Sanrio’s Hello Kitty is a well-loved character that has earned the love of a global audience. However, Hello Kitty isn’t the only cute Sanrio character worthy of recognition.
Hello Kitty has tons of friends who are equally cute and lovable such as the adorable Pompompurin, the lazy Gudetama, and the good-natured and reliable My Melody. Hello Kitty’s friends have appeared alongside her in various merchandise, anime, manga, and movies.
In this article, we will introduce you to Sanrio’s beloved characters. We’ll give you a brief background and history of each character and their notable personalities and appearances.
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1. Hello Kitty (ハローキティ)

Hello Kitty is Sanrio’s most iconic character. She has appeared in numerous Sanrio apparel, anime, manga, toys, and merchandise.
Hello Kitty is extremely popular, making her a pop culture icon in Japan and the West. She has even collaborated with many popular brands, including Converse, Adidas, Doc Martens, Citizen, and many more. She first appeared on a vinyl coin purse in Japan, and since then she has managed to steal the hearts of millions worldwide. Even been adopted as a fashion statement for many American celebrities, including Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga.
Hello Kitty was first introduced in 1974. She was created by Yuko Shimizu and designed by Yuko Yamaguchi. She is a female white Bobtail Cat who wears her signature red ribbon on her left ear. Her full name is Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト), and her birthday is on November 1st.
Hello Kitty is popular among children and adults. Children love watching her shows and wearing her products, while adults love her premium Hello Kitty branded merchandise. Hello Kitty’s fame has helped spawn two theme parks, Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland.
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2. Gudetama (ぐでたま)

Gudetama is one of the latest additions to Sanrio’s roster of cute characters. His name translates to “Lazy Egg.” He is depicted as a yolk of a raw egg with a butt crack.
He typically has lazy-looking eyes, no neck, no limbs, and lays on an egg white which serves as his bed. Gudetama has also been reimagined as other various forms of cooked egg.
Gudetama is a nonbinary character since he is an unfertilized egg. However, he is referred to as male on Hello Kitty’s official YouTube channel.
Gudetama was introduced in 2013 and was created by Nagashima Emi. Despite his recent addition, Gudetama has already won the hearts of many Sanrio fans. Gudetama has his own Gudetama Cafe in Osaka and his own section in Sanrio Puroland. Gudetama even received his own live-action adaptation in 2022 called Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure.

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3. My Melody (マイメロディ)
My Melody is Hello Kitty's best friend, from London. She was introduced in 1975 and was created by Yasuko Matsumoto. She is portrayed as an honest and good-natured white rabbit. She was born on January 18 in the magical forest of Mari Land.
When My Melody debuted, she was meant to portray Little Red Riding Hood, which is why she has a red or pink hood covering her ears. My Melody's little brother is Rhythm, and her rival is Kuromi.
My Melody also stars in her own anime Onegai My Melody, which ran from April 2005 to March 2006 with 52 episodes. She has also appeared in other television shows along with her friends in "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" and "The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends."
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4. Kuromi (クロミ)

Kuromi is one of the villains of the Sanrio franchise. She is My Melody’s rival and antagonist in the anime Onegai My Melody. Kuromi officially debuted in 2005.
In contrast to My Melody’s cute appearance, Kuromi has a more punk and goth-inspired look. She has a black devil’s tail and wears a black jester hat with a pink skull that changes its expression to match her mood. But just like My Melody, she is also a white rabbit wearing a hood that covers her ears.
Kuromi’s birthday is on Halloween (October 31st) to match her villain-like persona. Interestingly, despite her tough appearance, Kuromi actually has a very girly personality. Kuromi enjoys writing in her diary and loves romantic short stories.
In addition, Kuromi loves food and enjoys cooking. She loves shallots, meat, and cherries. Lastly, Kuromi is attracted to good-looking guys. It was even revealed in “Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures” that Kuromi has a crush on Badtz-Maru.
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5. Pompompurin (ポムポムプリン)

Pompompurin is Sanrio’s cute and lovable Golden Retriever. He debuted in 1996 and is well-known for his pastel yellow color and signature brown beret. Interestingly, Pompompurin was created through an in-house Sanrio character-designing contest in 1996.
After his design won, he debuted in an issue of Strawberry News as “My Pudding.” Eventually, his name was officially changed to Pompompurin.
Pompompurin loves eating caramel puddings, sleeping and collecting shoes (including his father’s leather shoes). Pompompurin’s father is a detective, which is most likely why he has his signature beret.
Pompompurin’s friends include Muffin the hamster, Scone the mouse, and Custard the bird. They all love stealing Pompompurin’s beret. Pompompurin’s birthday is on April 16th.
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6. Keroppi (けろけろけろっぴ)

Keroppi is Sanrio's famous frog. He debuted in 1988 and was created by Tomoe Iwata. Similar to Pompompurin, Keroppi was created through a Sanrio character creation contest.
In 1987, Sanrio wanted a frog-like character for the rainy season. Keroppi's character design ended up winning.
Keroppi’s full name is Keroppi Hasunoue. His family name translates to "In Lotus." In addition, his name came from the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of frogs, which is "KeroKero."
Keroppi has various siblings in the Sanrio franchise. These include his sister "Pikki," his younger brother "Koroppi," his father "Keroppa," his mother "Keroma," his grandfather "Kerojee," and his grandmother "Kerobah." Keroppi's girlfriend is "Keroleen."
Lastly, Keroppi has also appeared in various Sanrio anime and TV series. He appears as a racecar driver in the Sanrio OVA "Sam to Chip no wa Hachamecha Dai Race." Keroppi also appears in the film "Ready Player One" along with Hello Kitty and Badtz-Maru.
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7. Pochacco (ポチャッコ)

Pochacco is a white dog introduced by Sanrio in 1989. He was created by Minoru Onoue. Pochacco is portrayed as an athletic dog who loves to play basketball and soccer.
His nickname was the “Yorimichi Dog” during his early years. Later on, in the 1990s, Pochacco took an interest in skateboarding.
Pochacco often trips over when he is walking, resulting in head injuries. He later overcomes this issue by riding a motorcooter.
Unlike other Sanrio characters, Pochacco’s birthday does not exist in real life. He was born on February 29, 1988, a leap year. His birthplace is on Uguisu Yokocho, which translates to “Nightingale Lane.”
Sanrio has changed his origins several times. Originally, he lived in “Fuwa Fuwa Town” (Airy Airy Town in English). However, he is from Brazil or New York City in some iterations.
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8. Cinnamoroll (シナモロール)

An utterly adorable floppy-eared puppy born in the year 2002, came in 2nd place. This fluffy white pup is well-known for his tail that curls up just like a tasty cinnamon roll (hence his name), and his timid yet jolly demeanor.
Did you know Cinnamoroll was initially called Cinnamon? For the first year as a chubby pup, he was known in Japan as Cinnamon but later became Cinnamoroll to avoid any trademark issues overseas.
He even has a film called
Cinnamoroll: The Movie, that features him with his other Sanrio buddies Espresso, Mocha, Chiffon, Cappucino, and Milk. In the cute movie, they all go on a fun adventure with Chowder to the land of the humans.
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9. Mocha (モカ)

Mocha is one of Sanrio’s loveable dogs. She was introduced in 2002 and is part of the Cinnamoroll universe. Mocha is the leader of the Cinnamoangels and appears alongside other Sanrio characters, Chiffon and Azuki.
Mocha is portrayed as a sweet and caring friend. She is an older sister figure in her group, the Cinnamoangels.
Mocha is very passionate when it comes to fashion design. She is a skilled outfit coordinator and dreams of having her own fashion show.
One fun fact about Mocha is that she has a crush on Cinnamoroll. However, Cinnamoroll does not share the same feelings.
Also Read: HOW TO BUY SANRIO FROM JAPAN
10. Rilakkuma (リラックマ)

Rilakkuma means "Bear in a relaxed mood" in Japanese. Stress-free, lazy, and does things at his pace. The character was created by Aki Kondo in 2003. His appearance started in a comic series by San-X.
The zipper at his back reveals that it is a bear costume but his true form is unknown. He started staying in the apartment of Kaoru, a female office worker one day and started living there.
Rilakkuma’s favorite food is special sweets from a local rice dumpling store and Rilakkuma’s weakness is the summer season. (wearing the costumer all-day right?) He always hangs out with his friends Korilakkuma, Chairoikoguma, and Kiiroitori.
Rilakkuma has many fans worldwide, where there are games, pop-up stores, and Rilakkuma Tea Houses in Japan. His story was even adapted into a stop-motion anime Netflix series, "Rilakkuma and Kaoru" and has 21 enticing episodes.

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Also Read: POPULAR CHARACTER CAFES IN JAPAN
11. Tuxedo Sam (タキシードサム)

Tuxedo Sam is Sanrio’s clumsy penguin. He was introduced in 1979 and was illustrated by Yumiko Chiba.
Just like Mocha, Tuxedo Sam has a great fashion sense. Sanrio stated that he owns 355 bow ties. He is also often shown wearing a sailor hat.
Tuxedo Sam has British nationality. His hometown is in London. He is also shown to be very fluent in English. Interestingly, Tuxedo Sam served in eight naval battles and was discharged upon reaching the rank of captain.
Another interesting fact is that Tuxedo Sam was originally designed as Hello Kitty’s boyfriend. However, he was later replaced by Dear Daniel.
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12. Aggretsuko (アグレッシブ烈子)

Aggretsuko, also known as Retsuko and Aggressive Retsuko, is another new addition to the Sanrio family. She debuted in 2015 and was created by Yeti. She is the main character of the Netflix comedy series Aggretsuko.
Retsuko is a Red Panda and an office worker in a highly respected Japanese trading company. Despite landing her dream job, she later found her job frustrating due to her unsympathetic bosses and tight deadlines. But instead of taking out her frustrations on her bosses and coworkers, she releases her anger and stress on heavy metal Karaoke sessions.
Retsuko’s typical appearance is that of a cute red panda. However, when she starts screaming death metal, corpse paint appears in her eyes (most likely based on typical death metal costumes or Gene Simmons’ attire from the rock band Kiss), and the Japanese character for Retsu, which translates to fierce, appears on her forehead.
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13. Kiki and Lala (キキララ) - Little Twin Stars

Kiki and Lala, also known as Little Twin Stars, were introduced in 1975. They were created by Shintaro Tsuji and designed by Yasuko Matsumoto.
Kiki and Lala were born on Christmas Eve on Omoiyari Star in the Dream Star-Cloud. The pair wanted to learn how to be the shiniest stars, so they traveled to Earth.
Lala is the older of the two siblings. She has long pink (and sometimes blonde) hair and wears a long-sleeved white gown. She loves cooking, drawing, and writing poems.
Kiki, on the other hand, is Lala’s little brother. He has short blue hair (also sometimes depicted with brown hair) and wears the same attire as Lala.
He is a curious fellow who loves inventing things. Sometimes, his curiosity gets the best of him, putting him in dangerous situations. He is protective of his older sister, Lala.
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14. Badtz-Maru (バッドばつ丸)

Badtz-Maru is Sanrio’s penguin with an attitude. His first appearance was in 1993. Badtz-Maru was created by Hisato Inoue and Kaori Harada. He was born on April Fools Day (April 1st) in Oahu, Hawaii.
Badtz-Maru is best known for his signature pose of pulling one eye down and sticking out his tongue. He is also known for operating the mischievous XO Clan with his friends Pandaba and Hana-Maru.
Badtz-Maru’s bad-boy attitude resembles Kuromi’s personality. His traits are most probably why Kuromi has a crush on him.
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15. Chococat (チョコキャット)

Chococat is one of Sanrio’s male cat characters. He was born on May 10, 1996, in Chocotown, Colorado.
Chococat is depicted as a black male cat with huge black eyes, four whiskers, and a chocolate-colored nose. His special trait is his ultra-sensitive antenna-like whiskers, allowing him to be updated with the latest news and information.
He lives with his mother, Catrina, in their Choco-Choco house. His mother is currently divorced from his father, Rory. Chococat enjoys playing with his friends Cookie-Bau the dog, Nutz the hamster, and Jelly Bean the Bunny.
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