Each year, Sanrio holds a popularity vote of its original characters called the Sanrio Character Ranking, and this year as well many characters have entered. Here, we will introduce one of them: My Melody.
My Melody is a cute rabbit character who wears a pink hood. She was created in 1975, a year after Hello Kitty, and is a veteran who turns 40 in 2015. Even in almost 40 years, her cuteness hasn’t grown stale.
My Melody currently has tremendous support from teens, and the catalyst for this is the currently ongoing popularity poll, Sanrio Character Ranking. In 1997, My Melody ranked in the top five for the first time in the 12th Sanrio Character Ranking. Her popularity boomed among middle school girls, and with one fell swoop she became one of the representative Sanrio characters.
The TV anime Onegai My Melody began broadcasting in 2005 in celebration of her 30th anniversary. This became popular as well, and created many My Melody fans, especially among elementary school students. In recent years, limited time events like the Dreaming My My Melody Exhibit and My Melody Cafe as well as collaborations with apparel brands have been proactively implemented, gathering huge support from those in their teens and 20s.
Since ranking in the top five of the 12th Sanrio Character Ranking, My Melody has continued to consistently do so, even reaching second place, behind Hello Kitty, in 2013. Attention is building to see whether My Melody will be ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2011 in this year’s 29th Sanrio Character Ranking.
● Comment from My Melody:
Thank you for always supporting Melody! I was so happy that she received support from so many friends last year. I’m looking forward to your support again this year.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.