With a pink and red cover, a title written in a cute schoolgirl font, and a picture of the Hello Kitty character reading a newspaper, it is safe to assume that many may well skip past this book. Some mistakenly thinking that it's a book for schoolgirls, others perhaps scared to pull the book out while, say, having lunch in an Irish pub, sitting in an airport lounge, or reclining by the pool in a swanky resort. Having done all three while reviewing this book I can safely say that the old saying "never judge a book by its cover" rings true here (though I did take the sleeve off for the pub lunch, just in case).
True to its name, the book successfully charts the 30 year history of Hello Kitty, a character that contributes half of Sanrio's annual sales of US$1 billion (with 450 characters bringing in the other half). That part of the book is interesting from a business and marketing point of view. Aspects such as first going global for ideas (in this case to Disney) and then for sales, about licensing and franchising (of which there are more than 20,000 forms of Hello Kitty in 40 countries), and about having the vision and foresight to pick up and manage emerging trends are all covered and very inspiring.
But the reason this book is such a great read is that tucked behind the Hello Kitty tale is one of the most spot on assessments of Japanese culture, pop culture and Japan's cultural impact on the world today. Given the importance of Japan as the trend-setting nation to the rest of Asia, we all need to sit down, have a nice cup of (green) tea, and take a read.
The co-authors have done an excellent job of joining the dots between traditional aspects of Japanese culture such as "gift giving" with more recent trends such as the "culture of cute" (Kawaii), the rise of "girl power", the economic importance of Japanese adult females who are now remaining single longer, and an interesting phenomenon where adult females speak, act and write like young girls well into their thirties. When all of these things are considered together the whole Hello Kitty trend begins to make sense.
Other interesting aspects of Japanese pop culture like the popularity of Japanese animation (anime and manga); the importance of symbols, signs and aesthetic beauty, the country's fixation for keeping up with the latest trends, and consumerism in general are all brought to life.
Perhaps the most revealing part of the book's exploration comes from Osamu Nakano, a Tokyo sociologist, who in 1986 said youth today "are 'moratorium people' - that is, they do not want to grow up" (the 'Peter Pan' syndrome).
That we see teens playing with Hello Kitty dolls, while those in their 20s carry Hello Kitty bags, and those in their 30s drive Hello Kitty cars (I didn't know how to slot in other products such as Hello Kitty g-strings or vibrators, but these too are apparently out there, somewhere) shows that one simple character can indeed grow up with you, even if you don't.
The final chapters examine a different side to Hello Kitty - that of her critics, enemies and even hate-groups. But it's OK to give this a miss, and simply enjoy the positive and cute side of Hello Kitty, because as her creator says "she brings whimsy and comfort into one's life". And we all need a little of that.