|
Sanrio, Hello Kitty
more...
Home
Action Figures
Animation Art, Characters
Animation Art
Animation Characters
Japanese, Anime
.Hack//
Ah My Goddess
Akira
Astro Boy
Berserk
Bleach
Card Captor Sakura
Chobits
Clamp
Cowboy Bebop
Dead or Alive
Doraemon
DragonBall Z
Escaflowne
Evangelion
Final Fantasy
Books, Manga, Doujinshi
CDs, Soundtracks
Figures, Plush
Jewelry, Watches
Other Items
Posters, Wall Scrolls
T-Shirts, Shirts
Fruits Basket
Fullmetal Alchemist
Books, Manga, Doujinshi
Cosplay, Costumes
Figures, Plush
Keychains
Other Items
Posters, Wall Scrolls
Fushigi Yuugi
Ghost in the Shell
Gundam
Hamtaro
Hellsing
Hikaru no Go
Hunter x Hunter
Initial D
InuYasha
Books, Manga, Doujinshi
CDs, Soundtracks
Figures, Plush
Other Items
Posters, Wall Scrolls
King of Fighters
Legend of Zelda
Love Hina
Lupin
Macross, Robotech
Mazinger
Monchhichi
Naruto
Bags, Purses, Cases
Books, Manga, Doujinshi
Cosplay, Costumes
Costumes, Apparel
Figurines, Plush
Headbands, Armbands
Keychains
Knives, Weapons
Necklaces, Jewelry
Other Accessories
Other Items
Posters, Wall Scrolls
One Piece
Other Japanese, Anime
Pokemon
Pucca
Ranma
Rurouni Kenshin
Sailor Moon
Books, Manga, Doujinshi
Figures
Other Items
Posters, Prints
Saint Seiya
Saiyuki
Sakura Wars
San-X
Sanrio, Hello Kitty
Badtz Maru
Chococat
Cinnamoroll
Hello Kitty
Keroppi
Little Twin Stars
My Melody
Other Sanrio Characters
Pochacco
Shaman King
Slayers
Street Fighter
Tenchi Muyo
Totoro
Trigun
Wolf's Rain
Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu-Gi-Oh
Apparel & Accessories
Bronze Age (1970-79)
Collections
Comics
Figurines
Full Runs
Golden Age (1938-55)
Graphic Novels, TPBs
International
Magazines
Modern Age (1980-Now)
Newspaper Comics
Original Comic Art
Other Comics
Platinum Age (1897-1937)
Posters
Silver Age (1956-69)
Supplies
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ, Harō Kiti?) is the most well-known of many fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio.
The character, an anthropomorphized white cat, is characterized by a distinctive bow or some other decoration on her left ear, and the absence of a mouth.
Copyrighted in 1976, Hello Kitty is now a globally known trademark.
History
Hello Kitty was originally created by Sanrio designer Yuko Shimizu in 1974. Shimizu left the company in 1976. The second designer, Setsuko Yonekubo, took over for four years until 1980 when the task was given to Yuko Yamaguchi, who still holds the position. The character originally appeared on small novelties for young girls, such as coin purses.
Hello Kitty was given an English name (Kitty White) because British culture was popular with Japanese girls at the time of her creation (though the name is rarely used in popular culture). Kitty's name came from one of the cats that Alice kept in the book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. When Hello Kitty's boyfriend "Dear Daniel" was created in 1999, designers took his name from the 1971 film, Melody, which starred Mark Lester as a character called Daniel, and features songs by the Bee Gees.
Hello Kitty's fictional world includes a whole array of friends and family members. Since 2004 she has even had a pet cat of her own called Charmmy Kitty, and a pet hamster called Sugar. Charmmy resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like features. Charmmy Kitty was given to Hello Kitty by her father, George White, and Sugar by Dear Daniel.
Visual style and possible origins
There has been some suggestion that Hello Kitty has its origins in Maneki Neko, and that the name Hello Kitty itself is a translation of Maneki Neko, which means beckoning cat in English. It has also been noted that the character shows a resemblance to the character Miffy, designed in 1955 by Dick Bruna and that the line drawing style is not original.
Hello Kitty's rising prominence
Hello Kitty has been marketed in the United States from the beginning and has held the position of U.S. children's ambassador for UNICEF since 1983. She really came to her own during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted her as a fashion statement. Now products featuring the character can be found in virtually any American department store. Hello Kitty was once featured in an advertising campaign of the retail chain Target. Many American celebrities have contributed to the character's popularity: Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Heidi Klum, Steven Tyler, Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra, Mandy Moore, Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symoné, Varla Jean Merman, as well as Britney Spears, Paris and Nicky Hilton have all been spotted with Hello Kitty goods. Singer Lisa Loeb, who is marketing the pink Hello Kitty guitar, has admitted to being a fan and has even dedicated a whole album in homage to Hello Kitty, called Hello Lisa.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
|
|