why we love obscure sanrio characters so much

jigglejigglebumbum stans wya?

Welcome to soft grunge, the cutest newsletter you’ll ever read. Here, you’ll get all my commentary on the most pressing topics of kawaii culture.

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There’s a meme that’s been going around recently, it reads “How Sanrio fans look at you after you say Hello Kitty’s your favorite character and not Jigglejigglebumbum that was archived in 1804,” with a Creepypasta-esque face staring back at you. Not only is it just a top tier meme in general, it’s an accurate read on us Sanrio stans. But why? Why are we so obsessed with the super niche “archived in 1804” characters?

Although I’m definitely guilty of obsessing over all the forgotten Sanrio characters of my childhood, I understand where the meme’s coming from. It’s become a huge thing in the Sanrio community to latch on to obscure characters. Which is totally fine of course, until it becomes a way to exclude fans that are unfamiliar. Sure, me and my besties have been Sanrio stans since we came out the womb, but that’s not the case for everyone. After all, newer fans are the reason why Sanrio has had an enormous resurgence in recent years, so at the very least—we have that to thank them for. (Plus, who’s gonna buy the Five Below merch besides TikTok Sanrio fans? Just kidding…)

A note I gave to my dad circa 2005.

Personally speaking, there’s something super depressing about watching one of your favorite characters quietly fall into obscurity. Sanrio’s popularity might be at an all time high—but for most of us, our favorite characters are still being excluded. Whether your favorite character lands on the Chococat or the Jigglejigglebumbum side of the spectrum, we all wish that our biases would get a little more love from everyone on TikTok. Some fans might use obscure characters as a way to prove they know more than casual fans, but that usually isn’t in the case. For most of us, talking about the lesser-known characters is a way to keep them alive and make other people aware of their existence.

usahana and the model minority obscure character myth

Thankfully, there might be hope for obscure Sanrio characters. Usahana debuted in 2000, and slowly became an overlooked character in the 2010s. However, in recent years, fans have become increasingly interested in older characters like Usahana, Sugarbunnies, & Corocorokuririn, and as a result, Sanrio released a new line of merch featuring popular characters from the past. So at the very least, we know that Sanrio is open to bringing back old characters. But like all big corporations, they go where the money is—and Jigglejigglebumbum isn’t exactly a cash cow.

Usahana might be an example of how “deserving” obscure characters can be revived, but her story is the outlier. Unlike the niche discontinued Jigglejigglebumbum characters, Sanrio hadn’t yet pulled the plug on Usahana—so her comeback was much more likely. At the very least, her newfound popularity is proof that our online community is way more powerful than we think. And who knows, maybe new merch of our favorite (non-discontinued, sorry Cathy) 2000s characters is still in the realm of possibility.

oh you’re a sanrio fan? name three characters that aren’t hello kitty, cinnamoroll, or kuromi

Frankly, I don’t really care how obscure your favorite Sanrio character is. At this point, I’m just glad Sanrio is still a thing and that new generations of fans are able to have the same experience we did as kids. And as fun as it is to reminisce about the forgotten characters we once loved—I definitely still love Cinnamoroll and Kuromi as much as I do Jigglejigglebumbum. Unlike other fandoms that strive on exclusivity, Sanrio is as popular as it is because it belongs to everyone—so what’s the use in shutting out people?

Since gatekeeping is bad and I want to share the love for obscure characters, me and my friends decided to list our favorite lesser known Sanrio characters. So, next time you get hit with the Creepypasta stare when you say your fave character is one of the big ones—feel free to namedrop these characters to shut them up.

obscure sanrio characters you should know about

deery lou, pandapple, & chi chai monchan

Personally, I think Deery Lou, Pandapple, & Chi Chai Monchan deserve way more love. For 2000s Sanrio fans, it might seem silly that these characters are considered “obscure” now, because they were huuuge in that era.

Deery Lou was always one of my favorites as a child, all of his merch was super dreamy and fun—featuring tons of rainbows, mushrooms, and flowers, in true 2000s Sanrio fashion. Although he hasn’t participated in the Sanrio Character Ranking since 2014, he will always have a special place in my heart as a fellow Capricorn.

Pandapple was also one of my childhood faves. Pandas were big back in those days, and I always loved his character design (Sanrio we need more fruit characters please) along with all of his brightly colored merch.

Lastly, Valentina Ramirez-Cruz reminded me of Chi Chai Monchan after my “Where have all the monkeys gone?” post. Although I might not think about him much anymore, just looking at his cute face teleported me back to my childhood. A pink monkey? He was practically made for six year old me. Sanrio recently released a few half-baked merch pieces featuring him, but idc because all I want is my banana purse back.

100catsworld

Scans courtesy of visitnymph.

“I love that it’s become a bit of a meme that Sanrio stans aren’t satisfied with so-called casual fans’ favorite character picks. With that being said, I’d argue my favorite is one of the most obscure in Sanrio’s roster.

Like many of my best discoveries, I first became familiar with 100catsworld via a late night Mercari Japan doom scroll. I was instantly enamored by not only the main cat, Francesca, but the entire crew of kitties that accompanied her. As the name suggests, 100catsworld consists of one hundred cats, each bearing a unique appearance and personality.

According to a 2001 issue of character magazine, Chara Depa (キャラデパ) titled “Complete Character Illustration Book’, “Each Sanrio designer designed several cats, creating about 10 cats each.” The idea that back in the 90s a team of Sanrio designers were tasked to create a bunch of cats each is so novel.

Their merchandise is hard to find, but not impossible. 100catsworld made its way to the States in the early 2000s via Sanrio Smiles under the name “100 cats.” For a company with a cat as their flagship character you’d think they’d show a little more affection to the other kitties in their litter.” —@visitseraph

pink no corisu & landry

“Here are two of my favorite rare and discontinued Sanrio characters! Pink No Corisu, a charming pink squirrel who adores flowers, first debuted in 1997, and Landry, an adorable raccoon who loves washing things, was introduced in 1999. I’d love to see Sanrio bring them back so more people can enjoy these forgotten gems!” —@mossygurl