Yōko Matsumoto and the bunny with a pure heart
She was meant to be a version of Little Red Riding Hood for a Christmas promotion. She became a character who for half a century has never dropped out of Sanrio's top five.
In 1975 Yōko Matsumoto created a white bunny in a red hood for Sanrio — originally as a version of Little Red Riding Hood for a promotion. No one knew this character would become one of the most recognisable kawaii icons in the world. My Melody was born in the magical forest of Mariland and wears a hood sewn by her grandmother — first red, then pink. Matsumoto also designed Kiki and Lala from Little Twin Stars, making her the author of two iconic Sanrio duos.
A rival who completes her
In 2005, the anime Onegai My Melody introduced Kuromi for the first time — a black bunny, a mischievous anti-heroine, My Melody's inverse mirror. The pair became one of Sanrio's most popular duos. They aren't enemies — they're two sides of the same story, where without one the other loses its meaning.
25 years in the top 5
My Melody won the Sanrio Character Ranking in 2010, 2011 and 2014, and for 25 straight years she never dropped out of the top five — a record no other Sanrio character holds, not even Hello Kitty. It's proof of something the data doesn't explain: people simply love this bunny. She appeals to nostalgic millennials and to a new generation discovering Sanrio through TikTok and blind boxes alike.
Matsumoto created a bunny so simple and so sincere that it's impossible not to love her. And that's the hardest thing in design.
Collector series
The whole My Melody collection is waiting for you here — sincere and warm.
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