While it’s always fun to keep up with the most popular kawaii characters, it’s also nice to showcase some of the less well-known ones too. Here is a selection of cute characters you maybe haven’t met before or haven’t seen on SCK for a while with some of their cutest merch.
We last caught up with Molang in 2022 and this year they’ve released a new sports collection on their official website (EU) just in time for the Olympics. I think the standouts are the baby tee and the bucket hat. There’s a cute sticker sheet too of Molang participating in various athletic activities.
If you’re looking for plush of this kawaii rabbit, as well as sidekick Piu Piu the chick, their EU shop also has those, but Aurora (US) has a selection, including a handful of additional designs, my favorite of those being Molang as a chef.
We all know My Melody, who is often paired with rival Kuromi, but did you know My Melody has a best friend named My Sweet Piano? My Sweet Piano appeared in 1980, five years after My Melody. This cute pink sheep was originally named Hitsuji (meaning sheep), but in 2005 Sanrio asked for suggestions of a new name and Piano was chosen. You can find the best friend duo on a variety of merchandise at Hot Topic (US) and an exclusive purse, backpack, shirt, and wallet at Box Lunch (US). Sanrio (US) also has quite a few My Sweet Piano items.
My first experience with Sentimental Circus was with a stationery set I received in a subscription box years ago. I can’t remember the name of the box, but I specifically remember having to look up the characters because I didn’t know who they were! Created in 2010 by San-X, I feel like Sentimental Circus is usually associated with Shappo the ringleader, but there are some characters I didn’t even know about, like Mouton the elephant and Rio the lion. There’s actually a lot of Sentimental Circus merch available from different sites including Jellybeet (US), Cuteness (EU) and Very Goods (JP).
Doraemon, popularized by a 1969 Japanese manga, is a rarer character outside of his home country. It’s harder to find this robotic cat’s merchandise outside of Japan but Meccha Japan and Plaza Japan (which has the manga), both ship worldwide from Japan.
Which characters would you like us to catch up with next?
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