Sonic the Hedgehog Keychains TitleCard
Keychains of Japan
SonicGear Main Page
Japan Sonic Keychains 1 * Japan Sonic Keychains 2 * Japan Keychains 4 *Japan Keychains 5 *
While page 2 had mostly old keychains, page 3 here has a mixture of both.
Keychains, key tags and charms / phone charms will all appear on this page. Keychains remain mostly easy to collect, even some of the older ones, if you can find them. Ebay is the best place to look for older ones, but do check the side-bar sometimes for some of the newer ones can appear in stores online.
Birthday 2009 Phone Charm Case These items were released for Sonic's birthday in 2009. They were featured on the Sonic Team site and were prizes in a competition in Japan only. The boxed gray item may be a cellphone case/pouch or possibly a booklet or wallet. Do you know what it is for sure? If so, write in!
The other is clearly a cell phone charm. Both items show Sonic using a phone and also promote the site http://puyosega.com which is for mobiles. The box has cute scribbly Sonic arts for a different look. Photo discovered by Sonnikou no uta
Mint on card Sonic figural keychain To find anything still 'moc' Mint on Card, is unusual. This figural Sonic keychain is likely just a PVC with a loop and chain at the top. He's fully 3D, and packed on a simple bubble card. The card itself is loaded with any stock art they could find, and also gives away an approximate time of release (Sonic CD era), and is copyright 1994. This isn't very big, but it's cool to see how it was originally packaged. Photographed & owned by John.
Sonic fighters mini plush keychain This mini keychain is also a tiny plush! Tiny plushes were released before, but this one is Sonic the Fighters specific, and meant to be used as a keychain. Look at Sonic's odd spikes! They're like 2 flaps on the sides of his head. It looks ok from the front though, with good face detail and classic proportions. Photographed & owned by John.
Figural Classic Sonic Phone Strap This is a phone strap from almost before phone straps were popular! It's a simple PVC Figure Sonic and a nylon weave blue strap. He's modeled after the classic stock art, and seems fairly on-model. This is likely from the early 1990s, as the style isn't quite as refined as they got it later for him. Still, it is interesting to see such an early phone charm. Photo discovered by Piplupfan77
Clear plastic Eggman Keychains Here are 2 Eggman keychains. The first is clear plastic, with raised lines for the borders and paint. It's made to resemble metal & enamel items. The pose is 'running away Eggman' from the early Sonic games. The second is more like a key tag, with clear acrylic & the art on a layer in the middle. It says "Dr. Eggman I like your style", with the Sega copyright beneath it. Both seem to be missing the actual chain/lead loop. (and as you can guess, if there's an Eggman one, then there's sure to be a Sonic & Tails one just like this, at least) The pose is fun & whimsical, and while not always practical (due to size) acrylic is sturdy & cool for keychains. Photo discovered by
Card Art Crosseyed Sonic Figural Keychain What's up with this keychain, is it real or fake?
The keychain is a rather bad looking cross-eyed Sonic 3D pvc figure. The face quality seems really bad for Japan, even in the classic/Sonic CD era, which is when the art indicates it's likely from. And what about all the scattered graphics? With no logos, it seems confusing. Write in if you can prove that this is real or fake.
Pointing Sonic Flat Keychain This flat plastic/rubber keychain has some perspective. Sonic is pointing at the viewer, so the hand & finger is made extra large so it looks like it's 'coming at you'. It's unusual because it's from 1993, but didn't use any of the standard stock poses, and then on top of that, introduced perspective. The effect is ok, but it sure makes the keychain stand out in a collection. Photo discovered by Calistine
Sonic Generations Event Lanyard Card This is a very special lanyard. It says "Sonic the Hedgehog" in it in Japanese, and holds a Sonic Generations card. The card appears to be in some special Sonic themed plastic holder. This was only available at the Sonic Generations event. to people who attended. So, it has to be really rare. It looks great, naturally, with attention to detail on the strap and card. Photo & owned by:
Karabiner Clip Style Fastest Keychain
A Carabiner / Karabiner is a climbing clip with spring-loaded front. This keychain is modeled after that style of clip. It has 3 rings at the bottom to help keep your keys sorted, while the springloaded top part makes it easy to clip to belt loops or other items. It has the "Sonic Worlds Fastest Hedgehog" theme that was introduced shortly after Generations. Discovered by Taaron Laying Sonic Keychain Metal Enamel This metal & enamel keychain features an unusual pose. It's laying Sonic tapping his fingers on the ground. He'd take up this pose in Sonic CD if left idle
for long enough. There is a Japan stock art of the pose, but it's not used frequently. The keychain is cut into the shape of the pose, with goldtone metal. Notice that the lead/chain part is missing here.
SegaPrize All Character Keychains
Here is a full set of Segaprize keychains. These are rather large (for a keychain) and made of die pressed/cut flexible rubber. It's the same stuff the older USA keychains were made of, which holds detail quite well, and is layered. You can get Knuckles, Tails, Sonic, Silver, Shadow or Amy Rose. They were produced for the 20th Anniversary (as seen with the logo on everyone's card) You can sort of see their lead-loop at the top of the card. These feature new poses that weren't issued on previous rubber keychains. A nice set! Sometimes find-able on ebay. Were these a UFO prize?
Knuckles Plastic Face Keychains You've seen these before in a group shot, but here's a better look. They're really 'plastic' looking Knuckles faces, in red, green & yellow w/raised details. They're more of a key organizer than a regular keyring. Using 1 head for each different item, you can identify it quickly. You'll find these with Sonic, Tails, & Amy heads as well. discovered by MrCalistine Fleeing Eggman Metal Keychains Here goes more "running away Eggman" You've seen both of these before in grou shots as well. The left is an oval domed acryllic
over raised-detail metal design, & the right is a brushed metal relief-like shape. The brushed metal shows the detail well and looks pretty classy.
Mini Figure Boxed Sonic Eggman Keychains
Here are 2 little mini-figure type keychains. Each is a fully 3D 'chibi styled' figure. Are they plastic, or a foam? You can get either little Eggman or little Sonic, both of whom have no legs at all. They are packaged in clear plastic boxes, with Sonic image on the back (inset, bottom left) These are thought to be a type of crane game prize. Photos discovered by MrCalistine
Tails & Shadow Disk Rubber Keychains Real OR Fake?
Write in if you've got proof! These disk keychains were uncovered on ebay, clearly not in their original packaging. The seller wouldn't show the back of it either (where the copyright & etc would be) They're that layered rubber / plastic that holds detail very well and is sturdy. Certainly, Shadow & Tails look quite on-model here (They're done off of official art) without coloring or detail errors typical to fakes. If these ARE real, then you know there's at least 1 more (Sonic) to uncover. Photo discovered by Shadowfoxx757
Figural Knuckles Keychain Classic Here's an actual classic keychain of Knuckles. He's likely PVC or some other mostly-hard plastic. This was made in 1994 (Stamped on the back of his head) It's fully 3D, & Knuckles is having a facial expression with one fist somewhat raised. (so, its not his default pose) The likeness is pretty good. Notice the original paper tag, it was made by Sony Entertainment FOR Sega, at that time. Also look at the ring, it's sort of "G" shaped, which is unusual, but probably the same for all keychains in the series. (likely at least Sonic was also made) This is in the SonicGear collection. Suggested by:
Rubik's Cube Sonic Battle Keychain
Here's an interesting give-away type keychain. It's a Rubik's Cube (but small) It likely works just like a normal size one, as you turn the layers of blocks to try to match the sides. It's likely that the other sides of the cube have different Sonic Battle related icons. What do the other sides look like? This side has the Japanese logo & Rubik's logo. Judging by the size of the ring, this isn't very big at all. This was a booth prize type freebie at Tokyo Game Show in 2003. It is uncommon. (you can't read what's under the Rubik logo as the original photo was blurred) Photo discovered by: T263 TAU
Sonic Pixel Style Phone charm & keychain
These keychains have a fun idea: pixel styling. Each one has tiny lines dividing the art up into squares so they really look like old-style sprites from the games. Of course, it's classic style Sonic, but why they chose "Sonic dies" as one of their sprites is unclear. (Isn't that something you'd want if you DIDNT like Sonic?) Also, they felt the need to draw in the keychain loop there for some reason. Each design will be sold as a keychain OR a phone charm with that cord loop. Both will be 630 yen, & available at Tokyo Game Show 2013. Produced by Cospa. Photo discovered by Taaron.
More keychains are on Sonic Keychains 4