MANILA, Philippines – Uh oh, Hello Kitty has competition! Sanrio has a new character joining its league of kawaii (cute) characters – Kirimi-chan.
Kirimi-chan is not your typical, fluffy Sanrio character. It has a tiny body with a huge salmon fillet for a head with 2 black dots for the eyes and a simple line for a mouth.
Last year, Sanrio organized an online voting contest where fans of the brand voted for their favorite among 20 character prototypes, all based on food. Among them was a bread-shaped panda, a geisha-inspired piece of tofu, a distressed-looking egg, and pudding with a cute face. Kirimi-chan came out on top as the cutest of the bunch.
Sanrio has come out with 16 items for Kirimi-chan’s debut collection including a mascot holder, a cushion, a pouch, and a tote, and some kitchen and dining essentials all featuring the salmon fillet turned kawaii.
They will be officially launched and will go on sale at Sanrio stores on February 13, just a day before Valentine’s.
Kirimi-chan actually has a best friend which looks like fish paste, and a few other friends who are reportedly called Tai-kun and Saba-kun. Both of them are – you guessed it – kinds of fish fillet as well (sea bream and mackerel).
Even prior to the launch date, Kirimi-chan is now active on Twitter, sharing photos and making new friends. It’s in Japanese though, so better have it translated by your broswer to read the tweets.
Kirimi-chan is Sanrio’s second character to come from the sea. In 1985, they came out with a green character called Hangyodon who kind of looked like a fish.
What do you think of Kirimi-chan? Kawaii or so-so? Would you be open to hugging a piece of salmon? Let us know in the comments section below! – Rappler.com
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