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 GUDETAMA!
Meet Gudetama, the anthropomorphic
embodiment of severe depression.
G udetama is a cartoon egg yolk that feels ex-
istence is almost unbearable. It shivers with
sadness. It clings to a strip of bacon asw a security
blanket. Rather than engage in society, it jams its face
into an eggshell and mutters the words, Cold world.
What can we do about it?

The misanthropic egg was introduced last year by

Sanrio, a Tokyo-based corporation devoted to creat-
ing cutesy characters and licensing out their images.
Its flagship character, Hello Kitty, is valued at $7
billion and appears on lunch boxes and pajama sets
across the globe.
Cold world.
Gudetama is following Hello Kittys lead. Its dis-
tressed little face now appears on fuzzy slippers,
What can we do
iPhone covers, plush dolls and even a themed credit
card by Visa. about it?
Gudetama is also showing signs of international
appeal. Circle K minimarts in various parts of Asia
plaster the pathetic yolk on their windows to attract
customers. Hot Topic, the US fashion retailer that
courts angsty teens, has started selling Gudetama
T-shirts.

How did a sad little egg win so many Japanese

hearts? Why did a billion-dollar corporation decide
to market a character embodying depression? And
what does Gudetamas appeal reveal about Japans
culture?

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 Have you met Gudetama? Hes a grumpy egg,
cracked too early on the wrong side of the shell. Star-
ring in short animations muttering and grumbling,
complaining and sighing, hes one of the newest
characters to come out of Sanrio, the Japanese mega
company that created Hello Kitty, and the latest in a
long lineage of anthropomorphic cartoons to crack it
big in Japan.
Gudetama is emblazoned on all the merchandise
you can think of, from kitchen sponges to suitcases.
His Tamagotchi-esque face has by now been burnt
into the hearts and minds of children and adults
alike. With catchphrases such as Pah, Ugh, Meh, in fashion a year or two ago, and food patterns on
Never mind, Leave me alone, I cant, and Se- clothes were blossoming in the fashion-forward
riously, I cant, he personifies millennials as seen
through the eyes of older generations. His most fa-
mous snippet shows him pulling his blanketwhich
is a strip of baconto his chin and mumbling, Five
more minutes
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This listless cartoon egg is one of the many Sanrio
critters to have a shot at making it big in the West-
ern world, following in the footsteps of Keroppi,
Hello Kitty, and My Melody, to name a few. But
Gudetama is the first one to have runaway success
in a long while, and hes gone viral in the way only a
disaffected breakfast food could.
So why did Sanrio settle on an egg, as opposed to
a top hat or a power adapter? Part of the answer is
revealed by cultural trends. Food is a massive part
of Japanese culture, from the ritual of tea ceremo-
nies to the art of high-end sushi. Eggs were really
Tokyo district of Harajukuthis author bought a
pasta shirt and a pair of pants covered in toast. Jap-
anese fashion has always pushed boundaries, with
styles such as lolita (princess), mori (forest girl), and
ganguro (extreme makeup) influencing everyday
consumer choices.
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