2026-08-04 You'll want to take Petit LICCA with you everywhere. A reason beyond the creator's expectations.
When people hear the name "LICCA," they probably picture dolls that is played with indoors.
When people hear about "Petit LICCA," a version of LICCA that's easy to carry around, many might imagine it's a product targeted at the current trend of attaching toys and engaging in plush toy collecting.
The product is characterized by its meticulous design that makes users want to carry it around, but the development team was pleasantly surprised to see that many people enjoyed taking it with them to cafes, on trips, and on everyday outings, as if it were their own personal companion.
We spoke to RR, who is in charge of development and marketing for Petit LICCA, to find out why she has captured the hearts of so many people and become a beloved part of everyday life.
The person who created Petit LICCA
RR
She joined TOMY Company, Ltd. as a new graduate and spent her first year in sales. After that, she worked in the Fashion Entertainment Division, where she was involved in the planning and development of craft hobbies for girls. As a child, she only played with LICCA along with other dolls and plush toys, so her starting point was a sense of "knowing about Licca-chan, but not having picked one up as an adult." She worked on the planning and development of LICCA for about three years and transferred to the marketing department in February of this year. She has been involved with Petit LICCA since its inception.
I was surprised myself to be put in charge of LICCA
RR has memories of playing with LICCA when she was a child, but she says she didn't have a particularly strong attachment to them when she was first assigned to the position.
RRUntil I was about in first grade of elementary school, I used to play with LICCA along with other plush toys and dolls. I also had a LICCA dollhouse.
However, rather than being particularly fond of LICCA, I felt she was just one of many toys.
After that, I gave her to a neighbor's child, and for a while I didn't have a chance to touch LICCA.
Since it was something I had always played with as a child, I was initially confused when I was assigned to work on it after joining TOMY Company, Ltd..
In addition to the gap between what she wanted to do at the time and what she actually wanted to do, RR also had the same image of LICCA that she had from her childhood memories.
RRWhen I heard I would be in charge of LICCA, I was honestly surprised, thinking, "Me, in charge of LICCA?"
Back then, my memory of LICCA was stuck as "a toy I played with as a child."
When I asked kids my age, they all said they hadn't played with them since they were children, and to be honest, I still didn't really know what kind of brand LICCA was.
She realized her job was to produce LICCA and grew to love LICCA
RR says that she came to love LICCA because of a certain realization. Before she knew it, her own excitement grew as she spent time with LICCA.
RRWhile working on the development and marketing of LICCA, I think a major turning point was realizing, "This is essentially my job of producing LICCA."
It's like taking care of a daughter or a younger sister, wondering what kind of clothes would make her look cute, or what kind of makeup would suit her outfit.
Because LICCA has such a long history, I think some people inevitably have the image of dolls that's been around forever. But it's also fun to update her to suit the times by incorporating the fashion trends of her generation.
Of course, it's great when you produce something and it turns out cute. For me, cute equals excitement, so the cuter LICCA becomes, the more excited I get.
Petit LICCA that encapsulates all of RR's excitement.
While the idea of making LICCA smaller had been proposed before, the recent popularity of attaching accessories to plush toys and other items has given the project a push to make it a reality.
RRWe developed Petit LICCA as a doll that brings excitement into everyday life.
LICCA is a bit too big to carry around as is, and some people might feel self-conscious about taking her out to take pictures.
That's why I created them not as dolls, but as accessories and decorative items. Petit LICCA is like a condensed version of LICCA 's cuteness.
I tried 70 or 80 different facial patterns to find the right balance of cuteness.
However, simply making the existing LICCA design smaller won't necessarily make it cuter. Deciding which parts of the existing design to stylize and which parts to keep is also crucial.
The final decision on the design of Petit LICCA was left to "RR's sense of cute balance."
RRRegarding the size, the deciding factor was that the most common response in our user survey was that people wanted LICCA of this size to carry around.
The face design is difficult; if I just use LICCA 's face as is, the balance is off, but if I stylize it too much, it won't be cute.
So, I shortened the length of my eyelashes by millimeters, and adjusted the width of my eyes by millimeters, bringing them closer together or further apart.
However, there is no clear definition of what constitutes cuteness.
RRI also experimented with reducing the number of stars (highlights) in the pupil, trying to determine whether two or three would be better.
Even amidst the trial and error process, we made sure to ensure that LICCA 's identity remained unchanged.
For example, the eyes must always be facing left. I tried 70 or 80 different facial patterns like that, but as I kept at it, I started to lose track of what was right.
So, I did a lot of interviews with everyone on the team to find out which one they thought was cuter and what they thought the balance was.
It was a huge advantage that I wasn't doing it all by myself, but was able to involve many different people as we moved forward.
Even so, ultimately, someone has to make the decision.
RRHowever, ultimately, my boss's words—"This product is targeted at adults in their twenties and thirties, and the balance that you, being in that demographic, truly find cute is the most important thing"—reassured me and allowed me to confidently decide on the face design.
Furthermore, Petit LICCA primarily features collaborations with other companies' characters, such as Sanrio and Narumiya.
Aren't there any difficulties in handling other companies' IPs?
RRI designed it with the intention of making the character's essence immediately apparent at a glance.
I thought about how Hello Kitty's ears and ribbon would look, and how to make it recognizable as Cinnamon even from a distance.
When I was little, I loved Narumiya so much that I even collected their stationery.
I create these products with the intention of making them something that fans of the collaborating partners, like myself, will find genuinely cute and think, "Maybe I should buy a Petit LICCA."
Being humanoid makes you feel a stronger sense of friendship and companionship.
When they actually launched Petit LICCA, they noticed a clear difference in the reaction compared to other character products.
The key factors were its unique humanoid form, unlike other products, and the fact that its arms and legs were movable.
RROne way to differentiate it from other popular character merchandise is that its human form creates a stronger sense of friendship and companionship.
I think it would be great to keep one on your desk at work. It could be a source of comfort when you're going through a tough time.
Furthermore, since you can make Petit LICCA raise her arms in a "banzai" pose or move her legs to make her sit, it increases the variety of photos you can take at cafes and other places, and you can really feel like you're "having fun together with Petit LICCA."
We've heard from customers that they "feel a thrill putting shoes on Petit LICCA," which was something we hadn't imagined. It makes us happy to know that everyone is truly enjoying taking care of the dolls as if they were close to them.
Putting shoes on someone reminds me of the feeling of taking care of a small child.
In other words, it seems that many users are transitioning from the Petit LICCA dolls this "child" that looks almost alive.
It's not that I'm taking her along; it's that I want to take her because it's this child.
I'm so happy to see people enjoying themselves in ways I never imagined, like taking photos together at the live venue.
Beyond RR's original design, the ways in which users enjoy their Petit LICCA continue to expand.
In a sense, a situation has arisen where the excitement is overflowing beyond the design itself.
RRI'm constantly surprised by the ways people are enjoying it.
For example, we included a loop at the back of the head so that people could attach the Petit LICCA to bags or other items, but we deliberately didn't include a strap so that people could customize it with their favorite ball chains or similar items.
However, in reality, some people are even making their own clothes from scratch, not just straps, and I feel that the style of enjoying personal customization has become well-established.
He continues:
RRThe most surprising shooting situation was filming at a live concert venue.
Some people who feel that "this Petit LICCA 's face resembles that of idol XX" take it to live concerts to take photos, or place it next to the artist's acrylic standee, enjoying sharing special moments with Petit LICCA.
Petit LICCA are sold in a mystery box format, where you don't know which character you'll get until you open it.
After its release, many users shared their thoughts on social media, and some of those comments were particularly memorable for RR.
RRWhat made me happiest was when people told me, "No matter what you do, it's cute."
Of course, I think there are some people who had a specific character in mind, but even so, I'm glad that this character was included.
I think making them mystery boxes was one of the reasons people wanted to collect them. Once you buy one, you want this one too.
Because we can't choose, unexpected encounters are born. It seems that this is even causing minor incidents between parents and children.
RRI've heard stories like, "My daughter said she wanted Hello Kitty, and I bought one without knowing what I'd get, and it turned out to be Hello Kitty. It's so cute, I don't want to give it to my daughter."
I was surprised to hear that the parent and child were fighting over it.
The creators could only design up to the point where the user's excitement would be felt.
Perhaps the charm of Petit LICCA lies in the high degree of freedom it offers, allowing users to further express their own personal feelings and passions through "this doll."
With the US market now open, we can only hope that users all over the world will take their Petit LICCA out and add a touch of excitement to their daily lives.
