Hangyodon: Hisato Inoue
Learn more →Half fish, half boy, born under Halley's Comet. Hangyodon appeared at Sanrio in 1985 from the hand of Hisato Inoue — and for decades he was stuck in the shadow of Hello Kitty and friends. He dreamed of becoming a hero, but his plans regularly ended comically. He was a lonely romantic with an octopus as his best friend and round eyes designed after his own creator's face. Then came Gen Z. And it discovered that this “adorably ugly” aesthetic — cute, awkward, authentic — is exactly what they were looking for. In 2023 Hangyodon took 7th place in the Sanrio Character Ranking, driven by fans on TikTok who see in him something that can't be bought: character. Why does imperfection become an icon? What makes a fish with unfulfilled dreams speak to millions? And how does a character who spent 40 years in the shadow become a symbol of a generation?