Hello Kitty Most Popular Sanrio Character in Annual Ranking History

(Originally published in December 2024.)

Cute Creations

Since 1986, the Sanrio Character Ranking has gauged the popularity of the company’s many cute creations, including several boasting huge followings in Japan and overseas. In the 2025 contest, there were a record 63 million votes spread among 90 characters. Pompompurin (a beret-wearing golden retriever) finished first for the fourth time, just ahead of Cinnamoroll (a puppy from beyond the clouds who uses his long ears to fly) while Pochacco (a puppy who loves walking the long way round) came in third, as dog characters swept the top three. Still popular, but a little lower down, Hello Kitty was in fifth position.

The first ever winner in 1986 was Zashikibuta; this was also the only time the easygoing but curious pig topped the ranking. Pochacco, created in 1989, was the favorite character for five years running from 1991 to 1995, and has seen a recent revival in popularity. Hello Kitty then headed the list for twelve years from 1998 until 2009. In 2024, Cinnamoroll was named the winner for the fifth consecutive year.

Overall, Hello Kitty has been ranked first most often at fifteen times. Recent favorite Cinnamoroll has won the popularity contest seven times, which all came in the last eight years.

Cinnamoroll, created in 2002, has been around less than half as long as Hello Kitty. It took him 15 years to top the ranking, which he did for the first time in 2017. Sanrio says that it is not uncommon for its characters to have a second wave of popularity more than a decade after they debut, as adult fans renew their childhood devotion.

Sanrio Character Ranking Winners by Year

Zashikibuta. (© ’24 Sanrio)

(Originally published in English. Banner image: From left, Cinnamoroll, Hello Kitty, and Pochacco. © ’24 Sanrio.)