Hello Kitty, also known by her real name Kitty White, is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow and no visible mouth. According to her backstory, she lives in a London suburb with her family, and is close to her twin sister Mimmy, who is depicted with a yellow bow.
Sanrio Company, Ltd. is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the kawaii ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold worldwide, including at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best-known character is Hello Kitty, a little cartoon girl cat and one of the most successful marketing brands in the world.
Yoshiki Hayashi, known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the visual kei rock bands X Japan and The Last Rockstars, for which he is the drummer, pianist, and main songwriter. He has been described by Billboard as a "musical innovator" and named "one of the most influential composers in Japanese history" by Consequence of Sound. Yoshiki's solo career includes several classical studio albums and collaborations with artists such as George Martin, Bono, will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, St. Vincent, Stan Lee, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, Gene Simmons and KISS, Nicole Scherzinger, and Sarah Brightman.
Sanrio Puroland, also known as Hello Kitty Land, is an indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan. Opened on December 7, 1990, it hosts attractions, live shows, shopping outlets, and restaurants dedicated to Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Gudetama, and Aggretsuko, in a manner akin to Disney theme parks.
Cinnamoroll is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamoroll, is a white puppy with chubby cheeks and long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. He starred in his own manga series, an anime movie, and various animation shorts.
Yuko Shimizu is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.
Jewelpet is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Toys, produced by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi and illustrated by the character designer of Cinnamoroll, Miyuki Okumura. The franchise was originally launched on January 15, 2008, focusing on animals named after jewels, birthstones and minerals, who can use magic using their eyes.
Yuko Yamaguchi is a Japanese character designer and illustrator. She is well known as the third character designer of Hello Kitty.
Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess is a 2012 Japanese animated film based on the Jewelpet series by Sanrio and Sega. Sweets Dance Princess features an original story set in an alternate universe from the Jewelpet TV series. The film was directed by Hiroaki Sakurai and written by Takashi Yamada. The film was released in Japan on August 11, 2012. DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film were released by Toho on January 25, 2013.
"Zutto Zutto Tomodachi" is the third official single by Japanese child actress and singer Mana Ashida, released on May 16, 2012. This is Ashida's second solo work after Sutekina Nichiyōbi, used as both the opening and ending themes of the Sanrio and Studio Comet anime series Jewelpet Kira Deco! and used as a song to promote the movie Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess. The single reached the 17th position on the Oricon Weekly Singles Charts after its release.
Asahi Production Inc. is a Japanese animation studio established on 1 June 1973. It is located in Nerima, Tokyo.
Miyuki Okumura is a character artist and manga artist from Saitama Prefecture. She is well known as the character illustrator and artist for Sanrio's Cinnamoroll and Jewelpet franchises.
Choruru (ちょるる) is a mascot character who was created for the 66th annual National Sports Festival of Japan and 11th annual National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities which were held in Yamaguchi prefecture in 2011. After the tournaments, he became head of the Oidemase Yamaguchi Tourism Advertising Department, before becoming the Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager in October 2012.
We Are X is a 2016 documentary film about the Japanese rock band X Japan and its co-founder, drummer, pianist and leader Yoshiki. Directed by Stephen Kijak, it premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23. The film covers the history of the band, their influence on Japanese music and society, the band's break up in 1997 and reunion in 2007, and their attempts to achieve success overseas. It also covers Yoshiki's childhood with the X Japan's vocalist Toshi, the suicide of Yoshiki's father when Yoshiki was ten years old, the deaths of two members of the band, and Yoshiki's various health problems.
Sanrio Boys is a Japanese media franchise created by Sanrio in November 2015. The Sanrio Boys were conceptualized as a social media project to promote merchandise for Sanrio's best-selling characters. Due to its popularity, it grew to have its own merchandise line, a manga series, a series of character drama CDs, a 2016 smartphone game for iOS and Android, and an anime television series by Pierrot aired from January to March 2018.
"Red Swan" is a song by Japanese musician Yoshiki, featuring vocals by Hyde. Written and produced by Yoshiki, it is the opening theme song of the first 12 episodes of the third season of the Attack on Titan anime series. The television edit of the song was published on digital platforms on July 23, 2018, while the full single version was released on October 3, 2018.
Gudetama is a cartoon character from 2013 produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. The character is an anthropomorphized egg yolk whose main traits are laziness and sadness. The name "Gudetama" is derived from the Japanese words for lazy and egg. Gudetama was created by the Sanrio designer Amy, whose real name is Emi Nagashima.
