Sanrio, the company behindHello Kittyand other beloved mascots, is facing a lawsuit that calls its ownership over one of its most popular characters fromOnegai My Melodyinto question. Anime production studio Comet has taken legal action, claiming Sanrio failed to credit the true creators of Kuromi, a fan-favorite rival to My Melody. According to Comet, the company’s animators designed Kuromi during the production ofOnegai My Melody, but Sanrio has erased their involvement from history. The lawsuit raises concerns about moral rights, specifically whether creators should be recognized for their work even if they do not hold the copyright.
The dispute is intense because, according todailyshincho.jp, the two sides have very different stories about Kuromi’s origins.Sanrio claims one of its in-house designers was responsible for Kuromi’s creation, while Studio Comet asserts that its own team developed the character independently. Comet’s president, Hiromichi Mogaki, has spoken out, stating that Kuromi was born from the efforts of its animators. Yet, current Kuromi merchandise credits only Sanrio as the creator, leaving out those who claim to have originally designed her. Now, the case could determine how much credit animation studios deserve when creating characters that later become corporate icons.
Who Really Created Kuromi?
Is Kuromi Really a Sanrio Creation?
Kuromi made her debut in 2005’s originalOnegai My Melody,an anime produced by Studio Comet with approval from Sanrio. According to Mogaki, Sanrio only provided a draft of My Melody, leaving Comet’s team to develop the rival characters, including Kuromi, on their own. Reports suggest that key staff members at Comet not only designed Kuromi’s appearance but also chose her name, with rejected alternatives including Warumi and Urami. Despite this, Sanrio later claimed Kuromi was created by Yuko Yamaguchi, a designer known for working on Hello Kitty.
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Studio Comet argues that Sanrio’s crediting practices have erased the real creators. A former staff member involved inOnegai My Melodyclaims that Sanrio had no presence during the creative process, with another company, WE’VE, serving as an intermediary. Meetings to determine Kuromi’s character reportedly took place at Studio Comet, with director Makoto Moriwaki giving final approval to her name. If these claims hold up in court, it would mean that Kuromi’s origins have been misrepresented for nearly 20 years.
Sanrio’s History with Copyright Controversy
Kuromi Is Not The First Sanrio Character to Cause The Company Problems
This is not the first timeSanrio has faced legal trouble over character ownership. In a previous lawsuit, Dutch company Mercis sued Sanrio for copying Miffy, a character created by Dick Bruna. The court ruled that Sanrio’s character Cathy was too similar to Miffy, leading to a product ban in multiple countries and Cathy’s eventual retirement. The case showed that Sanrio was willing to push creative boundaries in ways that sometimes led to legal consequences.
With Kuromi, the situation is different, as it is about moral rights rather than direct plagiarism. Comet does not claim ownership of Kuromi, but rather the right to be acknowledged as her creator forOnegai My Melody. The lawsuit continues an ongoing debate in the entertainment industry about whether animators and studios should receive lasting credit for the characters they design, even when working under contract. As the case unfolds, it could set a precedent for how character creation is recognized within Japan’s anime industry.
