Sanrio’s Kuromi and My Melody turn 20 and 50 this year. What explains the cross-generational pull of cute characters in a hyper-fast world?
As someone who grew up in early noughties Hong Kong, I understand the appeal. It was near impossible to ignore the many mascots stamped onto stationery and lunchboxes. As an adult, I still plaster Kuromi and Cinnamoroll stickers on everything I own. I’m far from alone.
Joyce first saw Kuromi on television in kindergarten. “You feel an affinity for one character and it just sticks with you for a very long time,” she says. She felt drawn to Kuromi for its edgy, punk feel – at least, as edgy as Sanrio gets. “It’s a dark aesthetic and I used to be into that. I thought that was cool.”
On her debut in 2005, Kuromi was positioned as the playful foil to the sweet and innocent My Melody, who has evolved to symbolise an alternative, online subculture.
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