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Sanrio Shop in Madrid, Spain

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti), is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Designed by Ikuko Shimizu, the first product, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974, and in the United States in 1976.

The Hello Kitty line has since developed 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. Hello Kitty has an official theme park, Sanrio Puroland.

In media

Television series

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Hello Kitty
GenreKodomo manga
Anime
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre
StudioUnited States DiC Entertainment
Japan Madhouse
Released Began in 1986 – Ended in 1986
Anime
Hello Kitty and Friends
StudioJapan Madhouse
Released 1991 – 1992
Anime
Hello Kitty's Paradise
StudioJapan Madhouse
Released 1993 – 1994

Several Hello Kitty animated series targeted towards young children have been produced. In the animated films made by Sanrio from 1977 to 1985, Hello Kitty has made cameo appearances in them (similar to Disney's hidden Mickey techniques).

The earliest Hello Kitty animated series known was the American-animated (co-produced with Japan) Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theatre, which aired throughout 1986. This show, produced by Sanrio in cooperation with the now-defunct DiC Entertainment, parodies famous fairy tales and blockbuster movies from the period. It was broadcast in the United States on The Family Channel, and a Spanish-dubbed version also aired Saturday mornings on Univision. The voice of Hello Kitty is Mr.Edmunson.

The Japanese anime series Hello Kitty and Friends aired on TV Tokyo in Japan, and CBS in the United States in 1991. It also ran in reruns on Toon Disney. On the show, Kitty is a little girl living with her mother, father, and twin sister Mimmy, who is identical to Kitty but has different colored clothes and wears her bow under the opposite ear. 13 episodes were produced, using animation produced as early as 1991.

On Japanese television, Hello Kitty (and her pals) have starred in an anime series. Hello Kitty's Paradise ran for 16 episodes between 1993 and 1994. This version was released in English in 2000, and like "Hello Kitty and Friends". Hello Kitty and friends also appeared in Hello Kitty's Animation Theatre, which had Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters appearing in their versions of different fairy tales. Available in the U.S. from ADV Films (who also own the video/DVD rights to Hello Kitty and Friends & Hello Kitty's Paradise)

Hello Kitty appeared in a new Japanese clay-animated series called Hello Kitty's Stump Village in 2005. At Anime Expo 2006, Geneon Entertainment announced that Hello Kitty's Stump Village was one of the series it licensed for U.S. release. Volume 1 was released in October, and Volume 2 was released in January and in 2008. After Geneon withdrew from the US market at the end of 2007, it was later re-licensed by Funimation Entertainment, who will continue to release it in North America. Hello Kitty appeared for the first time in a full 3D animation The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends developed by Sanrio's digital entertainment entity Sanrio Digital.

Video games

Numerous Hello Kitty games have been produced since the release of the first title for NES in 1992, however the majority of these games haven't seen a release outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen. Special edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Edition Xbox have also been released exclusively to Japan.

Examples of Hello Kitty games include:

Products

Hello Kitty can be found on a variety of consumer products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories.

The Hello Kitty Airbus A330-200.

Hello Kitty has her own branded album, Hello World, featuring songs inspired by Hello Kitty performed a collection of artists, including Keke Palmer and Cori Yarckin. Sanrio and Fender released a series of Hello Kitty guitars (the Hello Kitty Stratocaster), and even a jet airplane (the Hello Kitty Jet). She was also named, in May 2008, Japan Tourism Ambassador, representing the country in China and Hong Kong.

Establishments

There is a Hello Kitty restaurant that may be found in Taipei, Taiwan. The Hello Kitty themed restaurant serves dishes that are also patterned according to Hello Kitty itself like the Hello Kitty Jelly. The fixtures and restaurant designs are also Hello Kitty themed.

Also near Taipei is a Hello Kitty themed hospital. The owner bought rights to the brand on the insistence of his mother, wife and daughter, with the thinking that anxious expecting mothers would be calmed by the icon.

Reception

UNICEF awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.

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 many American department stores.

Since 2004, Hello Kitty has been featured on a MasterCard debit card from Legend Credit Inc. The card was released to teach young girls how to shop and use a debit card.

In 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in China and Hong Kong.

Also in 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital was opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan, in the hopes that the popular character would help ease the stress of childbirth. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers,and nurses' uniforms.

Cultural references

In 1999, in Hong Kong, a brutal murder known as the Hello Kitty murder took place. The popular name of the case derives from the fact that the murderer inserted his victim's head into a Hello Kitty doll after decapitating her.

As of August 2007, Thai police officers who have committed minor transgressions such as showing up late or parking in the wrong place are forced to wear Hello Kitty armbands for several days as penance.

In the Homestar Runner Halloween cartoon "Most in the Graveyard" The King of Town dresses up as Hello Kitty for Halloween.

A fictitious video game, Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is referenced in the South Park episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft". Such a game seems to be coming, see announcement from 2008: . See also "Hello Kitty Island Adventure" for WOW at .


Also in CNET's podcast Gadgettes there is a segment called "Hello Kitty Watch" dedicated to Hello Kitty inspired things, Mainly Gadgets.

Hello Kitty is used as a sex toy in Japan for loose women of all ages. If you look at your Hello Kitty plush doll very closely you'll be able to see two, very hairy vaginas in the pupil of it's eye. If you unscrew it's head there are lesbian pornographic images inside.

References

  1. "サンリオキャラクターたちの本名、言えますか？" (in Japanese). 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  2. Dhamija, Tina (April 1, 2003). "Designing an Icon: Hello Kitty Transcends Generational and Cultural Limits". ToyDirectory. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  3. "Hello Kitty celebrates 30". China News Daily. 2005-08-19. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  4. Segers, Rien T. (2008). A New Japan for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 9780415453110.
  5. Paschal (2003-05-18). "Sanrio's Hula Kitty heads to the beach". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  6. "Hello Kitty's Big Fun Piano". MobyGames. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  7. "Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  8. Crampton, Thomas (June 2, 2008). "World of Warcraft invades Hello Kitty online". Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  9. "Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise". ZIO Interactive.
  11. "Hello Kitty Sweets resto in Taipei. Also hello Kitty has many coloring books for all kids. They come to life whne little children color them. (Part I)". April 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  12. "Taiwan hospital a hit with Hello Kitty fans". January 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  13. "UNICEF Special Friend of Children". Sanrio. March 23, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  14. "Hello Kitty marks 30th birthday". The Japan Times Online. June 10, 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  15. Walker, Esther (21 May 2008). "Top cat: how 'Hello Kitty' conquered the world". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  16. Mayer, Caroline E. (October 3, 2004). "Girls Go From Hello Kitty To Hello Debit Card". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  17. "Hello Kitty named Japan tourism ambassador". MSNBC. May 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  18. "Hello baby! Hello Kitty welcomes Taiwan newborns". Reuters. December 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  19. BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Thai cops punished by Hello Kitty

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