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Princess Tenko
and the Guardians of Magic
by Mattel |
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1990's |
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Now Playing:
"Sakura"
Composer unknown |
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Return to
"Who's That Doll?"
Home Page |
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"Princess Tenko" is the stage name for Mariko Itakura, a pop-singer turned stage magician. She was born in Japan in 1959, and apprenticed in 1976 to famous magician Hikita Tenko, from whom she took her name. Her specialty is illusions on a scale nearly as grand as David Copperfield. She debuted in North America in 1994 at Radio City Music Hall, and was an instant success. So much so, that Mattel collaborated with Saban Entertainment to produce a line of fashion dolls based on an animated cartoon by Saban entitled "Princess Tenko and the Guardians of Magic". A bit wordy, perhaps, but a big hit in 1996 when the show first aired. The flame burned brightly for only one season, however; after 13 episodes, the show was cancelled.
The premise of the show was that Princess Tenko was the keeper of one of the magic Starfire gems, coveted and sought-after by a pair of dark twins named Jacen and Jana. The twins chased through time and space after the Starfire gems, while Tenko and her assistant, Ali, and her animal-trainer Shonti, strove to keep the gems out of the hands of the evil-doers. At the end of each episode, the real Princess Tenko would come on and show the kids at home how to perform a real, simple magic trick to amaze their friends. |
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Only six dolls and two animal friends were ever produced for the line of Princess Tenko dolls. Three of the dolls are Tenko herself, in three different fashions: the Golden Lion costume, the Sapphire Sea Dolphin costume, and the Rose Eagle costume. In the cartoon, each costume lent certain specific magical powers to Tenko when she needed them.
In addition to Princess Tenko, there was her assistant Ali, her animal-trainer friend Shonti, and the Dark Twin Jana. No doll was made of Jana's brother Jacen.
The two animal friends who helped Princess Tenko to protect the Starfire gems were Pearl Rider, a horse, and Ninjara, a snow leopard. |
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Princess Tenko's body style is nearly identical to the bodies Mattel used for the Disney Princess dolls. The torso is a uniform construction with no twist-n-turn waist. Legs are jointed at the hips only, and do not bend. Shoes are formed for the feet and do not come off. The arms are jointed at the shoulder but do not pivot outward. The head sits on a ball-joint for poseability in any direction.
Hair is rooted, and facial features are painted on with no rooted eyelashes.
Now here's a neat little "magical" feature. See the front breastplate on Tenko's "Rose Eagle" fashion, at far right? It stays on without velcro, elastic or snaps. There's a magnet inside Tenko's body and a corresponding one on the inside of the plate that holds it in place.
Oooooo! Magic! |
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Princess Tenko in "Rose Eagle" fashion |
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Ali, at left, wears a similar-style fashion to Princess Tenko. She's missing her gold headband, but still sports the magnetic "magic" breastplate. Her face look similar to Mattel's Barbie, and while I can't confirm it, it may be that a Barbie headmold was used and rooted with platinum blonde hair for Ali.
Shonti, at right, also has the "magic" magnetic breastplate, but without the lower trappings. At first I thought something was missing off the loose doll I'd bought, but after I acquired Shonti in her box, I saw that she never had anything dangling off the bottom of the plate. Less temptation for Ninjara to bat at it, I suppose. Shonti is also missing her headpiece. |
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Ali, Princess Tenko's assistant |
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Shonti, the Animal Trainer |
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Some close-ups of the faces |
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Below are the six dolls and two animal friends in their original packaging.
All except the animal friends and the "Sapphire Sea Dolphin" are in my personal collection. |
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Rose Eagle Tenko |
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Golden Lion Tenko |
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Sapphire Sea Dolphin Tenko |
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Shonti |
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Dark Twin Jana |
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Ali |
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Ninjara, the Snow Leopard |
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Close-up of Jana
If the first episode of "Princess Tenko and the Guardians of Magic" is anything to go by, Mattel took some liberties with the doll. She has a lot more hair and is much prettier than her animated counterpart. |
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Pearl Rider |
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