There are few who can argue the antithesis of kawaii is Sanrio and its family of characters with Hello Kitty as the unquestionable queen of the domain. Sadly Americans are assumed to be boring Vanilla types, and when you do find Sanrio products they tend to be either A) all about simple Hello Kitty or B) Booooring. But did you know in Japan they have gone above and beyond the typical sanrio chotchke? For example I'm showing Japanese phone charms featuring a gothic lolita "My Melody", some kawaii "Bonboya-zyu Chibi" (a brand we don't have in the US), and of course some crazy versions of Hello Kitty. The good news is US based stores like "Kid Robot" are carrying more and more of these unusual kawaii items- and don't forget ebay, where you could probably buy someone's mom for $5.60.
