Anime series about guys who love Hello Kitty and friends seeks to hit emotional highs and lows.

Back in 2015, Sanrio, the makers of all those mountains of merchandise for Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kiki and Lala, and a host of other characters, realized something. Many of the young women who love cute Sanrio characters also love cute boys, and so the company decided to combine the two motifs with the Sanrio Boys, a group of five handsome anime-style young men who all have a soft spot for Sanrio stuff.

After their early illustrations got a tremendous reaction, the next stop for the Sanrio Boys was a mobile game dating simulator, and now the Sanrio-loving lads have their own anime TV series on the way, a new teaser for which has just been released.

The video is narrated by Kota Hasegawa, who seems to be the central character for the series. A seventeen-year-old second-year high school student, Kota is spending his youth aimless and listless, but apparently that all starts to change as he forms friendships with the other Sanrio Boys.

▼ Or is simply chased after by them

The five principle cast members cover all the standard bases, with everyman Kota forming relationships with femininely fashionable Yu, macho sportsman Shunsuke, harmlessly childlike Ryo, and mature Seiichiro.

“This is the story of when ‘I’ became ‘we,’” promises the onscreen text, seemingly alluding to both the boys’ connection to each other as well as their Sanrio character of choice. But while the premise seems as light and airy as the clouds Twin Stars Kiki and Lala call home, the preview’s last few images foreshadow some serious teen angst.

Whether the reason for Kota’s anguished tears is that the store is all sold out of limited-edition Pom Pom Purin plushies or something with deeper thematic meaning is something viewers will have to wait until the series debuts next January to find out.

Source: YouTube/Anime PONY CANYON via Anime News Network
Images: YouTube/Anime PONY CANYON