Line #29 Creator/Sanrio


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sawrio_characters.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Slogans}} Small Gift, Big Smile]][[note]] From left to right: Chococat, My Melody, Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, and Keroppi. Not pictured, tons and tons of adorable characters]] [[/note]]
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4	Founded by Shintaro Tsuji in August 10, 1960, Sanrio is a Japanese company, well known for creating various merchandise such as fashion, toys, and entertainment. The company is also well known for creating the ''Franchise/HelloKitty'' franchise. Sanrio started creating these types of characters beginning in 1974. The company also owns two Sanrio theme parks (three in China) across Asia; with "Sanrio Puroland" (an indoor theme park and shopping center) located in UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} in Tama City, and "Harmonyland" (an outdoor theme park) located in Hiji, Japan being their most popular theme parks. It's also the current company which owns ''Literature/MrMen'' and ''Little Misses'' series. A few anime shows were created in the mid 2000's starring popular Sanrio characters such as ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'' starring My Melody, ''Sugarbunnies'', and ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' (co-created by [[Creator/{{Sega}} Sega Toys]]) named after the franchise of the same name, which stars Ruby, Garnet, and Sapphie.
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6	Between the [[TheSeventies late 1970s]] and [[TheEighties mid 1980s]], Sanrio had its own animation studio called "Sanrio Animation" (sometimes known as "Sanrio Film"). The company's animation division was entirely dedicated to making animated films, animated shorts, animated shows, and works based on Japanese children's books, children's manga, and some original content. While Sanrio Animation was short-lived with a total of 10 animated films during its run, their works were notable for focusing on [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids darker topics]], [[TearJerker depressing subject matter]], [[NightmareFuel disturbing imagery]], and explicitly avoided the use of their characters in order to be taken more seriously in the animation industry. Their 1978 film adaptation of Creator/TakashiYanase's children's story ''[[Literature/RingingBell Chirin no Suzu]]'' ("Chirin's Bell") alongside their two feature film adaptations of Osamu Tezuka's ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' series [[note]] and the 1979 animated pilot ''Anime/UnicoBlackCloudAndWhiteFeather'' to a lesser extent [[/note]] are Sanrio Animation's most well-known works that's still watched and enjoyed in Japan and the West.
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8	The company also published children's books throughout [[TheSeventies the 1970s]] under "Sanrio Publishing", where Creator/TakashiYanase would not only publish some of his children's picture books (such as ''Lonely Anpanman "Alice's Cherry"''). But also written and illustrated poems for younger audiences (such as ''Sanrio Gift Book Takashi Yanase Happiness Poems'' and ''Sanrio Gift Book Takashi Yanase Love Poems'') themed to some emotions of the humanmind.
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10	Here's the company's [[http://www.sanrio.com/ English]] and [[http://www.sanrio.co.jp/ Japanese website]]. The official website for [[https://en.puroland.jp/ Sanrio Puroland]] and [[https://www.harmonyland.jp/english/harmony/harmony.html Harmonyland]]. Including the official Youtube channel for [[https://www.youtube.com/user/purolandJP Puroland]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/user/harmonylandJP Harmonyland]].
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12	Sanrio's official [[https://www.youtube.com/user/SanrioInc English]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/user/sanriojapan/featured Japanese Youtube]] Channels can be found here. Japanese Youtube channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmMXaIuk8Mm19LKfLS0l6w "chuchupachu"]] is mostly dedicated to archiving Sanrio's previous music videos (Mainly for Puroland and Harmonyland) and animated content from the past.
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14	On March 5th, 2019, Sanrio, along with Creator/WarnerBrothers, Creator/NewLineCinema and Flynn Pictures Company announced that they will be teaming up to develop an [[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/business/media/hello-kitty-movie-warner-bros.html upcoming English language Hello Kitty film for a worldwide audience]]. The film will be produced by Beau Flynn and executive produced by Wendy Jacobson. The partnership also marks the only time Sanrio has granted film rights to Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters to a major film studio. On March 3, 2021 [[https://deadline.com/2021/03/hello-kitty-movie-directors-jennifer-coyle-leo-matsuda-new-line-1234704997/ it was announced that the film will be a live-action/CGI hybrid]] and will by directed by Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda.
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16	----
17	!!Works starring Sanrio characters:
18	* ''Kitty to Mimi no Atarashii Kasa'' (''Kitty and Mimmy's New Umbrella'' in English) (Hello Kitty) (StopMotion) (1981) [[note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxX64WE9Zl4 Hello Kitty's animation debut]] [[/note]]
19	* ''Anime/DreamStarButtonNose'' (Button Nose) (Anime) (1985-1986)
20	* ''WesternAnimation/HelloKittysFurryTaleTheater'' (Hello Kitty, My Melody, Tuxedo Sam, and Chip) (WesternAnimation) (1987)
21	* ''Sanrio Anime Festival'' (Film series) (Hello Kitty, My Melody, the Little Twin Stars, Keroppi, Taabou, Pokopon) (Screened at three theater road shows during the summers of 1989-1991, then later in 1996.)
22	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-tGnY31XB0 ''Hello Kitty no Cinderella'']] [[note]] Was dubbed into English as a part of the ''Hello Kitty & Friends'' series [[/note]] (1989)
23	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cc1tvo56fk&t=400s ''My Melody no Akazukin'']] (1989)
24	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcxfaDvAru4 ''Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori'']] (1989)
25	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVQWI9mW058 ''Hello Kitty no Oyayubi-hime'']] (1990)
26	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk8NyqO0GFw ''Pokopon no Yukai na Saiyuuki'']] (1990)
27	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybI5IqjJsws ''Kero Kero Keroppi: Fushigi na Mame no Ki'']] (1990)
28	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXNfbqgQkpY ''Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken'']] [[note]] Was dubbed in English and released with the ''Hello Kitty & Friends'' series [[/note]] (1990)
29	** [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xykglw ''Hello Kitty: Mahou no Mori no Ohimesama'']] [[note]] Was dubbed in English as a part of the ''Hello Kitty & Friends'' series [[/note]] (1991)
30	** [[https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm20961831 ''Taabou no Ryuuguusei Daitanken'']] (1991)
31	** ''Kero Kero Keroppi no Sanjuushi'' (1991)
32	* After the success of the Anime Festival, Sanrio continued to make short films and specials with their characters, releasing them on VHS under the "Sanrio Video" label:
33	** The Hello Kitty Direct-to-VHS series (September 1989-January 1995) (12 of these animations, plus two shown at the Sanrio Anime Festival, were dubbed in English as ''Hello Kitty & Friends'')
34	** ''[[https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16874775 Hello Kitty and Mimmy's Happy Birthday]]'' (1989) (featuring My Melody, Tuxedo Sam, Chip, Little Twin Stars, Hangyodon, Pokopon, Vaudevilleduo, and Marroncream)
35	** The Kero Kero Keroppi [=OVAs=]. Some of them were dubbed to English and released alongside ''Hello Kitty & Friends'' (Sept 1989-Jan 1996)
36	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcad21IHpc0 "Sam Is Not Scared Of Monsters!"]] (Tuxedo Sam and Chip) ([=OVA=]) (1989)
37	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpReTT9-WwU "Sam and Chip's Great Messy Race" or "Sam and Chip's Big Race Nonsense"]] (Tuxedo Sam, Chip, Hello Kitty, Keroppi, The Little Twin Stars, Pokopon, Dachonosuke, Goropikadon, Hangyodon, and Minna no Tabo) ([=OVA=]) (1990)
38	** Three Hangyodon [=OVAs=] (1992-1993)
39	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b41ZFrq406I "Eddy & Emmy and Their Initial Ring"]] (Vaudvilleduo) ([=OVA=]) (1993)
40	** The Kiki and Lala (aka the Little Twin Stars) [=OVAs=] (1993-1995).
41	** Two Pochacoo animations - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa2StR2yfrk ''Pochacco's Exciting Birthday'']] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq1eIFPcK3A ''Pochacco in The Excitement at the Carrot Patch'']] ([=OVAs=]) (Fall 1993)
42	** ''Hello Kitty no Minna no Mori o Mamore!'' (1994)
43	** ''[[https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm17114400 Badtz-maru no Ore wa Yuutousei]]'' ([=OVA=]) (1994)
44	** ''[[https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm17114832 Bad Badtz-Maru no Otoko Dokyou no Omoiyari]]'' ([=OVA=]) (1995)
45	** ''[[https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm17114527 Bad Badtz-Maru no Ore no Pochi wa Sekaiichi]]'' ([=OVA=]) (1996)
46	** Three Pokopon animations - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORiomheKcIc "Pokopon no Satogaeri"]], ''Pokopon no Yukai na Saiyuuki'', and ''Pokopon no Kitsune-gawa Onsen Henshin Gassen'' ([=OVAs=]) (1990-1993)
47	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4-4dY4wp8 "Patty & Jimmy: "You're a Superstar"]] (Patty & Jimmy) ([=OVA=]) (1994)
48	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIW-ealCyi8 "My Melody's "Beware of Mr. Wolf!"]] (My Melody) ([=OVA=])
49	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LJVb6zG4aw "Hello Kitty's Everyone's Fun Summer"]] (Hello Kitty, Tuxedo Sam, Chip, and Pokopon) ([=OVA=]) (1998)
50	* ''Hello Kitty to Issho'' (Hello Kitty) (Edutainment anime series) (1994-1998) [[note]] Was dubbed and released in English in 2011 under the title ''Growing Up with Hello Kitty'' [[/note]]
51	* ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' (Hello Kitty) (1999-2011) [[note]] This was a children's variety series that hosted skits featuring Puroland/Harmonyland mascots as well as many of Sanrio's 2000s anime, like ''Onegai My Melody'' and the ''Sugarbunnies'' series. The Hello Kitty shorts from its third season were released internationally under the same name. [[/note]]
52	* ''Hello Kitty's Animation Theater'' (Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi, Kuririn, Pom Pom Purin, Hangyodon, Dear Daniel, Pochacco, Pekkle, Monkichi) ({{OVA}} series) (2000-2001)
53	* ''Hello Kitty Stump Village'' (Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll, Pom Pom Purin) (StopMotion) (2004) [[note]] First released in South Korea in 2004, Japan in 2005, and the U.S. and other international markets in 2006 and 2007. [[/note]]
54	* ''Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll'' (Cinnamoroll and later the Cinnamoangels) (Manga) (Originally serialized from 2004 to 2008, released in English by Viz Media in 2012) [[note]] A color edition titled ''Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll: Color Edition'' was released in 2008. [[/note]]
55	* The ''Charmmy Kitty'' series, starring Charmmy Kitty (Hello Kitty's pet) and her friend Sugar, and later her sister Honeycute. They can be watched here: [[https://vimeo.com/331848047 Volume 1]], [[https://vimeo.com/331862182 Volume 2]] and [[https://vimeo.com/331862689 Volume 3]] ([=OVA=] series) (2005-2006)
56	* ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'' (My Melody and Kuromi) (Anime/Manga) (2005-2009)
57	* ''Hello Kitty: Ringo no Mori'' (consists of 3 seasons: Fantasy, Mystery, and Parallel Town.) (Hello Kitty) (Anime) (2006-2008)
58	* ''Kero Kero Keroppi: Hasunoue Town Kiki Ippatsu'' (Keroppi) (Anime Miniseries) (Oct-Dec 2006) [[note]] Was paired with ''Usahana: Yumemiru Ballerina'' and ''Hello Kitty: Ringo no Mori no Fantasy'' during its run as a part of the ''Kitty's Paradise'' block [[/note]]
59	* ''Usahana: Yumemiru Ballerina'' (Usahana) (Anime Miniseries) (Oct-Dec 2006) [[note]] Was paired with ''Kero Kero Keroppi: Hasunoue Town Kiki Ippatsu'' and ''Hello Kitty: Ringo no Mori no Fantasy'' during its run as a part of the ''Kitty's Paradise'' block [[/note]]
60	* ''Sanrio Pokoapoko Series'' ([=OVA=]) (Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and Usahana) [[note]] An [[EdutainmentShow edutainment series]] containing an animated segment and live-action scenes with puppet versions of the title character interacting with children and adults. The series taught Japanese children and families about various topics and English language. [[/note]] (2007-2008)
61	* ''Sugarbunnies'' (Sugarbunnies; mainly Shirousa and Kurousa) (Had three seasons: Sugarbunnies, Sugarbunnies: Chocolat, and Sugarbunnies: Fleur) (Anime/Manga) (2007-2009)
62	* ''Petit! Tenorikuma'' (Tenorikuma) (Manga) (June 2007-December 2008)
63	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEIOb4KClKE ''Cinnamon The Movie'']] (Cinnamoroll) (Anime Movie) (December 22, 2007) [[note]] Screened alongside ''Nezumi Monogatari: Jôji to Jerarudo no bouken''. [[/note]]
64	* ''The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends'' (Hello Kitty, Dear Daniel, My Melody, Pochacco, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi) (AllCGICartoon) (2008-2009)
65	* ''Together Sugarbunnies'' (Sugarbunnies) (Manga) (2009)
66	* ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' (Ruby, Garnet, Sapphie, many others) (Anime/Manga) (2009-2015)
67	* ''Anime/JewelpetTheMovieSweetsDancePrincess'' (ShortFilm) (2012) [[note]] Screened along with ''Onegai My Melody: Yu and Ai''. [[/note]]
68	* ''Onegai My Melody: Yu and Ai'' (ShortFilm) (2012) [[note]] Screened along with "Jewelpet: Sweets Dance Princess'' [[/note]]
69	* ''Anime/ShowByRock'' (based off the mobile game of the same name) (Anime) (2015-ongoing)
70	* ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' (One-minute Anime Shorts; later made into a {{Quarter Hour Short}} series on Creator/{{Netflix}}) (2016-2018, 2018-2023)
71	* ''Rilu Rilu Fairilu'' (Anime) (2016-2017)
72	* ''Hello Kitty & Friends - Let's Learn Together'' (Edutainment) (2017) (A series of animated shorts that aired on Hikari TV in Japan as ''Kiti to Issho ni Manabi, Kangaete Iku'' [[note]] lit. ''Learn with Kitty, and Think'' [[/note]]. It was dubbed and released in English in November 2018.)
73	* ''Anime/SanrioBoys'' (based off the multimedia project of the same name) (features Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and Little Twin Stars) (CharacterBlog/Manga/Visual Novel/Anime; 2018 release)
74	* ''O Mundo da Hello Kitty'' (Hello Kitty, Dear Daniel, Keroppi, Chococat, Badtz-Maru, Little Twin Stars, My Melody) (WebOriginal) (2016-2019) (An animated web series co-produced with Brazilian studio Plot Kids. An English language version is available on Sanrio's Southeast Asian channel)
75	* ''Anime/{{Mewkledreamy}}'' (Mew) (Anime/Manga) (April 2020-ongoing)
76	* ''WebAnimation/HelloKittyAndFriendsSupercuteAdventures'' (Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, My Melody, Kuromi, Pom Pom Purin, and Keroppi. Later joined by Cinnamoroll and Chococat in Season 2, and Pochacco in Season 4) (WebAnimation) (October 2020-ongoing)
77	* ''Hello Kitty and Friends Mini Tales 3D'' (Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi, Badtz-Maru, Chococat, Pom Pom Purin and Cinnamoroll) (WebAnimation/CGI) (December 2020-2021)
78	* ''Jewelpet: Attack Travel'' (ShortFilm) (2022) [[note]] Was planned to be released in February 2020, but delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic [[/note]]
79	* ''Series/GudetamaAnEggcellentAdventure'' (Gudetama) (live-action/CGI hybrid series) (2022)
80	* ''Hello Kitty: Super Style!'' (Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, and Keroppi) (AllCGICartoon) (2022-2023)
81	* ''Kuromi's Pretty Journey'' (Kuromi) (Web Anime Series) (2023)
82	* "I.CINNAMOROLL" (Cinnamoroll) (Web Anime Series) (2023)
83	* ''WebOriginal/FragariaMemories'' (Multi-media franchise) (2023)
84	* ''Untitled Hello Kitty Movie'' (Hello Kitty) (live-action/CGI hybrid) (TBA)
85
86	!!Other works Sanrio has animated under Sanrio Animation/Sanrio Film:
87	* ''Anime/TheRoseFlowerAndJoe'' (''Bara no Hana to Joe'') [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6wvqKpxpXQ (1977)]]
88	* ''Little Jumbo'' (''Chiisana Jumbo'') (1977)
89	* ''Literature/TheMouseAndHisChild'' (1977)
90	* ''Literature/RingingBell'' (''Chirin no Suzu'') (1978) [[note]] During the film's production, [[https://puterboy1.tumblr.com/post/185301307681/guess-what-just-came-in-the-mail-today-sanrios a comic adaptation]] [[https://puterboy1.tumblr.com/post/185301358716/part-two-of-the-chirin-no-suzu-lyrica-adaptation of the movie was published on Lyrica Magazine in June 1977.]][[/note]]
91	* ''Metamorphoses'' (a.k.a. ''Winds of Change'') (1978)
92	* ''[[Theatre/TheNutcracker Nutcracker Fantasy]]'' (1979)
93	* ''Anime/TheSeaPrinceAndTheFireChild'' (1981)
94	* ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' [[note]] The original manga was serialized by ''Lyrica'', Sanrio's defunct magazine series which came out monthly in Japan [[https://www.flayrah.com/sites/default/files/u/Fred/LyricaUnicoSpecial.jpg between November 1976 and 1979]].[[/note]] (''Anime/UnicoBlackCloudAndWhiteFeather'', ''Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico'' , and ''Anime/UnicoInTheIslandOfMagic'') (1979, 1981, 1983): A collaboration with Creator/OsamuTezuka, Creator/{{Madhouse}}, and Creator/MushiProductions. During the late 70s and early 80s, the company used to have [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f1/7b/55/f17b55079f81677bb9d704e874e96a2c.jpg merchandise rights to the Unico series]] before moving to ''Tezuka Productions'' by the 90s after [[OutlivedItsCreator Tezuka's passing of stomach cancer in February 1989.]] (Hello Kitty and The Little Twin Stars make silent cameo appearances in ''The Fantastic Adventures Of Unico'')
95	* ''[[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon Be Invoked]]'' (1983)
96	* ''Anime/AJourneyThroughFairyland'' (Hello Kitty, My Melody, The Little Twin Stars, and Tuxedo Sam make cameo appearances) (1985)
97	!!Sanrio's non-animated works:
98	* ''Who Are the [=DeBolts=]? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?'' (1977): Distributors only.
99	* ''Film/DontCryItsOnlyThunder'' (1982): Sanrio's only live-action film and was co-produced with the United States (via "Sanrio Communications"). Due to being set during the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar, it's the furthest the company has got from its signature cutesy and idealistic tone.
100	* '' Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu'' (2020): A project designed and produced by ''Sanrio'' in collaboration with Creator/NitroPlus for the characters from ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu''. The project has spawned a series of merchandise and pop up shops across Japan. In 2024, it was announced that project would be receiving an Anime adaptation.
101	* ''{{Franchise/Maimaimaigoen}}'' (2021): A multimedia horror-drama series focusing on 16 nursery school children and their two teachers as they try to survive and escape the fictional theme park "Yuropia".
102	* ''WebOriginal/FragariaMemories'' (2023): A multimedia music/audio drama project set in the fantasy realm of Fragaria World, focusing on the [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys knights]] that serve kingdoms ruled by various Sanrio characters.
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104
105	!! Sanrio and their works provide examples of:
106	* ADogNamedDog: Several of their characters' names qualify as this:
107	** Taabo, whose name means "Boy" in Japanese
108	** Several of My Melody's friends, such as Squirrel and Bear
109	** [[https://imgcdn-sanrio.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/boyandgirl_c.png A boy and a girl]] named "Boy & Girl"
110	** The names of the Sugarbunnies - Kurousa & Shirousa (black bunny and white bunny)[[note]] Although Kurousa is drawn with brown fur [[/note]], Momousa & Hanausa (pink bunny and flower bunny), etc
111	** [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/32/33/85/323385fcc9787054034c625adf52ef06.jpg Pink no Corisu]] - a pink squirrel named "Pink Squirrel" in Japanese
112	* AnimatedAdaptation:
113	** Sanrio made two adaptations of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' by Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, both starring My Melody. The first was the 1989 OVA ''My Melody no Akazukin'', the second starring My Melody was part of the 1999 series ''Hello Kitty's Animation Theater'' starring other Sanrio characters. ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'' had a stage show where My Melody was cast as Little Red Riding Hood, while the western produced series ''WesternAnimation/HelloKittysFurryTaleTheater'' had Hello Kitty starring as the character.
114	** ''Sanrio Animation'' [[note]] The company's animation division.[[/note]] mainly did film adaptations of Japanese literature (Ringing Bell), manga (the Unico films), and some original content. Their animation division avoided featuring Sanrio characters outside of cameo appearances such as ''A Journey Through Fairyland'' and ''The Fantastic Adventures of Unico''.
115	** While Sanrio Animation adapted ''Chirin no Suzu'' into a feature film in 1978, a year earlier, they adapted two stories of Takashi Yanase's pictures books into animated shorts (''The Rose Flower and Joe'' and ''Little Jumbo'').
116	* AnimatedActors: In some Sanrio adaptations of beloved fairy tales such as the works of Creator/TheBrothersGrimm and Creator/HansChristianAndersen, Sanrio characters are seen playing the roles of the main characters. It's more notable in the 1989 animated films ''My Melody no Akazukin'', ''Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori'', and ''Hello Kitty no Cinderella'' where the characters (such as The Little Twin Stars and My Melody) are seen onstage in the beginning of their story. In ''My Melody no Akazukin'', The Big Bad Wolf who got filled with rocks is [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/cartoonfatness/images/4/43/Akazukin_051482.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20170530005754 revealed to be wearing his own costume where his stomach is filled and remains fine]]. The western produced series, ''WesternAnimation/HelloKittysFurryTaleTheater'', follows a similar approach where Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Tuxedo Sam are seen preparing for a stage show based on a popular fairy tale or movie parody.
117	* AnimatedMusicVideo: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sanrio created a series of animated music videos starring Pom Pom Purin, Kuririn the hamster (Coro Coro Kuririn), Badtz-Maru, and Hello Kitty. Two were created for Purin ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK5B73mPnnQ "Boku, Purin"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liBpDuODdho "Pudding, Pudding?"]]) and Kuririn ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnx0uzg3aeU Flame Diet Chu!]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMWBy43QBV8 "A lot of big love"]]). Hello Kitty starred in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiPM-pCJsvc "Get Along Everyone!" (みんな nakayoku!)]] alongside Mimmy and Dear Daniel. And an animated music video starring Badtz-Maru's sister Tsunko/Tzunko called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORD5fu9oCaE "Koitte! Patzn Musume♪" featuring Badtz-Maru, Hana-Maru, and Pandaba.]] Sanrio later started doing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m93rk7ibm0 live-actions music videos featuring their characters]] shot at Puroland and Harmonyland. These music videos would be shown at both parks and uploaded on the company's Japanese Youtube channel, alongside the channels for Harmonyland and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRRavo8UxE Puroland]].
118	* AnthropomorphicFood: There are several characters who are this including Gudetama, Kirimi-chan, Cogimyun and the Dokidoki Yummychums.
119	* AlternateCharacterReading: "Sanrio" comes from ''Sanri'', the ACR of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamanashi_Prefecture Yamanashi]] (prefecture). The company was named "Yamanashi Silk Center" at founding.
120	* AlternateContinuity:
121	** ''Cinnamon The Movie'' has a different origin story for Cinnamoroll compared to the character's official description of how he meet the cafe owner and his friends.
122	** The ''Jewelpet'' anime series has a different universe for each season.
123	* AlternateUniverse: In 2023, Sanrio and [[Creator/TokyoBroadcastingSystem TBS]] created a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CyCMZmW4gM&list=PLEo3kTfRhZSA4nlxWieGW66cMxhNji0aE different incarnation of Cinnamoroll]] called "I.CINNAMOROLL". The series involves Cinnamoroll having a different personality and life style showing what happened [[WhatIf if Cinnamon never discovered Cafe Cinnamon and meet his friends]]. The character is also depicted living in modern day Japan.
124	* ArtEvolution: Some characters in the franchise have gone through drastic changes since their first appearance. For example, look at [[https://i.imgur.com/YHMvAF4.jpg My Melody as she looked in 1976]] [[http://blogs.diariodonordeste.com.br/desenroladas/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/My_Melody.jpg to her present day look.]]
125	* ArtisticLicenceBiology: Cinnamoroll and his friends are frequently seen enjoying sugary baked goods and drinks with caffeine and dairy. A real life dog or puppy with their diet would likely suffer from digestive problems and obesity in the best case scenario and at worst possibly die because of it. Ditto with Purin and his love for pudding. However since Cinnamoroll was born from a cloud (with his own mother and father being a sentient sky and sun according to the ''Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll'' manga) he wouldn't have to worry about any of those issues.
126	* ArtShift: Some characters look different depending on what they appear in or what theme they are in merchandise.
127	** The 1977 animated short ''The Rose Flower and Joe'' has Joe's first imagination sequence drawn in the style of [[https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/n3r-Gb7Ir4ehy-FSHMQGgJK3hHDh94EohoVxr3_GZY5obQMsT9DTuaL4g0LNcbVIySiHeoLNnS5kTiW1nhIprBAUliWnxxpSpsTr Takashi Yanase's own illustration style]] compared to the rest of the short.
128	* AudienceParticipation:
129	** While Mell from Wish Me Mell was announced by Sanrio in December 2010, she didn't make her first physical appearance until January 25, 2011. Sanrio actually encourage real life participation from social media to encourage her to come out of her house.
130	** "My Melody's My Melo Therapy" hosted on Japanese internet radio network [=TS One=], is a radio show hosted by My Melody where should would answer real life questions and topics from lesseners. [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWkSpYmaQ_RCOnIasmYRxg The radio show even has its own Youtube channel which archives her answers.]]
131	* BearyFriendly: Tiny Chum, Thomas, and Tippy from the Hello Kitty franchise, Labra, Rosa, Chocola, and Sakuran from ''Jewelpet'', Muu from the Cheery Chums series, Kuma, Dreamtale Kubear, Hoshinowaguma, Marumofubiyori, Aro from Wish Me Mell, Pandaba, Pandaapple, Pandapitta, Pankuchi
132	* BlackfaceStyleCaricature: Unfortunately, three series that were created in the 1980's fit under this trope. These are Sambo and Hannah, Bibinba, and Boonchuka. All of them being black characters with black or brown skin and thick lips that are either red or pink. [[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-15-fi-1758-story.html Shortly after these characters were introduced, activists had called them complaining about the discriminatory designs. After Sanrio heard these complaints, production of any media or merchandise involving them ended and they are no longer officially acknowledged in any way.]]
133	* BunniesForCuteness: My Melody, Marroncream, Kuromi, Ruby from ''Jewelpet'', The Sugarbunnies, Usahana, Wish Me Mell, Bonbon Ribbon, and Chuchu, Koriente, and Asami Rosy from ''Show By Rock!!''
134	* BreakoutCharacter: Some Sanrio Characters that were introduced as a friend or supporting character to a titular character would quickly catch the eye of the general public. As a result, the company would quickly take notice of this and would either create dedicated merchandise to a specific character, or create a spin-off series. Here are just a few examples.
135	** My Melody was first introduced in 1975 as Sanrio's version of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' but didn't became its own thing until a year later. She started becoming popular once the 80s rolled out and quickly become one of the company's most well-known characters alongside Hello Kitty.
136	** My Melody's best friend Piano the Sheep started out as a supporting character of the series [[note]] She was originally just named Hitsuji, or sheep in Japanese. [[/note]] and the 2005 anime ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody''. Starting in 2014, Sanrio decided to give more focus to her and she was even given the nickname "My Sweet Piano", complete with her own set of merchandise. This resulted in Piano appearing more frequently and she was prominent during the company's celebration of My Melody's 40th Anniversary.
137	** [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/45/88/a6/4588a6ae51ac8e579b3265e903d64991.jpg Chiffon]] [[http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2300000/Mocha-cinnamoroll-2355220-322-224.jpg and especially Mocha]] ([[TomboyAndGirlyGirl Cinnamoroll's female friends]]) quickly became popular with Japanese fans as early as 2004. Around 2005, Sanrio decided to create a spin-off series called "Cinnamoangels" where Mocha is the leader of a girl group and joined by Azuki with a chibi art style. Starting in 2007, Sanrio promoted Mocha to becoming a major character in [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/86/c3/6986c31a03e32c2864375d85d8c24550.jpg "Cinnamon the Movie"]] and the ''Sanrio Pokoapoko'' and frequently sharing the spotlight with Cinnamoroll in the titular character's universe, and out of universe where Mocha's seen hanging out with Hello Kitty and numerous Sanrio Characters.
138	* CanonForeigner:
139	** ''Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater'' introduced [[FemaleFelineMaleMutt a cat and dog duo]] named Grinder the bulldog and Catnip the cat alongside her mother Fangora. These two characters were only seen in the 1987 series and [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome never reappeared in another Hello Kitty and Sanrio related project ever again.]]
140	** ''Cinnamon the Movie'' introduces a new character named [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcTjHQflwboBhA2ur2F2mj4VDBqEgWE9vbrrRQ&usqp=CAU Chowder]], a wizard who's angry at Cinnamoroll and wants to capture him and his friends. With the exception of Cinnamoroll, his friends (especially Mocha) don't trust him and constantly call him out. As the movie progress, [[DefrostingIceKing he starts acting more friendlier]] with Cinnamoroll, Anna, and his friends. By the end of the film, Anna (the cafe owner) invited him for a party which makes [[TearsOfJoy him cry of happiness.]] Since the movie, Chowder has never reappeared in other Sanrio related works.
141	** ''Hello Kitty: Ringo no Mori'' has [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_2020_12_20_20h48m53s723.png Uncle Scotch]], a [[TheOwlKnowingOne wise owl]] who gives Kitty and Mimmy knowledge, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_2020_12_20_20h48m28s872.png Pululu]], a fairy of the apple forest who helps them, and a pair of flying squirrels named [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_2020_12_20_21h03m13s884.png Monga and Montine]] who try to steal the apple amulet and the magical pocket mirror that takes Kitty and Mimmy to the forest. These characters were created specifically for this series and have not shown up in any other Hello Kitty works from before or since.
142	** The ''Sugarbunnies'' series has the Two Queens, who send the titular bunnies to the human world. They haven't appeared on any merch nor have they been seen since the series ended.
143	** ''Hello Kitty: Let's Learn Together'' introduces the Berry family, which has three kids named Harry, Amy, and Eric who become friends with Kitty and Mimmy. They have not appeared in any later Hello Kitty works.
144	* CharacterBlog: While Sanrio has created [[https://twitter.com/Melody_Mariland official Twitter blogs]] [[https://twitter.com/wishmemell?lang=en for their characters]] [[https://twitter.com/purin_sanrio between 2011]] [[https://twitter.com/cinnamon_sanrio and 2013]], they created an [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyof-1Ko_jy2sOtivyTpc4Q/videos official Youtube Channel for Hello Kitty]]. The channel comes with English subtitles since the language is Japanese. The channel is a vlogging channel starring Hello Kitty.
145	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Chip the seal (created in 1977) was one of Sanrio's earliest characters and Hello Kitty's closest friend. He was very prominent in the 80's (especially in ''Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater'' where [[AscendedExtra he's a main character]]). As time went on, Chip eventually vanished from future merchandise as newer characters were introduced. Nowadays, [[http://blog.japancrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/cotm_tx_top_right.png he's only seen on merchandise featuring Tuxedo Sam]] and rarely hangs out with other Sanrio Characters.
146	** In fact, a lot of their more unpopular and obscure characters suffer some form of this, such as [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/73/ba/d173ba92f1664bd16a8cfce9f2364ac1.jpg Pinki Lili]]. She was featured on [[http://web.archive.org/web/20020205095848/http://www.sanrio.com:80/main/characterintros/pl/pinkilili.html the English Sanrio website]] between 2002 and 2006 but you'd be hard-pressed to find even just mentions of her nowadays. It doesn't help that she's a US-exclusive character; no other Sanrio site, Japanese or international, has acknowledged her existence, and no merch of her has been sold outside of the USA.
147	** Another example is Spottie Dottie, who was prominent during the 90s but was discontinued in 2010 due to being a flop in sales.
148	** Button Nose was another character from the 70s and 80s who starred in Sanrio's first TV anime, ''Dream Star Button Nose'', but has been largely forgotten nowadays and her show has since fallen into obscurity.
149	* {{Crossover}}: Sanrio and ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' teamed up a few years ago and ''Franchise/CareBears'' did a crossover with ''The Little Twin Stars'' in 2013. Apparently there was also a crossover between ''My Melody'' and ''Little Suzy's Zoo'' some time in the past. Sanrio has also collaborated with Sega for a brand of plushies featuring Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtzu-Maru, Keroppi and Chococat dressed as the main [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic characters]] in honor of the franchise's 25th Anniversary. They've also collaborated with Creator/{{Nintendo}} where villagers based on Sanrio characters can move into your ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'' village.
150	** In the more recent years, Sanrio has done crossovers with various anime or anime video game based franchises such as Manga/{{Gintama}}, Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica, VideoGame/EnsembleStars etc.
151	** Sanrio and Creator/NitroPlus started working together in 2020 to develop the "Wanpaku! Touken Ranbu" design project, which saw all of the VideoGame/ToukenRanbu characters—including Konnosuke—redesigned into adorable, SuperDeformed art styles. The finished products were then produced as merchandise and offered for sale in pop-up stores all over Japan. This collaboration is different from the ones mentioned above in a few ways, as it only focuses on the Touken Ranbu cast and doesn't include any characters from the actual Sanrio brand. Additionally, this project has been going on for years, with new Touken Danshi redesigns being introduced in waves. An anime adaptation for the project was also announced in 2024.
152	* ClusterFBomb: Some of the fan translations for the TBS episodes featuring Restuko the Red Panda. Had some of the lyrics to her Death Metal songs [[SpiceUpTheSubtitles contain a lot of swearing.]]
153	* CuteButCacophonic: Retsuko
154	* CuteKitten: Hello Kitty, Mew from Mewkledreamy, and Garnet from ''Jewelpet'' are great examples. Cyan from ''Show by Rock!!'', as well as two other characters have cat forms.
155	* DarkerAndEdgier:
156	** The aforementioned Sanrio Animation films.
157	** The 1990s era Hello Kitty [=OVAs=] featured Hello Kitty and Mimmy barging into more adult subject matters with darker and emotional storylines. The series also featured a lot of character development compared to other Hello Kitty animated works. The 1997 [=OVA=] ''Hello Kitty no Shiawase no Tulip'' showed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2mPFrE8tmw Hello Kitty accidentally run over]] by a Tanuki riding motorcycle to catch a ball she was playing with as her mother is sleeping. While the 1994 [=OVA=] ''Hello Kitty no Papa Nante Daikirai'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uARSpZ9Eto&t=1091s involved Hello Kitty having a heated argument with her father]] and worrying about her mother staying at her grandparents place due to a hurricane that's quickly approaching.
158	** Compared to other works featuring Cinnamoroll such as ''Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll'' and the ''Sanrio Pokoapoko'' series, ''Cinnamon: The Movie'' is surprisingly tense and doesn't shy away from showing the cast of puppies in peril. For example, there's a scene where they get chased and eaten by a monster tree in a spooky forest.
159	** Among the ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' series, ''Anime/JewelpetTwinkle'' has parental issues as a recurring theme. It also touches on death - the main villain is someone whose fate is to die young because of her powers. ''Anime/LadyJewelpet'' is considered the most violent and the darkest of the franchise - there's plenty of angst among the characters, and they suffer from injuries that are less cartoony and more realistic, such as getting stabbed with a sword.
160	** ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' can be considered the most cynical of Sanrio's works, as it deals with the many challenges in being an adult and working in an office environment, including harassment, sexism, social media etc. [[StalkerWithACrush And that's not]] [[LoonyFan even getting into season 3]], which is darkest point in the series and definitely the farthest removed from their typical Hello Kitty fare.
161	** Not even Puroland and Harmonyland are immune to this. Sanrio has made multiple Halloween events starring a [[MonsterClown Monster Clown]] very reminiscent of [[Film/It2017 Pennywise]]. Speaking of which, there was a screening of the movie ''Film/ItChapterTwo'' during Halloween 2019. Also in Halloween 2019, [[https://soranews24.com/2019/09/23/sanrio-turns-one-of-its-most-popular-chargers-into-a-zombie-for-new-tokyo-undead-haunted-house/ Pom Pom Purin was infected by a poisonous mushroom]] that caused him to become [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCU3eZS-ot8&feature=emb_title half-zombified and involved guests helping him find a cure at Puroland]] while avoiding zombies roaming across place. Even Pom Pom Purin's official Twitter page showed Purin's slow transformation into a zombie, [[https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/09/pz-6.png?resize=640,359 with his friends asking the viewers for help.]] Thankfully, Purin was cured and returned to normal after Puroland's Halloween Event.
162	* DatingSim: A non video game example with [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLddZH89PjCMOMe640Ijl92m2xZ0k6Zpp2 "♡恋人目線♡〇〇とデートしてみませんか？♡"]] (loosely translates to "♡ Looking at your lover ♡ Why don't you date 〇〇? ♡"), which is an ongoing series of Youtube videos that was uploaded to Puroland's official Youtube channel beginning Feburary 8th, 2021. Each video (sometime separated into two parts) involves the viewer spending a day in Puroland by dating a popular Sanrio character (such as shopping, eating at "Resturant Yakata" (a resturant owned by Hello Kitty), and riding the "Sanrio Character Boat Ride") such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_ltc9CWJ2A&t=4s Dear Daniel]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Ard_dZP30&t=304s My Melody]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbC7hBdTdl0&t=8s Kuromi]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzHJnI7svtk&t=410s Wish Me Mell]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwJpacSUAzk&t=158s Hello Kitty herself]].
163	* DeathMetal: Restuko would always sing Death Metal music in Japanese to take out her frustration and anger.
164	* DerangedAnimation: The 2007 film ''Cinnamon The Movie'' has very strange and surreal animation once Cinnamoroll and his friends get separated from the cafe owner from Cafe Cinnamon in a land themed to candy.
165	* DemotedToExtra: Played with. Keroppi used to be one of the more popular characters but now he barely gets any merchandise (or rather he does but it's barely advertised, especially outside of seasonal or special events) and once had a spot in "Other Characters" on the Sanrio website. The same would also occur with Pekkle and Pochacco, although Pochacco managed to appear in various media by Sanrio Digital and the web series ''Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures''.
166	** Averted with the introduction of "Hapidanbui" in 2020, a band consisting of six pre-existing Sanrio characters (Pochacco, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi, Hangyodon, Tuxedo Sam, and Pekkle) of the 80s and 90s performing songs. The creation of Hapidanbui served as a reintroduction to Sanrio's lesser-known characters to new audiences.
167	** Chip the seal (Hello Kitty's seal friend) was also prominent during the 70's and 80's (most notably in ''Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater'') [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome but vanished as newer characters were created.]] Nowadays, he's only seen in various merchandise featuring Tuxedo Sam.
168	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Sanrio used to make and animate films such as ''Literature/RingingBell'', ''The Fantastic Adventures Of Unico'', ''Unico In The Island Of Magic'', and ''[[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon Be Invoked]]'' back in the 1970's and early 80's. It's jarring to think that Sanrio, [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter which is known for their cute characters]], also made movies that were [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids sometimes a little too dark]] for their current image; especially since the latter [[spoiler: has an apocalyptic ending in which all of humanity is wiped out]]. The exception is ''Little Jumbo'' and ''The Rose Flower and Joe'' since both stick closer to Sanrio's lighthearted tone. However the latter does enter Tear Jerker territory with a mix of bittersweetness.
169	* LiveActionAdaptation: ''Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure'' is Sanrio's first venture into translating their characters into live-action/CGI format [[note]] not counting promotional videos and music videos[[/note]]. The series involves [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZ3QDLq4Es&t=17s Gudetama and Shakipiyo traveling across Japan]] in search of their mother. Yoko Nara performs the show's theme song "Gudetama March", with other famous Japanese actors (such as Akiyoshi Nakao, Serena Motola, and Sarutoki Minagawa) appearing in the series as new characters.
170	* FantasySequence: In ''The Rose Flower and Joe'', the titular character imagines himself dancing with the pink rose complete with fancy clothing and hat. The sequence is stylized after Yanase's own illustration style, which is also seen on the Japanese cover for the short. [[note]] Yanase was the director of ''The Rose Flower and Jose'' and actually drawn illustrations for Joe's imagination sequence. [[/note]]
171	* FreeRangeChildren / FreeRangePets: Many of their characters are stated to be children and/or pets but they are frequently seen roaming around, going shopping, running stores and restaurants, visiting each others' houses etc. without supervision, and that's if their parents or owners [[InvisibleParents are present at all.]]
172	* GratuitousEnglish:
173	** In the company's native country, some live shows and attractions at Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland would feature some english text and dialogue from some of the characters.
174	** This even extends to some Japanese songs and music videos that uses some english lyrics such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqK6MtGR_I&t=83s "Lucky Happy Everday"]], Sanrio's music group "Hapidanbui" using [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTmjxLh1elw "Lucky" and "Happy" for one of their songs]], and Kuromi solo song "Greedy Greedy" featuring a couple english lyrics.
175	* GratuitousFrench: Some of their characters canonically speak French and like to pepper their speech with French words, mainly Flat the mouse from ''Onegai My Melody'', Rei from ''Mewkledreamy'', Marroncream (as heard in Sanrio's rare alarm clock album [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTBojMbO_Rw&t=516s "Hello Kitty Good Morning! Everyone" from 1991]]), and Wish Me Mell. Notably, Sanrio made a couple of stop-motion shorts for the Sugarbunnies franchise that were narrated entirely in French with Japanese and French subtitles. The later ''Sugarbunnies'' anime series also takes place in France.
176	* GoodParents: The company has a great track record for the amount of loveable and kindhearted parents to a titular Sanrio Character. While there's too many to list, here are a few notable examples:
177	** Hello Kitty's parents (Mary "Mama" White and George "Papa" White) are very sweet parents. Mama White has a sunny manner, but can get sad and worried about or husband and two daughters depending on the situation. Papa White is also a decent parent, but once had a heated argument with Hello Kitty in the 1994 [=OVA=] ''Hello Kitty no Papa Nante Daikirai''.
178	** While My Melody's parents (Mama and Papa) are unnamed, they act similar to Mama White and Papa White. My Melody's mother enjoys crafting and baking sweets. In ''Onegai My Melody'', My Melody would frequently remember some of her mother's quotes and advice from back home.
179	** Pom Pom Purin's mother loves making freshly made pudding ("purin") that her son enjoys eating. His father is very handy, loves making bad jokes, and wathes over Purin's family.
180	** An interesting example would have to be Badtz-Maru's parents. While Badtz-Maru mother is kind and sweet, she can get easily upset and angry when ever Badtz-Maru causes trouble and gets into serious mischief. Badtz-Maru's father is a different story, he mostly plays pinball and is a boss of an unknown gang (which is kept secret).
181	* {{Goth}}: Sanrio got started with this trend in the mid 2000's with characters such as [[Anime/OnegaiMyMelody Kuromi]], Lloromannic, and Badtz-Maru being an older example.
182	* HumanFocusedAdaptation: Since [[Main/TurnOfTheMillennium 2005]] anime (except [=OVAs=] and movies) starring a Sanrio character (such as My Melody, Jewelpets, Sugarbunnies, and recently Mew) would mostly focus on new human characters. [[note]] The exception is "Cinnamon The Movie" since there's only one human, Rilu Rilu Fairilu since the fairies are humanoid, and ''Aggretsuko'' is a universe filled with [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals anthropomorphic animals]].[[/note]] Examples include:
183	** [[Anime/Jewelpet2009 The first season]] for the [[Toys/{{Jewelpet}} Jewelpets]], alongside [[Anime/JewelpetTwinkle Twinkle]] and [[Anime/LadyJewelpet Lady]] were heavily focused on the human cast. While some were focused on the titular animal characters.
184	** While ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'' starred My Melody alongside Kuromi, My Melody's friends and family are supporting/minor characters. [[SchoolgirlSeries The anime is mainly focused on a group of high school girls.]]
185	* GrannyClassic:
186	** Margaret "Grandma" White (Hello Kitty's grandmother) is a sweet-natured and relaxing grandmother to Hello Kitty and her sister Mimmy. She's best-known for making very delicious pudding and enjoys doing embroidery in her rocking chair.
187	** [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c7/58/0e/c7580ec10838d337a33f5690f491b2ef.jpg My Melody's Grandmother]] is also very sweet with her granddaughter and her friends. She is even responsible for making My Melody's signature pink hood that was given to her moments after she was born (which is depicted in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-N4A6MRzns Puroland attraction "My Melody Drive"]] and some merchandise).
188	* IconicOutFit:
189	** Hello Kitty's red bow, red or blue overalls, and red or yellow shirt.
190	** My Melody's red or pink hood, which was even given a new look for her 40th Anniversary in 2015 with a large bow and her ears now drooping.
191	* ImageSong:
192	** In the late 90s and early 2000s, Sanrio had a Japanese exclusive album called ''Sanrio TV Original Songbook: Ureshi SONG!!'' (サンリオTVオリジナルソングブックうれしSONG!!～みらいへの宝物) which featured original songs sung by various Sanrio characters (such as Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru and his sister Tsunko/Tzunko, Purin, and Kuririn). Some of these songs would be made into animated music videos. A similar album called ''Kitty's Paradise PLUS Songbook: Sanrio Character to Odorou! Dance Song'' (キティズパラダイスＰＬＵＳ　ソングブック　サンリオキャラクターとおどろう！ダンスソング) also did a similar approach and was sold at Sanrio Puroland.
193	** Sanrio's ''Onegai My Melody'' anime has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxFxRfrceh4 music albums]] sung by either [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5jJjugGl94 My Melody]], or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-qLaS9F-ts Kuromi and Baku]]. [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/8ffd3841eca96cf4c697b554b4f32abe/tumblr_pfu153t0KY1uyol8po1_500.jpg My Melody]] and [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/3074dac312f61c96cd7ee858c482f723/tumblr_pfu153t0KY1uyol8po2_500.jpg Kuromi]] sing the first credits song, while My Melody sings a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigIwinc2sA Christmas song from a Christmas album]] for the anime.
194	** A day before Halloween (which is Kuromi's birthday), Sanrio and content studio CHOCOLATE Inc. launched a special project focused on Kuromi called [[https://grapee.jp/en/186548 "KUROMIfy the World" on October 30th, 2021]]. The project was made in hopes to invite people to join Kuromi in creating "a world where everyone can aim to be the best they can ever be." To launch the project, Sanrio released a song and music video starring Kuromi called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUPkFlFVnn0 "Greedy Greedy"]] alongside an [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC0HORqqyNRQkAB_GW1aWCw official Youtube channel for her]].
195	* InkSuitActor: [=MaiMai=] the dog from the Wish Me Mell series is based on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOPad899WAg Japanese pop star Mai Kuraki]], who collaborated with Sanrio on releasing the series's image song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpZ4f1Qezb4 "Stay the Same"]].
196	* IntercontinuityCrossover: Between 2008 and 2009, Blue from Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' made a surprise appearance at Sanrio Puroland. She starred in a live stage show alongside Hello Kitty called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF4st4xb6zA "Blue's Clues Show".]]
197	* LongRunner: Celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020.
198	* LevelAte: Most of the 2007 Cinnamoroll movie takes place in a world themed to candy and sweets that eventually becomes very dangerous for the characters.
199	* LivingToys: The Sugarbunnies and Mewkledreamy are living stuffed animals. In the Sugarbunnies anime, they at first have to pose like actual stuffed animals before they reveal that they are living. Some humans get startled at first until they get to know them.
200	* MascotsLoveSugar: Cocaine, his flying dog persona in ''LetsPlay/{{Nnemonic}}'', is very fond of eating sweets. This reflects his real personality.
201	* MouseWorld: The universe for both [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6e/7e/50/6e7e503f71e4c7bb434a7b9bdef64441.jpg Tenorikuma]] and [[http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Coro-Coro-Kuririn-sanrio-56170_1024_768.jpg Coro Coro Kuririn]] take place in this setting.
202	* MeanCharacterNiceActor: In the 1989 OVA ''My Melody No Akazukin'', TheBigBadWolf is revealed to be a nice guy outside of playing his role. The same wolf later reappeared in a short My Melody [=OVA=] called "My Melody's "Beware of Mr. Wolf" where he's named "Mr. Wolf".
203	* MediumBlending: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUPkFlFVnn0 "Greedy Greedy" music video]] features Kuromi (2D animated) wandering through the streets and cityscape of Shibuya City next to real life residents of the city.
204	* NeverBareheaded: My Melody and Kuromi are never seen without their hoods off. Even in their anime, there are scenes where they're taking baths with their hoods on.
205	* NiceMice:
206	** Flat the mouse is one of My Melody's best friends and has a secret crush on her.
207	** Hello Kitty is friends with Jody and Judy, one boy and one girl mouse.
208	** From the Sugarbunnies franchise, we have [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/62/d4/a9/62d4a98a4f2fb4afe6bc8b318010f9f0.png Cocoa and Vanilla]], two sibling mice who make chocolate. They became friends with Shirousa and Kurousa.
209	** There's also [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellokitty/images/6/6f/Sanrio_Characters_Cherinacherine_Image012.png/revision/latest?cb=20170518211934 Cherinacherine]], another pair of twin mice.
210	* NoMouth: A notable characteristic of their classic mascots (like Hello Kitty) as well as the Myumons of ''VideoGame/ShowByRock''. When the mascots were adapted to anime however, they were given mouths. Characters from more modern franchises like ''Jewelpet'' had mouths from the get-go.
211	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: The other characters from Pankunchi, Gudetama, and Kirimi-chan have very unique appearances compared to the majority of Sanrio characters.
212	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Their characters have birthdays but never actually age. This is especially apparent with their human characters like the Little Twin Stars and Tiny Poem, who were created in the 1970s and have stayed kids for decades. Hello Kitty herself has been a third grader since the 70s.
213	* OlderThanTheyLook: You are forgiven if you thought the [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/ae/3f/ccae3f4980613f3608e602901f8d3f63.jpg RuRuRuGaken]] girls were little kids based on [[SuperDeformed how they're usually depicted]] and the fact that most of Sanrio's human characters are stated to be children. They are actually supposed to be high-schoolers and were based off of doodles of Sanrio's adult staff members. There does exist merch where they're drawn like [[https://img.mandarake.co.jp/aucimg/6/7/3/6/0001206736.jpeg typical]] [[https://img.mandarake.co.jp/aucimg/6/7/3/7/0001206737.jpeg 80s/early 90s anime teens]] instead of the normal chibi art style.
214	* PreciousPuppy: Chibimaru, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, Sapphie and Peridot from ''Jewelpet''.
215	** The main protagonist of the 1977 animated short ''The Rose Flower and Joe'', is a [[https://i.imgur.com/rFxEMix.jpg sweet-natured brown puppy]], who falls in love with a rose, [[CreepyCrows and must protect it from a crow.]]
216	** The 1989 anime ''My Melody no Akazukin'' has The Woodsman/The Huntsman given a pet dog who is seen licking My Melody out of affection. The Woodsman/Huntsman' dog even shares a similar cap as his owner. Both characters later reappeared in an animated short called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIW-ealCyi8&t=136s "My Melody's "Beware of Mr. Wolf!"]] which is an even short adaptation of ''Little Red Riding Hood'' but with educational elements in the mix.
217	* RageBreakingPoint: Retsuko has many of these, as she tries to [[SuppressedRage maintain patience]] with the world and her co-workers who annoy her senseless.
218	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Every character created by Sanrio will look like this.
219	* SantaClaus:
220	** The 1998 Hello Kitty [=OVA=] ''Hello Kitty no Minna no Tanoshii Natsuyasumi'' (known as ''Hello Kitty's Everyone's Fun Summer'') involves Kitty, Mimmy, Tuxedo Sam, Chip, and Pokopon receiving a letter from a mysterious old man inviting the group to a summer vacation at his southern island home. When Hello Kitty and friends arrive at the island, it's revealed to be Santa Claus. Santa explains to the group that he annually spends a summer vacation at the southern islands before the next Christmas season arrives. However, Santa tells the group to keep this a secret from other children and adults.
221	** He appears in a ChristmasEpisode of ''Onegai My Melody'' where he helps My Melody and Kuromi grant Koto's wish and brings her mother back to life for one night. He becomes a recurring character in later christmas episodes and summoned in one episode not set during the holiday season.
222	* SecondPlaceIsForWinners: In 2013, Sanrio held a contest to come up with a new character, with Kirimi-chan taking first place and Gudetama taking second. However, Gudetama became much more popular.
223	* SharedUniverse: Since the company has over 400 characters, a tone of universes focused on a separate Sanrio character (such as My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Wish Me Mell, Hello Kitty, etc) would all share the same universe as their own.:
224	** The "Sanrio Character Boat Ride" (located in Puroland and Harmonyland) involves Cinnamoroll inviting guests to attends Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel's Wedding as they travel through various universes of Sanrio Characters who all recieved Hello Kitty's Wedding Invitation.
225	** A majority of works by "Sanrio Digital" (such as the defunct MMORPG game "Hello Kitty Online, the CGI series "The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends", and "Hello Kitty Seasons") also take place in an unnamed town inhabited by popular and sometimes obscure Sanrio characters.
226	** The 2020 Youtube english-languaged webseries ''Hello Kitty's Supercute Adventures'' takes place in an unnamed setting where various Sanrio characters are seen hanging out together.
227	** Some of the Keroppi [=OVAs=] (such as ''Keroppi & Friends) from the early 1990s would feature a couple Sanrio characters (Such as Hello Kitty and her sister Mimmy, the Goropikadon trio, and Pokopon) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXNfbqgQkpY making a guest apperance]] or a non-speaking cameo role.
228	** This also extends to Sanrio's official Twitter accounts, where a different Sanrio character (such as My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Pom Pom Purin, and Wish Me Mell) would occasionally be featured in a titular Sanrio character's twitter post.
229	* ShortRunner: While Sanrio's own animation studio lasted from 1977 till 1985 with a total of 10 animated films, it was praised by animation fans (especially in Japan) for tackling some surprisingly mature and deep subject matter while aimed at children. Some of their films [[note]] notably ''Chirin no Suzu'', ''The Fantastic Adventures of Unico'', and ''Unico In The Island Of Magic'' [[/note]] had [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic very memorable scores]] and had [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt animation work that was very high quality compared]] to [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation other animation studios during that period]]. The Unico movies are still praised by hardcore fans of Osamu Tezuka, while their film adaptation of ''Chirin no Suzu'' has remained a pop culture staple in Japan with some plays and stage performances taking cues from the 1978 movie.
230	* ShrinkingViolet: A rare male example is Melo aka "Little Forest Fellow", My Melody's cousin, who was introduced in 2015. [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D118RfUU0AAz52_.jpg He is very timid]], [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7GTghHV4AM7r5d.jpg extremely sensetive]], and sometimes anxious, which can be seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naJs-CvNRxQ this video from Sanrio's Japanese Youtube channel]].
231	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Sanrio Animation's animated works throughout the late seventies and early eighties had a very melancholy tone and atmosphere, with a bit of cynicism in the mix compared to their merchandise divison. Their works dealt with some surprisingly mature topics and situations while aimed at children and family audiences. The most notable is the 1978 film adaptation of ''Chirin no Suzu'' since it's cautionary tale about revenge and the main protagonist coping with the death of his mother and the tragic fate of the character. The exception is their adaptation of ''The Rose Flower and Joe'' and ''Little Jumbo'' which are both based on Yanase's children's books of the same name which carries a very lighthearted and idealistic tone that Sanrio is best-known for. [[note]] However, while ''The Rose Flower and Joe'' doesn't contain a DownerEnding like ''The Kindly Lion'' and ''Chirin's Bell''. [[BittersweetEnding It does end on a bittersweet note where the main protagonist and the rose both die and reunite with each other in heaven.]] [[/note]]
232	** Unlike other Sanrio character franchises such as Hello Kitty and My Melody, who both focus on the positive side of life and love cheering people up, Aggretsuko focuses more on the cynical side of life, since most of the characters are rude or irritating to the titular protagonist. However the series is not too cynical since it does have its own cute moments as a reminder that this is still a Sanrio creation.
233	* SpinOff: Some characters from another Sanrio character franchise would get this treatment.
234	** Cinnamoroll's friends Mocha and Chiffon would later get their series called "Cinnamoangels" in 2005 (Cinnamon Angels in the ''Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll'' manga).
235	** Another Cinnamoroll spin-off is a gothic themed series called "Lloromannic". It focuses on Berry and Cherry, two demons who love playing tricks around each other and causing trouble.
236	** Kuromi for My Melody.
237	** The Sugarbunnies later got a separate series called "Sugarminuet" focusing on two female ballet bunnies named Balletusa and Primausa.
238	* TheStinger: A few 1990s era Keroppi and Hello Kitty [=OVAs=] would feature an after-credits scene showing the aftermath of their respective storylines.
239	* StopMotion: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQn3H8FP-74 Used for earlier]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJHtNPHnKY videos promoting the Sugarbunnies]], a more notable example of this is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Jdn-y9Z5E the 2004 series "Hello Kitty Stump Village"]] which uses claymation. Another example of Sanrio using claymation is [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7Gby-jL9IvgTw8AACXsW_u_B0oekXVK a series of web shorts made in 2006]] starring the Tenorikuma.
240	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQfjwSq_hg&t=946s The Japanese stop-motion short film]] ''Kitty and Mimmy's New Umbrella'' is the very first animated project featuring Hello Kitty.
241	* SoulfulPlantStory: Their 1977 animated short adaptation of ''The Rose Flower and Joe'' is focused a [[PreciousPuppy homeless dog named "Joe"]], who develops a romantic relationship with a rose flower. Joe has to protect the rose flower from a [[CreepyCrows cold-hearted crow]] and other harmful situations. [[spoiler: By the end of the short, [[TogetherInDeath Joe and the rose flower die together]] and [[BitterSweetEnding reunite in the afterlife.]]]] The short is based on a children's story by Takashi Yanase who directed the short.
242	* SugarBowl: Many characters franchises have their own set of peaceful and relaxing worlds, these include Mariland (My Melody), Jewel Land (Jewelpets), and Bunnyville, Bunnyland (Sugarbunnies). The exception is the Aggretsuko universe since the setting is more realistic and based on modern day Japan.
243	* SuperDeformed: [[http://dc367.4shared.com/img/fHqXjJVa/s7/13cbfc68520/chibimaru_1280_x_1024_002.jpg Chibimaru]] and the Cinnamoroll spin-off [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/2700000/Cinnamoangels-cinnamoroll-2712750-1024-768.jpg "Cinnamoangels" starring Chiffon, Mocha, and Azuki]].
244	* SuddenlySpeaking: Piano the sheep is known for only communicating by bleating like an actual sheep as seen in the 2005 anime ''Onegai My Melody''. While she was able to talk normally in ''Hello Kitty Online'' and ''Hello Kitty Seasons'' (both by Sanrio Digital), the web series ''Hello Kitty And Friends: Supercute Adventures'' is the first time she's heard talking normally as seen in the episode "Cinnamoroll's Dance Craze".
245	* SurpriseParty: The 1989 [=OVA=] ''Hello Kitty and Mimmy's Happy Birthday'' invovles Sanrio characters planning a suprise birthday party for Hello Kitty and Mimmy.
246	* SweetSheep:
247	** Chirin from ''Ringing Bell'' is a notable subversion of this trope - he starts out like this, but he becomes [[TookALevelInJerkass less and less sweet]] and [[EvilMakeOver more]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare menacing]] throughout the film.
248	** My Melody's friend Piano is very kindhearted and gentle with her friends, and she's very close with My Melody and Flat.
249	** Flora from ''Jewelpet'' is also a very gentle sheep...[[BewareTheNiceOnes as long as you don't make her angry.]]
250	** Moa from ''Show By Rock!!'' is very energetic and the most bubbly member of the Plasmagica group. She also works at a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0StqnYO8Qw bedding store where she cuts her own wool.]]
251	** The Tiny Poem series contains [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellokitty/images/7/75/Sanrio_Characters_Tiny_Poem_Image012.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/300/height/300?cb=20170526234309 an extremely cute sheep]] alongside chicks, a rabbit, and a puppy.
252	** One of Hello Kitty's friends and classmates is a little sheep named Fifi.
253	* TheCameo: Some animated works starring a titular Sanrio character. Other Sanrio characters would make brief cameo apperances. These even extends to their own animated films not focusing on their characters.
254	** ''Keroppi - The Christmas Eve Gift'' part of the ''Keroppi and Friends'' series features Pokopon and his girlfirend Hana-chan/Ohana-chan, Tuxedo Sam, Chip, Hello Kitty, and Mimmy make cameo apperances waving at Santa and his reindeer (including Kuppi).
255	** Hello Kitty alongside Kiki and Lala make cameo apperances in ''The Fantastic Adventures of Unico'' where they are seen in the background of Katy's musical number.
256	** Hello Kitty, My Melody, and The Little Twin Stars show up during the climax of ''A Journey Through Fairyland''.
257	* TheBigRace: The 1990 [=OVA=] ''Sam and Chip's Great Messy Race'' is set during a massive race against numerous Sanrio characters on a team of two or one (such as Hello Kitty/Mimmy, Kiki/Lala, and Keroppi) with Dachonosuke as the main announcer starring Tuxedo Sam and Chip.
258	* TheMovie: So far the only Sanrio character franchises that starred in a feature film are ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' is the 2012 movie ''Jewelpet The Movie: Sweet Dance Princess'' with a short starring My Melody and Kuromi, [[note]] A second Jewelpet movie called ''Jewelpet: Attack Travel'' is currently in the works. [[/note]] and Cinnamoroll for the 2007 movie ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEG2V5R5kBw Cinnamon The Movie]]''. [[NoExportForYou Both never gained an international release outside of Japan]].
259	* {{Tanuki}}: Pokopon from "Pokopon Diary's" is a male raccoon dog along alongside his girlfriend Hana-chan/Ohana-chan. Like traditional Japanese mythology, Pokopon frequently drums his belly when very excited or happy.
260	* TheUnintelligible: In ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'', Piano only talks by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Csjh4K-Z4 bleating or baaing]], but her friend Flat and My Melody can translate what she's saying. In the MMORPG game ''Hello Kitty Online'' and the Wii game ''Hello Kitty Seasons'', she is able to talk normally. ''Supercute Adventures'' is also the first time Piano is heard talking normally.
261	* VagueAge: Due to the cute and friendly design and appearances of the majority of their characters, it's difficult to know the exact ages for any of their characters besides some of their family members. This is mainly the case with Sanrio characters that are stated to be young children but are seen acting like young adults and doing grown up things such as driving or shopping. The ''Cinnamoroll'' universe, for example, shows the main puppy cast drinking coffee and driving cars. ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' is one of the few creations by Sanrio where the entire cast are canonly young and grown adults.
262	* VillainSong: The 1989 film ''My Melody no Akazukin''. The Big Bad Wolf has his own villain song, which he is heard singing before he encounters Little Red Riding Hood, who is played by My Melody.
263	* VirtualCelebrity:
264	** On October 8th, 2020 Sanrio and Sega Toys teamed up to create new Sanrio characters called [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellokitty/images/4/4c/BB035BAE-46C0-4A58-A0B8-2DBCDD0C5B02.png/revision/latest?cb=20201108193155 "The Beatcats"]]. A [[Music/{{Beatcats}} 5-piece Virtual Idol Unit starring adorable cats]] that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0rgXny2h3Q perform J-Pop created by The Beatcats group.]]
265	** A non-virtual band example is "Hapidanbui", an real life music group starring 6 Sanrio characters (Badtz-Maru, Keroppi, Pochacco, Tuxedo Sam, Hangyodon, and Pekkle) that was launced in early 2020. Hapidanbui would mainly upload music videos and the members antics on Sanrio's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB5-cpHs_Xg Japanese]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQrVVGnwCI&list=PLPSItt1eBucEpRdKxiCZjB-Xhg9Z82SsW&index=1 Taiwanese Youtube channels]].
266	* VoiceGrunting: In ''Hello Kitty Stump Village'', Hello Kitty and her friends communicate by making noises such as gasping, laughing, or crying. While Hello Kitty and the characters don't talk, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGFK6Zx9XyY&list=PLBhvqeWUfLKi3eJsFsIml-n4eX7lklRNI&index=1 a narrator explains what's going on.]] The 2020 webseries ''Hello Kitty and Friends Mini Tales 3D'' also has no dialogue with the characters only communicating by giggling, grunting, or gasping.
267	* WholesomeCrossdresser:
268	** Cinnamoroll is frequently depicted wearing feminine dresses and bows which he appears to enjoy.
269	** [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellokitty/images/1/14/Sanrio_Characters_Chunenheroine_Ojisan%27s_Image002.png/revision/latest?cb=20170411231653 "Chunenheroine Ojisan's"]] are a trio of old and middle age men who wear dresses and wands. They are also experts at tea (mainly green tea). They are possibly inspired by okama (Japanese slang for homosexual or transvestite).

Context Creator / Sanrio