Sanrio's Kuromi is a classic anime
My Melody and Kuromi
Bunny Melody (MyMelo for her friends) was born on January 18, 1975 in the forest of Maryland. She lives in a small house with her parents, her little brother Rhythm (born in 1983) and her grandparents and has a host of small and faithful friends, in particular the mouse Flat and the sheep Piano. Mymelo has a good and generous nature (obviously XD) but she is also a big mess and her natural naivety often puts her in trouble, in short she is as much kawaii as comic. Her greatest treasure is her inseparable hood, which was given to her by her grandmother.
Just that hood has marked the early stages of life of the character and its evolution over the years :D
The first appearance of MyMelo in fact was in the role of Little Red Riding Hood: in the gadgets of 1975 never appeared the name My Melody but the words "Little Red Riding Hood", that is precisely "Little Red Riding Hood" (in the official website you can also read the story in English)! The following year, My Melody's charadesign changed to become more similar to the current one: the hood became pink, the characteristic "folded ear" (XD) appeared and we began to know her friends. In the '90s there is a return to the origins: the design and the color of the cap return those of the debut, with a bow or a little flower to decorate the ear (again straight XD) of MyMelo. In recent years, then the bunny has returned to play Little Red Riding Hood in some vintage style collections, but has also enjoyed wearing new and extravagant caps (even in blue or floral!) :D
2005, the year of her thirtieth anniversary, marked an important turning point. In fact, the bunny debuted on TV with her own animated series, "Onegai My Melody", and for the occasion she was joined by a new friend/enemy: Kuromi *O* The anime was a great success at home, so much so that it deserved a sequel, "Onegai My Melody ~Kuru Kuru Shuffle~", currently on air, and a slew of promotional gadgets (including CDs, action figures, videogames and live shows). The anime is also interesting because thanks to it for the first time (at least I think so XD) a real "world" has been created around the main character (complete with rulers and "legal laws"). The various friends / relatives of MyMelo also get out of the classic role of simple characters and gain a well-defined personality, with lots of strengths and weaknesses and sometimes a backstory that tells their past :D
However, "Onegai My Melody" was not MyMelo's debut in the world of animation. In 1989, in fact, a 30-minute short film was made for the big screen titled "My Melody no Akazukin" ("My Melody's Little Red Riding Hood"), which obviously brings the tale of Little Red Riding Hood to the stage. The short anime was screened along with two other cartoons dedicated to Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars.
My Melody has quickly gained enormous popularity, thanks to its resemblance to Hello Kitty (practically it's Kitty in rabbit version and with a mouth XD), especially among girls, and is currently one of the three "bigs" of Sanrio (along with Kitty and Cinnamon). In 1981 (a good year :P) the bunny has monopolized Italian sales, being in the top three positions of the Sanrio Company's ranking for our country! Paradoxically, however, the merchandise of My Melody is not as widespread as that of other characters :O
Small final note... the images you see above were all taken from the My Melody & Kuromi Official Fan Book, released a few months ago (and that I have in my hands thanks to him XD). The book, in addition to a roundup of the best gadgets dedicated to the two protagonists and an exclusive photo shoot, also contains a rich profile on MyMelo, with a history of gadgets from the 70s to the present and almost all the covers and posters dedicated to her ... too bad I can not read Japanese ... XD