Sanrio Fans Vote for Cutest Character: Pompompurin Overtakes Hello Kitty for 5th Place

The Japanese company Sanrio, which designs and produces popular characters such as Hello Kitty, recently held a fan voting event for its many adorable characters. In the end, Pompompurin surpassed the five-time champion Cinnamaroll to become the 'cutest champion.'

This year’s Sanrio Character Grand Prize received more than 63 million votes, showing just how influential Sanrio’s cute characters are.

In 10th place is the long-absent Ahirunopeckle, known as the “walking Japanese vocabulary card,” making his first return to the top 10 since 1994. 9th place goes to Tuxedo Sam, the penguin in overalls but without a tailcoat, and 8th place is occupied by Hangyodon, the sea monster who was introduced in 1985, faded for years, but has recently regained popularity.

Currently celebrating their 50th anniversary, the Little Twin Stars (Kiki and Lala) ranked 7th, while My Melody placed 6th.

The globally renowned Hello Kitty could only secure the 5th spot. This once-dominant character, who had a 12-year consecutive win from 1998 to 2009 and another two-year streak in 2012-2013, has been unable to win the championship since 2019.

Coming in 4th is Kuromi, who is very popular among young girls in Malaysia. The bronze medal goes to Pochacco.

Cinnamaroll, who had held the top spot for five consecutive years from 2020 to 2024, was unable to defend the title this time and took second place. The champion is Pompompurin, marking his fourth time at the top since 2016.

As a result, canine characters swept the top three spots in this year's Sanrio Character Grand Prize.

According to global voting data, Pompompurin ranked first in 14 overseas markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, China, Taiwan, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and others.