Cinnamoroll is the most popular Sanrio character based on the results of a poll for the 2022 Sanrio Character Yearly Ranking.
According to Sanrio, 26,467,259 votes from all over the world were cast to choose this year’s most popular character, and 2,896,171 of those votes were for Cinnamoroll. This made him the most loved Sanrio character for the third year in a row, as he also topped the ranking in 2020 and 2021.
Aside from being this year’s most popular Sanrio character worldwide, Cinnamoroll also ranked first in Mainland China, the United States, Brazil, Italy, France, Australia, and Singapore. The character, who turned 20 in 2021, left a special message for the fans who voted for him.
“Thank you for ranking me in first place in my 20th anniversary year! I’m so excited to keep on making wonderful memories together with you all!,” reads Cinnamoroll’s message posted on the character ranking’s website.
Who is Cinnamoroll?
Created by Miyuki Okumura, Cinnamoroll is a little chubby male dog with white fur, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a plump and curly tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. He also has a pair of long ears that enable him to fly.
Cinnamoroll was originally named Cinnamon, but to sort out issues with the registration of trademark overseas, his official name was changed to Cinnamoroll in 2007.
Cinnamoroll was the star of the five-volume manga Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll, which ran from 2005 to 2008. He also starred in 2007’s Cinnamoroll: The Movie and appeared in two series: Lloromannic and Cinnamoangels.
Who are the top 10 most popular Sanrio characters in 2022?
The 2022 Sanrio Character Ranking lists a total of 80 characters. Below are the characters that made it to the top 10:
- Cinnamoroll (2,896,171 votes)
- Pompompurin (2,351,265 votes)
- KUROMI (1,954,948 votes)
- Pochacco (1,947,297 votes)
- My Melody (1,700,858 votes)
- Hello Kitty (1,471,242 votes)
- Little Twin Stars (1,020,516 votes)
- Hangyodon (996,854 votes)
- Cogimyun (931,628 votes)
- Tuxedosam (903,566 votes)
About Sanrio
The Japanese company Sanrio designs and licenses characters, specializing in cute and kawaii styles. The company was founded in 1960 by Shintaro Tsuji and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Sanrio is best known for creating the character Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty’s success began skyrocketing in the late 1990s with celebrities and adolescents wearing her brand. While the confident tomboy character was originally marketed to preteens and adolescents, Hello Kitty’s presence in kawaii culture has made her popular to a much larger audience in Japan and foreign countries around the world.
In addition to Hello Kitty, the Sanrio franchise has created other popular characters with built-in star power, amazing talents, and even special magic. These characters include adventure-loving My Melody, Little Twin Stars, and Keroppi, a frog with a V-shaped mouth. Sanrio produces a wide range of products featuring these characters, including stationery, clothing, accessories, and toys. The company has also collaborated with many other companies on limited-edition products, special projects, as well as attractions at theme parks.
The company first found success by creating strawberry-printed products and publishing love poems, before it started venturing into the world of designing cute characters and all the merchandising that come with it.
Fun facts about Sanrio
Can’t get enough of anything Sanrio? Here are some fun facts about the cuteness overload that is Sanrio.
1. Who are the strangest Sanrio characters?
Sanrio is known for creating a wide range of cute and quirky characters, so it’s difficult to say which ones are the “strangest” as it ultimately depends on individual opinions. But do you know that Sanrio has a group of characters that are based on teeth? These anthropomorphic tooth characters are called Hagurumanstyle.
The name Hagurumanstyle is a whole punny mashup, including the Japanese word for tooth (ha/歯), the word for cog, like in a machine, (haguruma/歯車), and the Japanese pronunciation of businessman. So while there appears to be only one main haguramanstyle character, the name actually refers to a whole community of tooth people, working hard together in what’s usually depicted as an office environment.
According to Sanrio’s official profile, these anthropomorphic molars are born when baby teeth fall out and new teeth grow in. Naturally, these teeth characters are fans of both dental care and mental care. You can follow them on their own Twitter account.
2. Does Sanrio have human characters?
Although Sanrio is known for creating characters based on animals and non-living things, the company has also created several human characters over the years. Sanrio’s funny human characters include Umeya Zakkaten, the Chunen Heroine Ojisan’s, and Culture Shock.
Umeya Zakkaten, a.k.a. Ume Yamada, is a popular shop owner. The store of old Grandma Ume is always busy with local kids and friends coming to chat and drink tea. According to the official Sanrio profile, Ume Yamada has talents for traditional Japanese games. She’s a far cry from the clean, simple style of Hello Kitty, but it’s hard not to like Umeya Zakkaten because she shares fun recipes that anyone can try.
The Chunen Heroine Ojisan’s, meanwhile, is a trio of cute middle-aged men characters. This trio of middle-aged men has an illustration style that fits right into the world of Hello Kitty and Friends. Balding and frilly-dress-wearing old men, these characters surprisingly have just the kind of story you’d expect of a magical girl heroine like Sailor Moon. While you’d think they were just regular, run-of-the-mill office workers, their actual true form is the Chunen Heroine Ojisan’s. In case you’re wondering, the unnecessary apostrophe is part of the characters’ official name.
Culture Shock, on the other hand, is a duo comprised of Sanrio samurais Yumenosuke and Tetsunoshin. Debuted in the mid-1980s, the two travel to Paris in the 1860s on a mission to experience their own kind of culture shock, as well as learn what they can about Western culture, at a time when Japan was just starting to open its borders to the rest of the world.
Illustrations of Yumenosuke show him enthusiastically immersing himself in European culture (drinking coffee, riding bicycles, shooting cannons), while Tetsunoshin is often depicted holding back and sticking to what he knows. Despite their differences, the two men have a really charming and entertaining dynamic.
3. Do Chococat’s whiskers have special powers?
Chococat is a sweet black cat depicted with pair of big eyes, a brown nose, four whiskers, and no visible mouth. His whiskers have the power to pick up information like an antenna, so he is often the first to know about things. He is one of three triplets; his siblings are Chidi-Maru & Chifi-Maru
5. Who is Keroppi’s best friend?
Keroppi’s best pal is his little snail friend Den Den. Den Den is a brown snail with a blue shell and big eyes. Despite his low energy level, Den Den is often seen hanging out with Keroppi and his other friends in their home village of Donut Pond. Den Den and Keroppi have a close friendship, and they enjoy spending time together, going on adventures, and helping each other out when needed.
6. Does Sanrio have a little crocodile character?
No, Sanrio doesn’t have a crocodile character, but it has an alligator character named Big Challenges. Debuted in the early years of Sanrio, Big Challenges gets most of its charm from its simple design, which looks a lot like a scribble of a kindergartener.
7. Does Sanrio have robot characters?
Yes, Sanrio has robot characters called Beetroid. Debuted in 2011, Beetroid androids are cute little critters that look like beetles. These beetle-type androids are depicted wearing beetle-inspired armor pieces.
8. What are the physical differences between Kiki and Lala from Little Twin Stars?
Kiki and Lala are twin siblings from the Sanrio series Little Twin Stars. While they share many physical similarities, the main difference between the two is their hair color. Kiki has blue hair, while Lala has pink hair.
9. Which Sanrio characters have their own Instagram accounts?
Many Sanrio characters have official Instagram accounts that are managed by Sanrio or its affiliates. Some examples of Sanrio characters with Instagram accounts include:
- Hello Kitty – @hellokitty
- My Melody – @sanriomy
- Cinnamoroll – @cinnamoroll_official
- Pompompurin – @pompompurin_official
- Gudetama – @gudetama
- Little Twin Stars – @littletwinstars_official
- Aggretsuko – @aggretsuko
- Kuromi – @kur0mi
- Badtz-Maru – @badtz_maru
- Keroppi – @keroppiofficial
All 10 characters above also have their own official Facebook accounts.
10. Does Hello Kitty have a twin sister?
Yes, Hello Kitty has a twin sister named Mimmy White. Mimmy is also a white anthropomorphic cat, like Hello Kitty, and they look very similar. However, there are a few differences between the two characters: Mimmy wears a yellow bow on her right ear while Hello Kitty wears a red bow on her left ear. Additionally, Mimmy is often depicted as being quieter than her outgoing and friendly sister.
11. Where was Hello Kitty born?
According to Sanrio’s official biography of Hello Kitty, the character, as a human girl, was born in the suburbs of London, England.
12. Does Hello Kitty have a pet?
Yes, Hello Kitty has a pet. Hello Kitty’s pet cat is named Charmmy Kitty. Charmmy Kitty resembles Hello Kitty but with more cat-like features. She is a cute, pretty, spunky, friendly white Persian with a pink lace-trimmed bow tied below her left ear
Charmmy Kitty is portrayed as Hello Kitty’s loyal companion and is often seen accompanying her on various adventures. Charmmy Kitty was introduced by Sanrio in 2004, and she quickly became a popular character in her own right, with her own merchandise line and fan base.
13. What is Pochacco’s favorite sport?
Pochacco is a white dog with black floppy ears. He is often dressed in athletic attire, as he has a sporty and playful personality. Pochacco is known for his love of sports, particularly soccer. Ironically, he’s a bit clumsy and often gets into accidents while playing. In addition to his athletic pursuits, Pochacco is also a bit of a detective. He enjoys solving mysteries and often teams up with his friends to crack cases.
14. How many Jewel Pets are there?
There are more than 30 Jewel Pets in the franchise. Each Jewel Pet is named after famous birthstones, minerals, and jewels, and each has its own unique personality and powers. Some of the most well-known Jewel Pets include Ruby, a passionate and confident red gemstone; Sapphire, a calm and intelligent blue gemstone; and Garnet, a tough and competitive brownish-red gemstone. The franchise continues introducing new Jewel Pets over time, so the number of characters always expands.
Each Jewel Pet has a different kind of sparkling jewel for their eyes, used for casting special magic called Jewel Flash. Jewel Pets belong to magicians and live in a mystical place dubbed Jewel Land. They also attend a school to learn more about magic, and each of them is paired with their own human partners.
15. What was the first Helly Kitty merchandise?
Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu. She was commissioned by Sanrio to create a new character for their line of products targeted at young girls. Shimizu came up with the concept of a cute and simple cat with a bow, and the character was named Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty made her debut in Japan in 1974 on a coin purse, and she quickly became a sensation. Over the years, Hello Kitty has become one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in the world, and her merchandise now comes in various forms like clothing, school supplies, homeware, and a lot more.
16. Who is Hello Kitty’s boyfriend?
Hello Kitty’s boyfriend is Dear Daniel (Danieru Sutā), He is a Japanese male bobtail cat just like Hello Kitty herself. They are childhood friends and have known each other since they were kittens.
17. Who is the most relatable Sanrio character among adult fans?
One of the most relatable Sanrio characters among adult fans is Aggressive Retsuko, a red panda who works in an office in Tokyo. She is 25 years old, single, and struggling to move forward in her career. Retsuko is dealing with a lot of stress with her work, making her a relatable character to many people, especially those in the workforce. But instead of releasing her frustrations on her coworkers, she, as a metalhead, holds back her rage and lets out all of that anger by singing death metal at the local karaoke club.
18. Does Sanrio have an owl character?
Yes, Sanrio has a few fictional characters based on owls. Some of the most popular Sanrio owl characters include the purple and blue Hooty Hoots Owls, who are curious and love to learn new things. Another Sanrio owl character is named PataPataPeppy, a popular blue owl character introduced back in 1992.
19. Does Sanrio have a deer character?
Yes, Sanrio has a deer character. Created in 2002, Deery Lou is a brown (sometimes pink) fawn. He lives in the Rainbow Forest and is friends with Queenie Lou, a beautiful swan, and Beary Lou, a friendly bear.
20. Does Sanrio have a monkey character?
Yes, Sanrio has a couple of monkey characters. One of them is named Monkichi, a cute monkey with a big round head and a cheerful smile. Sanrio also has a gorilla character named Bogo the City Boy.
21. When is Badtz-Maru birthday?
Badtz-Maru’s birthday is on April 1st, which is also April Fool’s Day. A male penguin with spiky hair, Badtz-Maru was originally designed as a malevolent character, but over time, his image has softened, and he is now considered more mischievous than malicious.