This is a list of characters from
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
, a Japanese company specialized in creating
kawaii
''Kawaii'' is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.Kerr, Hui-Ying (23 November 2016)"What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the ‘cult of c ...
(cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters.
Their most successful and best known character,
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
, was created in 1974.
Most Sanrio characters are
anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
animals, a few are humans or anthropomorphized objects.
Sanrio began creating characters to increase sales of its merchandise. The characters subsequently appeared in media such as books, animation and video games. Beginning with ''
Jewelpet
is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys, produced by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi and illustrated by the character designer of Cinnamoroll, Miyu ...
'' in 2008, Sanrio started collaborating with
Sega Toys
is a Japanese toy company and animation studios, owned by Sega Sammy Holdings. The company was founded when Yonezawa Toys, Japan's largest post-war toy manufacturer, was absorbed into Sega in 1991 as Sega-Yonezawa.
Sega Toys have created toys fo ...
in creating characters intended to become media franchises. Notable designers of Sanrio characters include
Yuko Shimizu
is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.
She was born in Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she joined Sanrio. She designed the first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, ...
, original designer of Hello Kitty,
Yuko Yamaguchi, lead designer for most of Hello Kitty's history and
Miyuki Okumura, original designer of
Cinnamoroll
is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamoroll, is a white puppy with chubby cheeks and long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a tail that resembles a cinnamon ro ...
.
Sanrio hosts two theme parks in Japan featuring their characters,
Sanrio Puroland
, also known as ''Hello Kitty Land'', is an indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan. Opened on December 7, 1990, it hosts attractions, live shows, shopping outlets, and restaurants dedicated to Sanrio characters such as Hello K ...
in
Tama, Tokyo
is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,285 in 73,167 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was .
Geography
Tama is located in the footh ...
, and Harmonyland in
Hiji
is a town located in Hayami District, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 28,524 and the density of 390 persons per km2. The total area is 73.32 km2.
Geography
Hiji is located within the ea ...
,
Ōita,
Kyūshū. Since 1986 Sanrio has held the annual Sanrio Character Ranking poll where fans can vote on their favorite characters. It began in the ''Strawberry Newspaper'' (
:ja:いちご新聞) published by Sanrio in Japan, but now voting also takes place online.
Besides their own original characters listed here, Sanrio also owns the rights to the ''
Mr. Men
''Mr. Men'' is a British series of children's books by English author Roger Hargreaves which began publication in August 1971. From 1981, an accompanying series of Little Miss books by the same author (but with female characters) was published. ...
'' characters and Japanese licensing rights to the ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...
'' characters. The characters listed here are shown with the year in which they first appeared.
1970s
Coro Chan (1973)
is the first original Sanrio character. Introduced in 1973, he is portrayed as a gentle and laid-back bear.
Per official profiles, he lives in
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...
in England and his birthday is November 8.
His name comes from the
croquettes on his cheeks, which he might eat when he gets hungry.
Designed by
Yuko Shimizu
is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.
She was born in Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she joined Sanrio. She designed the first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, ...
who is also the original designer of
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
. According to Sanrio's backstory, Coro Chan is a cousin of Hello Kitty's bear friend Thomas.
Hello Kitty (1974)
![Yuko Shimizu 20100702 Japan Expo 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Yuko_Shimizu_20100702_Japan_Expo_2.jpg)
is the best-known of Sanrio's characters. She is depicted as a white cat with a red bow and no visible mouth.
The original design for Hello Kitty was created by
Yuko Shimizu
is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.
She was born in Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she joined Sanrio. She designed the first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, ...
in 1974.
However, the lead designer in charge of creating new design themes for most of Hello Kitty's history, since 1980, has been
Yuko Yamaguchi.
The first Hello Kitty item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in 1975.
Official character profiles list her full name as , born in the suburbs of
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, on November 1. Her height is described as five apples and her weight as three apples. She is depicted as a bright and kind-hearted girl who is good at baking cookies and likes to play the piano.
Hello Kitty is portrayed with a large family including her twin sister Mimmy, who wears a yellow bow, papa George and mama Mary.
Originally Hello Kitty was only marketed towards
pre-teenage girls, but beginning in the 1990s, the brand found commercial success among teenage and adult consumers as well.
The brand went into decline in Japan after the 1990s, but continued to grow in the international market.
By 2010 the character was worth a year and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called her a "global marketing phenomenon".
By 2014, when Hello Kitty was 40 years old, she was worth about a year.
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
has appointed Hello Kitty children's ambassador and the Japanese government appointed her ambassador of tourism.
The Hello Kitty media franchise has grown to include several
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
,
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
and other
media productions. A variety of products have featured the character over the years and as of 2008 there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products.
Aside from the core Hello Kitty characters, several spinoff characters have been created: Hello Kitty's boyfriend
Dear Daniel in 1999,
Charmmy Kitty, Hello Kitty's pet cat, and Sugar, her pet hamster, both in 2004, and her superhero alter-ego
Ichigoman
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
in 2011.
Little Twin Stars (1975)
also known as in Japan are a pair of angel-like characters. The younger brother with blue hair is , and the older sister with pink hair is . Originally designed by Yōko Matsumoto (松本庸子) who also designed
My Melody. They were initially created for a 1975 Christmas promotion and their birthday is December 24,
Christmas Eve.
Drawing inspiration from Christmas and winter themes, early sketches had the characters wearing warm coats and winter scarves, before Matsumoto settled on stars as the motif.
Because they came from the sky, she gave them white angel style clothes.
In their first publication the characters were unnamed, and their names originate from a survey in the ''Strawberry Newspaper'' (
:ja:いちご新聞) where readers could send in their suggestions.
Early Little Twin Stars branded products, like those for other similar Sanrio characters of the era, were items marketed to young girls, like
stationery
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...
and accessories.
In the late 70s Sanrio also began publishing
picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
s with Kiki and Lala, illustrated by Matsumoto and others.
Since the inception of the Little Twin Stars new designs have continually been created, following trends of the times.
In the original 70s designs Kiki's hair was brown and Lala's yellow. In the 80s the designs became more pastel colored, and this is also when their hair colors settled into being predominantly blue and pink. In the 90s their faces were modernized, and designs were rendered in 3D
CGI, and in the 00s there was a retro return back to the styles of the 70s and 80s.
In 2015,
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated ca ...
introduced a special livery
Boeing 777-300ER, "Shining Stars", dedicated to the characters. The plane is mainly used on routes from
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
.
Little Twin Stars have previously been included in video games with other Sanrio characters, but in 2018 the first
mobile game app featuring them exclusively was released for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
and
Android. Titled ''Kiki & Lala's Twinkle Puzzle'' (''キキ&ララのトゥインクルパズル'') it is a
tile matching puzzle game and was developed by
Imagineer. It incorporates illustrations from a 70s picture book with the origin story of the characters.
My Melody (1975)
is white
rabbit character. She is depicted as always wearing a red or pink hood that covers her ears. According to official character profiles her birthday is January 18 and she lives in the forest of Mariland with friends like My Sweet Piano (a sheep), and Flat (a mouse). When My Melody first debuted, she was portrayed as Little Red Riding Hood.
My Melody can be found on children's toys and merchandise (from jewelry to household goods). My Melody was first released in 1975 and the first related merchandise was released at the end of that year. At first she was mostly marketed toward young girls, but like Hello Kitty her popularity has increased within women and men of all ages, especially in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
.
In the late 1980s, My Melody's popularity waned, and the only goods produced were stationery and candy. According to a reader survey published in ''Strawberry News'' (a magazine published by Sanrio) in 1996, My Melody came out amongst some of Sanrio's most popular characters and as a result, due to popular demand, standard merchandise started re-appearing beginning in February 1997 featuring the original red hood. Goods with the pink hood were re-released in 1999 and as of 2000 there were goods released with multiple color hoods.
On April 3, 2005, an anime series based on My Melody and her friends and produced by
Studio Comet started to air on
TV Osaka
is a television station affiliated with the TX Network in Osaka, Japan. The mascot character is "Takoru-kun" (たこるくん).
History
Television Osaka, Inc. was founded in 1981 as part of the reorganization of Tokyo Channel 12 Ltd (now TV T ...
and
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
television stations, called
Onegai My Melody
is a Japanese anime series produced by Studio Comet, based on the Sanrio character My Melody. The anime is directed by Makoto Moriwaki ('' High School! Kimengumi The Movie'') and produced by Hideyuki Kachi and Kazuya Watanabe. The seri ...
(おねがいマイメロディ), which aired from 2005 to 2008. This
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
also spawned a video game for the
Nintendo DS titled ''Onegai My Melody: Yume no Kuni no Daibouken'' (おねがいマイメロディ~夢の国の大冒険~). The game relies heavily on a feature of the Nintendo DS console which requires the player to blow air into the microphone of the unit. The player guides My Melody through timed levels by jumping and using her umbrella to float around and avoid enemies. The game also features unlockable content as well, such as music, images, and mini-games.
My Melody also appears in the Sanrio Digital and Dream Cortex series, ''
The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends.'' She, however, is mouthless there, and her rival Kuromi doesn't make an appearance.
In 2007, a second game was released for the
Nintendo DS titled ''My Melody Angel Book ~Denshitechou & Enjoy Game~'' (マイメロディエンジェルブック~電子手帳&エンジョイゲーム~). The game's primary function is as a day planner designed for young girls to keep track of appointments, class schedules, and mini diary entries.
On March 1, 2008, Mattel released a Barbie doll named "My Melody". The My Melody Barbie doll featured a Barbie doll inspired by the My Melody character, with the character's face included in different parts of the doll's fashion and accessories. In an homage to the character's rabbit ears, the doll's hair is styled in pigtails.
On March 26, 2008, a Japanese music compilation album titled "I Love 30 - My Melody" from
Tearbridge Records was released with My Melody wearing the original red hood drawn in various artwork styles by Groovisions.
Rei Sakuma
is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and narrator from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known in Japan for her voice work in the long running children's series ''Soreike! Anpanman''; her most famous role in the English-speaking world, however, i ...
has been the regular voice of My Melody in Japan since 1989.
My Melody has also been turned into a
Pullip
Pullip ( ko, 푸리프) is a fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has a jointed plastic body (1:6 scale) and a relatively oversized head (1:3 scale), with eyes that can move from side to side and eyelids that can ...
doll with two versions; originally released in 2008 and the latest one in 2016.
In 2014, Sanrio celebrated the character's 40th Anniversary by creating a special line of merchandise where she is given a different hood where her ears are dropped down and wears either a bonnet or a flower pin and sometimes depicted with eyelashes. Sanrio Puroland honored the 40th anniversary of the character by creating indoor ride called "My Melody Drive" where visitors are visiting Mariland and encounter My Melody and her friends including Kuromi who attempts to ruin her day.
My Melody is also seen in collaboration goods with other non-Sanrio series, such as one with
Sailor Moon in 2017.
In 2019, My Melody became a radio DJ on
TOKYO FM with a show called "My Melo Therapy" (マイメロセラピー) where she answers questions from listeners and offers advice. A book with advice from the show was released in 2022.
In the 2020 web series ''Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures'', My Melody is one of the main characters where she's voiced by Michelle Marie.
In 2010 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said that My Melody was "moderately successful" in terms popularity, but showing no signs of reaching the global popularity of Hello Kitty.
My Melody was number one in the Sanrio Character Rankings in 2010 and 2011. In 2019 she was Sanrio's second most profitable character, after
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
.
Spinoff characters from My Melody include
My Sweet Piano, one of her closest companions,
Kuromi
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
, her rival, and
Little Forest Fellow, a relative.
The Strawberry King (1975)
is a humanoid character with a large red strawberry for a head. He was created as an alter-ego for Sanrio founder
Shintaro Tsuji, and has the same birthday as him, December 7. Official character bios describe him as "the king of the beautiful and peaceful Strawberry Kingdom" who "spends his days bringing messages of peace and friendship to all". The Strawberry King rarely appears on merchandise. But every month a message from the Strawberry King (similar to an
editorial) has been published in Sanrio's . A book with a collection of some of these messages was published in 2007.
Button Nose (1978)
![Sanrio Strawberry House 20111002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Sanrio_Strawberry_House_20111002.jpg)
is a human character.
She is the protagonist of ''
Button Nose'', the first anime television series produced by Sanrio.
Button Nose is portrayed as a sweet and lively girl who makes strawberry jam and likes cookies.
Sanrio's profiles say her birthday is January 5 and that her real name is Trish, but she is called Button Nose because her nose is small and round.
The original design for Button Nose was created by and the character was introduced in 1978.
In 1983 Sanrio built the Strawberry House (
:ja:いちごのお家) store in Tokyo.
[ Official Sanrio blog as verified by ] The store is shaped like a strawberry and was based on the fictional home of Button Nose. It was originally planned to be in place for a limited time, but due to positive customer response the store remained in operation until 2011.
The anime series ''
Button Nose'', which began in 1985, was the first television anime series produced by Sanrio.
The series places Button Nose in a fairy tale and science fiction setting, where she turns out to be descended from royalty.
Peter Davis (1978)
Peter Davis (''ピーターデイビス, Pītā Deibisu'') is a dapper white dog character who is drawn wearing a bow-tie. Peter Davis made his debut in 1978.
Tuxedo Sam (1979)
is a plump blue penguin character who is drawn wearing a bow-tie and a sailor hat. According to official character profiles he was born on May 12 in Antarctica. In 2010 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' described this character as "moderately successful" in terms of popularity but showing no signs of reaching the global popularity of Hello Kitty.
1980s
My Sweet Piano (1980)
is a spinoff character from
My Melody. She is depicted as a pink female sheep who is gentle and pampered and loves to talk and hang out with My Melody. She was introduced in 1980 as a friend of My Melody. She was originally known as "Hitsuji-san", which roughly translates to "Miss Sheep".
Sanrio asked readers of its monthly ''Strawberry Newspaper'' (
:ja:いちご新聞) to suggest a name for her, and the selection of the name "Piano" was announced in 2005.
The first solo merchandise with the character under the full name "My Sweet Piano" was released in 2008.
As of 2019 Piano was a meetable character at
Sanrio Puroland
, also known as ''Hello Kitty Land'', is an indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan. Opened on December 7, 1990, it hosts attractions, live shows, shopping outlets, and restaurants dedicated to Sanrio characters such as Hello K ...
.
Piano started out as a supporting character in the 2005 anime series ''
Onegai My Melody
is a Japanese anime series produced by Studio Comet, based on the Sanrio character My Melody. The anime is directed by Makoto Moriwaki ('' High School! Kimengumi The Movie'') and produced by Hideyuki Kachi and Kazuya Watanabe. The seri ...
'' where she only spoke by baaing and bleating. She is voiced by
Junko Takeuchi
is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most wel ...
in the series. Piano also appears in the 2020 web series ''Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures'' where she's a background character debuting in Season 2.
Minna no Tabo (1984)
is a human character. According to official character profiles his birthday is on May 5 (
Children's Day
Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country.
In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...
) and he is a happy and energetic boy who likes sports. He is depicted surrounded by family and many animal friends. He was originally designed in 1984 by for use on
greeting card
A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays ...
s.
A series of books featuring the character, called , has according to Sanrio sold over 500 000 copies in Japan.
The first book in the series, ''Minna No Tabo's Sai Kon Tan'' (今も昔も大切な100のことば みんなのたあ坊の菜根譚) by Sanrio founder
Shintaro Tsuji is based on the 16th century Chinese compilation of aphorisms ''
Saikontan'' by
Hong Zicheng Hong Zicheng (, ) was a Chinese philosopher who lived during the end of the Ming dynasty.
Zicheng (自誠) was Hong's ''zi'' (字, 'courtesy name'); his given name was Hong Yingming (Hung Ying-ming, 洪應明), and his ''hao'' (號, 'pseudonym') wa ...
.
Minna no Tabo placed first in the Sanrio Character Rankings in 1988 and 1989.
Zashikibuta (1984)
is a pink pig character who is sometimes drawn wearing a green scarf. According to official character profiles his birthday is February 2 and he lives in France with a mouse friend called Tabby. He is sometimes depicted with a sketchy look. Zashikibuta was number one in the first ever Sanrio Character Rankings in 1986.
Hangyodon (1985)
is a fish character who was born on March 14 in China. He is depicted as a character who likes joking around but also feels lonely, and whose plans of heroism often go awry. Designed by who also designed
Bad Badtz-Maru.
Hangyodon is one of the members of
Hapidanbui, a group Sanrio created in 2020 to promote older characters.
In 2022 Hangyodon entered the top 10 of the Sanrio character rankings for the first time in 34 years, placing at number 8.
WinkiPinki (1986)
is a brown kitten. According to Sanrio.com WinkiPinki is "A fashionable romanticist, Winkipinki loves to play violin and collect gorgeous trinkets."
Kappa Rumba (1988)
is a green mythical Japanese creature. Per official profiles, Kappa Rumba's real name is Rupapa and he lives in the fictional Run Run Land. He is portrayed as an energetic character who likes water sports, relaxing on the beach and fresh fruit. He is often depicted holding a watermelon.
Based on the Japanese mythological
Kappa.
Keroppi (1988)
also known as is a frog character with large eyes and a V-shaped mouth. "Kero" means "frog's croak" and "Hasunoue" means "on a lily pad". Keroppi is portrayed with a large family and many friends who are frogs. He is also friends with Denden, a snail, and Teruteru, a
teru teru bōzu
A is a small traditional handmade that originated from the Edo period in Japan, made from white paper or cloth, Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring good ...
. Originally created as part of a promotion for the
rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* '' ...
, the first Keroppi items were released in 1988. Designs in Japan commonly include puns on the Japanese word for frog, which has many
homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definiti ...
s. According to British newspaper ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', the popularity of Keroppi was close to that of Hello Kitty in the early 1990s, "particularly in the UK", but then went down.
Keroppi was number one in the Sanrio Character Rankings in 1990.
Keroppi has appeared in video games, including ''
Kero Kero Keroppi no Bouken Nikki'', ''
Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken'', and ''Sanrio World Smash Ball!''. He has also appeared in several animated series. In Japanese, Keroppi was voiced by Yoshiko Matsuo. In English, he was voiced by
Jill Frappier
Jill Frappier (born October 7, 1944) is a British-Canadian voice actress.
Frappier was born in Lord Louis Mountbatten's stately home, Broadlands, in Romsey, England. She moved to Canada in 1967 to work as a British hostess at the British pavi ...
in ''Keroppi and Friends'',
Kira Vincent-Davis
Kira Vincent-Davis is an American voice actress best known for her work in English-language versions of Japanese anime. She voices Lucy/Nyu in '' Elfen Lied'', Anchovy in '' Girls und Panzer'', Izuna Hatsuse in '' No Game No Life'', Ayumu Kasuga ...
in ''Hello Kitty's Animation Theater,'' Sarah Hauser in ''The Adventures of Hello Kitty and Friends'', and Georgie Kidder in ''Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures''.
Pochacco (1989)
is drawn as a white dog with black floppy ears, but no visible mouth.
Pochacco's name means ''pocha pocha'' (chubby). Per official character profiles he was born in Fuwafuwa Town on February 29 in a
leap year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or ...
.
He is often portrayed dressed in athletic attire, with a sporty and playful personality. He was designed by Minoru Onoue (おのうえ稔) who also designed several other Sanrio characters like The Vaudeville Duo and
Picke Bicke.
[ Onoue's official site as verified by his profile at ] When Pochacco was first released he was not drawn wearing clothes and his behavior was more dog-like. His popularity increased after the design was changed to show him wearing shirts. Pochacco was number one in the Sanrio Character Rankings from 1991 to 1995.
1990s
Pekkle (1990)
is a duck. He is a small white duck with a blue T-shirt with the letter P on it. Pekkle's birthday is July 27 and he was first released in 1989. Pekkle appeared in four
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s in the early 1990s.
Spottie Dottie (1990)
is a
Dalmatian dog character. Official profiles say she was born March 21, lives in New York City, likes fashion and is friends with a cat named Sassy. In 2010 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' described Spottie Dottie and the character
Pandapple as "flops" for the Sanrio corporation in terms of popularity.
Monkichi (1991)
is a monkey character drawn with a curly tail and prominent round eyes. According to official character profiles his birthday is January 13 and his full name is Oyama No Monkichi, which translates to "Monkichi of the Mountains". He is portrayed as a happy character who likes jokes and poems and wants to become a comedian or a poet.
An animated
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
called was released in 2001.
Patapatapeppy (1992)
is a
horned owl
The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for the Eurasian eagle-owl.
This genus contains 19 species that ar ...
character drawn with a sketchy look.
He was designed by Matsubayashi Atsushi (松林あつし) who subsequently left Sanrio and started his own studio. Per official character profiles his birthday is August 26 and he was born in the Northern woods. He is often depicted carrying a cherry in his mouth as it is his favourite food.
Bad Badtz-Maru (1993)
![UNI Air ATR 72-600 B-17001 (30947881175)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/UNI_Air_ATR_72-600_B-17001_%2830947881175%29.jpg)
is a male
penguin character drawn with spiky hair.
Designed by who also designed
Hangyodon.
In Japanese, "badtz" (''batsu'') is a term for "X", the cross signifying a wrong answer. "Maru" means circle or "O", and signifies a right answer. Thus, his name figuratively means "wrong-right", and is frequently represented by "XO". Badtz-Maru is depicted with many different facial expressions and poses, but a common expression is of
pulling one lower eyelid down and sticking out his tongue, a gesture equivalent to
blowing a raspberry
Blowing a raspberry, strawberry, razzing or making a Bronx cheer, is to make a noise similar to flatulence that may signify derision, real or feigned. It is also used in childhood phonemic play. It is made by placing the tongue between the lips, ...
.
Per official profiles Badtz-Maru's birthday is April 1 (
April Fool's Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which ma ...
).
He is portrayed as surrounded by friends and family, such as Hana-Maru, a friendly white seal, Pandaba, a female
panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...
who wears a red
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...
skirt and likes Badtz-Maru, and Pochi, a baby
alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
, Badtz-Maru treats like a pet dog.
Badtz-Maru has gone through many product lines since his release at
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
in 1993. He has been portrayed as an
astronaut,
motorcyclist
Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...
,
DJ, camouflage monster, basketball player, boxer, and many others. His products range from typical
stationery
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...
supplies (e.g. pens, notebooks, erasers, pencil cases, etc.) to more novelty items (e.g. CD players, guitars, license plate frames, etc.)
Badtz-Maru was number one in the Sanrio Character Rankings in 1996. He was the official
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
of basketball, which was held in Japan.
Uni Air and
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated ca ...
began flying with airplanes painted with Badtz-Maru motifs in 2016 and 2017.
Pippo (1993)
is drawn as a pig with small black eyes and a pink snout, but no visible mouth. He is usually wearing a green shirt with the letter P on the front. Pippo was born on December 16.
Picke Bicke (1994)
is a mouse character. According to official character profiles he was born January 1 in the
year of the rat, and can fly by flapping his big ears. He was designed by Minoru Onoue (おのうえ稔) who also designed
Pochacco.
Chococat (1996)
is drawn as a
black cat with huge black eyes, four whiskers, and like his counterpart
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
, no mouth. His name comes from his
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
-colored nose. According to official character profiles, Chococat's birthday is May 10 and his whiskers are able to pick up information like antennae, so he is often the first to know about things.
Chococat was originally pictured with a blue collar, but he has since been depicted wearing different colored collars, scarves and even a Hawaiian
lei. Sanrio has also produced Chococat products that portray him in different colors like brown and pink.
Chococat is one of the characters in the 2020 web series ''Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures'', voiced by
Michelle Marie
Michelle may refer to:
People
*Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael
* Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle"
* Michelle (German singer)
* Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish w ...
.
Chococat was the third most successful Sanrio character in 2005, after
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
and
Cinnamoroll
is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamoroll, is a white puppy with chubby cheeks and long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a tail that resembles a cinnamon ro ...
.
Pompompurin (1996)
is a
golden retriever
The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
character first introduced in 1996. According to official character profiles Purin was born on April 16 and his friends include a
hamster
Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The ...
called Muffin, a
mouse named Scone, a
squirrel named Bagel and a
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
named Custard.
Sanrio produced two
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s with Pompompurin in 2001, and . Two Pompompurin video games were released for the
Nintendo 3DS in 2016 and 2017.
A Pompompurin Café was opened in
Harajuku
is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refere ...
in Tokyo in 2014. Subsequently several Pompompurin Cafés were opened in other locations. Pompompurin was voted most popular in the Sanrio Character Rankings in 1997, 2015
and 2016.
Corocorokuririn (1998)
is a
golden hamster
The golden hamster or Syrian hamster (''Mesocricetus auratus'') is a rodent belonging to the hamster subfamily, Cricetinae. Their natural geographical range is in an arid region of northern Syria and southern Turkey. Their numbers have been de ...
character who is drawn wearing a flower as a hat.
He is portrayed as having seven hamster children with a female hamster named Sakura.
In addition to his family, Kuririn is depicted with many friends. In total, there are 86 different hamster characters.
The character was created at a time when hamsters were popular as pets in Japan.
The original designs were created by and the character was introduced in 1998.
Kuririn, Sakura, and their children were modelled on real life hamsters that were kept at the office of Sanrio.
Kuririn's fictional birthday, February 4, was based on the date the hamster was brought to the office.
New owners for the real life hamster offspring were solicited from among readers of Sanrio's ''Strawberry Newspaper'' (
:ja:いちご新聞) who also coined some of the names used for the fictional hamster children.
A manga called was published in the ''Strawberry Newspaper'' and online.
The manga blends reality and fiction by including photographs of the real hamsters with drawings of the fictional characters.
Pink no Corisu (1998)
is pink and white squirrel character who is drawn with a flower on her head. According to official profiles her birthday is July 7.
Dear Daniel (1999)
, full name is a cat character who is depicted as
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
's boyfriend. His character profile describes him as born in London on May 3. He was a childhood friend of Hello Kitty's, but traveled with his parents and was away from her for a long time. He is portrayed as fashionable and sensitive, good at dancing and playing the piano, with an interest in photography, and dreams of being famous.
Designed in 1999 by
Yuko Yamaguchi who has been the lead designer of Hello Kitty since 1980.
Yamaguchi was inspired to create a boyfriend for Hello Kitty in the late 1990s when the Japanese singer
Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...
talked publicly about having a boyfriend, something that was considered controversial at the time. The character's name was inspired by the British film ''
Melody'' from 1971, where the romantic lead is called Daniel.
Landry (1999)
is a boy raccoon character whose birthday, according to official character profiles, is December 8.
2000s
Cinnamoroll (2001)
was created in 2001, with character designs from
Miyuki Okumura.
The main character, who is known by the names Cinnamoroll and , is depicted as a white dog with a curly tail that resembles a
cinnamon roll
A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria and Germany) and North America. In Sweden ...
, and long ears he can fly with. Per official profiles his birthday is March 6. Other characters in the series include , with a mouth that looks like a cup of
cappuccino
A cappuccino (; ; Italian plural: ''cappuccini'') is an espresso-based coffee drink that originated in Austria and was later popularized in Italy and is prepared with steamed milk foam ( microfoam).
Variations of the drink involve the use of ...
, with ears that are fluffy like a
chiffon cake
A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings. Being made with vegetable oil, instead of a traditional solid fat such as butter or shortening, it is easier to beat air into the bat ...
, with a
Mozart hairstyle, with chocolate-brown fur, and , a white baby puppy.
An
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
film featuring Cinnamoroll called ''Cinnamon the Movie'' was released in 2007, and a
manga series by
Yumi Tsukirino
Yumi Tsukirino (born January 5, 1950) is a Japanese manga artist born in Saitama Prefecture. Representative works are ''Magical Pokémon Journey'' and '' Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll''. Nicknamed YOji, she previously used the pen name (which is p ...
called was published between 2004 and 2008. Several video games featuring Cinnamoroll were released for
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
and
Nintendo DS. In addition to this Cinnamon has appeared as a supporting character in several other animated series and video games from Sanrio.
Cinnamoroll expanded into two side series: in 2005 and in 2007.
Cinnamoroll was the second most successful Sanrio character in 2005, after
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
.
Cinnamoroll was voted number 1 in the Sanrio Character Rankings 2017-2018, and again in 2020-2022.
Usahana (2001)
(also stylized as ''U*SA*HA*NA'') is a rabbit character drawn with different colored ears, one pink and one blue, and a flower on her head. According to official character profiles her birthday is August 7 and her full name is Hanachan.
In the
Toei Animation
() is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
anime from 2006, Usahana dreams of becoming a ballerina.
Deery Lou (2002)
is a brown
fawn
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...
character. According to official character profiles his birthday is January 8, and he lives in the Rainbow Forest with his friends Little Bluebird, Red Mushroom, and Little Mushroom who is shy and always faces backwards.
Pandapple (2002)
is a panda character who is drawn wearing a red apple hat and a shirt. Pandapple is often depicted accompanied by a caterpillar. Per official profiles his birthday is June 2. In 2010 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' described Pandapple and the character
Spottie Dottie as "flops" for the Sanrio corporation in terms of popularity.
Chibimaru (2003)
is a brown puppy character. He is a shiba inu.
Dokidoki Yummychums (2003)
is a group of
fast food based characters. They include Dokidoki Burger, Dokidoki Fries and Dokidoki Shake. Dokidoki Burger makes an appearance in the web series ''Supercute Adventures'' as the owner of the fast food restaurant Dokidoki Yummychums.
Pannapitta (2003)
is a panda cub character. Official profiles say his name is Pantan, his birthday is October 7 and that he is only 3 months old.
Charmmy Kitty (2004)
is a white
Persian cat
The Persian cat (), also known as the Persian longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterized by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats were imported into Italy from Persia around 1620. Widely recog ...
character that is depicted as
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
's pet. She resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like behavior and features. According to Sanrio's profile, Charmmy Kitty was a gift from Hello Kitty's papa, and since her real birthday is unknown, they celebrate the day Hello Kitty received her, 31 October.
She is described as docile, obedient and fond of shiny things. Her necklace holds the key to Hello Kitty's jewelry box. Charmmy Kitty and Hello Kitty's pet hamster Sugar were created in 2004 when the popularity of pets went up in Japan. The characters were aimed at the teenage market.
Designed by
Yuko Yamaguchi who has been the lead designer of Hello Kitty since 1980.
Her name comes from the word "charm".
Sugarbunnies (2004)
The are twin rabbit characters and who are depicted making sweets and pastries. According to official character profiles they were both born on May 26 and live in the fictional magical world of Bunniesfield. They were designed by Kazumi Fukasawa (深沢和美).
In 2007, Sanrio created an anime series based on the franchise which aired on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
and
Kids Station Kids Station ( Japanese: キッズステーション, ''Kizzu Sutēshon'') is a Japanese children's television channel showing anime and other cartoon material. Kids Station also airs some anime aimed at teens and adults during the night, such as '' ...
on April 3, 2007 and ended later that year with 27 episodes. After the anime's success, the series gained two sequels in 2008 (''Sugarbunnies: Chocolat!'') and in 2009 (''Sugarbunnies: Fleur''), each having 27 episodes.
After the success of the franchise, Sanrio created more rabbit twins who each specialize in their own jobs, see
Sugarbunnies characters.
Cinnamoangels (2005)
The , also known as Cinnamon Angels in English, are a spinoff from the main
Cinnamoroll
is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamoroll, is a white puppy with chubby cheeks and long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a tail that resembles a cinnamon ro ...
series. They are a trio of girl puppy characters consisting of Mocha (born February 20), Chiffon (born January 14) and Azuki (born September 25). According to their fictional story, Mocha founded the group because she wants to become a TV idol.
Cinnamoangels have their own manga series called which was published as part of the ''
'' volumes. Sanrio has also released several
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
s featuring the trio.
Kuromi (2005)
first appeared as the rival of
My Melody in the anime ''
Onegai My Melody
is a Japanese anime series produced by Studio Comet, based on the Sanrio character My Melody. The anime is directed by Makoto Moriwaki ('' High School! Kimengumi The Movie'') and produced by Hideyuki Kachi and Kazuya Watanabe. The seri ...
''. She is depicted as a white rabbit wearing a black
jester's hat with a pink
skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...
on the front and a black "devil" tail in the place of a normal rabbit's tail. Kuromi has also been portrayed as the leader of a biker gang known as "Kuromi's 5" whose members wear black and ride their bikes around in a menacing fashion.
Goods featuring Kuromi first appeared in Japan in 2005. She has three
image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, game, '' dorama'', manga, or commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or actor of a characte ...
s all sung by her
voice actress
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
,
Junko Takeuchi
is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most wel ...
. In the 2020 web series ''Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures'', Kuromi is one of the main characters where she's voiced by
Jenny Yokobori.
In 2021 Sanrio began a marketing campaign for Kuromi in
Shibuya
Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...
and on social media using the slogan "KUROMIfy the World". In 2022 Kuromi beat her rival My Melody in the Sanrio Character Rankings for the first time, placing at number three, while My Melody placed at number five.
Tenorikuma (2005)
(
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
for "bears that fit in your palm") are a group of
red panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...
characters who are portrayed running a coffee shop called Tenorikuma. The main manager character is Latte, who is depicted with a heart on his ear. Maple is the only female character and Latte's love interest. There are several other red panda characters who all wear different colored scarves. Other characters include Mister Steam who is a cloud of steam and Muddler-san who is a spoon.
A picture book called ''Tenorikuma Chisana Coffee Break'' (''TENORIKUMA 小さなコーヒーブレイク'') was released in 2005. A manga series by Yumimi (
ja:ゆみみ) called ''Puchitto! Tenorikuma'' (''プチっと! てのりくま'') was serialized in ''
Nakayoshi
is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include '' Princess Kni ...
'' magazine from 2007-2008. One volume of the manga was released in 2008.
Masyumaro (2006)
is a white kitten character with light brown spots around the ears. He is depicted as residing in Paris, France. Designed by Kazue Yamada (山田和恵) who also designed
Bonbonribbon.
He is featured in two promotional videos, ''Boku Masyumaro'' (My Marshmallow) and ''KIRAKIRA Sute-ji'' (Stage Glitter).
Lloromannic (2007)
is a spinoff from
Cinnamoroll
is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamoroll, is a white puppy with chubby cheeks and long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a tail that resembles a cinnamon ro ...
. The name is "Cinnamoroll" in reverse and Lloromannic is described as a world on the other side of a mirror that is the opposite of the cute world of Cinnamoroll. The Lloromannic characters are and who are depicted as two demons who came from the Lloromannic mirror world but now live in a haunted mansion on the outskirts of Cinnamoroll's town. Designed by
Miyuki Okumura who also designed the main Cinnamoroll series.
Berry and Cherry show up in the anime ''
Onegai♪My Melody Kirara★'' as narrators. Two short videos have been released on YouTube: "Trick" and "Friend"; Cherry's origin.
Jewelpet (2008)
The are a group of animal characters created in 2008 as a joint-venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys. There are 42 characters in the franchise and each of the animals are named after famous
Birthstones,
Minerals
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...
and
Jewels
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...
. They each have a different kind of sparkling jewel for their eyes, used for casting special magic called "Jewel Flash". According to fiction, they belong to magicians and live in a mystical place called Jewel Land, attending a school to learn more about magic and each of them are paired with their own human partners. The main Jewelpets in the series are
Ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...
the white
Japanese hare
The Japanese hare (''Lepus brachyurus'') is a species of hare endemic to Japan. In Japanese, it is called the ''Nousagi'' (Japanese: 野兎), meaning "field rabbit".
Taxonomy
Coenraad Jacob Temminck described the Japanese hare in 1845. The speci ...
(whose birthday is July 29),
Sapphie the blue and yellow
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a British breed of toy dog of spaniel type. Four colours are recognised: Blenheim (chestnut and white), tricolour (black/white/tan), black and tan, and ruby; the coat is smooth and silky. The lifespan is u ...
(whose birthday is September 1),
Garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
the pink
Persian cat
The Persian cat (), also known as the Persian longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterized by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats were imported into Italy from Persia around 1620. Widely recog ...
(whose birthday is January 8) and
Labra the pink and white
polar bear (whose birthday is December 27).
In 2008, Sega Toys collaborated with Sanrio to release a line of plush toys featuring the characters from the series which contains a special password to access the Web-Gurumi website. This is somewhat similar to the toy franchise
Webkinz
Webkinz is a stuffed animal franchise by the Canadian toy company Ganz, consisting of stuffed animals that have online counterparts in the games "Webkinz Classic" and "Webkinz Next". It was originally released by Ganz on April 29, 2005.
Each W ...
, as it also shares some similarities to the secret codes to access the Webkinz World website, causing some controversies between the two companies. Later on April 4, 2009, its first
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series was produced by
Studio Comet and started to air on both
TV Osaka
is a television station affiliated with the TX Network in Osaka, Japan. The mascot character is "Takoru-kun" (たこるくん).
History
Television Osaka, Inc. was founded in 1981 as part of the reorganization of Tokyo Channel 12 Ltd (now TV T ...
and
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
, replacing
Onegai My Melody Kirara★ in its timeslot. The anime focuses on the heroine Rinko Kōgyoku and her Jewelpet partner Ruby. A second series titled premiered later on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
from April 3, 2010 to March 26, 2011 with 52 Episodes. The second series premiered later in Spain as part of the ''Boing'' programming block. A third series titled premiered on April 9, 2011. A fourth series titled aired on April 7, 2012.
A full-length feature film titled which was directed by
Hiroaki Sakurai (Director of
Daa! Daa! Daa! and
Cromartie High School
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiji Nonaka and published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2000 to May 2006. It follows the everyday life of Takashi Kamiyama and his odd classmates at Cromartie Hig ...
) and distributed by
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
, was released on August 11, 2012 in Japanese cinemas.
2010s
Miss Bear's Dream (2010)
is a female teddy bear character who debuted in 2010.
Wish me mell (2010)
is a character series which was released on December 27, 2010. Wish Me Mell, the main heroine of the series, is meant to be a character that expresses the feelings every one has, simply stating "Thank you", "I am sorry" or "I like you!", connecting hearts in the process. The series is targeted towards females aged 15–20, who are too shy to express their feelings towards others.
Wish Me Mell is portrayed as living with her friends in the fictional magical world of where everyone is living happily while their feelings are connected towards each other and words like "thank you" can bring warmth to everyone's hearts. Wish Me Mell and her friends are depicted as being guided by the Rainbow Fairy, Ciel, who gives them missions and advice.
Go-chan (2011)
full official name GoExPanda (ゴーエクスパンダ). He is the mascot of
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
and debuted in 2011. Per official profiles his birthday is May 5. Designed by
Yuko Yamaguchi who is also the designer in charge of new
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
designs. Two
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
films with Go-chan have been released.
Ichigoman (2011)
is a superhero alter ego of
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
.
The name "Ichigoman" translates to "Strawberry man", and the character is depicted with strawberry ears and a red superhero suit. According to Sanrio's backstory, Hello Kitty finds a smartphone shaped like a strawberry, and when she holds it up and shouts "Power the Kitty" she turns into Ichigoman to fight evil. Darkgrapeman and Honeymomo, who are both skilled in
martial arts, join Ichigoman in the fight.
Designed by
Yuko Yamaguchi, lead designer for most of Hello Kitty's history, the character first appeared in 2011 in an exhibition with Yamaguchi's art.
Yamaguchi said she hoped Ichigoman would reach a male demographic. An anime short featuring the character was released in 2012.
A web manga called ''Power the Kitty Ichigoman'' (パワーザキティ イチゴマン) began in Japan in 2016. The manga is written by
Toshiki Inoue
is a Japanese screenwriter from Saitama Prefecture. He is known for his work on anime and tokusatsu Japanese television drama, dramas and films. He is the son of , who himself was a screenwriter for tokusatsu dramas. He is also a manga author, a ...
and illustrated by Shakua Sinkai. It depicts Ichigoman dealing with an alien invasion and piloting a giant robot.
Four
tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
volumes of the manga have been published by
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
, with a fifth volume released digitally.
Bonbonribbon (2012)
is a pink rabbit character who is drawn wearing several ribbon bows. Designed by Kazue Yamada (山田和恵) who also designed
Masyumaro. According to official profiles Bonbonribbon's birthday is August 8 and she is a fashionable girl who likes to sing and dance, and wants to become an accessory designer. Her mother is portrayed as a fashion designer who designed the ribbon on Bonbonribbon's head. A video game called ''Bonbon Ribbon: Tokimeki Coord Kirakira Dance'' was released in 2015 for the
Nintendo 3DS.
Gudetama (2013)
is a Sanrio character who debuted in 2013. The character is an anthropomorphized egg
yolk
Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example ...
whose main trait is laziness.
Designed by a Sanrio designer who goes by the name Amy, real name Emi Nagashima (永嶋 瑛美).
The name Gudetama is derived from the Japanese words for and . Gudetama is often depicted reclining on an egg white or as an ingredient in a Japanese dish. The character debuted following a contest run by Sanrio to introduce new characters based on Japanese food, in which Gudetama came second to
Kirimichan
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
. There have been a number of Gudetama themed pop-up cafes serving egg-related dishes in Japan. Gudetama merchandise is also available, ranging from stationery to confectionery to toys. There are two Japanese video games with Gudetama on the
Nintendo 3DS, released in 2015 and 2016, and a Gudetama-themed
Tamagotchi
The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...
from 2017. The
mobile game ''Gudetama Tap!'' was released in 2019 and is a casual collecting game.
Gudetama is the star of a short animation series aired on TBS, which, as of 2016, had spanned hundreds of episodes. In December 2022, a live-action/CGI hybrid series called ''Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventures'' was released to Netflix worldwide with a total of 10 episodes. The series involves Gudetama and the chick character Shakipiyo searching across Japan for their mother.
Kirimichan (2013)
is an
anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
slice of
salmon fillet.
Depicted as a happy character who wants to be eaten, Sanrio's profiles say that Kirimichan is "a star in the sliced food world" and instead of a birthday, that the character "was first filleted on August 31st".
According to official profiles, Kirimichan's closest friend is Kamaboko-chan, a slice of
kamaboko (a type of fish cake.) The character is portrayed surrounded by many sliced food friends like Saba-kun (a
mackerel fillet) and Tai-kun (a
sea bream fillet.)
Kirimichan was designed by Ai Setani (瀬谷愛) who also designed ''
Rilu Rilu Fairilu
is a character franchise created in collaboration by Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings, illustrated by character designer Ai Setani (Kirimichan). It is the second Sanrio franchise that was handled by two companies, the first being Jewelpet. Th ...
''. Setani wanted to make something different from the usual Sanrio cuteness, and the character was inspired by a salmon her daughter liked when she was three.
Kirimichan was originally created in 2013 as part of a in-house competition at Sanrio to create food based characters, and was then selected as the winner in an online poll. The egg yolk character
Gudetama
Gudetama ( ja, ぐでたま) is a cartoon character from 2013 produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. The character is an anthropomorphized egg yolk whose main traits are laziness and sadness. The name "Gudetama" is derived from the Japanese w ...
placed second in the same poll.
The first items with Kirimichan were released in 2014.
In addition to typical merchandise like bags and stationery, actual salmon fillets and salmon flavored candy branded with Kirimichan on the packaging have also been sold.
A theme song and a music CD with the character, performed by voice actor Tsubasa Yonaga (
:ja:代永翼), were released in 2014.
In 2015 the Japanese
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries appointed Kirimichan as "Ambassador of Let's Eat Fish" in an effort to encourage people to eat more fish.
Plasmagica (2013)
is an all-girl fictional band who debuted in Sanrio's
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
game
Show by Rock, which is geared towards young boys. The band is formed by strange corporation president in order to grow to become the best rock band. In the game, they all battle all the bands of Midi City to become the best in the world and aim to be music millionaires. Plasmagica is composed of 4 Mumon girls, the cat girl (Guitar and Vocals, voiced by Eri Inagawa), the rabbit girl (Guitar and Vocals, voiced by
Sumire Uesaka
is a Japanese voice actress and singer associated with Voice Kit. She won the Best Rookie Actress at the 10th Seiyu Awards. She made her singing debut in April 2013 under King Records.
Life and career
Uesaka became a regular on the web radio ...
), the dog girl (Bass and Vocals, voiced by
Eri Kitamura) and the sheep girl (Drums and Vocals, voiced by
Ayane Sakura
is a Japanese voice actress. She is affiliated with Aoni Production. Her roles included Natsumi Koshigaya in ''Non Non Biyori'', Secre Swallowtail in ''Black Clover'', Ochaco Uraraka in ''My Hero Academia'', Tsubaki Sawabe in '' Your Lie in Apri ...
).
Hummingmint (2014)
is a female
fawn
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...
character who, according to her backstory, lives in a forest in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
, and was born March 10.
The Hummingmint designs were inspired by
Scandinavian textile design and marketed to mothers with young daughters.
In 2015 Sanrio posted an 8 episode digital picture book with stories of Hummingmint in the .
Aggressive Retsuko (2015)
Aggressive Retsuko (アグレッシブ烈子, shortened to Aggretsuko in English) is a female
red panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...
character. She is portrayed as an administrative assistant in a Japanese business, relieving the stress of an oppressive and frustrating working life by drinking and singing angry
death metal in a karaoke bar. A short TV anime series was created in 2016, which explores her daily life in the workplace with her co-workers. This series was later expanded with a 15-minutes per episode
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series, released worldwide in 2018.
Cogimyun (2015)
is a Cogimuna (コギムーナ)
wheat flour
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...
fairy character who is white and fluffy and floats in the air.
She is portrayed as a character who is sensitive and easily falls apart into a small heap of flour.
Who, despite being made of wheat, wants to be an
onigiri
, also known as , , or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in ''nori''. Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (''umeboshi''), salted salmon, katsuob ...
rice ball because that is her grandfather's favorite food.
She lives in a world of everyday realism and deals with ordinary hardships like money troubles. She has a pet
fried shrimp known as Ebifurai (エビフライ) or Ebi-chan (エビちゃん).
Per official profiles her birthday is on May 7 (Powder Day).
In 2017 a series of Cogimyun anime shorts began streaming on
AbemaTV
Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...
. It follows Cogimyun as she starts taking care of the Cogimucorpo apartment building after her grandfather goes travelling.
The series features many different flour based food characters, like
Gyoza
''Jiaozi'' (; ; pinyin: jiǎozi) are Chinese dumplings commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. ''Jiaozi'' are folded to resemble Chinese sycee and have great cultural significance attached to them within China. ''Jiaozi'' ...
-kun (ぎょうざくん) the
Takoyaki
is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu''), pickled ginger (''beni shoga''), and green o ...
Sisters (たこやきシスターズ) and
Udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
-san (うどんさん.)
The voice of Cogimyun is provided by the voice actor Hanayu (
ja:花柚). The model
Ryuchell
, known professionally as , is a Japanese model represented by Starray Production.
Public image
Ryuchell originally spelled his stage name in hiragana (), but since 2018, when he first debuted as a singer, he had switched to spelling it with the ...
made his voice acting debut as Choco
Cornet (チョココロネェ) one of the residents in the apartment building. The series theme song is performed by
Sonoko Inoue
is a Japanese singer, songwriter and actress. She lived in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture until junior high school and moved to the Kantō region when she had a high school opportunity. She is nicknamed and sonko.
Discography
※ Oricon Weekly Chart h ...
.
In 2019 live streaming appearances with Cogimyun began on
Line Live.
The same year a manga series featuring Cogimyun began publishing in ''Ne~Ne~'' (
:ja:ね〜ね〜) magazine. Also in 2019 the
Sanrio Boys franchise added a new character called Yasuhiro Koga who is a fan of Cogimyun. In 2021 a new character was introduced called Cogimyon (こぎみょん.) He is depicted as Cogimyun's little brother, who came to life when her tears fell on a ball of
wheat clay.
Cogimyun has gone up in the Sanrio character rankings since first placing 28 in 2018, and as of 2022 she ranked number 9.
Little Forest Fellow (2015)
nicknamed Melo (めろぉ, Mero~o) is a rabbit character that is a spinoff from
My Melody. He is portrayed as a distant relative of My Melody, and the red hood he wears was a gift from her.
My Melody is also a rabbit character, and one of the Sanrio character editors mentioned that they could be brother and sister but the manager disagreed with the opinion of the editor.
In April 2017, Melo began hosting a radio show called "めろぉのフレンズソング" on the internet radio network TS ONE. The radio show plays soothing music while various Sanrio characters make occasional appearances.
Sanrio Danshi (2015)
The is a group of characters. They are portrayed as high school-aged boys who met due to their love of Sanrio's mascots. The fictional story depicts the group as beginning with the unassuming , who loves the character Pompompurin, coincidentally running into the My Melody-loving and bonding over it. Together with Hello Kitty fan , Cinnamoroll fan , and the Little Twin Stars fan , they become friends and learn to not be embarrassed about their love of cute things.
The Sanrio Danshi group is marketed towards girls and has a character Twitter account showing depictions of their daily lives, which according to Sanrio reached 100 000 followers within two months.
There are also two manga adaptations by Mai Andou, one in ''
Sho-Comi
, formerly published under its full name until December 2007, is a ''shōjo'' manga magazine published semimonthly in Japan by Shogakukan since 1968.
The manga featured in ''Sho-Comi'' are later compiled and published in book form (''tankōbon' ...
'', the other on the ''MangaOne'' app.
The group received an anime adaptation in January 2018.
Rilu Rilu Fairilu (2016)
Rilu Rilu Fairilu (リルリルフェアリル) focuses on Fairilu, young fairy characters. It is the second joint multimedia project between Sanrio and
Sega Toys
is a Japanese toy company and animation studios, owned by Sega Sammy Holdings. The company was founded when Yonezawa Toys, Japan's largest post-war toy manufacturer, was absorbed into Sega in 1991 as Sega-Yonezawa.
Sega Toys have created toys fo ...
, after
Jewelpet
is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys, produced by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi and illustrated by the character designer of Cinnamoroll, Miyu ...
in 2008, and followed by
Beatcats
are a Japanese character franchise created as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys. Currently the third collaborative effort after '' Jewelpet'' and '' Rilu Rilu Fairilu'', it is the first Sanrio franchise released as a musical group. Th ...
in 2020.
A Rilu Rilu Fairilu anime series began in 2016. Designed by Ai Setani (瀬谷愛) who also designed
Kirimichan
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
.
The Fairilu are portrayed living in the fictional realm of Little Fairilu and learning about themselves and the world around them. According to the storyline, they are born with a special item called a Fairilu Key that unlocks a corresponding door, and finding this door helps a Fairilu to mature. Fairilus are depicted as multiple species, each themed after something in the mythical or natural world, such as insects, plants, or mermaids. The most common types are Flower Fairilus, of which the primary character Lip (リップ) is descended from.
Marumofubiyori (2017)
is a group of characters. Moppu is a white bear character who, according to official character profiles, got his name because he wears his blanket everywhere, trailing it behind him like a mop.
He is depicted with friends including Kanikama, a toy crab that is a reliable character, and Gyoniku, a toy fish that has a mysterious antenna.
In 2017 Sanrio began streaming a series of Marumofubiyori anime shorts on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. A manga titled was published in ''
Ciao'' magazine between 2017 and 2019.
A full color collection of the manga was released in 2018.
Mewkledreamy (2017)
is a group of characters. The main character Mew (みゅー) is a purple stuffed cat, depicted wearing a pink bow. The characters were designed by Mayumi Yanagita (栁田真弓). An anime series based on the characters, titled ''Mewkledreamy'' premiered in 2020.
The anime was made by by
J.C.Staff
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...
and was originally aired on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
.
A second season, titled ''Mewkledreamy Mix!'', aired in 2021-2022.
A tie-in manga adaptation began serializing in two of
Kodansha's magazines, ''Otomodachi'' and ''Tanoshii Yōchien'', in April 2020.
2020s
Beatcats (2020)
are a group of cats, each of a different color. They are a
Virtual Dance & Vocal Unit and were created as a joint venture between
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
and
Sega Toys
is a Japanese toy company and animation studios, owned by Sega Sammy Holdings. The company was founded when Yonezawa Toys, Japan's largest post-war toy manufacturer, was absorbed into Sega in 1991 as Sega-Yonezawa.
Sega Toys have created toys fo ...
. The third collaborative effort after ''
Jewelpet
is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys, produced by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi and illustrated by the character designer of Cinnamoroll, Miyu ...
'' and ''
Rilu Rilu Fairilu
is a character franchise created in collaboration by Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings, illustrated by character designer Ai Setani (Kirimichan). It is the second Sanrio franchise that was handled by two companies, the first being Jewelpet. Th ...
'', it is the first Sanrio franchise released as a musical group.
They made their debut in October 2020. Their birthday is February 22.
Hapidanbui (2020)
is an
all-star type group of pre-existing Sanrio characters that were popular in the 80s and 90s.
The all male group consists of
Pochacco,
Tuxedo Sam,
Keroppi
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
,
Bad Badtz-Maru,
Hangyodon and
Pekkle.
The name Hapidanbui is short for
which roughly translates to "boys who want to become happy aim for a
V-shaped recovery". The Hapidanbui characters have gone up in the Sanrio Character Ranking since Sanrio created the group and began promoting them.
In 2020 a manga series called began in Sanrio's ''Strawberry Newspaper'' (
:ja:いちご新聞). A
fanbook which includes the manga was released in 2021.
JOChum (2022)
is a collective name of characters developed by Sanrio and the Japanese boy band
JO1
is a Japanese boy band formed through the reality competition show '' Produce 101 Japan''. The group is composed of eleven members: Issei Mamehara, Ren Kawashiri, Takumi Kawanishi, Shosei Ohira, Shion Tsurubo, Ruki Shiroiwa, Keigo Sato, Syoya Ki ...
.
The project was announced on June 2022 with each stage of development was shared through the group's official YouTube channel.
[ The eleven characters were created based on drafts sketched by the group's members as their alter ego.][ The name JOChum is a combination of the group's name JO1 and the word "chum" which means a companion or a roommate. All characters are depicted as living in a three-story house, owned by , whose design looks like the CEO of JO1's management company, Choi Shin-hwa.][ JO1Chum was officially launched in November 2022.]
References
Works cited
*
*
External links
*
キャラクター (Sanrio Character Index)
*
Sanrio Character Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanrio
Jewelpet
Lists of anime and manga characters
Lists of toy characters
*
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...