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Shiratori Izumi-chan first appeared in 1991 as a friend of the 4th-generation Licca-chan. Her eye design was slightly changed in 1996, and she remained popular until 2007—the year after the company merger. She is now a member of The Castle.

Izumi-chan (excluding the Castle version) has slightly longer legs and is taller than Licca-chan, but in my collection she has the same height as Licca-chan.

The name "Izumi-chan" has appeared three times within the Licca-chan Friends. Although official settings state they are different characters, it feels as though there might be some special circumstance. (There was no Izumi-chan during the 3rd generation period.) In the 1st generation and 4th generation Izumi-chan, the number of eyelashes changed from 7 to 4 at the midway.

Izumi-chan’s head is the 9K16 type. This head is used for many of the Licca-chan Friends, but Izumi-chan was the first to feature it, and the inside of the neck hole is marked 1991. It has a rather elderly look, and its impression changes considerably depending on the make-up.

The moment the month changed, fair weather with blue skies came. Today is also clear and sunny. But from tomorrow, the weather seems to get worse. So, I went to the nearby park with my camera while in the morning. The seasonal flowers should be blooming by now.

As I walked round the park, I came across a tree with small white flowers. It’s the ‘Juugatsu Sakura(October Cherry)’—a cherry tree that blooms in both spring and autumn. It’s true that it’s already October, but it’s a little earlier than usual. As for the flowers I was hoping to see… it was still a bit too early. I’ll have to come back next week.

Today, ‘Misaki-chan’—whom I’d maintained recently—accompanied me. Oshima Misaki-chan is a Friend who first appeared as a member of HGS in 2014. This Misaki-chan is the 2018 version.

Bad weather had continued for a while. But right as the month changed, a clear, blue-sky day appeared. I didn’t want to waste this proper autumn sunshine. So today, I went to the park with my camera.

Those blooming in the sunlight were yellow cosmos. This flower really matches a blue sky, indeed. It’ll be a little while before the pink cosmos start to bloom.

　Today's companion is Harumi-chan. Asaoka Harumi-chan first appeared in 1973 as the first friend of the 2nd-generation Licca-chan.

The autumn issue of the Licca-chan catalogue is out. Though it's one day early.

https://licca.takaratomy.co.jp/catalog_pdf/202610.pdf

The range of Licca-chan dolls has increased significantly, including collaboration models. However, there are no new friends as I’d hoped.

Among Licca’s friends, those with the setting that their birthday is in October are:

On the 5th: Izumi Shiratori, the 4th-generation friend (Back right), On the 7th: Karen (Back left), On the 10th: Ribon (Front right), On the 17th: Moe (Front left),

I wonder how the girls in your households are looking?

The 1st-Generation Licca-chan: The Era of Minicomputers, Before Microcomputers.

The PDP-8, famous as one of the very first minicomputers, was introduced in 1964. The famous PDP-11, which would later connect to UNIX and the C programming language, appeared in 1970. During this period, it was standard practice to punch programmes and data onto paper cards or paper tape.

The first-generation Licca-chan released in 1967. Her first friend, Izumi-chan, appeared the following year in 1968, so precisely during this period. (The punch tape in the photograph is not from that era; it was created as a joke for the 1986 Japan SF Convention.)

2nd Generation Licca-chan: 8-bit CPUs and BASIC Computers

The 8008, ancestor of the 8080—an 8-bit CPU used in early microcomputers—made its debut at exactly the same time as the 2nd-generation Licca-chan.

　The year 1976, when the Z80—which was installed in early BASIC personal computers—was introduced, coincided with the era of the 2nd-generation Licca-chan trio: Harumi-chan, Pat-chan and Licca-chan. The dolls are (from left to right) Pat-chan, Licca-chan (2nd generation) and Harumi-chan.

3rd Generation Licca-chan: 16-bit CPU and PC-DOS (MS-DOS) Computers

The 3rd Generation Licca-chan belongs to the MS/PC-DOS era. IBM’s PC/AT, which utilised a 16-bit CPU, was released at the same time as the third-generation Licca-chan.

The dolls are (from left to right) Sayaka-chan, Licca-chan (3rd generation) and Kaori-chan. By the time Sayaka-chan (left) was released, the 32-bit 80386 had already appeared, but it was used as a high-performance 86. The CX486DLC pictured here was the fastest 386-compatible CPU.

4th-generation Licca-chan: 32-bit CPUs and Windows PCs

The 4th-generation Licca-chan belongs to the Windows generation. When Licca-chan became the 4th generation and her friend Palette F appeared, Windows 2.1 was still in use. Windows 3.1, the first properly GUI-based OS, was released three years later, in Izumi-chan’s year.

　In 1995, Windows 95—with its expanded functions—arrived, bringing the Internet age. The Licca-chan in the photo was born that year. Ribon-chan and the Pentium processor appeared the following year. Even after that, 486 processors remained widely in use. The dolls are (from left to right) Izumi-chan, Palette F, Licca-chan and Ribon-chan.

A typhoon is hovering a little distance away, but it’s calm round here. Today, it is fair after rain continued for a while (though it’s rather cloudy).

Autumn flowers should be blooming by now, so I took a detour to the park with my camera whilst running some errands.

Today's companion is ‘Moe-chan’, estimated to be the 2004 version. Haruno Moe first appeared in 2002 as a member of the idol group ‘Love Licca’. She was listed in the catalogue until 2007, the following year after the company merger. Afterwards, she performed as a member of The Castle, returning to general merchandise again in 2023. This is a very rare pattern.

No sooner had the extreme heat passed than the weather turned rather rainy. Fortunately, neither my neighbourhood nor my parents’ area has suffered any particularly heavy rain, but there has been a distinct lack of sunshine. The autumn flowers are delayed.

The photograph shows chive flowers. I planted them to suppress weeds, and they have spread, blooming with white flowers here and there in the garden at this time of year.

The companion in the photo is ‘Fanny-chan’, a friend of the 3rd-generation Licca released in 1984. She reappeared from Castle in 2024.

EEmily-chan is a Friend who first appeared in 2011 and reappeared 11 years later, in 2022. According to her setting, she is from the UK, wishes to become a designer, works as a child model, loves apple pie, is good at magic spells, and has an elder sister-like personality.

The 2011 version of Emily-chan had ‘colour-change’ hair that changed colour with temperature. ‘Sakura-chan’ and ‘Hina-chan’, who also first appeared with colour-change hair around the same time, were soon re-released with ordinary hair. However, ‘Emily-chan’ remained exclusively in this version. I obtained a second-hand doll, but feeling this striking red hair was difficult to handle while changing clothes, I had it re-rooted.

After 11 years, she reappeared in 2022 in the ‘princess’ role. In the same period, ‘Maria-chan’ and ‘Miyu-chan’, who had also performed the princess role, were also reissued.

Emily-chan’s head is 8K27, the same as Chocolat-chan from 1998 and Seira-chan from 2020. This head first appeared on Jenny Friend’s Timote (1990).

An autumn event that has quietly become popular in Japan too. For a while now, related items have been appearing in shops and the like.

So, although it’s a bit early, here’s a ‘cake box’.

https://mars2015.blog.jp/cake_box_pumpkin.pdf

I’ve uploaded a pdf there. Please print it out, cut it out and make your own. (it’s the data for smaller version)

Yesterday, we exhibited at I.Doll West, held in Osaka. Amongst many types of dolls, my Licca dolls were also taking part.

Many of Licca’s friends have a setting of their birthday. Aki-chan’s birthday is 11 September.

Kimura Aki-chan first appeared in 1999 with ‘Hoshino Kira-chan’ in the ‘Candy Colour’ series. This series was characterised by colourful hair: Licca had purple, Izumi had red, Kira had yellow-green, and Aki had orange.

Aki-chan in the first photo is the 'Yukata Aki-chan' in 2002, so her hair colour is normal.

Aki-chan in the second photo is the ‘2022 Nihonbashi BASIC Model’. I met her in The Shop in Tokyo in 2023.

Aki-chan’s’ head is K29 type, same as the 4th-generation Licca-chan. ‘Palette F’, released in 1997, and ‘Kira-chan’, who debuted alongside her, are also K29. The pattern where friends with the same head type appear together is a first for these two.

Today is a break in the rain. The sun is shining, but it’s not hot. I went to the nearby park in the morning.

The companion for today is Licca’s friend, ‘Kimura Aki’. Her birthday is coming up soon—on the 11th. She first appeared in the 1999 ‘Candy Colour’ series with orange hair. This Aki is the 2002 version.

I’ve found that an official English-language website has been created.

https://licca-doll.com/

There are lists of the dolls on sale and the retailers selling them. Unfortunately, it seems the friends are not being sold.

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of Licca’s launch. Whilst her design has changed slightly over the years, the basic concept remains the same.

The photograph shows the Licca dolls in my place that have been with me the longest and the shortest.

On the right is the 1995 symbol Licca, which came to me that year. On the left is this year’s lottery Licca.

As August is the 8th month and the 27th is the 27th day, photos of 8K27 dolls are flowing on Japan’s X com (Twitter).

Many Licca, Jenny and their friends have a letter engraved on the back of their heads to identify their head mould. The 8K27 head mould first appeared on Jenny friend Timothée (1990), and many others, such as Lobelia and Ferice, and others, have this mould. Among the Licca-chan Friends, Chocolat, Emily and Seira are 8K27.

The photos show the 8K27 dolls I have. Emily, in the back row on the left, has been re-rooted, whilst Chocolat, in the front row on the right, is the ‘The Castle’ edition.

The 3rd-generation Licca-chan was on the market for about 5 years, from her debut in 1982 until the fourth generation was introduced in 1987. During that time, 6 friends were introduced one after the other.

In the photograph, they are lined up in the order of appearance. (From left to right)

‘Kaori-chan’ and ‘Chiemi-chan’ appeared in 1983, ‘Melny-chan’ and ‘Fanny-chan’ in 1984, ‘Sayaka-chan’ in 1985, and ‘Nurse-chan’ in 1986; they appeared one after another, with some being replaced by others within a short period.

Several years later, in 2021, ‘Kaori-chan’ reappeared from The Castle. Since then, they have been reissued one after another up to 2024, and all of them are now back in action. The Castle versions share the same body as the 4th generation.

The back row features the Friends from that era. The dolls in the photograph have had their bodies replaced, so they are all the same height as the standard 4th generation dolls.The front row features the Castle versions. (I haven’t obtained the reissued ‘Nurse-chan’ yet.)

Photographs and descriptions of these dolls are available on the webpage. http://mars.bellstek.net/doll/english/

In 1987, Licca-chan became the 4th generation. The 14 friends shown in the photograph appeared between then until the company merger in 2006, when they were replaced.

Back row, from left: Palette F (1987), Yumeka-chan (1988), Pululun-chan (1988), Izumi-chan (1991), Chocolat-chan (1998) Middle row: Sweets-chan (2005), Mii-chan (2002), Moe-chan (2002), Nanami-chan (2002) Front row: Aki-chan (1999), Kira-chan (1999), Mai-chan (1994), Miho-chan (1995), Ribbon-chan (1996) *The year in brackets indicates the year of their first appearance.

Photographs and descriptions of these dolls are available on my webpage.

http://mars.bellstek.net/doll/english/

Most of Licca and her friends have letters engraved on the back of their heads to indicate the type of mould.

The marking for a standard 4th generation Licca is ‘K29’, which is the same as for Friends Palette F, Kira-chan and Aki-chan.

However, there are Licca dolls with different markings. The one in the centre of the photograph has H22L. This model does not have earrings. This is due to a collaboration with a food retailer. The one on the right of the photograph has L07-Y. This model has been used continuously since 2008 for several hair-styling models.

The doll on the left is the Castel made in 2019; the one in the centre is a 2011 Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop clerk; and the one on the right is "Mote-Kawa Curl Licca" in 2012.

The Seto Ohashi Bridge is crossed when travelling to Shikoku by train. This bridge spans the sea, connecting a series of islands. From the window of the train, the sea and the islands are visible. So, how does the bridge look from there? This trip began on a thought like that.

There are six locations that are relatively easy to reach and offer a close-up view of the Seto Ohashi Bridge. Three of the islands the bridge steps on are inhabited and accessible by bus (though there are no railway stations). The island right beside it is also served by a regular ferry service. Add to that the two ends of the bridge. This year, I finally visited Iwakuro Island, the last remaining spot on my list.

One by one, as I recall them. It took quite a long time, but it is finally complete.