My Melody: Yasuko Matsumoto
Dowiedz się więcej →A white bunny in a pink hood. Sincere, warm, unwaveringly kind. My Melody appeared at Sanrio in 1975 — a year after Hello Kitty — and since then has never left the top five of the brand's most popular characters for 25 straight years. It's a record no one has broken. Yasuko Matsumoto, the designer also responsible for Kiki and Lala, created a character inspired by Little Red Riding Hood — and then let her grow into something of her own. The hood changed colour from red to pink. Kuromi appeared — a black bunny, a mischievous rival who turned out to be My Melody's inverse mirror. Together they became one of Sanrio's most iconic duos. Why does My Melody keep reaching the heart, unchanged, for half a century? What makes this simple, sincere character win out over flashier designs? And what is kawaii that doesn't just look sweet, but truly feels?