Cinnamoroll: A Whirlwind of Cuteness from Sanrio

Small, friendly, shy, and always willing to help when needed, Cinnamoroll is one of the cutest fictional characters in the world. Here’s your chance to take a peek into the Cinnamoroll universe and discover how this fluffy character came into existence, his role alongside Hello Kitty, and his impact on the global audience.

Introducing Cinnamoroll: Sanrio's Adorable Flying Pup

Cinnamoroll is a fictional character created by the Japanese entertainment company Sanrio in 2001. The character is also called Cinnamon and is the main character in the Cinnamoroll series. Cinnamoroll is a small male dog with fluffy white fur, huge ears, and blue eyes. His cheeks are a bright pink color and his tail is curly, resembling a cinnamon roll and serving as the inspiration for his name. Cinnamoroll is shy and exhibits a sweet disposition, while being extremely friendly and helpful. His ears are so big that he can use them to fly.

According to the fictional universe created by Sanrio, Cinnamoroll lives in a whimsical world where he works at Café Cinnamon. He landed next to the cafe when he first fell out of the sky and became a part of the world. The furry dog has several friends who love to share adventures with him. These friends are other Sanrio characters, including Mocha, Baby Milk, Cappuccino, Chiffon, and Espresso. Cinnamoroll adventures are generally centered on light-hearted themes like friendship and kindness.

The character has been depicted in a manga series, an anime film, video games, music, and several animation shorts. Commercially, it’s a global success, helping Sanrio sell millions of toys, plushies, clothing, stationery, accessories, and other branded merchandise. Loved by both kids and adults, Cinnamoroll has become a kawaii (cute) phenomenon in Japan and the rest of the world, inspiring millions of people. And all of this was possible thanks to the brilliant minds at Sanrio.

The Story of Cinnamoroll: Origins and Creation

Before Cinnamoroll was created in 2001, Sanrio had already released a bunch of popular characters inspired by real animals, including Hello Kitty the cat (1974), My Melody the rabbit (1975), Keroppi the frog (1988), and Bad Badtz-Maru the penguin (1993). All of those characters and more were the work of several designers.

One day, Miyuki Okumura, one of the Sanrio designers, was having coffee when she noticed a fluffy cloud high up in the sky that resembled a cinnamon roll. That was the inspiration behind the cute and fluffy white puppy called Cinnamoroll. Only it wasn’t a puppy at first. The original design for the character was a rabbit. Sanrio executives, however, rejected this, so the designer went back to the drawing board and came up with a different design, the big-eared dog, which they liked.

In June 2022, the character made its official debut as “Baby Cinnamon,” but there were copyright issues with the Ocha-Ken of Sega Toys, causing creators to change its name to  Cinnamoroll. The character was male, and his small size, fluffy body, and chubby pink cheeks made it a smash hit from the get-go.

Cinnamoroll’s story begins when he accidentally falls down from the clouds and lands next to Cafe Cinnamon. The hilltop coffee shop owner, Anna, adopts the cute pup and names him Cinnamon because of his curly tail. Cinnamoroll becomes the face of the cafe and spends his time napping on customers laps, eating his favorite meal (cinnamon rolls), flying through the clouds, and going on adventures with his friends, who are also named after various cafe-related foods.

Cinnamoroll Sanrio: A Staple in the Sanrio Universe

Sanrio has created over 450 characters, but Cinnamoroll remains one of the most popular to date, even though it debuted nearly 22 years ago. The only Sanrio characters with as much popularity as the fluffy pup are Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Kuromi, and Badtz-Maru. There was a time when all of those characters were more popular than Cinnamoroll, but recently the pup has been dominating the hearts of the fandom. He has held the No. 1 spot on the Sanrio Character Ranking for the last five years straight (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), winning the accolade six times in the last seven years.

March 6 is a special day at Sanrio because it’s Cinnamoroll’s birthday. The character stands out not just by his kawaii looks, which is admittedly a big selling point, but also by his personality. Cinnamoroll is what many would consider an unrepentant helper. He cares a lot about others and often puts their needs ahead of his own. It’s little wonder that people love him so much. The character was responsible for a quarter of Sanrio’s merchandise sales in 2004, only two years after his debut. By 2017, Cinnamoroll was so popular that he became the tourism ambassador of Shinagawa City.

Kawaii Cinnamoroll: Embracing the Culture of Cuteness

The Japanese term “kawaii” translates to “cute,” “adorable,” “tiny,” and “lovable,” but as a concept, it represents the cuteness culture. This refers to any person, item, animal, or fictional character that is charming, childlike, shy, and vulnerable. In Japan, the kawaii culture plays a huge role in the country’s pop culture, fashion, toys, entertainment, food, collective behavior, and business practices. You can see kawaii on full display with the character designs of the hugely successful Pokemon franchise. Sanrio characters, including Cinnamoroll, were also designed with kawaii in mind, at a time when the culture was thriving.

The concept is prominent in Cinnamoroll’s design. He has chubby pink cheeks and resembles a puppy, one of the cutest animals in the world. He also looks small and vulnerable, corresponding to kawaii tropes. His chibi-style proportions, curly tail (Cinnamon’s charm point), and appealing white and blue colors also help. Cinnamoroll’s personality is as charming and shy as they come. And his childlike antics are enough to warm the hearts of any observer, leading some people to claim that they find Cinnamoroll cuter than Hello Kitty, Sanrio’s most famous character. Also, kawaii is a concept that promotes kindness, and this fits perfectly with his helpful and friendly nature.

Cinnamoroll's Friends: Exploring the Cinnamon Friends Circle

The Cinnamoroll universe is a peaceful and fun-filled world that serves as the main setting for Cinnamoroll and his friends. In this section, we’ll introduce his close friends and companions:

• Chiffon: an energetic female puppy with fluffy ears that resemble a chiffon cake. She is a tomboy with a love for sports and a dream to win an Olympic gold medal.

• Mocha: the big-sister-like character in Cinnamon’s friends circle. Although she's a chatterbox, she is often the leader and voice of reason. Common depictions identify her as Cinnamoroll’s love interest. She is also the leader of girl-band group, Cinnamoangels.

• Espresso: an intelligent and upper-class member of the group who can’t sleep without his special blanket. He likes to paint, draw, and make music.

• Cappuccino: the most laid-back character in the gang. He likes nothing more than napping and eating.

• Milk: the youngest and smallest pup in town who can’t do without his favorite pacifier. The only words he can utter are "Ba-Boo." However, Milk idolizes Cinnamoroll.

• Coco and Nuts: the twin younger brothers of Cappuccino. Coco has a bright and energetic personality, while Nuts doesn’t have the bravest personality and would rather eat and nap.

• Cherry: a female demon that can transform into a devilish form with black bat wings. She loves to play pranks on others and has a crush on Espresso.

• Berry: Cherry’s partner-in-crime and recipient of most of her pranks. He is also a bat-winged demon and is good at making portions. He and Cherry occasionally sneak into the human world through a magic mirror.

• Cornet: a unicorn that lives in the sky and can travel through time and space.

• Anna: the human female who sees Cinnamon fall from the clouds on her way to her cafe. Her original character was faceless, with early depictions only showing her legs. 

Cinnamoroll in Anime: Animated Adventures of the Flying Pup

The depictions of Cinnamoroll and his friends in animated series and films are responsible for bringing the characters to life. The biggest on-screen asset for Cinnamoroll has to be  Cinnamon The Movie, an animated film released in December 2007 with a 45-minute runtime. The movie followed the same story of Cinnamoroll falling from the cloud and meeting Anna and the rest of his friends. However, there’s a twist: the debut of Chowder, a character exclusive to this movie. Chowder serves as the antagonist for the movie and causes chaos by casting a spell that separates Anna from the group.

In March 2023, Sanrio created a YouTube animated series titled Cinnamon Anime Damon. A month later, the company announced  I. Cinnamoroll, another short anime series for the Cinnamon YouTube channel.

Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll: Cross-Promotions and Collaborations

The entire Sanrio rooster of characters is basically one big, happy family scattered into different universes. Hence, there have been multiple collaborations between Cinnamoroll and other Sanrio characters, especially the iconic Hello Kitty. In Hello Kitty Stump Village, a stop-motion series, Cinnamoroll is a major character and stars alongside Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Badtz-Maru, and My Melody. All five characters make several appearances in Sanrio’s YouTube web series, Hello Kitty and Friends: Supercute Adventures, with Keroppi, Chococat, and Kuromi joining them.

In video games like Hello Kitty Seasons, Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams, and Hello Kitty Online on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, Cinnamon has appeared as a playable and non-playable character alongside Hello Kitty and the others. Sanrio has also launched countless merchandise with depictions of their most popular characters on display, such as backpacks, sticker sets, fashion items, and accessories.

Pink Cinnamoroll: Exploring Different Variations of the Character

To avoid confusing viewers, the character designs of Cinnamoroll remain mostly unchanged across all media. However, Sanrio understands the importance of variation in art, so they include big design changes in their special edition merchandise releases. The company sells different versions of Cinnamoroll plush toys that appeal to a wide range of consumers. One version that’s popular among the female demographic is the Cinnamoroll Plush - Super Pink Series or simply pink Cinnamoroll.

Another popular edition is the Cinnamoroll Daruma Plush - Japan Icons Series, which reimagines our furry friend as a Japanese daruma doll. There are many versions where Cinnamoroll wears themed outfits, such as in the Baby Bear and Wizard series.

Cinnamoroll's Popularity: Capturing Hearts Around the World

In 2023, Cinnamoroll was voted the most beloved Sanrio character in several countries outside of Japan, including China, South Korea, Spain, France, Australia, and Brazil. The character’s ability to resonate with fans of all ages and backgrounds has made it one of the most famous in the world. The official YouTube channel where most of its animated short videos are posted has over 355,000 subscribers and counting. Each post gets over thousands of views, even though the videos are not voiced in English.

Cinnamoroll is also a rock star, partnering with the Cinnamoangels and other friends to create Cinnamon Trip!!!, a musical album with 9 songs created by the OSTER project.

People from all over the world buy Cinnamoroll directly from the Sanrio official site, making it one of the company’s best-selling brands. According to recent reports, Cinnamoroll’s sales numbers are only rivalled by those of Hello Kitty, another iconic character from the Sanrio universe.

Cinnamoroll and Hello Kitty: The Dynamic Duo of Sanrio

Despite their commercial rivalry, Cinnamoroll and Hello Kitty are often depicted as friends in the media. However, they have characters in their own universes that they're close to. For Hello Kitty, My Melody is considered her best friend. Among all of his companions, Mocha appears to be Cinnamoroll’s best buddy.

As the face of the Sanrio brand, Hello Kitty often plays host to cross-over episodes and promotions relating to Cinnamoroll. The latter appears either as a side character or main character in Hello Kitty’s story plot, not the other way around. In all of these appearances, Cinnamoroll has always remained his cheerful and helpful self while assisting Hello Kitty to solve problems.

Cinnamoroll's Endearing Legacy: Spreading Joy and Happiness

Cinnamoroll is now over 22 years old, even though the character doesn’t appear to have aged a day. And why should he? He is more than just a cute little dog. Cinnamoroll represents friendship, kindness, and unconditional love. Its ability to spread joy, happiness, and positivity to fans worldwide is proof that Cinnamoroll will have an enduring legacy for generations to come.

If you’d like to get in on the fun by embracing Cinnamoroll for yourself or your loved ones, visit Bokksu Boutique. You can buy a Cinnamoroll-inspired hair brush, stick ramune, or sticker set (with a plastic folder).

But if you really want to immerse yourself in the kawaii world of Hello Kitty, subscribe to Hello Kitty® And Friends Subscription Box and receive a box of exclusive snacks and branded collectibles of your favorite characters, including Cinnamoroll, every two months.

Feel free to gift it to that special someone who is a fan of all things Cinnamoroll.