Image via Parade, Kodansha, and Sanrio
Parade announced that, at the end of February 2026, Chiikawa Sanrio plush of characters from the anime and manga dressed as mascots like Hello Kitty will appear. There will be three varieties. They will appear in actual arcades as prizes in Japan and in many online crane games. There’s no word on if we’ll see them eventually everywhere.
While three characters appear in this Chiikawa Sanrio lineup, they only feature two of the main characters from the series. Chiikawa is present, wearing a hood that looks like My Melody’s. Hachiware is there too with a Hello Kitty ribbon on the left ear. However, the third is the side character Kuri-Manju in a full Hangyodon costume. All of them are just under a foot tall at 11 inches (30cm).
Here’s how all three of these plush will look. One of the photos Parade shared shows the Chiikawa My Melody one being held, to offer a sense of scale.
We’ve seen this kind of crossover happen before. Gray Parka Service featured a similar plush collection that included six characters from the series dressed as Sanrio mascots. Those launched in Japan in December 2025. Chiikawa was My Melody, Hachiware was Hello Kitty, and Kuri-Manju was Hangyodon for that line too.
The Chiikawa Sanrio plush will appear in Japanese arcades at the end of February 2026, Kodansha handles the manga, and the anime isn’t streaming on any platforms in North America at the moment. Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island will air in Japan in 2026.
