As of writing this post, I am three episodes into Sanrio Danshi, so here are my thoughts on it.
I'd seen a few people talking about Sanrio Danshi, and I was intrigued by the general concept of a series about some boys who each like a different Sanrio character, so given that I'm a big Sanrio fan myself, I decided to prioritise this series and check it out.
I wasn't expecting much. I figured it would be some light fluff that would encourage watchers to go and buy some Sanrio stuff after watching all its cuteness, but what I got was a lot more than that. I have a feeling this could be a new favourite anime series of mine.
The show centres around a boy who is secretive about his love for Sanrio character Pompompurin - a dog who wears a beret, and coincidentally my own personal favourite Sanrio character. I was obviously instantly hooked by this alone, but alongside the cuteness and the showing off of Pompompurin, Hello Kitty, and My Melody initially within the series, Sanrio Danshi takes a really interesting stance with its themes and isn't afraid to get pretty serious with it.
It has some pretty sombre scenes concerning bullying, the relationship between trauma and rebellion, and grief, so amongst the adorable character merchandise we have a truly heartfelt and in places quite dark tone and narrative to contend with. The message might seem like a simple one - don't be ashamed to be different, or passionate about something others don't understand - but it's illustrated in a very honest and real way that I think is genuinely touching. I think this series has the capacity to be a great comfort to those of us who have experienced being judged or othered in some way, especially by socio-cultural norms and expectations, and to see that in an anime ostensibly about some cute boys who like cute things is just lovely.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go and impulse buy a Pompompurin right now.
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