MY Melody

My Melody looks like a rabbit and always wears a red or pink hood. It is especially popular in Asia and can be found on children's toys and merchandise. My Melody was 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 all age groups, especially in Asia.

When first released she was the Little Red Riding Hood character in a version of the story featuring all animal characters. The name My Melody first appeared in 1976 and soon the connection to Little Red Riding Hood all but disappeared, with the exception of a series of Little Red Riding Hood-era goods which were re-released in 2000. After 1976, her animal friends, like Flat, Piano, Rhythm and others, started appearing. The initial My Melody goods featured a red hood but as of 1977 merchandise featuring a pink hood was released, which would be the norm for My Melody goods for several years to come.

My Melody's popularity waned toward the late 80s, and the only goods produced were candy. In 1996, during Ichigo Shinbun’s reader survey, My Melody came out amongst the most popular characters and as a result standard merchandise started re-appearing as of 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.

My Melody has been turned into a Pullip doll, like Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll. The doll includes a Flat toy.

On April 3, 2005, an anime series produced by TV Osaka started to air on TXN television stations, see Onegai My Melody (おねがいマイメロディ). This anime also recently 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 DS which requires the player to blow air into the microphone of the unit. You guide My Melody through timed levels by jumping and using her umbrella to float around and avoid enemies. The game also has unlockable content, such as music, pictures, and mini games.

My Melody also appears in the The Advanture of Hello Kitty & Friends. She, however, is mouthless there, and her rival doesn't make an appearance.

A second game was also 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 games primary function is as a day planner designed for young girls to keep track of appointments, class schedules, and mini diary entries.

On March 26, 2008 a special Japanese music compilation album titled "I LOVE 30 - MY MELODY" from Tearbrdige Records was released with the red riding hood My Melody character in various artwork by groovisions. In Bardstown, Kentucky you can find My Melody in the local Wal- Mart.

Chococat

Chococat


Chococat 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-coloured nose. Like other Sanrio characters, he appears on a variety of merchandise, including stationery, coffee mugs, plush toys, bath towels, etc.


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.

Landry

Landry is a fictional little boy raccoon born on December 8, 1999 created by the Japanese toy company, Sanrio. 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 donut, sausages, nuts and ice-cream, but chocolate is his very favorite.

Cinnamoroll

Cinnamoroll
is a white puppy with long ears, blue eyes, and a plump and curly tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. He starred in his own anime movie which was released in Autumn 2007. Some people mistake Cinnamoroll for a rabbit because of his long ears and rabbit-like looks.Cinnamoroll was created in 2001.

Badtz-Maru

Badtz-Maru is a penguin. He is one of the few Sanrio characters that is marketed to both males and females. In Japanese "badtz" (batsu) is a term for "X", the cross signifying a wrong answer. "Maru" means circle or "O", and signifies a correct answer.

Thus, his name literally means "wrong-correct," and is frequently represented by "XO". Badtz-Maru has many different facial expressions and poses, but he is classically recognized for pulling one eye down and sticking out his tongue, a gesture akin to sticking out one's tongue. Badtz-Maru has gone through many product lines since his release at Sanrio.

While he has many 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 others. His products range from typical stationery supplies (e.g. pens, notebooks, erasers, pencil cases ...) to more novel items (e.g. CD players, guitars, license plate frames ...).

Badtz-Maru was the official mascot for the 2006 FIBA World Championship of basketball, which was held in Japan.

Kuromi

Kuromi

Kuromi (クロミ, Kurom) is the rival of My Melody from the anime Onegai My Melody. She is a white rabbit-like creature, 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 those of cartoon characters from the 1920s and 1930s. Goods featuring Kuromi first appeared in Japan in July 2005. She has three image songs all sung by her seiyu, Junko Takeuchi.

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti), full name Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト, Kiti Howaito),is the best-known of many simply drawn ficitional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Hello Kitty is a friendly white kitty with the head larger than her body, small button eyes and nose, but no mouth. She is said to be five apples tall and the weight of three apples.

In 1974, Sanrio Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, introduced a Hello Kitty franchise. The first Hello Kitty item was a vinyl coin purse sold in Tokyo, according to Sanrio Inc.'s U.S. marketing director Bill Hensley. In 1976, the franchise was introduced into the U.S. The Hello Kitty line has developed under licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances. Sanrio Puroland is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.