Monchhichi is a line of Japanese plush monkey toys from the Sekiguchi company, first released in 1974.

They were sold under license by Mattel in the United States until 1985, then distributed worldwide directly by Sekiguchi.
Four television series have been produced based on the characters: The Japanese animated series Monchhichi Twins in 1980, produced by Tokyo 12 Channel (now TV Tokyo), the American cartoon series Monchhichis in 1983, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, the French cartoon series Kiki, the Kiki of all Kikis in 2001, produced by Ben-J Productions, the Japanese stop-motion series Monchhichi in 2005, by Kids Station and the French computer-generated series Monchhichi Tribe (The Monchhichi Tribe) in 2017, produced by Technicolor Animation Productions.

History

The franchise Monchhichi: The Kiki of All Kikis is held by the Sekiguchi Corporation, a famous doll company located in Tokyo, Japan. Monchhichi was created by Yoshiharu Washino January 25, 1974, to improve the monkey Kuta Kuta, which was already enjoying great success. Sekiguchi claims to have created these characters to inspire respect and love in young (Japanese) children and adults. Their name is derived from the words "Mine" which translates to "My" in English and "Chichi" which closely resembles the sound a child's pacifier would make according to Japanese phonetics, and the resulting word has a similar sound to the word "Monkey" in English.

The dolls were successful in Japan and the animated television series Futago no Monchhichi, broadcast in 1980, helped to further increase their popularity.

The doll line began exporting to Germany and Austria in 1975. In subsequent years, the Monchhichi doll line was marketed in more countries. The original name was changed to "Chicago"in the United Kingdom, in"My Cicci"in Italy, in"Kiki"in France, in"Bølle"in Denmark, in"Moncsicsi"in Hungary and in"Virkiki" in Spain. The popularity of Monchhichi dolls peaked in Germany in the 1980s, even surpassing sales of Japanese figurines during this period.

The line of Monchhichi dolls reached North American shores in 1980. Mattel purchased the license for the toy line. The American Monchhichis cartoon series was produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1983 and aired on ABC (as part of The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show) to promote the doll line. The line was discontinued by Mattel due to poor sales in 1985, but was reintroduced on Monchhichi's 30th anniversary in 2004 by Sekiguchi. As of 2013, Monchhichi dolls are still available in the United States at retailers such as Target.

In 2015, Monchchichi are still popular in Germany, sometimes taking up entire shelf space in toy stores. Many Monchhichi variations and sizes have emerged. For example, the Original Monchhichi is still available in the Classic variant in 10 cm, 20 cm, 24 cm, 45 cm and even 80 cm.Other variations are also available, such as Boutique (Monchhichi in different dress styles), Mother Care (Monchhichi with a cub in his front pocket) and the 40th Anniversary Edition. Monchhichi dollhouses are also available.

Monchhichi: The Kiki of All Kikis