List of Sanrio characters
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating cute characters. Beginning in 1963, Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 400 characters, with the most successful and best known being Hello Kitty.[1]
The characters listed here are shown with the year in which they first appeared.
1970s
Hello Kitty (1974)
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti) is the best-known of Sanrio's fictional characters, created in 1974. Hello Kitty is drawn simply with a trademark red bow. Registered in 1975,[2] Hello Kitty is now a globally known trademark. Hello Kitty has been marketed in the United States from the beginning and has held the position of U.S. children's ambassador for UNICEF since 1983. The brand rose to greater prominence during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement. New products featuring the character can be found in virtually any American department store and Hello Kitty was once featured in an advertising campaign of the retail chain Target. The character got her first Massively Multiplayer Online Game produced by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games entitled Hello Kitty Online which was released worldwide, including the United States, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A cheerful and happy girl with a heart of gold, Hello Kitty can bake delicious cookies, but she loves Mama's apple pie even more. Her favourite hobbies include travelling, music, reading, and making new friends. Her best friend is her twin sister Mimmy. Hello Kitty was born on November 1 in the suburbs of London, England, United Kingdom. Her real name is Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト, Kiti howaito).
Kitty has a twin sister named Mimmy, who is a little shy and very girly. She is very different from Kitty because she wears her ribbon on her right ear opposite of her sister. Her bow is yellow, while Kitty's is red. Mimmy also wears red overalls, similar to Kitty's blue overalls.
In 2010, to celebrate Sanrio's 50th Anniversary, Hello Kitty was also sold as a plush toy at Build-A-Bear Workshop stores, along with several other Sanrio characters.
My Melody (1975)
My Melody is a little girl rabbit who always wears a red or pink hood that also covers her ears and is Hello Kitty, My Sweet Piano (the sheep), and Flat (the mouse)'s best friend. Her birthday is January 18 and she lives in the suburbs of London, England, United Kingdom.
My Melody is currently one of Sanrio's most popular characters and can be found on many 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.
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 and TV Tokyo television stations, called Onegai My Melody (おねがいマイメロディ), which aired from 2005 to 2008. This anime 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 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.[3]
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 has been the regular voice of My Melody in Japan since 1989.
My Melody has also been turned into a Pullip doll with two versions; originally released in 2008 and the latest one in 2016.
In October 2010, she was sold as a plush toy at Build-A-Bear Workshop stores to celebrate Sanrio's 50th anniversary, along with other Sanrio characters.
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.
On April 7, 2019, My Melody became a radio DJ on the internet radio network TS ONE called "My Melody's My Melo Therapy" (マイメロディのマイメロセラピー) where she answers question submitted by listeners online and offering listeners advice while playing soothing music. My Melody will be DJing from the "Forest Of Music" in Mariland. The radio show broadcasts on Sundays while repeats play on weekdays.
Little Twin Stars (1975)
Little Twin Stars are a pair of angel-like characters. The younger brother is Kiki, and the older sister is Lala. Kiki has blue hair, while Lala has pink hair (sometimes Kiki's hair is brown while Lala's hair is blonde). They were introduced in 1975 and enjoyed popularity in the early 1980s. Their birthday is December 24 (Christmas Eve).
The characters make cameo appearances in 2004 on the front cover of Tommy February6's second album Tommy Airline and in her video for the song "MaGic in youR Eyes", and in one of the Sanrio Unico movies.
In 2014, Sanrio did a crossover with American Greetings' Care Bears characters, creating merchandise that features the Care Bears interacting with Kiki and Lala. The merchandise was called "Care Bears X The Little Twin Stars" and was exclusive to Japan.
In 2015, EVA Air introduced a special livery Boeing 777-300ER, "Shining Stars", dedicated to the characters. The plane is mainly used on routes from Taipei to Houston and Singapore.[4]
Chip (1977)
Chip is a white seal character from the Sanrio company, one of the "friends" of Hello Kitty who now lives in London, England. He was born May 2 in Antarctica and is close friends with Hello Kitty. He usually appears in a collection of yellow and red shirts. He is usually portrayed as a kind and helpful individual who joins Hello Kitty on many adventures.
Tuxedo Sam (1979)
Tuxedo Sam is a cute penguin character from the Sanrio company, one of the "friends" of Hello Kitty who now lives in England. Sam is a plump blue and white penguin who wears a red bow-tie and a round white sailor cap with a blue ribbon. A clumsy little fellow who loves to eat, Tuxedo Sam has great fashion sense, as he owns a collection of 365 bowties. He's very good at speaking English too. Tuxedo Sam was born on May 12 in Antarctica. According to The New York Times, this character is "moderately successful" in terms popularity but shows no signs of reaching the global popularity of Hello Kitty.[5]
1980s
Minna no Tabo (1984)
Minna no Tabo (みんなのたあ坊, Minna no Taabou) is a human boy character. His name means everyone's altruistic boy.
Zashikibuta (1984)
Zashikibuta is a pink pig who is sometimes seen wearing a green scarf. He has a mouse friend called Tabby and he is sometimes shown with a sketchy look. His birthday is February 2, 1983 and he lives in the countryside in France.[6]
Hangyodon (1985)
Hangyodon (ハンギョドン, Hangyodon) is a fish character created by Sanrio in 1985. He was born on March 14 in China.[7] His main hobby is comedy. He is very lonely and his plans of heroism often go awry.
WinkiPinki (1986)
Winki Pinki is a cute girl kitten. She was born right when the tulips were starting to bloom making her love flowers and nature dearly. Winki Pinki is cheerful and loves to dress-up, draw, play the violin and have wonderful parties with the flowers. She is brown cat with an affinity for plaid. According to Sanrio.com WinkiPinki is "A fashionable romanticist, Winkipinki loves to play violin and collect gorgeous trinkets."[8][9]
Kappa Rumba (1988)
Kappa Rumba is a mythical Japanese creature who lives in Run Run Land, based on the Japanese mythological Kappa.[10] His real name is Rupapa and wears a lily pad on his head. Kappa Rumba is energetic and never runs out of energy. He loves water surfing and other water sports, relaxing on the beach, and picking fresh fruit. His favorite food is watermelons and he is holding a watermelon in most pictures of him.
Keroppi (1988)
Keroppi Hasunoue (はすの上 けろっぴ, Hasunoue Keroppi) (also known as Kerokerokeroppi) is a frog character with large eyes and a V-shaped mouth from London. Keroppi loves adventure, and his bubbly personality makes him popular around Donut Pond. He has a brother called Koroppi and a sister called Pikki. Most often he is seen with his little snail friend Den Den, always tagging along a little behind. Keroppi is a fantastic swimmer and singer (but not at the same time). Keroppi has appeared in video games, including Kero Kero Keroppi no Bouken Nikki, Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken, and Sanrio World Smash Ball!. Keroppi was created in 1987 and his birthday is July 10. 1988. His hometown is Donut Pond and he lives in the Kero Kero House. Some of Keroppi's friends include Keroleen, Noberun, Kyorosuke, Ganta, and Keroppe, Den Den, and Teru Teru. His mom named Keroma owns a small restaurant and cooks Keroppi's favorite food—rice balls. His dad is named Keropa and he works at the Hasunoe Clinic with another doctor from Sanrio's Pokopon's Diary. Other family members include Kerobah, Keroppi's grandma; Kerojee, Keroppi's grandpa; and Chippi, Keroppi's little cousins. "Kero" means "frog's croak" and "Hasunoe" means on a "lily pad".
Pochacco (1989)
Pochacco is drawn as a white dog with black floppy ears, but no visible mouth. Pochacco's name means pocha pocha (chubby). He was born on February 28, 1989 in Fuwafuwa Town in London, England.[11] He is often dressed in athletic attire, as he has a sporty and playful personality. His favorite food is banana-flavored ice cream.
1990s
Pekkle (1990)
Pekkle (Ahiru no Pekkle) is a fictional duck. He is a small white duck with a blue T-shirt with the letter P on it. Pekkle is a good-natured, kind little guy, as well as being a great singer and dancer. Recently he's been taking tap-dancing lessons. Pekkle's birthday is July 27 and he was first released in 1990.
Spottie Dottie (1990)
Spottie Dottie was born March 21, 1990. She is a Dalmatian and is a fashion expert from New York City. She can be usually spotted wearing a trademark pink bow and frilly pink dress with roses and with her best friend, Sassy, a cat. According to The New York Times, this character, along with the character Pandapple, are "recent flops" for the Sanrio corporation in terms popularity.[5]
Monkichi (1991)
Monkichi (Oyamano Monkichi) is a monkey who lives in a little mountain in the Japanese countryside. He was released by Sanrio in 1991 and his birthday is January 13. Monkichi's full name means "Monkey of the Mountain" in Japanese. Monkichi enjoys entertaining and telling jokes, and dreams of being a professional poet or comedian.[12] Monkichi has an optimistic personality and gets a little carried away sometimes, but can be quite particular too. Monkichi's special talent is that he can eat ten bananas in one minute. Monkichi's first charm point is his bright red bottom, proof that he is 100% Japanese monkey! Monkichi's second charm point is his bulging eyes, especially when he's surprised.
Patapatapeppy (1992)
Patapata Peppy is an owl character created by Sanrio in 1992. It is notable for being one of the few Sanrio characters that are drawn with a sketchy look. His birthday is August 26, born in Moonrise Forest deep in the heart of the North Woods. He is often seen carrying a cherry in his mouth as it is his favourite food. This character gained mild popularity and was one of the few Sanrio characters that did not appear in animated form as it was a product-exclusive character. It was created by Matsubayashi Atsushi, who no longer works at Sanrio and now has his own studio.[13][14]
Bad Badtz-Maru (1993)
Bad Badtz-Maru (バッドばつ丸, Baddo batsu maru) is a male penguin with spiky hair. His birthday is April 1 (April Fool's Day). He is one of the few Sanrio characters that is marketed to both genders. 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 has many different facial expressions and poses, but a common expression is of pulling one eye down and sticking out his tongue, a gesture equivalent to blowing a raspberry and even him making a grumpy face.
Badtz-Maru also has a few friends such as Hana-Maru, a friendly white seal. Hana-Maru is very kind in nature and is very helpful to all. Badtz-Maru also has another friend called Pandaba, a female panda who wears a red bikini skirt and likes Badtz-Maru. Badtz-Maru also has a 'watch dog' named Pochi, but instead of being a real dog, Pochi is in fact a baby alligator. Other friends of his include an anglerfish called Mochizuki Anko, a seagull called Nogakigoro, and a shark called Ogawasameo.[15]
Badtz-Maru has gone through many product lines since his release at Sanrio in 1993. While he has far fewer releases than Hello Kitty, he has been a staple character found in almost all stores worldwide. He has been portrayed as an astronaut, motorcyclist, DJ, camouflage monster, basketball player, boxer, and many others. His products range from typical stationery 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 the official mascot for the 2006 FIBA World Championship of basketball, which was held in Japan.[16]
Pippo (1993)
Pippo (Kobutanopippo) 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 is always thinking of games and other new ways to have fun with his friends. He loves surprises and is always making discoveries and new inventions. Pippo was born on December 16, 1993, on an unusually warm winter's day.[17]
Picke Bicke (1994)
Picke Bicke is a fictional mouse, who was released by Sanrio in 1994. He is a small, round brown mouse with a cream-colored tummy and muzzle, a long red ribboned tail, and large blue ears. Picke Bicke is as playful as he is curious. He makes new friends all the time, including butterflies and frogs, and describes himself as "100% Mouse". Picke Bicke's hobbies include mimicry and trying to "fly" with his large, wing-like ears, though he never rises more than a few inches.
Pompompurin (1996)
Pompompurin is a golden retriever dog character first introduced in 1996. Purin was born on a sunny day on April 16. He is a good natured golden retriever dog, who lives in his own basket at his owner's house. His trademark is his brown beret that is always on top of his head. Purin's interest is collecting shoes, which includes his owner's father's leather shoes, his owner's mother's sandals, etc., and he likes to hide them.
Purin loves drinking milk and eating soft food and pudding (purin) that his mother makes. He also spends a lot of time sleeping or hanging out with his friends. Purin's best friends include a hamster called Muffin, a mouse named Scone, and a bird.[18][19]
He was voted Most Popular Sanrio Character in 1997 in the Strawberry News, a magazine published by Sanrio, and once again in 2015.[20]
Chococat (1996)
Chococat (チョコキャット, Chokokyatto) is drawn as a black cat with huge black eyes, four whiskers, and like his counterpart Hello Kitty, no mouth. His name comes from his chocolate-colored nose.[21][22] Chococat was first released in 1996 and his birthday is May 10. His whiskers are able to pick up information like antennae, so he is often the first to know about things.[23]
When Sanrio releases new Chococat lines (the background colors and designs), Chococat's collar and fur color, and his accessories and friends, are often altered. Chococat was originally pictured with a blue collar, but he has since been depicted wearing different colored collars, scarves and even a lei. Sanrio has also produced new Chococat products that portray him in a greyish-brown color. In the Momoberry version, he is pink with a top hat, bow tie and cane. Line names are often heavily relied upon, in internet sales descriptions.
Corocorokuririn (1998)
Corocorokuririn (コロコロクリリン, Korokorokuririn) is a character from the Sanrio series that was created in 1998.[24] He is a very curious golden hamster who is sometimes a little timid. Corocorokuririn enjoys collecting stuff from around the house to make playhouses and is very good at fitting into tiny spaces. Corocorokuririn can chew on just about anything, but his favorite foods are cookies and sunflower seeds. He also adores cherry blossoms.[25]
Dear Daniel (1999)
Daniel Starr (ダニエル・スター, Danieru sutā) (known as Dear Daniel) is Hello Kitty's childhood friend and also her boyfriend who lives in London, England. As babies, they frolicked and played together. Dear Daniel's father is a photographer who was posted to Africa, and the whole family followed him there. After living in several locations around the world, Dear Daniel ended up in New York, and from there he returned to England, where he was reunited with Hello Kitty. Thanks to his stint in New York and his natural sense of rhythm, Dear Daniel is a pretty sweet ballet dancer. In the future he wants to become a photographer or a celebrity. His birthday is May 3.[26]
Landry (1999)
Landry is a little boy raccoon who was released in 1999. His birthday is December 8. He loves to wash anything he can get his hands on. His best friend is a rubber duck named Pea. Landry's hobbies include dancing and running on top of his tub, sliding, taking Pea for walks, and listening to music. (Mozart is his favorite). Landry loves to eat donuts, sausages, nuts and ice-cream,and chocolate is his favorite food.
2000s
Usahana (2001)
Usahana (ウサハナ) (also stylized as USAHANA) is a little girl rabbit who loves summer. She was released by Sanrio in 2001. Her birthday is August 7 and her real name is Hanachan. Her eye-catching attributes are her different colored ears, one pink and one blue, and the flower she wears on her head. She debuted alongside Cinnamoroll in 2001.[27]
In the Toei anime spinoff Usahana: Dream Ballerina (ウサハナ: 夢見るバレリーナ, Usahana: Yumemiru Ballerina), Usahana sometimes wears a butterfly-shaped hair clip and dreams of becoming a ballerina.
Cinnamoroll (2001)
Cinnamoroll is a chubby white male puppy from England with long ears that enables him to fly. He has blue eyes, pink cheeks and a plump and curly tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. The owner of Cafe Cinnamon, a little cafe, looked up and saw a white puppy floating out of the sky like a fluffy cloud. The owner thought that he might have come because he smelled her cinnamon rolls. The puppy has a curly tail just like a cinnamon roll, so she called him Cinnamon. Cinnamon became instantly popular with customers and soon became Café Cinnamon's official mascot. Now, when he is not napping on the café terrace, Cinnamon flies around the town looking for fun and new adventures with his friends.
Deery Lou (2002)
Deery Lou (ディアリールー, Diarī rū) is a character created by Sanrio in 2002. He is a brown fawn. His birthday is January 8, and he lives in the Rainbow Forest, full of sweet flower patches and big trees. The blue bird brings happiness to the Rainbow Forest. His tail wags like a helicopter when something fun is happening. He has friends named Queeny Lou, a beautiful swan, Skippy-Lou, a perky rabbit, Beary Lou, a warmhearted bruin, and The Little Red Mushroom; he is shy and always faces backward.[28][29]
Pandapple (2002)
Pandapple is a panda who has a red apple with a small green leaf stem as a hat. He wears a shirt which is mostly striped or plain. Pandapple is often accompanied by a caterpillar. His birthday is on June 2. The character debuted in 2002 and is one of Sanrio's least popular characters. According to The New York Times, this character, along with the character Spottie Dottie, are recent flops for the Sanrio corporation in terms of popularity.[5]
Pannapitta (2003)
Pannapitta is a panda cub character who was born on October 7, 2003 in Pannaland. His real name is Pantan and is only 3 months old. Pantan is full of energy. Pantan hates being still, and is constantly running around the place. Pantan lives for adventure at full speed. When his energy finally runs out, he falls asleep on the spot.
Pantan is an only child and his best friend is Fanfan (not a panda) who was born 3 days apart from Pantan. Pantan's hobbies include running, eating, and sleeping. Pantan enjoys climbing through small spaces and his favorite food is caramel ice cream. Pantan's future dream is to be a panda hero.
Chibimaru (2003)
Chibimaru (ちびまる, Chibi maru) is a brown puppy, who is one of the many characters created by Sanrio, debuting in 2003. He was first released on February 2, 2003. He is very curious and does tricks for a hobby. He spends time inside his owner's bag and goes many places. He is one of three triplets; his siblings are Chidi-Maru & Chifi-Maru.[30]
Charmmykitty (2004)
Charmmykitty (チャーミーキティ, Chāmīkiti) is Hello Kitty's pet cat. She resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like features. Her name comes from the word "charm" as she wears the key to Hello Kitty's jewelry box around her neck. She debuted in 2004, alongside the Sugarbunnies.
Charmmy Kitty is a white female Persian cat that Papa and Daniel (who is Kitty's boyfriend) gave to Hello Kitty as a gift. She wears a lace-trimmed bow on her left ear, and a necklace which holds the key to Hello Kitty's jewelry box. Born on October 31, Charmmy Kitty is well-mannered, quiet and listens to whatever Hello Kitty says. Like many cats, Charmmy Kitty loves objects that are bright and sparkly. Charmmy Kitty's charm point is her lace-trimmed pink bow, that was a present from Kitty.[31]
Sugarbunnies (2004)
The Sugarbunnies (シュガーバニーズ, Shugābanīzu) are a character duo released by Sanrio in 2004.[32] The duo are composed of twin bunnies called Shirousa and Kurousa (Both born on May 26, 2004), who specialize in making sweets and pastries. After the success of the franchise, Sanrio created more bunny twins who each specialize in their own jobs. They all live in the magical world of Bunniesfield.
In 2007, Sanrio created an anime series based on the franchise which aired on TV Tokyo and Kids Station 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.
Tenorikuma (2005)
Tenorikuma (てのりくま) (Japanese for "bears that fit in your palm") are a group of red pandas that run a coffee shop called Tenorikuma.[33] There are five specific characters in all. The main "manager" is Latte, who is distinguished from the others by a red heart on his left ear. There are a few other main characters. Chai (yellow scarf), Frappe (green scarf), Maple (pink scarf, the only female and Latte's love interest), Mister Steam (steam clouds from hot coffee), Muddler (spoon) and Macchiato (blue scarf).
Cinnamoangels (2005)
The Cinnamoangels (シナモエンジェルス, Shinamoenjerusu) called Cinnamon Angels in the English version of the Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll manga. Are a trio of trendy puppies formed by Mocha (whose birthday is the 20th February), Chiffon (whose birthday is 14 January) and Azuki (whose birthday is September 25). The founder of the group Mocha, has big dreams of becoming a TV idol and both Azuki and Chiffon support her. The three were released by Sanrio in 2005[34] and has several Music Videos featuring the trio. The Cinnamoangels also show up in the third volume of Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll and even have their own stories and adventures. Most of the time in the manga, the Cinnamoangels attempt to see "The Caramels" a boy band and each of the Angels have a crush on each member. Mocha is a huge fan of the main singer of the band, and tries her hardest to see the guys in person to the annoyance of Chiffon and Azuki.
Kuromi (2005)
Kuromi (クロミ, Kuromi) is the rival of My Melody from the anime Onegai My Melody. She is a white rabbit wearing a black jester's hat with a pink skull on the front and a black "devil" tail in the place of a normal rabbit's tail. Kuromi's appearance also looks similar to many of the classic cartoon characters from the 1920s and 1930s. Goods featuring Kuromi first appeared in Japan in 2005. She has three image songs all sung by her voice actress, Junko Takeuchi. Kuromi sometimes wears fuchsia pink skull cherries on her right ear. Kuromi is an enemy of my melody and wears dark colors.
Kuromi's birthday is October 31 (Halloween). Although Kuromi has a rowdy free spirit, she is actually quite girly on the inside and has a soft spot for cute and pretty guys. Kuromi enjoys keeping a diary and reading romance novels. Her favorite color is black and her favorite food is shallots.[35][36]
My Sweet Piano (2005)
My Sweet Piano (マイスウィートピアノ, Mai Sūīto Piano) is a female sheep whose charming point is her fluffy baby pink fur. She was introduced as My Melody's best friend alongside Flat the mouse, and Risu the Squirrel in 1976 and originally went by the name "Hitsuji-san". However, Sanrio finally gave her a name through its monthly publication Ichigo Shimbun in 2005 and the resulting name was Piano-chan. Merchandise of the character started as early as 2008. Piano is a gentle and pampered girl who loves to talk and hang out with My Melody in a field. Piano is also featured in the 2005 anime Onegai My Melody as a supporting character and only spoke by baaing and bleating. In the anime, Piano is seen wearing two flowers (One colored white and the other red) located on the left side of her head. She is voiced by Junko Takeuchi in the anime.
Piano started out as a supporting character in the My Melody series until 2014 when Sanrio created a special line of merchandise featuring her as part of My Melody's 40th Anniversary. As a result, she was very prominent during the anniversary and even became a meetable character at Sanrio Puroland starting in 2014. Since 2014, Piano is commonly depicted wearing a large pink or red polka-dotted bow on her head in merchandise and her park appearances at Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland.
Masyumaro (2006)
Masyumaro is a cute white kitten with light brown spots around the ears. He loves fashion and buttons. He was born in Paris, France and resides there in a Japanese apartment with a boy who is a designer. He is known as "The Cat as soft as a Marshmallow" and is often referred to as Masyumaro Nyanko. He is featured in two promotional videos, Boku Masyumaro (My Marshmallow) and KIRAKIRA Sute-ji (Stage Glitter).[37]
Lloromannic (2007)
Lloromannic is a world on the other side of a mirror. The world's name is "Cinnamoroll" in reverse. In a haunted mansion in the deep dark woods, lives a "Devilish Demon Duo" named Berry & Cherry. Sanrio released the duo in 2007 in Gothic Lolita accessories. The characters have not been released to North American Sanrio boutiques yet. However both characters have gained popularity in North America and two short videos have been released on YouTube. The episodes are "Trick" and "Friend"; Cherry's origin.
The boy demon's name is Berry and his birthday is June 6. He has the ability to transform into a more devilish form; his ram horns turn into devil horns, his flat teeth turn into sharp fangs, changes color from dark grey to black, he gains skeleton wings and long sharp claws, and his voice changes. He seems to have the talent of making potions.
Cherry is the girl demon and her birthday is September 9. Berry created Cherry not only to be his partner-in-crime; but also to be his sweetheart. He accidentally used a jar of salt that had its label covered by another saying "sugar". When Cherry (like Berry) transforms into her devilish form, her dark grey closed bat wing ears change into black opened bat wings, her black eyes into fandango, her top hat disappears, her teeth into fangs, and her voice changes. Cherry loves to play jokes on Berry. Cherry also has a crush on Cinnamoroll's friend Espresso.
Both Berry & Cherry would go through their magic mirror to enter into the human world to play tricks on children while they sleep. Both fear daytime and would hide in the closet or drawers, if they don't make it home in time until night returns. They are friends with a bat, a magical lantern and a Jack O' Lantern. The Lloromannic also show up in the anime "(Onegai♪My Melody Kirara★" as narrators.
Sugarminuet (2008)
The Sugarminuet (シュガーメヌエット, Shugāmenuetto) is a spinoff of Sugarbunnies released in 2008, and their accessories are sometimes included in ballerina products. The duet are composed of two little twin sister bunnies: Ballet-Usa and Prima-Usa, who are ballerina-geniuses, and through the ballet room mirror, they bring their graceful dance for all of us in the human world.[38]
- Ballet-Usa (バレエうさ) who is the elder twin and wears a silver tiara that matches with her pink fur. She is a graceful and elegant dancer and loves make-up accessories.
- Prima-Usa (プリマうさ) is the sweet and cute younger twin and wears a gold tiara that highlights her white fur. Her favorite hobby is fortune-telling.
Jewelpet (2008)
The Jewelpets (ジュエルペット, Juerupetto) are a group of animal characters created in 2008 as a joint-venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys.[39] There are 42 characters in the franchise and each of the animals are named after famous Birthstones, Minerals and Jewels. 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 the white Japanese hare (whose birthday is July 29), Sapphie the blue and yellow Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (whose birthday is September 1), Garnet the pink Persian cat (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, 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 series was produced by Studio Comet and started to air on both TV Osaka and TV Tokyo, 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 Jewelpet Twinkle☆ (ジュエルペット てぃんくる☆, Juerupetto Tinkuru☆) premiered later on TV Tokyo 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 Jewelpet Sunshine (ジュエルペット サンシャイン, Juerupetto Sanshain) premiered on April 9, 2011.[40] A fourth series titled Jewelpet Kira☆Deco—! (ジュエルペット きら☆デコッ！, Juerupetto Kira☆deko—!) aired on April 7, 2012.[41]
A full-length feature film titled Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess (映画ジュエルペット スウィーツダンスプリンセス, Eiga Juerupetto: Suuītsu Dansu Purinsesu) which was directed by Hiroaki Sakurai (Director of Daa! Daa! Daa! and Cromartie High School) and distributed by Toho, was released on August 11, 2012 in Japanese cinemas.
2010s
Miss Bear's Dream (2010)
Miss Bear's Dream is a female teddy bear who debuted in 2010. She was made by Chocolina's mother, in a little sweet shop in New York, where they live. Miss Bear's Dream is called ´Dream´ for short. She is the cousin of another Sanrio bear character called Mr. Bear's Dream[42]
Wish me mell (2010)
Wish Me Mell (ウイッシュミーメル, Uisshu mī meru)[43] is a character series which was released on December 27, 2010.[44][45] 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.
Mell lives in the magical world of Merci Hills (メルシーヒルズ, Merushī hiruzu) 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. Mell and her friends were guided by the Rainbow Fairy, Ciel, who gives them advice. A lot of Mell's friends also live in Merci Hills, and each come from different countries and have their own mission given to them by Ciel.
Bonbonribbon (2012)
Bonbonribbon (ぼんぼんりぼん, Bonbon ribon) debuted in 2012.[46] The character is a pink rabbit with a ribbon bow on her head and in some places of her body, including her left paw, ears, right feet and tail, her birthday is August 8. She is a very fashionable girl who likes to sing and dance. Her mother is a fashion designer and she designed the ribbon on her head, which is her charm point. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer, just like her mother.
Cocoa and Vanilla (2012)
Cocoa (カカオ, Kakao) and Vanilla (バニラ, Banira) are two mouse siblings who debuted in January 2012 as friends of the Sugarbunnies.[47] Cocoa is the older brother and wears a bunny hat with Kurousa's colors while Vanilla is his younger sister and wears a bunny hat with Shirousa's colors. They both live in Mousefields, located next of Bunniesfield and both brother and sister decided to visit Bunniesfield one day through a rainbow and met Shirousa and Kurousa. The mouse siblings actually like the sweets, chocolates and pastries the bunnies makes and they wanted the bunnies to teach them to become chocolatiers, the bunnies agreed and they made the mouse siblings their apprentices. Their ultimate goal is to make a castle made of chocolate.
Plasmagica (2013)
Plasmagica (プラズマジカ, Purazumajika) is an all-girl fictional band who debuted in Sanrio's iOS game Show by Rock, which is geared towards young boys.[48] 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.[49] Plasmagica is composed of 4 Mumon girls, the cat girl Cyan (シアン, Shian) (Guitar and Vocals, voiced by Eri Inagawa), the rabbit girl ChuChu (チュチュ, Chuchu) (Guitar and Vocals, voiced by Sumire Uesaka), the dog girl Retoree (レトリー, Retorī) (Base and Vocals, voiced by Eri Kitamura) and the sheep girl Moa (モア, Moa) (Drums and Vocals, voiced by Ayane Sakura).
Gudetama (2013)
Gudetama (ぐでたま, Gudetama) is a Sanrio character who debuted in 2013. The character is an anthropomorphized yolk of an unfertilized egg, devoid of gender.[50] Gudetama is often depicted reclining on an egg white or as an ingredient in a Japanese dish. Gudetama's main trait is laziness. The name Gudetama is derived from the Japanese words for lazy (ぐでぐで, gude gude) and egg (卵, tamago).[51] Gudetama debuted following a contest run by Sanrio to introduce new characters based on Japanese food, in which Gudetama came second to Kirimi-chan.[52] Gudetama has proven popular in Japan, leading to the opening of a number of themed pop-up cafes serving egg-related dishes.[53] A plentiful selection of character goods are also available, ranging from stationery to confectionery to toys. Gudetama goods have been sold at a number of dedicated pop-up stores across Japan.
Gudetama is the star of a short animation series aired on TBS, which, as of 2016, had spanned hundreds of episodes.[54] The series follows the exploits of Gudetama and a cast of recurring human characters. One such character is Nisetama-san (ニセたまさん, Nisetamasan, meaning fake egg), a young man dressed in a yellow suit similar to a zentai suit but with the face exposed, akin to a humanoid Gudetama. The series' short segments end with a rendition of the Gudetama theme song and a contemporary style dance performed by Nisetama-san.
Hummingmint (2014)
Hummingmint (ハミングミント) is a girl fawn. She was born on March 10 in the beautiful mint-green northern night. She lives with her friends the birds and flowers. Hummingmint has a little pink, heart-shaped nose and white heart-shaped spots. She is very gentle, curious, and loves singing.
Little Forest Fellow (2015)
Little Forest Fellow (リトルフォレストフェロォ, Ritoruforesutofero~o) is a male bunny from London that was introduced in 2015 and became My Melody's new friend. He is My Melody's second cousin and loves collecting buttons. He wears a red hood which was given to him by My Melody which he treats as a special treasure. His birthday is on the same day as My Melody's which is on January 18. He is nicknamed "Melo" (めろぉ, Mero~o). My Melody's a bunny just like him. One of the Sanrio character editors mentioned that they could be brother and sister but the manager disagreed with the opinion of the editor.
On April 2, 2017, Melo hosts his own radio show called "めろぉのフレンズソング" hosted on the internet radio network TS ONE. The radio show plays soothing music while various Sanrio characters make occasional appearances.
Aggressive Retsuko (2015)
Aggressive Retsuko (アグレッシブ烈子, shortened to Aggretsuko in English) is a female red panda who works as an administrative assistant in a Japanese business. Her working life is oppressive and frustrating and she relieves this stress by becoming angry, and drinking and singing death metal in a karaoke bar. A short TV anime series was created on April 2, 2016, which explores her daily life in the workplace with her co-workers. This series was later expanded with a 15-minutes per episode 10 episode Netflix Original Series, released worldwide on April 20, 2018.
Sanrio Danshi (2015)
The Sanrio Danshi (サンリオ男子, Sanrio Boys) are a group of high school-aged boys who met due to their love of Sanrio's mascots .[55] The group kicks off with the unassuming Kōta Hasegawa (長谷川康太), who loves the character Pompompurin, coincidentally running into the My Melody-loving Yū Mizuno (水野 祐) and bonding over it. Together with Hello Kitty fan Shunsuke Yoshino (吉野俊介), Cinnamoroll fan Seiichiro Minamoto (源誠一郎), and the Little Twin Stars fan Ryō Nishimiya (西宮諒), they become fast friends and learn to not be embarrassed about their love of cute things.
The group is popular among girls, and aims to reach both boys and girls with the message that boys don't have to feel ashamed about liking "cute" characters.[56] The Sanrio Danshi have a character Twitter account[57] showing pictures of their daily lives, and two manga adaptations by Mai Andou (One in Sho-Comi,[58] the other on the MangaOne app[59]). 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 Fairilus, young fairies that live in the realm of Little Fairilu and learn about themselves and the world around them. 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 come in 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)
Marumofubiyori (まるもふびより) is a trio of Sanrio characters. Marumofubiyori is a white bear cub that is always wrapped in his favorite blanket and loves to laze around at home. Marumofubiyori is a homebody who lives with a roommate who works at an aquarium. He is affectionately known as “Moppu”, a nickname that the girl he lives with gave him because he always drags his blanket around as if mopping the floor. The girl gave Moppu two plush toys to keep him company who are his best friends. Kanikama is a toy crab that is a reliable character, and Gyoniku is a toy fish that has a mysterious antennae. Moppu's birthday is February 10.
Mewkledreamy (2017)
Mewkledreamy (ミュークルドリーミー Myūkurudorīmī) is a purple stuffed cat, that wears a pink bow with white polka dots. She has a yellow star on her right ear and left ear. An Anime series based on the character by J.C. Staff and directed by Hiroaki Sakurai premiered in Japan on April 5, 2020.
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External links
- (in Japanese) キャラクター (Sanrio Character Index)
- (in English) Sanrio Character Index