Hello Kitty: Other Sanrio creations

BADTZ-MARU

Badtz-Maru is the only Sanrio character aimed at both boys and girls; teenage boys often have tattoos of this bad-attitude penguin in his classic pose: one eye closed and tongue sticking out. He was the official mascot for the 2006 FIBA World Championship of basketball, which was held in Japan.

LITTLE TWIN STARS

Little Twin Stars are a brother and sister called Kiki and Lala; they live on a cloud. Kiki has blue hair and sometimes appears with a star-shaped halo, while Lala has pink hair and carries a wand. Launched by Sanrio in 1975, they became particularly popular in the 1980s.

MY MELODY

My Melody is the first rabbit character released by Sanrio. She was originally marketed as a Little Red Riding Hood character when she first appeared in 1976, hence the red hood. She was popular in the Seventies, but then fell out of fashion.

KEROPPI

Keroppi the frog was released in 1987 and rivalled Hello Kitty in terms of merchandising in the early 1990s, particularly in the UK. The Keroppi line of trinkets was discontinued when sales started to decline.