As a brand, Sanrio has enjoyed a fairly smooth legacy, specializing in producing projects like shows and artworks of their adorable animal-like characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Keroppi. What some people do not know, though, is that the long-standing brand is no stranger to scandals that temporarily impacted the company’s image.
Sanrio has been involved in controversies involving legal and copyright disputes, made surprising reveals about details of specific characters, and faced outraged fans when their favorite characters do not receive enough attention. When it comes down to it, Sanrio is one of the most accomplished companies ever, but these scandals were major roadblocks in the brand’s journey to fame.
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Hello Kitty Has No Mouth
Hello Kitty’s Lack of a Mouth Is So She Can Be More Universally Relatable and Easier to Project Onto
One of the most pressing questions Sanrio lovers asked about Hello Kitty for years, was regarding why the icon had no mouth. Many other Sanrio personalities, like Kuromi and Pompompurin, do have mouths, so many were confused about why Kitty White in particular was not given this detail. Apparently, it was an intentional choice.
“It’s so that people who look at her can project their own feelings onto her face, because she has an expressionless face. Kitty looks happy when people are happy. She looks sad when they are sad. For this psychological reason, we thought she shouldn’t be tied to any emotion — and that’s why she doesn’t have a mouth.” – Yuko Yamaguchi, Time Magazine
Yuko Yamaguchi, who designed Hello Kitty, told Time Magazine that Hello Kitty was meant to be universally relatable and not “tied to any emotion.” By giving the catlike character a blank face, people can see their own emotional state in Hello Kitty and feel closer to her, which was Yamaguchi’s hope.
8
Sanrio Antitrust Fines
Sanrio’s Policies For Merchandisers Were in Violation of Antitrust Laws, Costing the Company $6.2 Million
Sanrio sells billions of dollars of merchandise worldwide each year, and in 2017, their decisions regarding their involvement in the worldwide merchandise market landed the brand in legal trouble. At the time, Sanrio prevented its merchandisers from selling Sanrio products within countries that are part of the EEA, a forbidden practice.
It was determined in court that Sanrio broke antitrust laws by engaging in these practices, and as a result, the company had to pay a substantial fine. The total amount of the fine was $6.2 million, which is a large sum of money, even for a company as profitable as Sanrio.
7
Hello Kitty’s Friend Cathy
The Creator of Miffy, Dick Bruna, Argued That Cathy Was Too Similar in Appearance to Miffy
My Melody and Kuromi are not Sanrio’s only bunny characters. Hello Kitty once had a friend named Cathy, who was quickly retired due to a legal dispute. The creator of another prominent bunny in pop culture, Miffy, sued Sanrio because of the similarities between Miffy and Cathy.
Dick Bruna, Miffy’s creator, argued that the two white bunnies looked too alike. To avoid further legal fees and fines, Sanrio chose to just eliminate Cathy entirely from their lineup of characters, focusing on other bunnies within the Sanrio universe instead.
6
Pompompurin Finally Defeated Cinnamoroll in Sanrio’s Popularity Poll
After Five Years of Consecutive Wins, Cinnamoroll Was Finally Beaten in Sanrio’s Annual Character Ranking
The results of Sanrio’s 2025 popularity contest were highly anticipated, since this was one of the most crucial years the annual contest has ever seen. Cinnamoroll, an adorable white dog with rabbitlike ears, was crowned the winner of the contest for five years in a row, with no other character coming close to his level of fame.
As the voting for the 2025 character ranking continued, people began to wonder whether Cinnamoroll would finally face his first loss in five years. Pompompurin was creeping closer to the top of the charts, creating a serious threat to Cinnamoroll’s five-year legacy.
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Sanrio’s 2025 Annual Character Ranking contest is underway and this year is seeing some serious shakeup with fan favorites being knocked from the top.
On June 29th, the winner was finally announced to the public, and it was confirmed that Pompompurin is the winner of the 2025 popularity poll. Pompompurin received an astonishing 5,613,659 votes, with Cinnamoroll coming in a close second at 5,427,983 votes, and Pochacco in third at 3,935,101 votes.
Now that Cinnamoroll’s winning streak has been broken, it is unclear who will be victorious in the poll in coming years. Surprisingly, Hello Kitty has not claimed the #1 spot in the popularity poll in six years, since 2019, but now may be the best opportunity for her to reclaim her winning spot, since Cinnamoroll was finally defeated.
5
Backlash Against Hello Kitty’s Boyfriend Dear Daniel
Sanrio Fans Were Not Thrilled With Hello Kitty’s New Romantic Interest
Many Sanrio enthusiasts are unaware that Hello Kitty had a boyfriend, and the reason for that lack of awareness is that he was considered a failure by the brand. Dear Daniel was the ideal partner for a kind character like Hello Kitty, characterized by his gentleness, sensitivity, and love for creative pursuits like photography and jewelry making.
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Fans may not believe it or remember it, but Sanrio once gave Hello Kitty a boyfriend named Dear Daniel and he caused a lot of problems for her.
No matter how wonderful of a character Dear Daniel was though, the fact still stood that fans were not keen on Hello Kitty having a romantic interest. Most people saw it as unnecessary for Hello Kitty to have this type of relationship, and their disdain for Dear Daniel was solidified when he performed poorly in a popularity contest.
Since the core idea of Hello Kitty’s simplistic design and lack of a mouth is that fans should be easily able to project their own emotions and thoughts onto her, it made no sense to add such a specific experience to her storyline. Dear Daniel was used much less frequently after Sanrio realized fans held this opinion.
4
The Big Challenges Character Was Abandoned by Sanrio For Years
He Was Invented and Then Not Used in Any Projects for 45 Consecutive Years, With No Explanation
One of Sanrio’s cutest, most unique characters was abandoned for 45 years, much to the disappointment of his fanbase. Big Challenges, a grinning crocodile character, was designed in 1978, and then not used by Sanrio for any official project until the release of Hello Kitty Island Adventure in 2023.
Big Challenges’ fans find solace in the fact that his quest in the game involves finding the missing crocodile, who is trapped in an ice block, and then breaking that ice to let him out and back into society.
Just as he was left behind by Sanrio in real-life, Big Challenges was forgotten in the game. In both instances, this in-game quest frees Big Challenges to enjoy the appreciation and public spotlight he always deserved from the beginning. Why he was never utilized sooner is still a massive Sanrio mystery.
3
Studio Comet Kuromi Lawsuit
Studio Comet Animators Insist They Designed Kuromi First For the Onegai My Melody Anime, Not Sanrio
Some of Hello Kitty’s characters have found themselves in hot water in a legal sense, and Kuromi is one of these unfortunate individuals. Animators at Studio Comet, the anime studio that produced Onegai My Melody, state that they originally designed Kuromi and should be recognized as the true creators of the mischievous bunny character.
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Forget, Hello Kitty! Netflix’s Next Big Anime Will Put My Melody and Kuromi in Charge
It is not Hello Kitty who will steal the Sanrio spotlight this summer, but My Melody and Kuromi in their next Netflix anime series coming in July.
With the My Melody & Kuromi anime set to release on Netflix soon, the question of who created the character is more relevant than ever. This particular controversy is still being disputed, and the real inventor of Kuromi is unknown, for now.
2
Hello Kitty Is Not a Cat
Her Real Name Is Kitty White and She Is Actually a Human Girl, Despite Popular Belief
There was never any doubt in fans’ minds that Hello Kitty was a cat, until a shocking statement in Time Magazine from Christine Yano, a Hello Kitty expert, changed everything. Her unmistakably whiskered and pointy-eared cat-like appearance might have given the impression that she is one, but Sanrio declares with certainty that Hello Kitty is not a cat.
“I was corrected — very firmly. That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.” – Christine Yano, Time Magazine
This reveal sparked astonishment and, in some cases, disbelief among fans who refused to accept that this character they had always assumed was an animal was actually a human girl named Kitty White. Believe it or not, Hello Kitty is simply a reference to the character’s name, Kitty White, not an indication that she too is a cat herself.
1
Questionable My Melody Clothing Line
My Melody and Her Mother Were Featured in a Clothing Collection That Included Sexist Phrases on the Items
My Melody, one of Sanrio’s most beloved bunny characters, is known for her positivity and outgoing nature. She is a friend to all, making it even more disturbing when a clothing line featuring images of the character and her mother also included another nasty surprise: sexist statements written on the pieces.
Surely My Melody herself would never speak words so unkind, but sure enough, phrases like “The enemy of women is always other women” and “Nothing affects a man more than when his pride takes a hit,” were emblazoned across pastel clothing items, starring some of Sanrio’s sweetest characters alongside the offensive sayings.
Understandably, Sanrio fans were not eager to buy pieces covered in sexist phrases. Eventually, the controversial My Melody clothing collection was quietly pushed out of the public eye, never to be discussed by the company again.
- Created by
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Yuko Shimizu
- First Film
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Hello Kitty: Cinderella (1989)
- Latest Film
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Hello Kitty in The Sleeping Princess (1991)
- Upcoming Films
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Hello Kitty
- First TV Show
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Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater (1987)
- Latest TV Show
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Hello Kitty: Super Style! (2022)
Hello Kitty is a globally recognized character created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974 for Sanrio. Initially designed for children, its popularity expanded to teens and adults, becoming a major part of kawaii culture. Depicted as a friendly, anthropomorphic cat from London, Hello Kitty has appeared in numerous animated series, comics, films, and video games. The brand is known for extensive merchandising, with over 50,000 products worldwide.
