This year, the iconic Hello Kitty franchise will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Sanrio’s brand has gone from a cute mascot to a worldwide icon within the past half-century. It’s hard to go to any retail store without finding some piece of merchandise in one way or another.
The character’s story is undoubtedly fascinating, not only in her origins but also in the ways she serves as a ubiquitous character in pop culture. The sheer scale of Sanrio’s creation is a work of art unto itself. Here is a breakdown of the history, reach, and lore behind the Hello Kitty brand.
Who Is Hello Kitty?
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Virtually everyone reading this article has seen Hello Kitty’s merchandise in one way or another, yet few know the full story of the franchise. The eponymous character, officially named Kitty White, is a Japanese bobtail cat who, ironically, lives in England according to the lore. Naturally, as such a longstanding character, she has seen many reboots, retellings, and explorations of her character across the various shows she’s starred in.
Hello Kitty herself is just one of the many mascots created by the Japanese company Sanrio, which serves as a staple of Japan’s “kawaii” culture. They produce toys, collectibles, merchandise, swag, and other memorabilia. Other iconic characters they’ve created are the workaholic Retsuko, the adorable edgelord Kuromi, the dog Pochacco, and many other icons. While Kitty may be the mascot, she’s just one of many they’ve created.
The Origins of Hello Kitty
In the fifty years of Hello Kitty, the series inevitably has a deep history behind it. The mascot herself was created in 1974 by artist Yuko Shimizu. One of the major inspirations was the Lewis Carroll novel Through the Looking Glass. The very first piece of merchandise released was a coin purse. Her debut coincided with a boom in Japan’s economy, helping her rise to the top. Currently, Yuko Yamaguchi does modern designs and art for the character.
Soon enough, the brand went from being new to old enough to have a nostalgic fanbase, creating a new market. Since then, the series has expanded into hundreds of different forms of merchandise, and Sanrio even has several stores under its belt. In the modern age, tens of thousands of different products were created under Hello Kitty.
The Franchise’s Incarnations
Given the age of the Hello Kitty brand, she has inevitably seen many animated works released since the eighties. These include Furry Tale Theater, Animation Theater, Stump Village, and other smaller shows. The most recent incarnation of the series is Hello Kitty: Supercute Adventures, a web show primarily released on YouTube. This is one of many examples of the adaptability of the franchise.
Naturally, the series gave fans other forms of media as well. She has starred in many video games since the days of the NES with Hello Kitty no Hanabatake. Today, there is the mobile game Island Adventure, a fittingly zen game to enjoy and relax, similar to Animal Crossing. Finally, rumors also circulated of a live-action film from Warner Bros. Good luck finding a form of media she hasn’t starred in.
The Scale of The Series
Currently, Hello Kitty is the second highest-grossing media franchise of all time, right behind Nintendo’s Pokemon in terms of gross sales. According to The Hill, the franchise has earned Sanrio roughly $85 billion in sales across its numerous venues. Sanrio even has a theme park named Sanrio Puroland. Overall, the character is one of the icons of Japanese culture worldwide, alongside Godzilla himself.
To reiterate, the mascot has become a global icon. American Celebrities such as Avril Levine, Dua Lipa, and even Mariah Carey have shown their respect for the character in one way or another. She has also become a mascot for several other organizations, such as UNICEF itself. Through all these, Kitty White thoroughly established herself in the pop culture zeitgeist for decades to come.
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