Interest
Mascot-Loving Sanrio Boys Project Adds New Characters
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Sanrio's self-referential mixed media project about a group of high school boys who enjoy the company's different mascot characters is adding new boys to the mix. The characters will represent the Kyushu area of Japan and appear at a performance at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX in November. More information, including their names, stage cast, and associated Sanrio characters was announced during a Nico Nico livestream on August 20.
The characters are (note: name romanizations are not official):
Yasuhiro Koga played by Ryō Sekoguchi. Yasuhiro's favorite mascot is Cogimyun.
Shinya Umezaki played by Mizuki Umetsu. Shinya's favorite mascot is Hello Kitty.
Ichirō Itonaga played by Natsuki Osaki. Ichirō's favorite mascot is Hangyodon.
Takahiko Ogata played by Naoki Takeshi. Takahiko's favorite mascot is My Sweet Piano.
The project already included the Pom Pom Purin-loving Kōta, My Melody fan Yū Mizuno, Hello Kitty collector Shunsuke, class president and Cinnamoroll lover Seiichiro, and Ryo who loves Little Twin Stars. Sanrio introduced Kansai Sanrio Boys characters in 2018.
The project's premise follows Kōta Hasegawa, a high school boy who loves the yellow Pom Pom Purin dog. By mere coincidence, he ends up attending the same school as Yū Mizuno, a boy who likes the bunny My Melody. Yū tells Kōta that there's nothing to be ashamed of for liking Sanrio's cute characters. Together, Kōta, Yū, Shunsuke Yoshino, Ryō Nishimiya, and Seiichiro Minamoto learn to accept their love of the characters instead of feeling embarrassed.
The overall project launched in January 2016, and Sanrio launched a merchandise line for the project in April 2016. The anime adaptation premiered in January 2018 and streamed on Crunchyroll.
[Via Nijimen]
