It certainly seems the most common item of Japan to be photographed is the large plush selection. For some reason it seems like plushes were easy to get outside of the country, or many were sold over the internet to non-Japan areas. They're also well-photographed and were apparently made in a large enough quantity that collectors can still collect them, even after all of this time. Once again, this page will feature both vintage and modern Japanese plushes.

Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page Japan Sonic Plush 1 Japan Sonic Plush 2 Japan Sonic Plush 3 Japan Sonic Plush 4 Japan Sonic Plush 5 Japan Sonic Plush 6 Japan Sonic Plush 8 Japan Sonic Plush 9 Japan Sonic Plush 10 Japan Sonic Plush 11

This is a very early Sonic plush. It also isn't very big at all. (see it in comparison to the tag for size, as the tag is normal sized) This doll is similar to another on an earlier page, but this one has the stripes on his shoes. What makes this rather unusual (and unusual looking too!) is that thick laces have been used for the arms and legs. His hands are thick pieces of felt, and the shoes are actually little plastic beads that dangle on his lace legs. The spikes and ears are flat felts, as are the eyes. Plushes don't come much simpler than this, but indeed it was an early effort. Still, with ok proportions on the face it has a cheerful enough look. (and look at skipping Eggman on the tag, too!) Photo by Animemate, discovered by Techno1252

This Sonic Adventure Chao is one of the more sought-after plushes. It's large size (10 inches) and quality really put it over the top. As you can see, they've used big plastic for the eyes, and the wings are 3D and textured. The soft yellow on the tips makes it look just like in the game! Whenever this comes up on Ebay, it's usually really pricy, but it's so cute, it's worth it to collect! Photo credit to GreatThings4U

This Tails plush seems rather plain, but he does have an interesting feature. They used a really hairy/fuzzy fabric for his chest. It's similar to some of the sporty plushes on other pages, but his head seems smaller. The other thing of note is his tag. The tag has running Tails on it, and you don't see it, or the dolls it was attached to that often. If you need a close up of the tag, it's on Japan Plushes 6. Photo discovered by Berzerker.

Look at this cute plush! It's so unique because Sonic is 'winking'. Really, he is impossibly closing one iris without actually closing the eye, but it is so cartoon-ey that it doesn't matter. This plush literally only has one plastic eye, and one embroidered eye/shut in order to create the wink effect. It is also posed with one hand to the side of his face, and the other set on the hip. Posed plushes are somewhat unusual too, making this doll a really neat find. You can see the size with the battery, and also that it is by Sega Plush in 1992. Photo discovered by FireDragon973

This little Eggman plush is almost...(dare it be said?) cute. It's very round with super short legs and arms. He's fuzzy cloth except for the shirt detail, buttons and mustache which are flat felts. This plush is meant to be stuck to flat surfaces with the suction cups. Indeed, there have been many stick-up Sonics with them on his hands, but this Eggman one is uncommon. He has plastic pieces for his glasses (which seem non-connected) and even his nose is plastic which is quite unique and curious. The tag (which helps mark the era) is in the bottom corner. This plush has a mistake though, can you find it? He is not wearing white gloves (the hands are flesh-tone fabric) which he should. It is about 9.5 inches high, and was made in 1995. Photo discovered by Jeffnov

This is the oldest known Japanese Sonic Plush. It was made in 1991. You can note some key differences right off with this plush, first, it has only 1 spike on the back, plus his tail. Then, the nose is very snout-like with a large black dot for the end. The mouth is centered instead of off to one side, the eye-shape is more square and there are no 'shine-spots'

like all future plushes have. The proportions are pretty good though, with long legs, big shoes and large gloves. It's interesting to see his head spikes are pretty much "right" in that they stayed about the same. Other early plush didn't see/use this pattern as sometimes you'd see him with only 1 spike row, only 2 head spikes or the spikes as flat felt strips...depending on who produced the plush. This is a very interesting item! Photographed & owned by:

This uncommon plush was only available in Sega Game Centers in Japan, in 1998, so it is rather rare. It is 15 inches high.

You can see this also in a group shot on an earlier Japan Plushes page, but it's quite well made and so is worth a closer look! With very well shaped shoes, decent hands, and a cute face along with good proportions, this is a great Sonic to own...if you can find one! Photographed & owned by Jeffnov

These photos illustrate the differences between Sports Tails & Regular Tails dolls released around the same time. But what sport requires you to tie a string around yourself that has a little flag on it? (as seen with this doll) Is it Flag Football? You can see that they're pretty much similar, except in size, so it's likely that the 'sport' dolls were all a little larger than the regular ones. This is interesting and cute to see. Photo & owned by: Kai Avalon

Look at this weird Sonic plush! At first glance you might think 'bootleg!' because of his odd looks. Short arms, fat body, strange eyes, and big, round shiny shoes (also, big finger) but then, look at the tag. It has a hologram official Sonic / Sega logo as part of the tag. As a general rule, bootleggers can't do holo

as they are quite costly to produce and reproduce. This was made by Trust Power Trading and is 12 inches high. Is it real? Is it fake? Still looking for proof either way. Discovered by Berzerker

This 'front smile' Sonic is quite similar to the first Sonic plush, and it is also from 1991. They did a decent job with him as well, with attention to the shoe bottoms, long enough arms and an all right face. You can see that the pupils are still a little squared off, and it lacks the 'eye shine' that all the dolls would aquire later. A great early item to own, if you can find it. Owned & photographed by: John

Owned & photographed by: John

This is another very early plush. Soon after they made the first 'stringy Sonic' they produced another very similar one, and this is it. He's still got strings/cords for his arms and legs, and the eyes are a felt patch, along with his spikes. However, the shoes are less bead-like. Owned & photographed by: John

This is a group photo of most of the early Japanese Sonic plushes, so you can see the relative sizes. String Sonic is tiny, but 'front smile Sonic is somewhat larger. You can also see their changing styles/modifications they had on the patterns as they kept adding more to collect.

This old Eggman plush is silly and round. With his dot-eyes, round nose, goofy big teeth and felt mustache, Eggman looks funny here. The plush itself is round and 3d, however the limbs, feet and hands are just flat pieces of felt. He has a string for hanging at the top, and may have come from a UFO machine. You can see the tag here, which has Sonic, and a little dancing Eggman picture on it. This is a fun old plush to collect...if you can find it. Photographed & owned by Rachel

Here's another posed-plush. It's quite similar to the one above, (hand sewn to hip, other beside head) however this one is not winking, it is just a regular Sonic. This one also has '2 mouths' and the belly dot attached to his chin (early dolls could be inconsisent with his design) It is probably from the same line, in 1992, so you could collect 1 with each different expression. Notice the fuzzy looking socks. Photo by Retro_Mushroom

Another 1992 plush, another pose! This has Sonic with both hands positioned on his hips, likely to imitate the stock art with similar design. His hands are sewn into position, but the rest of the doll is the same as the one to the left. Discovered by Trogdorbad

This is another of the 'dressed up' plushes (seen in gangs on page 1) Here's "Festival Going Sonic" (not to be confused with Taiko Drumming Sonic, which is similar but different) This one has him in a blue long-shirt with yellow belt, & red headband/strap thing. This plush uses 'center smile' which is odd, especially for Sonic. (all mouths are usually side-smile) He looks all-right, though the band is going over his eyes. This was also likely a UFO item. Photo by Retro_Mushroom

Another version of the early "Stringy Sonic" dolls. This one is different from the one at the top of the page, as he has plush shoes that have n stripe. The arms & legs are laces, giving him a wiggly & cute look, much like the very early art. Photo by Retro_Mushroom

This is one of the many Sports Time variant Sonic plushes. This time, it's Skii Sonic complete with plastic skiis, color-tinted glasses, & re-made shoes & socks.

Though the shoes have been made over to look more like skii boots, they kept the style & color of the original shoe. (yellow button instead of buckle) Discovered by Trogdorbad

This is Sanei small Amy. The larger size of her appears on an earlier page. These are the 'embroider eye' plushes, as you can see how her eyes were made. Despite the small size, she still looks Amy-like, complete with cloth bangs, her bracelets and an all-right expression. Occaisonally these can be found in the SonicGear Plush Store. (why Sanei, out of all of them?) Discovered by Trogdorbad

This Tails plush has fuzzy bangs (the most distinguishing feature) And the pattern...was almost certainly sold to Tomy to make dolls in the USA. Be sure to see USA Plushes 7 for some interesting details & comparison photos of what happened. The over-all look of the plush is nicely detaild, soft and cute. (but where's the mouth?) Photo discovered by Trogdorbad

There's no shortage of cool Christmas theme dolls to decorate with during the holidays. But sometimes, you have to look carefully to spot the differences. This particular one has the bow around his neck, but the hat is in the center of his head. Also, his bag is white, but has 3D beaded holly leaves near the top. (not just a picture on the bag) You can find other Christmas Sonic plush scattered over the Japan Plush pages to compare. Discovered by Trogdorbad.

This is basket-holding Sonic. He's part of a series of dolls who each had a basket sewn to them. You can use it as a caddy for small items, or a pencil cup. The plush is about 6 inches high, and the basket about 3. You could also get Tails, Eggman, & Animal friends who were also holding baskts (The tag illustrates this) These have appriciated in value over time, and now may be around $60 in worth. Photographed & owned by Sapphi Sonikku

Here's a different (yet similar...) jumbo Sonic plush. He's about 15 inches, and from 1998, so that's pretty big for the time. This one is different because he's posed. The one hand is always up in a waving position/stays that way. Usually you see small dolls that are posed, but this one is an exception. It has a possible worth around $50 Photographed & owned by Sapphi Sonikku

These are large plushes (thats an AA battery by the foot) with a great & fun property: you can pose them. They have a pose-able frame inside, so they can stand and keep poses too. These are sometimes called 'big-foot' dolls because of their large feet. They were abundant on ebay around the time of Sonic Adventure 1. The tag appears to be in Chinese though...but it has all the copyrights. Each one also has a button on the side (see top right) which is acrylic with a hologram copyright inside (detail at left). Holograms are rather expensive, so it's unlikely a bootlegger would go to the trouble to replicate it. Photo & owned by:BiancaNishitani