Agumon Beanie Plush

## Description

Agumon Beanie Plush is a beanie-style plush that is a part of both the international Digimon DigiPals Beanbag Plush line and the Japanese Kuta Chara plush line. There are slight differences between the two beanie versions.

## Digi-Pals plush

DigiPals Plush are the international release of Kuta Chara plush. These plush vary from their Japanese counterparts slightly, with the main differences for Agumon being:

Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie PlushDigi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush (sitting)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush (sitting)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie PlushDigi-Pals Agumon Beanie PlushDigi-Pals Agumon Beanie PlushDigi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush (laying)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush (laying)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush hang tag (front)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush hang tag (inside)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush hang tag (back)Digi-Pals Agumon Beanie Plush tush tag

## Kuta Chara plush

Kuta Chara plush are the original Japanese beanie plush, which were later modified and released to an international market in a line called "Digi-Pals" plush. These Japanese plush vary from their international counterparts slightly, with the main differences for Agumon being:

An example of an Agumon Kuta Chara beanie plushAn example of an Agumon Kuta Chara beanie plush (back)An example of an Agumon Kuta Chara beanie plush arm, with seperated claw fabric (a common problem for these plush)An example of an Agumon Kuta Chara beanie plush hang tag (slightly bent/damaged)

## Issues

* The fabric pieces that make up the claws can separate over time. 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
* 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 area that vinyl cracking effects most on Agumon is his teeth.

## Bootlegs

Digimon beanie plush have 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. A bootleg Agumon does exist in this set.

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: Indonesian Beanie 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 beanie plush
* Writing inside of hang tag identifies plush as the incorrect Digimon (IE: Instead of "Agumon", the tag says "Greymon")
* Contains a sound box

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.

## Sources

* Ebay listing by vintagemania10
* Mercari JP listing
* Digimoncollect entry by LiveJournal user cinivala]