Hello Bishi?

Hello Kitty has always been a part of my life in one way or another. I was never a hardcore fan, but I do love Sanrio characters so very much.

Early on it was all about Hello Kitty and My Melody, and in my munchkin years when I enjoyed watching the Hello Kitty's Furry Tale theater cartoon on TV.

Then in middle school it was all about Keroppi and Pochacco. A friend reminded me of the adorable animals and several teen aimed fashion brands were using them on t-shirts.

When high school hit, I discovered my favorite yet in Badtz Maru.

I still love this bad boy penguin to death. His style just makes me smile.  I like Tuxedo Sam, the earlier penguin in the brand, but he's no Badtz, though he does have an adorable sailor hat.

After college, Chococat joined my list of beloved characters and most recently I find myself rather entertained by Aggretsuko, who is an office worker red panda that get's angry at work and goes into metal music rages.

She's so cute.

What I didn't know is that, three years ago, Sanrio created some characters for social media to help sell their products. Theses five human characters are Sanrio fans as well and got popular enough to spawn a manga, drama CDs, a phone game, and most recently an anime.

I heard about Sanrio Boys last summer, and honestly thought it was a joke.

I mean come on, pretty anime boys who love Sanrio characters?

It's not a joke.

It's a thing, and has been since 2015.

How did I miss this?

Seriously? How?

The anime began airing this month, and I'm already hooked.

Kouta and Pompompurin

Five episodes.

Only five episodes are out so far and I'm already invested in these characters knowing next to nothing about this craze.

Heck, episode two practically had me in tears! Granted I'm a sap when it comes to cherished stuffed toys but it got to me all the same.

Without spoiling too much, the series starts with us meeting Kouta Hasegawa. He is a boy who loved spending time with his dear grandmother and his best buddy, a large plush Pompompurin. His grandmother gave him the toy as a birthday gift and the two became inseparable.

 Sadly, as so many children are little jerks, his peers at school start to make fun of him. Why is a boy his age so attached to a "girl's" toy? Naturally, Kouta gets embarrassed, and takes his anger out on his beloved toy and, worse yet, his grandma. She tries to find out why he's upset and he just yells at her and runs away creating a rift that he has trouble fixing.

The Kouta we are following is in high school now, and a rather lost one at that. He's listless, unsure of himself, and full of regret. He doesn't feel that he can do anything and he has nothing that he's passionate about. Due to a few minor events Pompompurin is brought back into his thoughts, along with his conflicted feeling over liking the pudgy yellow dog. He get's even more caught up in these feelings when he notices a classmate with My Melody keychains.

High school boys aren't supposed to like Sanrio characters, right?

So far I have gathered that this show is about personal growth, not being afraid to be who you are, loving what you love with no remorse, and getting through these tough realizations with friends who get you and accept you completely.

Now allow me to introduce the rest of these Sanrio character loving boys to you, even though I've just met them myself.

Yuu & My Melody

Yuu Mizuno is popular at school, very sociable and a little on the flashy side. He also has no problem voicing his love for his "princess" My Melody. He has a very large collection of his little bunny's merchandise and is always up for adding more to it.

I like Yuu so far. He's not afraid to say what he loves and encourages others to do the same. He also seems to be good at reading people right off the bat. Plus I get his love for My Melody. She's freakin' adorable! Not gonna lie I may be getting more of her stuff in the near future too between this anime and her upcoming crossover merch with Sailor Moon.

So excited!

Shunsuke with  his Hello Kitty-san shirt

Shunsuke Yoshino, the soccer team's ace striker, is Yuu's friend and neighbor. He also is a fan of Hello Kitty. So much so that he actually has a rather deep respect for the character. Most fans call her Kitty-chan, but he insists on the more formal Hello Kitty-san.

When I first saw the ad for this show Shunsuke was the one to catch my attention. He just does not look like the Hello Kitty type at all and I needed to know why. I don't really have an answer yet, but I'm sure it'll happen. I'm trying to not dig around too much so I can enjoy the show with fresh eyes.

I did read though, that he dyed his hair white to be closer to Kitty.

Ryo in the school library

Ryo Nishimiya has had little screen time so far, but I know his characters are the Little Twin Stars Kiki and Lala. I know those two are popular but I've never really been a fan. Maybe he'll make them grow on me too.

Ryo is a bit of a brat. He has to deal with looking girly, and it causes him a lot of grief. He is the youngest of the group, but I'm not cutting him any slack for that. I'm gonna need him to play nice and stop being a little punk.

Seiichiro and Cinnamoroll

Finally we have Seiichiro Minamoto, the school's student body president. He makes a point to know who every student is and seems to actually notice them, not just memorizing faces and names. He's almost nosy, and wants to make a point to completely solve whatever conflicts he walks into. He's also on the school's archery team so he keeps himself very busy.

Cinnamoroll is his Sanrio character. It is a cute one, I never really got attached to this one. I was very much set on Badtz when I discovered it.

He'll probably fill the big brother type role of group, or the overly pushy "mom". We'll see where it goes. All five are really just starting to interact with one another.

Over all I'm very excited about this find. I had already thought about making fan characters for my Sanrio favorites. I want Badtz and Keroppi to have bishis too!

Oh wait I don't have to!

Yeah Sanrio already did it. I don't know if they will be in the show or not but the popularity of the first five guys made the powers that be grow the group to seven.

I know very little about them but I found images!

Naoki with Keroppi goods

Naoki Sugami, is a biology teacher who loves Keroppi. Well duh, who doesn't love that little frog? It's so cute!

If nothing else I hope they drop him in as just a teacher, but don't let the other guys know that he too is a Sanrio fan.

I need more Keroppi stuff...

Badtsz Maru's fan is a wanna be delinquent, Subaru Amagaya.

I personally would have made him a little more punk, maybe less emo... I REALLY want him to be in the anime though so I can have my Badtz merch visuals.

I LOVE BADTZ!!!

Alright I think I've fan-girled enough for now....maybe.

I do recommend this anime to any Sanrio fan for sure and anyone who's just a sucker for bishonen anime in general. I will be watching for sure, but having to wait for episodes is gonna kill me just a little.

Who's your favorite Sanrio character? Let me know in the comments here or on Blogzilla1985's Facebook page!