Anime Vice Anime/Manga News

No, not really-- but coincidentally, one of the New People Center grand opening's guests of honor, Hello Kitty, is in fact celebrating her 35th anniversary.

Damn, that cat is OLD.

Anyway, word is that Sanrio is offering Hello Kitty exhibits in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and South Korea-- shame they didn't try to cram something into the Jpop Center itself, since they were there, but frankly, Yoshitaka Amano is a much nicer choice for an art gallery anyway.

The Tokyo event reportedly includes an exhibit with designs from 1974 up untl last year, sort of a Hello Kitty timeline, if you will. The exhibit also features ten original art pieces by Hello Kitty's original designer, Yuko Yamaguchi, and a bunch of collaboration goods (like Ayumi Hamasaki's Hello Kitty stuff). Unfortunately, this exhibit is only open through Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has opened up a mini-theme park called Kitty Lab, while South Korea's Lotte Department Store is having a "Hello Kitty Hello Lotte" gallery and stamp rally at five of its locations.

That's a whoooole lot of Kitty. Apparently they're even releasing a Hello Kitty quizbook. I can only imagine the contents. I mean, it's not like Hello Kitty is a really complex, layered character. What can they ask? "What color is Hello Kitty's ribbon"?