Good news for Pompompurin fans! The adorable golden retriever has taken the top spot in the latest official character ranking, moving ahead of popular favorite Hello Kitty.
Sanrio recently shared the results from the first part of its annual character ranking, and Pompompurin is currently in first place! This is especially exciting as it’s Pompompurin’s 30th anniversary year. The votes counted for these midterm results were collected between April 9th and May 6th.
Pompompurin is now the most popular Sanrio character! He earned the top spot with a lot of support from fans around the world, ranking number one in 11 countries. Sanrio released a special image showing the top 10 characters celebrating their positions with pompoms and other fun items.
Sanrio Confirms New Top 10 Mid-Term Results for Official 2026 Character Ranking
The current midterm top 10 rankings are as follows:
- Pompompurin
- Cinnamoroll
- Pochacco
- Kuromi
- Hello Kitty
- My Melody
- Pekkle
- Hangyodon
- Little Twin Stars
- Bad Badtz-Maru
Despite being a hugely popular character worldwide, Hello Kitty is currently fifth in the annual popularity poll – a position she’s held for the past two years. While she last won the poll in 2019, Hello Kitty still has the most first-place wins overall, with a total of 15 since the competition began in 1986.
The 2026 competition began on April 9th and includes 90 characters from Sanrio’s collection of over 450 mascots. Early rankings saw some big changes, with Cinnamoroll initially leading in voting. However, the latest results show Pompompurin in first place, followed by Cinnamoroll, Pochacco, Kuromi, and Hello Kitty rounding out the top five.
I was looking at the new mascot rankings when Sanrio shared some sweet messages from the top contenders. Pompompurin was so grateful, saying thanks for all the support and promising a cheerful anniversary year together – he even added a cute “Pom pom~!” Cinnamoroll echoed that sentiment, saying fans’ smiles give him strength and that he hopes we can all continue to enjoy things together. It was really heartwarming to see!
Hello Kitty expressed her gratitude to her fans, saying she truly feels their support and is very happy. She hopes everyone continues to smile and enjoy themselves in the future.
Pompompurin is currently in the lead and could achieve a win, which would be the golden retriever’s first in nearly a decade. Cinnamoroll previously led the rankings for four years straight, from 2020 to 2024. However, Hello Kitty remains the all-time champion with an impressive 15 first-place wins.
The Sanrio Character Ranking began in 1986 and has become one of Japan’s biggest yearly popularity contests for mascots. It now attracts tens of millions of votes from fans around the world, with last year’s event receiving over 63 million votes globally.
You can still vote for your favorite Sanrio characters on the official Sanrio Character Ranking website until May 24th.
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2026-05-13 18:50