material)
* Plush has strange proportions or is over-stuffed
* Plush has darker colors than an official DigiPal

* Writing inside of hang tag identifies plush as the incorrect Digimon (IE: Instead of "Gabumon", the tag says "Greymon")

* Contains a sound box

* Plush contains a keychain attachment

* Kuta Chara hang tag is attached by a string that is not pink in color

There are assumedly hundreds of different Digimon beanie bootlegs, and more are uncovered as time goes on. See included photos in the bootleg gallery below for all currently known and documented bootlegs.

## Gallery (Bootlegs)

An authentic DigiPals Gatomon beanie compared to a large-size bootleg Gatomon plushLarge-size bootleg plush inspired by the DigiPals and Kuta Chara beanie plush. These are stuffed with fluff and contain no beans. Note Greymon's official-looking tag, despite the item being a knock-off.Three bootleg Agumon beanie plush compared to an authentic Digi-Pals Agumon plush on the bottom leftTwo bootleg Gabumon beanie-style phush, neither of which contains beansA bootleg Palmon beanie plush with a fake Kuta Chara hang tag. Note the off-colors, stuffing, etc.An example of a bootleg beanie plush that features a keychain. In addition, the fake hang tag is tied on with green string instead of pink.Bootleg Hawkmon plushies that are similar in stylre to the beanie plush, but do not directly copy them. They both have fake Kuta Chara hang tags on them.Bootleg Hawkmon plushies that are similar in stylre to the beanie plush, but do not directly copy them. They both have fake Kuta Chara hang tags on them.A fake Kuta Chara hang tag on a bootleg Hawkmon plush. This tag is styled after the series one Kuta Chara plush, which wouldn't even be featured on an authentic Hawkmon beanie.A bootleg Hawkmon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush. While the construction is a bit off on the plush, the plush has eyes similar to official beanie plush.A bootleg Hawkmon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush. While the construction is a bit off on the plush, the plush has eyes similar to official beanie plush.A bootleg Hawkmon Kuta Chara Beanie Plush.A bootleg Kuta Chara Beanie Plush Renamon. While the bootleg is very similar to the original, notable differences include a lighter color material on the gloves, the material around the neck fur, and the fact that the hang tag is attached with a plastic tag to the ear rather than tied around the tush tag with a pink string. The bootleg is also said to have EU tags similar to the Digi-Pals Beanie Plush line, despite this plush never being produced as a part of that line.A hang tag from a bootleg Kuta Chara Beanie Plush Renamon. While the bootleg tag is nearly identical to the original, notable differences include the fact that the hang tag is attached with a plastic tag to the ear rather than tied around the tush tag with a pink string.A glove on a bootleg Kuta Chara Beanie Plush Renamon. While the bootleg is very similar to the original, notable differences include a lighter color (and potentially sturdier than vinyl) material on the gloves. The plush in this photo has a dark scuff mark on it, possibly due to play.
## Fun Facts and Trivia

* While this fact has never been confirmed, itʻs speculated that the decision to give an international release to the Kuta Chara line was influenced by the popularity of Ty "Beanie Babies" in the US, which were a hugely successful fad in the late 90ʻs
* Tentomon never received a Digi-Pals or Kuta Chara plush, and was the only partner Digimon in the original cast to not be made into one
* There are several Japanese Kuta Chara plush that never got US versions made of them. Most come from season two (Digimon Adventure 02) and season three (Digimon Tamers).
* While most Digimon Beanies have copyright dates of 1997 on their tags, the beanies weren't actually released until around the year 2000