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Line Friends

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Line Friends
TypeCharacters
InventorKang Byeong Mok
(South Korean Designer)
Inception2011
ManufacturerIPX Corporation
Naver Corporation
AvailableYes
Websitewww.linefriends.com?lang=en

Line Friends (stylized as LINE FRIENDS) are featured characters, invented by South Korean designer Kang Byeong Mok, based on the stickers from diverse applications of the South Korean internet search giant Naver Corporation and the Japanese messaging app Line. Released in 2015, the characters are used in various products, animations, games, cafes, hotels and theme parks. In addition to its online presence, physical stores featuring Line Friends have opened in cities around the world. The brand has currently managed by its subsidiary Line Friends Corporation since 2015.[1][2][3][4][5]

Establish an independent brand company

Line Friends Store in Hysan Place, Hong Kong

In January 2015, in order to further enhance the character brand value, the independent business LINE FRIENDS International Cartoon Image Brand Company was established, which is a subsidiary of NAVER. LINE FRIENDS has so far launched various cooperative products with international brands around the world in more than 5,000 character products, animations, games, cafes, restaurants, theme parks and other fields, and has launched various cooperative products in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Chengdu and Nanjing.[6] Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taipei, Seoul, Indonesia and other places to open physical stores.

In addition to the 11 popular characters that LINE stickers currently have, LINE FRIENDS' latest project "FRIENDS CREATORS" has jointly launched a new series of cartoon images with Korean idol group BTS and Chinese idol Wang Yuan. Currently, there are four series of cartoon characters: BT21,[7] ROY6,[8][9] WDZY and TRUZ.

Characters

Brown and Friends

The original Line characters were created by South Korean designer Kang Byeongmok, also known as "Mogi" in 2011.[10]

  • Cony, Brown, Moon and James (added in 2011)
  • Boss, Jessica and Sally (added in 2013)
  • Leonard and Edward (added in 2014)
  • Brown's younger sister Choco and her best friend Pangyo (added in 2016)[11][12]
  • Sally's friends Elly, Louie and Ari (added in 2020)

Character information

  • Brown: Silent but has a warm heart. His expressionless face is charming, as a friend of everyone who expresses his mind more than words. He seems he doesn't care much. But, he has a shoulder to share and has a big heart to hear you. He loves Cony who is full of energy, and always there for his little sister Choco.[13]
  • Cony: She is bright, cheerful, and full of passion. She gets super excited when she's with her beloved Brown. Cony's always curious and likes challenging new things, so she often makes her friends.[13]
  • Sally: With her unexpected charm, cute little Sally brings joy to her friends full of bright and wild ideas. Don't be fooled by her cuteness, she might reveal the other side of her you've never expected!
  • Choco: Sweet, lovely Choco who loves fashion and sweets. She is shy like her brother Brown, but once you get to know her, she gets along well even with Brown's friends.
  • Moon: A funny guy whose face looks just like the full moon. No one knows where he came from, but he brings cheerful laughter to his friends with his wit and great humor.
  • Leonard: Sentimental Leonard likes to sing along with the sound of rain. He also loves to hang out with Sally and Edward, the so-called tiny little trio.[14]
  • James: Beautiful blonde-haired James who loves himself the most. He may seem cool and chic, but to tell the truth, he's delicate and fragile.[14]
  • Boss: Loud and wild Boss is an ordinary salaryman. He shows up out of nowhere and gives good laughs to people.[14]
  • Edward: Edward is brilliant and always curious. He's also a racer who has a thirst for speed and an adventurer who dreams of the day becoming a butterfly![14]
  • Jessica: Smart and sassy Jessica. She always gives clear and punchy answers to friends who want to chat about things.[14]
  • Pangyo: Our sluggish friend Pangyo, who likes to think and make interesting stuff. He is always content and has a smile on his face.[14]

BT21

Logo of the BT21 series

BT21 is the first presentation from FRIENDS CREATORS, a project formed to create new characters for the Line Friends series. Popular South Korean boy group BTS was the first artist of this project,[15] and the main theme of the project is to show the connection between BTS and Line Friends in terms of popularity in the world. It comprises eight special characters designed by BTS,[16] with seven characters representing individual BTS members and one character representing their fans, "Army". The character designs were based on original ideas and sketches by the group's members.[17] Videos of BTS designing BT21 were uploaded to the official BT21 channel on YouTube.[18]

The name "BT21" is a combination of the group's name BTS and the 21st century. Member Suga commented that the name should represent both BTS and the 21st century, so they would live for the next 100 years.[citation needed]

BT21 was officially launched by Line Friends in October 2017.[19]

In 2023, IPX Corporation had the rights to BT21, while Line Friends had less than before. Owned the rights to BT21, while Line Friends has some rights.[citation needed]

Character information

  • Koya was created by RM. He is a baby blue koala with a violet nose and removable ears that fall off when he is shocked. Described as a deep thinker, Koya lives in the Eucalyptus forest and is always asleep.
  • RJ was created by Jin. He is a kind, loving, and compassionate white alpaca who always wears a red scarf. When it is cold, he sometimes puts on a light gray parka. RJ originated from Machu Picchu, hates shaving his fur, and loves cooking and eating.
  • Shooky was created by Suga. His character is an extremely savage, mischievous, little cookie who is afraid of milk. He leads a cookie team called the Crunchy Squad.
  • Mang was created by J-Hope. He is a baby purple chipmunk that keeps his face concealed in the horse-faced mask with a heart-shaped nose that he always wears.[20] Mang loves to dance. In 2023, Mang took off his mask and revealed his face.[1]
  • Chimmy was created by Jimin. His character has been described as a "passionate" puppy whose tongue is always hanging out. Chimmy wears a yellow hoodie and loves to play the harmonica. He does not remember his past.
  • Tata was created by V. He is a curious crown prince from Planet BT who spreads love across the universe. He has supernatural powers; a stretchy, hyper-elastic body; a red heart-shaped head atop a blue body with yellow polka-dots.
  • Cooky was created by Jungkook. His character is a cute, but tough pink bunny with one bold eyebrow and a white heart-shaped tail who wants to be strong and loves his body "like a temple". He loves boxing.
  • Van is Tata's AI robot. Half of his body is gray with an "X" eye, and the other half is white with an "O" eye. He is BT21's protector and was created by RM to represent BTS' fandom, A.R.M.Y.

ROY6

Logo of the ROY6 series

ROY6 is a character brand created by Chinese Millennial idol Roy Wang, in collaboration with the global character brand, Line Friends.[21] China's first and world's second FRIENDS CREATORS project, Roy Wang participated in every step, starting from initial sketches and storytelling to product planning.[22] Videos of Roy Wang designing ROY6 are uploaded on the ROY6 YouTube Channel.[23]

ROY6 was officially released by Line Friends in November 2018.[citation needed]

Character information

  • Royan is a lion-looking sun that descended upon the earth from the sky, and gives splendid sunlight to the people with his shiny mane.
  • Eddy is a cheerful Samoyed dog who simply loves being next to someone who needs courage and gives them a surprise hug.
  • Long Long is a young and small dragon with an iridescent fin, Long Long brings luck to people and summons meteor showers with his magic wand.
  • Loudy is a chatty cloud, that admires the earth more than the sky.
  • T-2000 is a clumsy but adorable robot, T-2000 shows people the future, which they hope to see on the screen.
  • Baobao Tree is a mysterious wish-bearing tree, Baobao provides a place of rest for everyone.

ChiChi

Blackpink member Jisoo designed the new character named ChiChi, in collaboration with Nexon's kart racing game KartRider Rush+ and Line Friends. ChiChi is a rabbit character based on Jisoo's nickname "Tuttle Rabbit Kim," which is well-known by fans.[24]

Anime

Two anime series, LINE OFFLINE and LINE TOWN, were produced in 2013, picturing the Line Friends as employees for the fictional Line Corporation.[25][26]

LINE Offline

Line Offline is an animated series created by Shogakukan Productions, based on salaryman characters working at "Line Corporation". All 114 episodes last about three minutes. The series was aired from January 8, 2013, to October 1, 2013.[27]

The episodes of Line Offline are not connected. The idea behind the series is to represent the ordinary life of company employees (in this case Line's employees, hence the name "Line Offline"), in which every small problem could lead to awkward and hilarious situations that require some effort to restore the status quo.

Most characters from Line Offline are part of Line's universe (the characters who are shown in the animated series are also Line Friends, and can be seen by users in Line Messaging App and used as emoticons).

Episodes

Episode No. Title
1 "Stare"
2 "Drowsy"
3 "Phone Calls"
4 "Complaints"
5 "Preso"
6 "Meeting"
7 "Snack"
8 "Sleepy"
9 "A Secret"
10 "Tired"
11 "Memory"
12 "Receipt"
13 "Lady Sally"
14 "Stomach Ache"
15 "Mask"
16 "Overtime"
17 "Fortunetelling"
18 "Magic"
19 "Physical Examination"
20 "Pressure"
21 "Surveillance"
22 "Diet"
23 "Security"
24 "Club"
25 "Souvenirs"
26 "Lunch"
27 "Bag"
28 "Battery"
29 "Cookies"
30 "Meeting"
31 "Dream"
32 "Cold"
33 "Stickers"
34 "Talents"
35 "Ice Cream"
36 "Office Lovers"
37 "Floating Tea Stalk"
38 "Trash Can"
39 "Garbage Can"
40 "Rice Ball"
41 "Tie"
42 "Summoned"
43 "Connie Glass"
44 "Mr. Moon Glass"
45 "The Manager Glass"
46 "Drinking Party"
47 "Mirror"
48 "Casters"
49 "Memory"
50 "Pranks"
51 "Security"
52 "Fart"
53 "Spilling Over"
54 "Original"
55 "The Ultimate Presentation Tip"
56 "I Don't Remember"
57 "Fortune"
58 "Intense! Haiku Club"
59 "The Boss Gives His All"
60 "Moon's Dirty Room"
61 "That Clinking Thing"
62 "Brown in the Restroom"
63 "Trashion Impossible"
64 "Ponnus Ponnu?"
65 "Prostration"
66 "The Cockroaches Strike Back"
67 "Loving the Centerfold"
68 "You're my Shangri-La"
69 "Love Those Masks"
70 "A Mixer with Flight Attendants"
71 "Ponnus Ponnu"
72 "Goodbye James, Part. 1"
73 "Goodbye James, Part. 2"
74 "Goodbye James, (Final Part)"
75 "Sally & the Dragon"
76 "Double Dragon"
77 "Outbreak"
78 "A Sticky Situation"
79 "Marital Fight"
80 "Welcome, Oil Baron"
81 "Sally's Psych Test"
82 "Consolation Party for Moon"
83 "Sally's Job"
84 "Curse of the Kokeshi Doll"
85 "A Saying He's Tempted to Use on Wednesday"
86 "Everyone's Wok"
87 "Umbrella of Kindness"
88 "You're not Going Home Tonight"
89 "Perfectionist"
90 "Moon's Secrets Exposed!"
91 "Just the Way Connie Is"
92 "Itching James"
93 "Boss! I Can't Hold It In!"
94 "Lovely Skin! Summer Makeup!"
95 "No Food was Wasted in the Making of This Episode"
96 "A Celebration for the Manager"
97 "Moon is Happy to Answer Any Question"
98 "Connie Does Her Best"
99 "A Trip to Hawaii for Two"
100 "Men Who Make Everyone Wet"
101 "Sally's Job 2"
102 "Who Wants to be a Zillionaire?"
103 "Oh Yeah! Let's Go to Atami!"
104 "A Heated Meeting"
105 "Intense Boss Story"
106 "The Marvelous Pudding That Always Sells Out!"
107 "The Private Life of a Capable Man"
108 "A Little-Known Horror Called Back Pain"
109 "A Little-Known Horror Called Money Issues"
110 "A Little-Known Horror Called Social Hierarchy"
111 "The Last Salaryman: Part One"
112 "The Last Salaryman: Part Two"
113 "The Last Salaryman: Part Three"
114 "The Making of The Last Salaryman"

LINE Town

Characters

  • Cony (voiced by Aki Kanada in the Japanese dub and Sarah Hauser in the English dub) is a rabbit with a pleasant personality. She likes to go on a diet.
  • Brown is a Canadian bear who likes salmon a lot. He is silent and has a crush on Cony. He becomes scared when he gets angry, and notes appear when he feels good.
  • Moon (voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Japanese dub and Michael Pizzuto in the English dub) is a manjū-shaped-headed man who loves the moon. His interest is playing video games. He sometimes tricks his friends when he is bored. His father is an adventurer.
  • James (voiced by Yūto Kazama in the Japanese dub and Daniel Garcia in the English dub) is a narcissist with long, blonde hair. He is obsessed with his appearance and is afraid of high places.
  • Jessica (voice by Sachi Kokuryu in the Japanese dub and Catherine Fu in the English dub) is a cat who is knowledgeable about fashion and loves to cook a lot. She is Cony's best friend.
  • Sally (voiced by Atsuko Enomoto in the Japanese dub and Catherine Fu in the English dub) is a chick who usually helps her friends. She often stays in the windmill tree hollow in the park. She likes karaoke.
  • Boss/Mister (voiced by Nobuo Tobita in the Japanese dub and Michael Pizzuto in the English dub) is an almost completely bald middle-aged man with glasses. He appears as many different identities in every episode.
  • Leonard (voiced by Megumi Han in the Japanese dub and Jesse McCartney in the English dub) is a little frog boy who looks up to Moon. He refers to Moon as an "elder brother". ("Longing For")
  • Edward is a green caterpillar with a cap who often stays by Sally's side.
  • Cob Taro (voiced by Nobuo Tobita) is a cobra with a Mohawk hairstyle and an eye patch that escaped from the zoo and now has a part-time job at the burger shop.
  • Dorothy (voiced by Chie Kōjiro) is a hen who likes to take gossips. Cony fears her.
  • Mr. Kinoko (voiced by Mitsuru Ogata) is a beaver who owns a mushroom dish restaurant and can cook mushroom dishes very well. Kinoko is the Japanese word for mushrooms.

Episodes

Episode No. Title
1 "Birthday" / "Hole"
2 "Salmon-chan" / "Party"
3 "Pinch" / "Smile"
4 "Reunion" / "Shadow"
5 "Divine" / "Art"
6 "Lottery" / "Quiz"
7 "Treasure" / "Siblings"
8 "Sleeping Habit" / "Diet"
9 "Bad Hair" / "Leader"
10 "Model" / "Hero"
11 "Mud Spheres" / "Ill-Faking"
12 "Scoop" / "Typhoon"
13 "Camp" / "Audition"
14 "Temptation" / "Babysitter"
15 "The Seventh" / "Devil Zombie"
16 "Friends" / "Salusa"
17 "Space (Part 1)" / "Space (Part 2)"
18 "Mister" / "Beach"
19 "Small" / "Big"
20 "Ice" / "Mr. Robot"
21 "Ninjas" / "Bottle Opener"
22 "Car" / "Jessica"
23 "Job" / "Insist"
24 "Where?" / "Train"
25 "Corn" / "Magic"
26 "Together" / "Playing Cards"
27 "Spies" / "Pirates"
28 "Judge" / "Broken"
29 "Once in Time" / "Happiness"
30 "Copies" / "Run Errands"
31 "Dorothy" / "Weather"
32 "Galaxy"
33 "Mr. Kinoko" / "Mountain Climbing"
34 "Musical" / "Evening"
35 "Good at Compliments" / "Apple"
36 "Cheerleaders" / "Part-Time"
37 "Stationary" / "Longing For"
38 "Can-Kicking" / "Upset"
39 "Father" (Line Town Christmas Special)
40 "Line Five" (Line Town Hero Special)
41 "Lake" / "Seed"
42 "Rickshaw" / "Dark Mr. Robot"
43 "Wild" / "Meatball"
44 "Beanstalk" / "Pie"
45 "Turnover" / "Hospitality"
46 "Line Five 2" (Line Town Hero Special 2)
47 "Secret" / "Deal With"
48 "Positive" / "Fake"
49 "Tiny" / "Son"
50 "Dice" / "Line Town"

Theme songs

Opening theme
Ending theme

LINE Rangers

Line Rangers is an animated miniseries created to tie in with the Line Rangers mobile game, which featured the Line Friends characters. It originally premiered as shorts on the Line Global YouTube Channel in 2015. It was aired as a miniseries on Cartoon Network Korea[28] in July 2018. An English dubbed version went up on Amazon Prime[29] in North America on July 20, 2018. A Japanese dub which is broadcast on TV Tokyo.

Brown & Friends

On December 12, 2019, Netflix collaborated with Line Friends to create an original animated series based on the characters from Brown & Friends. All the episodes from the first season, including 3 special episodes based on seasonal occasions, such as Halloween and Christmas, released on December 29, 2022.

Unnamed anime television series

On May 15, 2023, it was announced that the fourth generation of the LINE Creators Support Program would inspire an anime television series adaptation that would premiere on CBC TV in 2024.[30]

Products

  • Friends (smart speaker) – with Brown and Sally as the speaker's appearance
  • LINE FRIENDS x Sailor[31] (fountain pens) – Sailor Pens produces fountain pens of Brown and Sally in their Pro Gear Slim size with 14K gold nib choices of EF, F, MF, M, and B. The pens are exclusive to the North American market and were announced in July 2022.[32]

Physical stores

Apart from its online store, physical stores have been opened in Hong Kong (Hysan Place), Chengdu (Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li), Nanjing (Katherine Park), Los Angeles (Hollywood Boulevard), and New York City (Times Square).[33][34][35]

The popularity of Line Friends in China surged in 2016. During that one year, six physical storefronts were opened. At one time, there were as many as twelve of them in different cities in China. As their segment of the market became increasingly crowded, however, Line Friends began to phase out its physical presence in China by closing down shops. As of May 2021, only the Chengdu and Nanjing stores remained open.[35]

Collaborations

On November 21, 2019, it was announced on the official Brawl Stars YouTube channel that Brawl Stars would collaborate with Line Friends, adding new skins based on Line Friends characters.[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Line Friends Has Plans for Global Domination | License! Global". www.licensemag.com. August 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  2. ^ FRIENDS, LINE. "LINE FRIENDS to Open First Official U.S. Store in New York's Time Square in July". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "A popular messaging app inspired Times Square's latest tourist trap". Engadget. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "스마트 폰 속 이모티콘, 세상 밖으로". 시사매거진 바이트. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "'라인(LINE)'은 일본製일까 한국製일까". 프레스맨 (in Korean). July 5, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  6. ^ "LINE FRIENDS stores in Shanghai are closed, and all mainland stores may be closed | Inland and port economy and trade | Cross-strait | United News Network". October 10, 2021. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Kelly, Emma (June 12, 2018). "BT21 are making their official debut - and BTS will be shook". Metro. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  8. ^ "ROY6". www.linefriends.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  9. ^ FRIENDS, LINE. "LINE FRIENDS Collaborates with Roy Wang as Part of its 'FRIENDS CREATORS' Project to Create New Characters". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Communicate the World's Information to Users, Connecting People and Information | OnLINE（オンライン）- LINEでは、こうしてます。".
  11. ^ "Meet the newest member of the Line Friends family". Stuff. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Tan, Alicia. "Messaging app Line introduces new character to its cute family". Mashable. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "LINE FRIENDS". store.linefriends.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "LINE FRIENDS". store.linefriends.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "BTS visits BT21 at Line Friends store in LA". The Korea Herald. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2021 – via The Jakarta Post.
  16. ^ "About Project". BT21 official website.
  17. ^ Herman, Tamar (October 20, 2017). "BTS' New BT21 Collab With Line Friends Blends Fashion, Emojis & K-Pop". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "BT21". YouTube.
  19. ^ Abelman, Devon (February 8, 2019). "BTS Just Launched Adorable BT21-Themed Skin-Care Products for Acne". Allure. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  20. ^ Adhya, Arphita (April 5, 2023). "WHY DOES MANG WEAR A MASK? BT21 CHARACTER UNVEILS FACE FOR FIRST TIME". HITC. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  21. ^ "ROY6". www.linefriends.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  22. ^ "About Project". ROy6 official website.
  23. ^ "ROY6". YouTube. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  24. ^ 김, 미희 (April 10, 2021). "라인프렌즈, 블랙핑크 지수와 만든 '치치' 공개". The Financial News (in Korean). Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  25. ^ "Love LINE Friends? Then Check Out its Fun Little Anime Series! – Japan Info". Japan Info. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  26. ^ "How Japan's Line App Became A Culture-Changing, Revenue-Generating Phenomenon". Fast Company. February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  27. ^ "Messaging App Line's Kawaii Characters Get Their Cartoon Series In Japan – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. April 8, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  28. ^ @LineFriends (July 9, 2018). ""LINE RANGERS" Character teaser is out! Premiering on Cartoon Network Korea from July 20th" – via Instagram.
  29. ^ "Prime Video: Line Rangers".
  30. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 15, 2023). "LINE Sticker Characters Get TV Anime in 2024". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "LINE FRIENDS Fountain Pens from Sailor".
  32. ^ "Sailor Pen North America on Instagram: "Have you ever seen a cuter pair of friends? Announcing our newest series, with authorized licensed LINE FRIENDS pens featuring these two besties, BROWN and SALLY! Sailor Professional Gear Slim – LINE FRIENDS – "BROWN" features BROWN, the best friend everyone needs in their life. This pen shows off a three-toned design, with gold plated accents, a glittering section, and a custom BROWN 14K gold nib. Sailor Professional Gear Slim – LINE FRIENDS – "SALLY" shows off the tiny but feisty SALLY, whose charm is larger than life! This three-toned pen has a sparkling orange section, gold-plated accents, and a custom SALLY 14K gold nib. Both pens are available as North American EXCLUSIVES, available in nib sizes EF, F, MF, M and B. #LINEFRIENDS #BROWN #SALLY"".
  33. ^ "How LINE captured Hong Kong hearts – Hysan Development Company Limited". Hysan Development Company Limited. October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  34. ^ Jarvis, Will (August 2, 2017). "Japanese Messaging App Tries to Crack the U.S.... With a Store for Plush Toys". AdAge. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  35. ^ a b Lin, Wangjing (May 14, 2021). LINE FRIENDS上海門市關閉 [LINE FRIENDS Shanghai store closed]. UDN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021.
  36. ^ Brawl Talk: Brawl Stars Tiniest Update!, retrieved November 21, 2019
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