zchendevlemh wrote:i think the whole japanese mankind just beat him in the street this morning
Huh??????
Huh??????
Japan - News/General Discussion
Started by kanae · 23 Sep 2005 · 3,296 replies
General Discussion
Huh??????
eightysix wrote:His answer would be, "It's not a skirt... IT'S A KILT!" :beaten:hey 86, i thought you like the sailor/school uniform? hahahahaha!
Puts a twist on the old "wearing the pants in the relationship" saying. :rofl:
niko2x wrote:hey 86, i thought you like the sailor/school uniform? hahahahaha!
Yeah, that is true. But just not on guys. :beaten:
From nameless cat to global icon, Japan's Hello Kitty turns 30
Mon Nov 1,11:34 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Hello Kitty, the moon-faced, mouthless white cat, celebrated her 30th birthday, evolving from a nameless feline on a cheap vinyl purse into the money-making global icon of cuteness.
Hello Kitty comes on dolls, key chains, clothes, credit cards, laptops, vacuum cleaners and even karaoke boxes as a loyal fan base of young women embraces the cat whose expressionless face can be read in any way they want.
Tamaki Hirayoshi, a 37-year-old woman in Tokyo, has collected some 1,000 Hello Kitty products over three decades. She said she was most drawn to the cat's eyes -- or lack thereof.
"The biggest attraction of Hello Kitty is her eyes. They are just dots. When a character's eyes look real, it doesn't look pretty," Hirayoshi said.
"I must say I'm addicted to Kitty. When I see new items, I usually buy them. It's like a conditioned reflex," she said.
Created by Ikuko Shimizu, then a designer of character goods maker Sanrio Co., Hello Kitty made a humble start in 1974 as a nameless cartoon cat on the coin purse.
But when Shimizu put the cat with a red bow on small children's stationery, stuffed dolls and handkerchiefs and called it Hello Kitty, the mouthless cat was quickly purring.
Hello Kitty products are now sold in 60 nations and some 50,000 different Kitty products were sold worldwide in the fiscal year to March 2004.
It was when the Kitty boom subsided around 1980 that the character came into the hands of its third designer, Yuko Yamaguchi, who is credited with Hello Kitty's global success.
To seek new ideas for Hello Kitty, Yamaguchi visited Sanrio shops across Japan to talk to customers and read every fan letter to understand their demands.
Soon she started making Hello Kitty lively by dressing the cat in all kinds of costumes ranging from a baseball uniform to a China dress to a wedding dress, putting her on roller skates and creating a new character, Kitty's boyfriend Daniel.
Thanks to a new, more colorful product lineup, Kitty's fans have expanded from little girls to high school girls to young women.
"I will never turn Kitty into a violent or sexual character. I once had to reject a design because it portrayed Kitty as a skull. I want people to be happy when they see her," Yamaguchi has said in a Sanrio book.
A 25-year-old Kitty fan, who gave her name as Momoko, said Hello Kitty was almost like a close friend.
"Since I was an elementary school student, I was a big fan of Kitty. For me, she is more than a character. I have over 600 Hello Kitty items and they always make me happy," Momoko said.
Kitty generates about 50 percent of the revenue of Sanrio, whose net profit in the three months to June surged nearly 500 percent year-on-year to 1.3 billion yen (12 million dollars) thanks in part to robust sales of Kitty's 30th anniversary-related merchandise.
Ken Asada of Character Data Bank, a marketing research firm for character goods, said Kitty's longevity may come from her expressionless face.
"It allows users to synchronize their feelings with Kitty's. If a user is feeling sad, she will think that Kitty too is feeling sad because the cat has no expression," he said.
"Also having an emotionless character may just fit the feelings and senses of people living modern times," Asada said.
But for Noriko Takahashi, a 34-year-old mother of two children who owns some 100 Kitty products, the biggest attraction is her plain cuteness.
"Kitty is irresistible because all her products are cute. Even as a grown-up, I cannot stop buying Kitty's goods," Takahashi said.
Mon Nov 1,11:34 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Hello Kitty, the moon-faced, mouthless white cat, celebrated her 30th birthday, evolving from a nameless feline on a cheap vinyl purse into the money-making global icon of cuteness.
Hello Kitty comes on dolls, key chains, clothes, credit cards, laptops, vacuum cleaners and even karaoke boxes as a loyal fan base of young women embraces the cat whose expressionless face can be read in any way they want.
Tamaki Hirayoshi, a 37-year-old woman in Tokyo, has collected some 1,000 Hello Kitty products over three decades. She said she was most drawn to the cat's eyes -- or lack thereof.
"The biggest attraction of Hello Kitty is her eyes. They are just dots. When a character's eyes look real, it doesn't look pretty," Hirayoshi said.
"I must say I'm addicted to Kitty. When I see new items, I usually buy them. It's like a conditioned reflex," she said.
Created by Ikuko Shimizu, then a designer of character goods maker Sanrio Co., Hello Kitty made a humble start in 1974 as a nameless cartoon cat on the coin purse.
But when Shimizu put the cat with a red bow on small children's stationery, stuffed dolls and handkerchiefs and called it Hello Kitty, the mouthless cat was quickly purring.
Hello Kitty products are now sold in 60 nations and some 50,000 different Kitty products were sold worldwide in the fiscal year to March 2004.
It was when the Kitty boom subsided around 1980 that the character came into the hands of its third designer, Yuko Yamaguchi, who is credited with Hello Kitty's global success.
To seek new ideas for Hello Kitty, Yamaguchi visited Sanrio shops across Japan to talk to customers and read every fan letter to understand their demands.
Soon she started making Hello Kitty lively by dressing the cat in all kinds of costumes ranging from a baseball uniform to a China dress to a wedding dress, putting her on roller skates and creating a new character, Kitty's boyfriend Daniel.
Thanks to a new, more colorful product lineup, Kitty's fans have expanded from little girls to high school girls to young women.
"I will never turn Kitty into a violent or sexual character. I once had to reject a design because it portrayed Kitty as a skull. I want people to be happy when they see her," Yamaguchi has said in a Sanrio book.
A 25-year-old Kitty fan, who gave her name as Momoko, said Hello Kitty was almost like a close friend.
"Since I was an elementary school student, I was a big fan of Kitty. For me, she is more than a character. I have over 600 Hello Kitty items and they always make me happy," Momoko said.
Kitty generates about 50 percent of the revenue of Sanrio, whose net profit in the three months to June surged nearly 500 percent year-on-year to 1.3 billion yen (12 million dollars) thanks in part to robust sales of Kitty's 30th anniversary-related merchandise.
Ken Asada of Character Data Bank, a marketing research firm for character goods, said Kitty's longevity may come from her expressionless face.
"It allows users to synchronize their feelings with Kitty's. If a user is feeling sad, she will think that Kitty too is feeling sad because the cat has no expression," he said.
"Also having an emotionless character may just fit the feelings and senses of people living modern times," Asada said.
But for Noriko Takahashi, a 34-year-old mother of two children who owns some 100 Kitty products, the biggest attraction is her plain cuteness.
"Kitty is irresistible because all her products are cute. Even as a grown-up, I cannot stop buying Kitty's goods," Takahashi said.
It doesn't say when the 30th anniversary is (specific date - I guess it's just the whole year)...but this summer they had a 30th anniversary exhibit in Harajuku (Tokyo) - if anyone's really into Hello Kitty. I wonder if it's still being shown.
gregsan wrote:It doesn't say when the 30th anniversary is...but this summer they had a 30th anniversary exhibit in Harajuku (Tokyo) - if anyone's really into Hello Kitty. I wonder if it's still being shown.
I think Betsy-chan is into Hello Kitty: she has pics in her avatar and sig...
bmwracer wrote:
I think Betsy-chan is into Hello Kitty: she has pics in her avatar and sig...
We went to the outside of the exhibit, my wife likes Sanrio, but decided not to go inside since you had to pay.
Besides I was getting funny looks from all of the young girls wondering why I was at a Hello Kitty exhibit. Actually though, the exhibit was inside a mini-department store building...so there were shops there and other stuff too.
gregsan wrote:Besides I was getting funny looks from all of the young girls wondering why I was at a Hello Kitty exhibit.
:hehe: :hehe: :hehe: I get those same looks when I'm browsing through the Japanese women's magazines looking for Ryoko pics... :sweat: :sweat:
My Hello Kitty collection includes:
- Hello Kitty Barbie doll (un-used, in box)
- Hello Kitty Rubik's Cube (yes, I can solve it - in under 30 secs)
- Hello Kitty massage device (didn't want to us the "V" word)
- Hello Kitty bookmark (I use it when I read manga)
- Hello Kitty plastic junk box (about the size of a pencil box)
- Hello Kitty cell phone cover (though I just replaced my cell phone, so it no longer fits :( )
And yes, I'm male.
--- groink
- Hello Kitty Barbie doll (un-used, in box)
- Hello Kitty Rubik's Cube (yes, I can solve it - in under 30 secs)
- Hello Kitty massage device (didn't want to us the "V" word)
- Hello Kitty bookmark (I use it when I read manga)
- Hello Kitty plastic junk box (about the size of a pencil box)
- Hello Kitty cell phone cover (though I just replaced my cell phone, so it no longer fits :( )
And yes, I'm male.
--- groink
Has anyone been to Puroland? It's in Tama-shi (Tokyo). It's an all indoor theme park operated by Sanrio.
I have been seeing so much kitty chan merchandise lately every place I look.
I have been seeing so much kitty chan merchandise lately every place I look.
groink wrote:My Hello Kitty collection includes:
- Hello Kitty Barbie doll (un-used, in box)
- Hello Kitty Rubik's Cube (yes, I can solve it - in under 30 secs)
- Hello Kitty massage device (didn't want to us the "V" word)
- Hello Kitty bookmark (I use it when I read manga)
- Hello Kitty plastic junk box (about the size of a pencil box)
- Hello Kitty cell phone cover (though I just replaced my cell phone, so it no longer fits :( )
And yes, I'm male.
--- groink
A Hello Kitty Vibrator?????? :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:
![[image]](http://www.hellocat78.1hwy.com/images/6-10-04.jpg){kind=link}
Umm, thanks for sharing? :rofl: Talk about branding a product... :hehe:
Dang! hehehe..Hello Kitty Vibrator.. :rofl: :rofl:
*cough* I don't even collect any Hello Kitty Products..:sweat:
*cough* I don't even collect any Hello Kitty Products..:sweat:
dochira wrote:Umm, thanks for sharing? :rofl: Talk about branding a product... :hehe:
From what I've read previously... Sanrio will let you license their trademarks and place it on ALMOST anything, except for:
1) Drug and alcohol related products (hash pipes, bongs, vodka, etc.)
2) Sex toys (the vibrator above is not actually a sex device)
3) Weapons (knives, guns, rifles, etc.)
If the item(s) do not fall in the banned categories, Sanrio will about 98-percent of the time approve of the product and assign you a license. Sanrio's idea is not to restrict the Hello Kitty trademark (if within means) so that the trademarks will virtually become a household name, just like the Apple Computer logo or Coca-Cola. So far, the mass use of the trademark has worked out very well (obviously).
Akakage wrote:*cough* I don't even collect any Hello Kitty Products..:sweat:tell me bout it, im not into that sanrio stuff except tuxedo sam and pekkle but those are years ago :beaten:
sure it doesnt have to be a sexual toy but a vibrator is a vibrator for all purposes, you can put in whatever context you like :mrgreen:
MixxDreamer wrote:sure it doesnt have to be a sexual toy but a vibrator is a vibrator for all purposes, you can put in whatever context you like :mrgreen:
:hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:
Oh yeah, sure !!!!!!!!!! :hehe: :hehe: :hehe: :rofl:
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