Whatever happened to the REAL Hello Kitty?

Although I'm only here to anti-troll your content, I completely agree with the points you made. Today's culture is becoming disgraceful and a lot of corporations aren't what they were set up to be anymore.

i was so mad when ym stepmom threw away my hello kity doll, not only because it is a childhood memory, but also because it's hard to find real hello kitty stuff today

I would say that it is world consumer culture, not just the American hemisphere. That is, Sanrio is marketing its products all over the world, whereas, when we were kids, you'd get Sanrio merchandise largely as special imports or at shops that specialized in Japanese merchandise. I suspect that, wherever you travel worldwide, you'd find different approaches to the Sanrio brands (localized for the culture). Certainly I've seen that in different countries I've visited in recent years (my wife is very nostalgic for a Hello Kitty! miniature playset she had as a child, so I've been looking).

amanda threw away your hello kitty doll?
DID SHE THROW AWAY MY STUFF TOO?!?!?

i dont get why people PARENTS are submiting disgustingly little figures to girls like barbie they shape there privites to look real and expeciouly when you look at a ken doll sericly its ridicules

hate to say it but that is american consumers money taking over and the real loss is the old icons from our youth, good article by the way.

Nice message!i hate the meeages they put on the hllo kitty pics!luv your message!

whoa! i never knew that HK had changed soooo much but yeah i think the REAL HK is better than these prissy ones

I never was a fan of barbe but i love Hello Kitty*
* *

So true. She used to be a real icon and it's truly sad that Hello Kitty can be modified so basely.

I admit, when I was 5, I asked for a barbie. I got one. After about 3 days I tossed it aside. It was boring. But Hello Kitty? Why do they have to ruin these good things?

I agree with this opinion where it relates to Hello Kitty. I remember the simple kitty I grew up with and I MUCH prefer that style over the current one. Especially now that they've started giving her "real" clothes and a "real" body shape in some styles. Ick. I still like the simple, original kitty best.

However, I don't think it's necessary to call American culture "disgusting" and blame everything on that. Sanrio could've easily decided to keep their style based in simplicity and not "sell out". Put the blame where it belongs. America didn't hold a gun to Sanrio's head and say, "Make your Kitty like our Bratz dolls! NOW!" Sanrio made a choice... and you're not alone in disliking it. But America didn't do it - Sanrio did.

If you this is ok you are a dum dum.

I would like to make a few points here.

1. MANY companies have re-made Sanrio merchandise. I was in a store and I saw a Hello Kitty made by MATTEL.
2. Because of China's lead poising, ALL the same products made by Japan and Taiwan were recalled, including harmless, lead-free Sanrio Products. (Those Mattel products were made in China.)
3. You can still buy classic Hello Kitty merchandise online and in stores. If you go to the kiddie stores, you can find old Hello Kitty stuff.
So, I agree with you, ilovehinder, but I also agree with astroasis that America didn't do EVERYTHING, because some of the creepy new Kitty stuff was made not by Japan, but by China, Taiwan, and other countries that the US imports from.
But Hello Kitty is, and always will be, awesome.

I agree Hello Kitty was turned into this innapropriate thing. Wow, I love the old Hello Kitty WAY more than the new one. I miss the old one...Maybe i'll start a petition...

omg i soooo agree

Hello Kitty became popular/Famous i'm Scene thats why i care any ways things are supposed to change shes bighttp://images.fanpop.com/images/emoticoons­/ki­ss.­jpg and better now! http://images.fanpop.com/images/emoticoons­/ca­ke.­jpg­htt­p..­.jp­g

THE NEW HELLO KITTY ROX!

i so agree hello kitty turned into some inipropriate prissy diva thing that kids will grow up into i used to have and old hello kitty then my mom threw it out and got me a new prissy diva one that pick you posted was inapropriate and demeaning and sexus that is what she turned into

the new hello kitty is bull it sucks big fat eggs got it hellomina

Well, Hello Kitty is appealing to (or trying to) to a wider market, and what ever sells, Sanrio will use. But I don't think she sold out per say- that's the equivalent of saying Barbe sold out. They're both icons of their companies and respective countries, and so with time, they must change. I'm not saying that I'm overly thrilled with some of the changes, but put it in perspective- Hello kitty came out in 1974 so obviously her design has changed since then- I'm not going to guess about your age, but from the pictures you posted, those seem to me to be 80's early 90's vintage (correct me if I'm wrong) so what you grew up with, isn't the original hello kitty either. In another 10 years, there'll be a whole new generation disparaging over the 'iconic' Hello kitty, which, in reality, is another adapted version for that time. Though I respect your argument, I don't fully agree with it. As a pop culture icon, I believe Hello Kitty's look and overall image should be allowed to change with the times whether we like it or not. That is what keeps her fresh for newer generations, and she doesn't die out.