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We are in a time of everyone and everything seeminglygetting its own TV series- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, when the subject material is one that the fans like. The latest surprise announcement for a new series is based on two well-known Sanrio characters, though not Hello Kitty this time. Instead of Hello Kitty, her friends My Melody and Kuromi are here to steal the spotlight with their very ownNetflixseries.
Netflix announced this upcoming My Melody and Kuromi Netflix series on January 9th on the official Japanese website. The show, calledMy Melody & Kuromi, is going to bean all-new original seriesfollowing the escapades of the two title characters. The announcement included details about how the series is going to be made and how it will look, along with an announcement poster, and comments from some of those involved in the series - including, interestingly, My Melody and Kuromi themselves.
Netflix’s My Melody & Kuromi
An Original Story by Sanrio
My Melody & Kuromiis an upcoming Netflix original animated series, featuring the Sanrio characters My Melody and Kuromi. It will not be animated in a typical anime-style, though, and instead it has beenmade using stop-motion technology(thinkWallace and Gromit). The story will be set in Mariland, the place where the characters canonically live. Alongside the official announcement, Netflix released the first image of how the characters look in their stop-motion form.
The series is coming out now to celebrate two significant anniversaries of the star characters. My Melody was first introduced in 1975, making 2025 her 50th anniversary. Meanwhile, Kuromi is also celebrating a milestone with her 20th anniversary this year. While the two may not havethe global fame of Hello Kitty, they are arguably two of Sanrio’s most popular characters, both in Japan and abroad.
The two main creatives working on the project, Asaki Misato and Mumeko Nemoto, are both already award winners in their respective fields. While this will be the first major stop-action project by studio TORUKU, a subsidiary of WIT STUDIO, expectations are already high that it is going to be successful. The team working on the project is strong, and the characters well-established, which givesMy Melody & Kuromia strong foot to stand on.
Comments from theMy Melody & KuromiTeam
From the Creators, and the Stars
The announcement ofMy Melody & Kuromialso included four comments, from director Asaki Misato, scriptwriter Mumeko Nemoto, and also from the stars themselves, My Melody and Kuromi. The four comments from theNetflix announcement, translated into English, read,
My name is Asaki Misato, and I am pleased to take on the role of director.
I am very happy to finally be able to present this work in the precious years of My Melody’s 50th anniversary and Kuromi’s 20th anniversary!
It’s a big project! I was so excited to be able to take on the many challenges I wanted to take on in stop-motion, but with everyone’s help, I relentlessly worked through it.
Please look forward to the big events that take place in the handmade Mariland, animation that challenges the limits of stop-motion, and the cute characters!
-Asaki Misato
It was a rewarding time for me as a writer to write dialogue for my favorite characters, My Melody and Kuromi.
I actually wrote this script in 2020.
I was unable to meet with Director Misato and the producers face-to-face due to COVID-19, but the time we spent remotely connecting from our homes at a set time each week and carefully exchanging words to build the foundation of this work together was a treasured creation period that kept me going.
I believe that everyone, from adults to children, will find their favorite scenes and lines in this work, which is filled to the brim with love for the world of My Melody and her friends, who are loved by people of all ages.
I am filled with gratitude to My Melody, who has always been a warm, positive presence in my heart and has even made me chuckle at times.
-Mumeko Nemoto
Kuromi and Melody’s new animation series will start in the summer ♡ I want to bring excitement to many, many friends. ♪ Look forward to it! ♡
-My Melody
A new anime about Kuromi and My Melody is about to start! All you KUROMIES around the world, you’ll definitely watch it, won’t you? Don’t miss the cute Kuromi!
-Kuromi
It isn’t often that press releases also feature comments from the characters themselves, which makes this extra special for Sanrio fans. It also shows just how much fun the show creators are having making this show, which will hopefully translate into something fun and special for everyone to watch. While there are no details at the time of publishing regarding an English version ofMy Melody & Kuromi, consideringhow accessible anime is these days on Netflixand a trailer on the EnglishYouTubechannel, it is likely this will be as well.
