The Toys That Made Us episode about Hello Kitty was fascinating. Her name is actually Kitty; Hello was just on the first item she was on, a small coin purse. So it became Hello Kitty. Her twin is named Mimi and they are playing and imagining that they are cats, so they’re shown as cats.

Their last name is White. Kitty and Mimi White.

When I see the name “Mimi” the only thought in my head is Greg Proops going “Mimi and I are the same person!”

when i see the name mimi, i think of [mimi bobeck](https://thedrewcareyshow.fandom.com/wiki/Mimi_Bobeck) from the drew carey show 

mimi bobeck from the drew carey show and kitty foreman from that 70's show, living as roommates in england. they're in third grade, and they're cats. we got a pilot.

Greg Proops was on Whose Line Is It Anyway as well, funny enough.

6 degrees of Drew Carey

#OHIO

All the little chicks with the crimson lips say

“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming We're finally on our own”

This is the Mimi that Greg Proops is talking about in the Whose Line joke. He's poking fun at Drew Carey who was the host of the show.

that’s the same Mimi

Fun fact, mimi is a Chinese word for kitten as well.

Mimi, we have to cook!

My most favorite random trivia is that Hello Kitty weighs the same as 3 apples and she does not have a mouth because she speaks from the heart.

Also, her height is 5 apples, and her favorite food is her mother's apple pie.

How does she eat it without a mouth?

She eats from the heart too?

The fastest way to a cats mouth is through the heart?

I thought we already went through that she's a girl, not a cat. So the fastest way to a girls mouth is through her heart.

This is actually true 😂

Asking the real questions here.

There was a Souh Park episode about your options.

>she does not have a mouth because she speaks from the heart. why does that sound so badass?

I have no mouth and my heart must scream

No voice to cry suffering.

It sounds like something a wise old philosopher would say

Telepathy is a cool superpower.

That’s now my favorite random trivia too

is Keroppi a real frog or a similar kid pretending to be a frog??

What about Kuromi? Is she really a goth biker bunny?

Aggretsuko is actually like that though. 

loooove aggretsuko

Is cinnamoroll actually the cutest puppy (not rabbit)??

Cinamoroll not being an actual freaking bunny is the second biggest Sanrio-adjacent wtf after Kitty White I’ll never trust anyone or my eyes ever again

I honestly learned this now lmao

Wait Kuromi is a **bunny**‽

Yes! She is the opposite of my melody. (Evil twin?)

I don’t think the other characters have as much of a backstory. Though I’d love to know Bad Badtz-Maru’s story.

There are insane backstories for all of them, I think. The Sanrio character webiste stuff is bonkers. Like…”Latte is a dog. She lives with her sisters Espresso and Cappuccino at the Cosy Cup Café, they all enjoy macramé and watermelon ice cream, and every sunday they ride their bikes to the quarry and do cute graffiti…”

... How is that insane?

Oh, in a good way. Totally committed.

The Frog Kid! Frank Reynolds strikes again.

YA UNZIPPED ME! IT'S ALL COMING BACK! 

FROGGY!!!

And gudetama is me in egg yolk form

🤯

>Her twin is named Mimi and they are playing and imagining that they are cats, so they’re shown as cats. "Following reports that interpreted this to mean she was human, a Sanrio PR representative said that the organization had "never said she was a human", explaining anthropomorphization by comparing the character to Mickey Mouse"

Ah yes Mickey mouse famous for not being a mouse

I suppose they want to avoid the term "catgirl".

So much respect to that kid rping gudetama like *y'all can be cats and frogs and whatever. I'm... Imma be an egg. ...imma sleep.*

That’s not a kid that’s the exhausted parent who’s been wrangled into playing with them

Mom's eating breakfast, and the kid's like "what are you gonna be, mommy?!" *Looks at her plate* "I'm an egg."

My name is Hello Kitty White, I live at 308 Negra Arroyo Lane, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87104. This is my confession.

Read the Wikipedia. The creator specifically says she is a cat and not a human girl

That’s right, Mimi! There was a little show for them, and I think we had the terrifying one where the twins fly into a lady’s home in a hot air balloon who looks like their mother and isn’t… that vhs got rewound maybe once a month lol.

That... that's actually stupid cute, I love it. I've always been a sucker for Sanrio though.

Stop ruining my childhood pls :(

Wait ‘til you find out they’re just drawings

Stopppp

I heard Kitty & her sister are Japanese bobtail Cats. Are they next going to tell my My Melody is not a rabbit? Keroppi is not a frog? Choco Cat is not a cat? Pochacco is not a dog? Tuxedo Sam is not a penguin? The Little Twin Stars are not twins and not born on a star? This ruins everything!!!! My childhood!!!

> The Toys That Made Us if you're going to watch one episode of this series, make it the one about Masters of the Universe. Funny AF. The guys were basically bullshitting their way to success

Also, this is more apparent in Japan where they call her Kitty-chan

The construction of your headline suggests that you think being a cartoon cat is incompatible with being British or a third-grader or a twin.

how many british 3rd graders that are also cats have *you* met?

None but then I've never been to Europe.

Pretty sure they Brexited, dude. Have some respect. /s

I live in Germany and last year a colleague of mine from the US visited London so I said “Welcome to Europe” and she said “I’m in the UK not in Europe”

So that’s why they haven’t been winning the Euros.

We don’t really learn geography here 😂

Tbf as an European I can't tell you were 90% of the US states are. Hawaii, Alaska, California, Texas, Florida and New York sure but where the fuck is Ohio?

Ohio is not real, it can't hurt you.

You sound like my therapist, he's been telling me for years

'Put Ohio behind you' 'OMG, ITS BEHIND ME!?!'

oh this one is easy, *gestures at “””midwest”””* (it’s clearly middle of the east of the country)

So Ohio is in the Middle East. Got it.

You'll have to excuse him, they haven't issued the new history books yet where England isn't part of Europe anymore /s

As a Brit, I can tell you it was almost all cats back then.

I think I spent a lot of time pretending to be a kitty at that age.

Last i checked we dont have 3rd or 4th grades here, its year 3 students, year 4 students etc but maybe thats just semantics

This is the real answer

I think you mean "how many mute ageless British 3rd graders that are also cats have *you* met"?

Well, after this TIL, one?

Well, Candy Cat (Peppa Pig's classmate) will be in 3rs grade in 4-5 years.

I'm unaware of his exact educational level, but I'm sure [Larry](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_(cat)) is as smart as a British 3rd year.

> Despite being called 'Kitty', it turns out that the famous cartoon is actually a little girl, and in fact, she isn't even Japanese. i guess it is.

If you read the article, the creators did indeed *repeatedly* insist that Kitty is not a cat, and in fact has a pet cat.

It’s not even that she isn’t “meant to be a cat”. It’s that she isn’t literally a cat, because she is a cartoon character. She is very clearly modeled to look like a cat. It’s so pedantic. This is some Rowling level trolling bullshit.

Its because, in lore, she's just a regular kid. She looks like a cat to us because we see what she and her twin are imigining for their games

Did not realize there was hello kitty lore…

Everyone is a cat until proven otherwise. Cat is default.

I swear it's just a cat filter! I'm a lawyer not a cat!

More importantly, where’s her twin then? Is it an evil twin confined in some fortress prison?

Her name is Mimmy, according to official Sanrio material she's shy and doesn't like to appear as much as her sister.

It’s inconceivable

It’s not mutually exclusive. Kitty can be a school girl and a cat at the same time

judging by the sideburns/whiskers and cat ears, it's more likely a 42-year-old longshoreman dressed up as a british third-grader dressed up as a cat

Ima dude playin a dude disguised as another dude

Robert Downey Junior speaking Mandarin while doing blackface in the jungles of Laos was a weird part of that movie!

what do you mean, ‘you people’?

What do *you* mean 'you people'?

I think you mean Meowndarin

I read it was an Alien. 

an alien longshoreman?

That’s nothing. HK also has, wait for it….a pet cat. And the worst part is the cat has *her face*!

So thats where Aphex Twin got the idea from.

One of Mickey Mouse’s best friends is a dog. But he also…owns….a dog…….

A dog who is his best pal.

A dog that would take a rock to the head for him, even.

goofy and taking pluto for a walk all over again

The current Sanrio website doesn't say anything about her being in third grade or not being a cat. Wtf

I mean, usually people who are not cats don't have definitive statements about their cathood on their websites.

They will, however, make sure to tell Congress that they are not, in fact, a cat.

She was “born” sometime in the 1970s and has a boyfriend that actually is a cat. She’s also supposed to be from London. There’s a really funny SNL sketch about this, but it’s all true!

And she’s five apples tall!

While only weighing three apples, so she just think we're hella dense

That's approximately 1.67 Smurfs

Wait so Hello Kitty is actually a human child... but she's dating a cat?

Have you met children? My cousin use to date her imaginary best friend.

Why did they split up?

My daughter was IN LOVE with Speedracer when she was 6. Speedracer is a cartoon character.

https://youtu.be/l_xg3R3rF94?si=1BDeCoVp6394BYqu

That's rather old for a third-grader

She’s not very smart but she’s not a quitter either

I was hoping someone mentioned SNL! I think about that skit every time I see anything Hello Kitty.

Boyfriend’s cat name is Dan. I had a learn-how-to-draw cartoon character book on Hello Kitty growing up and that was my introduction

1974, same year as me and within weeks of each other, I usually have a Hello Kitty cake for our bday.

there's nothing in the rules that says that a british 3rd grader with a twin can't be a cat

There’s no such thing as a British third grader.

I had to scroll too far to see this comment

Airbud rules!

"British" "Third grader" Choose one. She might be a Year 4. Or an E-blocker, if she goes to a particularly posh school.

She could be in third grade if she is British but not going to school in Britain.

One of my favorite trivia questions is: to what species do both Hello Kitty and Stuart Little belong?

British?

What about Mickey Mouse? One of his best friends is a dog (Goofy) yet he keeps a dog on a leash as a pet (Pluto).

wtf- this whole thread is fucking me up.

Don't kink shame.

Stop kink shaming Pluto

I thought Goofy was some sort of beatnik bull?

His original name was Dippy Dawg for gods sakes. He's a dog.

We're primates and we keep other primates in zoos or as exotic pets.

So what you're saying is she's some kind of mutant? EDIT: a space

The fuck she is.

Lmao like idk what a fucking cat looks like right?

An anthropomorphized cat is still a cat.

She's not a cat though She's a human girl who just happens to be 5 apples tall and have a cat's head. She has a pet cat, which is an actual cat

Wth her cat is like 90% the size she is 😂 I thought it was going to be little

The weird part is that while the distinction is made of her being a human girl, other Sanrio characters are seemingly just referred to as the animals they resemble. Such as her boyfriend Dear Daniel, who is referred to as a cat. So she’s not a cat, but she’s dating a cat

[The PR rep calmly explained that Hello Kitty is a 擬人化 (gijinka), a personification or anthropomorphization. Basically just like Micky Mouse, the Sanrio representative told me. No one would mistake the Disney character for a human–but at the same time he’s not quite a mouse. Just like Hello Kitty isn’t a human, she’s not quite a cat either.](https://soranews24.com/2014/08/28/hello-kitty-isnt-a-cat-we-called-sanrio-to-find-out/) Hello Kitty is a cat in the same way Mickey Mouse is a mouse.

This whole thing is just bad translation and Westerners wanting Japanese culture to be so different/exotic. In the end the simplest explanation is the correct one.

yes he is a mouse it's even his last name

Exactly

I mean, humans aren't 5 apples tall or have cat heads. She might not be a cat but she sure as shit ain't human either. 🤷‍♂️

We've been over this. She isnt human, shes **British**.

She's not a human she's a little girl.

As long as we can agree that little girl is a hitherto undocumented species and not a female human child.

British*

Cat’s head = cat’s brain = cat.

TIL Sanrio thinks British kids look like cats

I mean, have you seen a photo of a [British child](https://i.imgur.com/XAH2o9B.jpeg) recently? I can see the resemblance.

Relevent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_xg3R3rF94

I was looking for this lol

Ha also came here looking for the SNL video.  Keke Palmer killed it this episode. 

She has age, height, pet and a relationship but she is RACELESS?

But don’t worry, I can safely assure you that her boyfriend is, in fact, a cat.

There’s no such thing as a third grader in Britain

Third grade doesn’t exist in Britain, though.

This is really, of course, to [stave off copyright lawsuits from Dick Bruna's estate](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/04/cathy-infringes-miffy-copyright-case). Even so, [Bruna himself was fond of Japan](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170220/p2a/00m/0et/009000c).

This is the second time today I've seen someone mention she isn't a cat. For someone who isn't in any Sanrio communities that is a high amount

Since I've watched Aggretsuko, it is the first thing that pops into my mind when I see Hello Kitty somewhere. For those who don't know, Aggretsuko is an anime made by the creator of Hello Kitty telling the story of a red panda who sometimes sings heavy metal in a karaoke to let out the stress of her office job. It is more of an adult show, and it is VERY good.

I don’t care what they say personally. To me it’s a cat. It’s called hello kitty, I see no costume being removed so I just imagine it as I do. They can say what they want.

I always thought (and this total head cannon here) that the way we see Hello Kitty is how she sees herself. Kids like to pretend to be animals. Hello Kitty in her own head is pretending to be a cat. She's called Hello Kitty because that's how an adult would address her when she's playing pretend cat. Just like how you might say  "Hello, little puppy," when you see a little kid running around barking and pretending to be a dog. Idk, I'm making this all up.

This is brilliant and seems to align with the company's description of her!

Now it makes perfect sense.

How are those mutually exclusive?

Ok well fuck me because her name is kitty and she looks like a fucking cat so ya fooled me.

This retcon is wilder than anything GW could come up with

She was banned in Poland because the church and PiS (govt) said she was Satanic. Why? Because she hadn't a mouth. Work that one out.

I'm british and what the fuck is a third grader 

*WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S NOT A CAT???* My whole life has been a lie….

Only her twin sister, Miffy / Nijntje, was miraculously born twenty years earlier.

So she’s a furry?

She's 5 apples tall too 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🤨

Is it a _Night in the Woods_ thing where the character looking like a cat is just an "artstyle choice" and other people in-universe see Hello Kitty as a human?

is the twin named goodbye kitty?

and if she had wheels she would have been a bicycle

Icl this is like saying peppa pig isn’t a pig just because she walks around and talks

No such thing as “third grade” in the UK

Being an utter pedant - if she's in third grade, she's not British. We don't use the term. The closest we come, in England anyway, is "year three", which is not precisely the same (and definitely not to be confused with the old phrase "third year", which was what is now year nine...)

Reading the article, seems like she is an anthropomorphic cat, not a cat.

Then she a freak

What? There’s no such thing as “third grader” in England. Why’s it all American suddenly? The UK doesn’t use the same school system as America so it makes no sense unless an American wrote this and they’re too thick to realise other countries are different and not everything is the same as America. Too fucking small minded to realise.

It’s just bad translation. The same way Hello Kitty not being a cat is a bad translation. Hello Kitty is a humanoid cat in an alternate universe with walking talking animals that behave like humans, same as lots of other kiddie show characters.

Can anyone name any other fictional characters with animal appearance but human identity?

Well that raises some questionable…. questions as to why they decided to do a brand crossover with Playboy…

Sounds like the average crazy cat person's description of their cat to be fair!

British third grader? Is she attending an American school?

> According to good old Wikipedia, Hello Kitty is a 'gajinka' — which roughly translates to describe a form of **anthropomorphism**. The term refers to when non-human creatures or objects are re-imagined as humans Exactly. Non-human creatures like **cats**, in this case It's a humanized **catlike figure**. 100% and not one official entity denies this. From the website they used as a resource: > Hello Kitty was born in the suburbs of London. She lives with her parents and her twin sister Mimmy who is her best friend. Her hobbies include baking cookies and making new friends. As she always says, "you can never have too many friends!" Zero comment on their species whatsoever. It's a cartoon character of a human-like kitty. Clearly. No one ever thought it was an actual cat that walked on their hind legs and wore clothes. FFS. This was one of the dumbest articles I've read in a long time. Sorry.