Hello Kitty: Island Adventureintroduced many folks to Sanrio characters they didn’t even know existed. From Big Challenges to Wish Me Mell, there’s a wholetreasure trove of underappreciated friendsout there. With hundreds of Sanrio characters over the years, not all of them can be as famous asHello Kitty.
For our purposes, characters will only appear on this list if they have a profile on Sanrio’s official website or have placed in one of Sanrio’s many popularity contests over the years. Here’s a list of some of the more obscure mascots, which range from the company’s inception to the relatively recent 2010s.
13Winkipinki
If Hello Kitty seems too basic for your tastes, Winkipinki may bejust the catfor you. This fabulous feline made her debut as part of the Fancy Friends gang, a group of characters Sanrio put out to attract a more upscale audience.
Winkipinki was born and raised in a lush garden, and quickly made friends with all its flora and fauna. Her hobbies enjoy wearing pretty dresses and frolicking among the flowers. Hopefully, she’ll get more love sometime soon.
12Chunenheroine Ojisans
The 2010s were an experimental era for Sanrio, where they sought to provide a more diverse and quirky set of characters. Many of the entries on this list come from that decade, simply because the company was willing to take more risks.
For instance, Chunenheroine Ojisan’s is a trio of delightful old men who moonlight as magical girls. These guys are absolutely charming, and it’s a shame they didn’t manage to get off the ground.
11The Vaudeville Duo
Upon first glance, the Vaudeville Duo may seem like a fairly basic pair of human characters. However, they have a surprising amount of backstory: born on the same day, Eddy and Emmy are two best friends who share a love for theater.
Together, these theater kids adopted a dog named Elf, who sometimes appears in official art. Despite their relative obscurity, the Vaudeville Duo have managed to secure a spot in many of Sanrio’s popularity rankings over the decades.
10Shirirapper
Sure, Sanrio has cats, dogs, and frogs, but what about butts? Look no further, as the company introduced a group of “butt fairies” known as Shirirapper in 2013. This asinine trio represents all that is wonderful and butt-shaped in the world, from peaches to weirdly-shaped potatoes.
The 2010s were a time when Sanrio pitched more “quirky” characters to contrast with their cutesy image. Some, such as Gudetama, have withstood the test of time, while most faded into obscurity once the new decade rolled around.
9Laughing Woman
The Laughing Woman stands out in a lot of ways when you compare her to the rest of Sanrio’s character roster. Probably the most distinctive difference is her childish art style, which makes her look like she was drawn with crayons.
However, her existence raises more questions than it answers. Why is the Laughing Woman laughing? Why does her head look a little bit like a tomato? The world will probably never know, as she hasn’t appeared on official merchandise as of late.
8Chobot
It’s easy to imagine that this little fella might be the mascot for some sort of tech collab that never quite got off the ground, but that’s hardly the case. Chobot was created to be a cute robot friend: nothing more, nothing less.
Debuting in 2004, Chobot has placed in a number of character rankings over the past two decades. However, he hasn’t made the list since 2022, so maybe it’s time he got some well-deserved love and attention.
7Yokai Kids
If there were ever a group of obscure Sanrio characters that deserved their own animated series, it would be the Yokai Kids. Some members of the Yokai Kids clearly resemble creatures from Japanese folklore, but creeps and ghoulies from all over the world are represented.
The Yokai Kids attend a school for other monster children, where they presumably learn to harness their mystical powers. They hope to one day become powerful mythical creatures, but for now, they’re just kids. I’m pretty sure these guys are long overdue for a comeback.
6Chu~chu Taco
Yes, her name is Romanized as “taco” and not “tako”. Chu~chu~ Taco is a pink octopus who debuted during the 1990s and, like many Sanrio characters, appeared in a limited line of merchandise only to be semi-retired shortly thereafter.
This sweet little octopus has one mission in life: to make kissy faces at absolutely everyone and everything. Her official profile states that she has a boyfriend who’s a squid, but we haven’t been able to track down any official art of him.
5Spottie Dottie
The 90s and early 2000s saw the rise of a bold, unapologetically femme aesthetic known as “curly girly”. With frilly text and vivid colors, it was everywhere on toys, clothes, and books marketed to girls. But before Bratz and Justice, there wasa dog namedSpottie Dottie.
Unlike many Sanrio characters, Spottie Dottie is a non-anthropomorphic animal. That doesn’t stop her from enjoying fashion and all things fabulous. She also has a cat friend named Sassy, who’s only shown up in a few official art pieces.
4Alfred Aloha
Like Winkipinki, Alfred Aloha made his debut as part of the Fancy Friends line of characters, which sought to give both children and adults a more upscale character roster. Fancy Friends has since fallen into obscurity, but Alfred Aloha is still pretty great.
What’s not to love? He’s an elephant drinking an ice-cold beverage and wearing an aloha shirt. Alfred Aloha doesn’t have much of an official character bio, but we like to think he’s sunbathing on a beach somewhere and enjoying a well-deserved mai-tai.
