By Myntii
MPCs, otherwise known as ‘My Pokemon Collection’ plush, are small plush made by Banpresto that can be obtained through the UFO claw machines in Japan. These plush were showcased at the World Hobby Fair in Tokyo in January 2011. Several MPCs were also shown at the Amusement Machine Operators Expo 2011, also in Tokyo, in February. They started appearing in the UFO games in late April of this year, which are claw machines where one uses a joystick to manuever a large claw around in order to grab a prize. The MPCs are released in 6-plush sets every few weeks. In an announcement made in March 2011, Banpresto noted on their MPC mobile site that these plush will be released in every Unova Pokemon, for a total of over 100 plush! In July, the first two non-Unova Pokemon were featured in the line-up – Meowth and Pikachu. Also, for Pokemon such as Deerling, or Shikijika, there will be separate plush for each of their versions.
My Pokemon Collection plush are made of soft, minky fabric and are a small size, each at roughly 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, in height. Some characters have certain attributes that make them a little larger. For such small size, they are incredibly detailed and high quality. Their features are embroidered. They also have a black, ball-chain attached to the top so that you can hang them from purses, backpacks, windows, and anything else you’d like. Each plush has an ID, or serial number, found on their paper tag, that one can use to register on the mobile site, which can be found at http://bpnavi.jp/mpc/, using a cellphone after winning the plush. After registering, you can name your plush and share your collection with other people. Paper tags feature a picture of the Pokemon and its name in Japanese. The paper tags for the different sets are different. The first two releases featured square tags, first in yellowish orange, and then in green. In the third release, the tag design changed to a cellphone-like shape with a blue outline. This design has remained the same in the fourth release. They also have a small tush tag that resembles a Pokeball, in addition to the regular Banpresto tush tag.
Along with the regular releases, there have been some special MPC plush that have been added in celebration of the newest Pokemon movies, Victini and the Black Hero, and Victini and the White Hero. The first movie version set was released in the last week of June. In total, there will be three movie sets, A, B and C, some of them including new plush of characters that have been released regularly, such as Blitzle/Shimama, or the same character with a different expression, such as Victini’s movie release, which shows him frowning. Their paper tags are similar to those of the third and fourth sets, but with a purple outline instead. These special movie plush are released in 5-character sets.
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Tags: Blitzle, Emolga, Plush toys, Victini