Every 2016 TOMY Mythical Plush Felt Different in Your Hands

When TOMY's Pokémon 20th Anniversary Collection rolled out across 2016, the mythical plush figures became instant conversation pieces for Australian fans. Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Shaymin, Darkrai, Victini, and Arceus each arrived in their own window throughout the year, and collectors who managed to grab more than one immediately noticed something tactile: no two plushies weighed the same. The heft in your palm shifted dramatically from one mythical to the next, leaving many fans wondering whether the figures were just sized differently or whether something deeper was happening inside the stitching.

The reason lies in a mix of factory decisions, design goals, and the practical realities of shipping delicate toys from Japan to retailers like EB Games, Big W, and specialty hobby shops in Sydney and Melbourne. Material choices, internal structures, and poseability features all contributed to the variance, and once you understand the reasoning, the differences start to feel intentional rather than accidental.

The Mythical Lineup and How Each One Was Constructed

The mythical plush series spanned seven characters plus the elusive Mew, with each release tied to a specific month. Mew kicked things off in January as the smallest figure in the entire collection, sitting at roughly 13 centimetres and using a lightweight polyester fill that gave it a soft, almost floppy feel. Celebi followed in February with a slightly larger body and similar stuffing, while Jirachi arrived in March with the first real departure: its iconic star-shaped head and stubby limbs required additional internal structuring, adding noticeable grams to the overall plush.

Manaphy, Shaymin, Darkrai, Victini, and Arceus each introduced their own construction quirks. Manaphy's translucent water-bottle design incorporated a small plastic component, Shaymin's leafy body sat on top of a heavier felt base, and Arceus's ring-shaped tail demanded reinforced stitching that added bulk. Collectors who lined up at local Australian retailers often reported that the figure they picked up first felt denser than they expected, while the second one in the same month felt comparatively featherweight.

The official listing for mew shows that even within the same mythical category, TOMY adjusted fill weights and fabric thicknesses based on the character's shape and pose.

What Determined Plush Weight in the TOMY Factory

Several variables dictated the final weight of each TOMY plush, and most had nothing to do with the size printed on the box. Polyester fibre fill density was the biggest factor, with TOMY using a tighter-packed fill for figures designed to stand upright on a shelf. Loose-packed fill suited characters intended for cuddling or carrying in a backpack, particularly the smaller mythicals that fans often clipped onto bags alongside the Clip 'n' Carry Poké Balls.

Fabric weight also played a subtle but measurable role. Brighter colours, embroidery details, and the textured felt patches used on Shaymin and Arceus added layers of material that bumped up the gram count. The backing cloth used on darker mythicals like Darkrai tended to be slightly heavier than the cream-toned cloth used for Mew and Celebi, which contributed to Darkrai's reputation as one of the more substantial plushies in the lineup.

Internal armature was the third major contributor. Where TOMY wanted the plush to hold a particular pose, they inserted thin plastic discs, wire frames, or weighted pellets. Jirachi's head, for instance, sat on a small plastic base to keep it upright, while Manaphy's internal structure was reinforced to mimic the look of a floating water droplet.

Comparing the Mythical Specs Side by Side

Approximate weights and key construction features of the 2016 TOMY mythical lineup, drawn from collector reports and TOMY's own product listings, are summarised below.

Mythical Approx. Height Approx. Weight Internal Structure Primary Fill
Mew 13 cm 35 g None Loose polyester
Celebi 14 cm 40 g Light plastic base Loose polyester
Jirachi 15 cm 65 g Weighted head disc Dense polyester
Manaphy 14 cm 70 g Plastic inner shell Loose polyester
Shaymin 13 cm 55 g Felt base pad Medium polyester
Darkrai 16 cm 80 g Reinforced torso Dense polyester
Victini 14 cm 50 g None Loose polyester
Arceus 18 cm 95 g Ring reinforcement, weighted tail Dense polyester

The figures in the second half of the year tended to be denser than the early releases, partly because TOMY refined its construction methods as the anniversary collection progressed and partly because the later mythicals had more complex body shapes to support. Arceus, the final mythical of the calendar, came in as the heaviest of the bunch by a clear margin, largely thanks to its reinforced ring and weighted tail.

Poseability Beads, Bean Bags, and Soft Fiberfill

Australian collectors who attended local Pokémon community meetups in Brisbane and Adelaide in late 2016 often debated which mythical felt best in the hand. The argument usually boiled down to fill type. Loose polyester fill produced a squishy, malleable feel that fans of Mew and Victini adored, while the tighter-packed fills used in Jirachi, Darkrai, and Arceus gave a firmer, more "plush pillow" sensation that appealed to display-focused collectors.

The Clip 'n' Carry Poké Balls released alongside the plushies used a different system altogether, relying on a hard outer shell and a small internal bean bag to give them that satisfying rattle. TOMY's design notes for that companion piece explain the Clip 'n' Carry Poké Ball design, and the same ergonomic thinking carried over into how the plushies were weighted for one-handed carry.

Some mythicals, particularly Manaphy and Shaymin, included small beanbag-style inserts in their base to keep them upright on flat surfaces. These inserts added a subtle rattle that you could feel when you shook the plush, distinguishing them from the silent, fully-stuffed figures like Mew and Celebi.

Australian Collector Reactions and Retailer Reports

Back in 2016, Australian fans had limited windows to grab the mythicals as they dropped, with EB Games handling the bulk of online pre-orders and Big W stocking select months in physical stores. Sydney-based collectors in particular reported that some store shipments arrived late, which pushed many fans toward specialty importers and Facebook trading groups to complete their sets.

Local forums and the now-defunct Pokémon Australia subreddit filled with posts comparing the heft of newly arrived plushies against earlier releases. A common observation was that the Japanese-market versions felt slightly heavier than the international releases sold through Australian retailers, though the difference was small enough that most collectors chalked it up to measurement variance rather than a deliberate factory choice.

EB Games Australia's pricing tended to sit in the $24.95 to $29.95 range per mythical, which made collecting all seven (plus Mew) a noticeable investment for younger fans. Some Melbourne hobby shops bundled two plushies together during the slower months, a move that helped local collectors fill gaps without paying international shipping surcharges through Australia Post.

Caring for Plushes of Different Weights and Densities

Because each mythical had a different internal structure, storage and display practices varied across the lineup. The lighter, fully-stuffed figures like Mew, Celebi, and Victini held up well in crowded display cases or packed into carry bags, while the heavier mythicals with weighted bases benefited from being placed on flat shelves where they could support their own weight without sagging over time.

Collectors who owned both ends of the weight spectrum often noted that the firmer plushies were easier to dust and clean, since the dense fill kept the fabric taut during gentle surface wiping. The softer mythicals, by contrast, occasionally flattened at the seams when stored under heavier objects, particularly Jirachi's pointed head and Arceus's ring, both of which could bend out of shape if compressed.

For anyone looking at the long-term value of the collection, these weight and structural differences have influenced how the plushies are graded and traded today. The plush market in Australia has responded to these characteristics in interesting ways, and you can read more about 20th Anniversary pricing trends for a deeper dive.

Practical Notes for Collectors Holding the Full Set