***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Sanrio Danshi. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
When he was a little boy, Kouta Hasegawa (voiced by Takuya Eguchi) loved the Sanrio character Pompompurin. As he grew up though, he became more and more embarrassed to say he was a fan of something so cute. Now in high school, Kouta can't help feeling like something is missing in his life.
Then one day, Kouta meets Yuu Mizuno and Shunsuke Yoshino (voiced by Souma Saitou and Jun Osuka). Not only do these two lifelong friends enjoy Sanrio characters, but they are also very open about their fandom. Upon seeing this, Kouta realizes he never truly gave up his beloved Pompompurin.
Kouta, for the first time in a long time, feels complete. With Yuu and Shunsuke to support him, there is nothing he feels he cannot do. And that assuredness only strengthens upon running into Ryou Nishimiya and Seiichiro Minamoto (voiced by Hiroyuki Kagura and Yuuma Uchida). As it turns out, both Ryou and Seiichiro are lovers of Sanrio as well.
Not too long ago, Kouta felt lost and alone in the world. Then wouldn’t you believe it, he found four amazing friends to share what it is he likes. Loudly and proudly, these five Sanrio boys search for what it is that will allow them to sparkle.
Series Positives
Here is a little context for this show.
Sanrio Danshi was the brainchild of the Japanese company Sanrio. For the lack of a better term, Sanrio specializes in everything cute. Their merchandise line includes stationery, gifts, and accessories. The company has also branched into multiple other media markets such as video games, television, and even film. But the thing they are best known for is their massive roster of adorable characters. 
This series only focused on five of the company’s most popular, but there is no shortage in Sanrio’s ever-growing catalog.
That aside, if you are like the person I was before watching this show, there is a chance you are not familiar with the name, Sanrio. I can assure you though; you are well aware of the brand. From what was in Sanrio Danshi, the highlight characters were Pompompurin, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll, and My Melody.
And if those still aren’t ringing any bells, the fifth character to appear in this series is also Sanrio’s most famous mascot. Known the world over, she is a small white cat with a little red bow on her head. I am, of course, referring to Hello Kitty.
Sanrio Danshi is the story of five high school boys who are fans of these characters.
Allow that to sink in for a moment. You should already have an idea whether or not you will find this series interesting. If you are a fan of Sanrio, which I cannot say that I am, you should do fine with this show. But if you are looking for your next anime to watch you should know this, Sanrio Danshi wasn’t awful the whole way through.
I’m not going to pretend this series was good, except I expected it to be a lot more painful to get through then it was. Granted some parts got downright insufferable, but those had more to do with storytelling problems than it had to do with the premise of the show. More on that later.
And speaking of the show’s premise, I’m not going to lie; it was the single reason why I decided to queue this series up in the first place. If I only reviewed anime that looked enjoyable to me, where would be the fun in that? Then again, shows that have my personal intrigue tend to stay in my memory when I sit down to watch them. There may be a high chance I might have forgotten why I chose Sanrio Danshi when I saw it coming up on my calendar.
For better or worse, the moment I saw Pompompurin’s goofy looking face, I remembered what it was I was getting into. Or at least, what I thought I was getting into.
For the rest of this review, we need to keep something in mind. Sanrio Danshi was a promotional tool. That didn’t give this series an excuse to put in zero effort. That notwithstanding, there were one or two moments where the show went all in on stroking Sanrio’s d…ego.
But since this wasn’t a constant, this became the most significant thing that impressed me about this show. Sanrio Danshi knew what it was and the series was happy to call attention to the glaring white elephant in the room.
Given the nature of LofZOdyssey Anime Reviews and my own fandoms, I would be the worst kind of hypocrite if I looked down on anyone because they liked Sanrio. That said, this show made it a point to address reality. Should it be their thing, high school boys aren’t typically open to admitting they enjoy these kinds of cutesy products.
It would have been easy to have Kouta, Yuu, Shunsuke, Ryou, and Seiichiro think the Sanrio characters were adorable and that was it. Although, had the show decided to go down that route, there would have been nothing wrong in doing that. Nevertheless, it was nice to see this series go more in-depth with its premise.
I don’t want to give Sanrio Danshi too much credit. There being a more profound meaning wasn’t true for all five of the main guys. If any of them liked their respective character for the cuteness factor alone, it was Yuu. Then again, even he had a special attachment to his Sanrio mascot, My Melody.
Not to go into full detail, Hello Kitty gave Shunsuke the confidence to believe he could achieve any victory and Cinnamoroll offered Seiichiro a sense of peace and clarity. I haven’t the slightest idea why Ryou was a fan of Little Twin Stars. The show never explained that. However, Kouta’s relationship with Pompompurin more than made up for what was lacking in Ryou’s backstory.
With Kouta, the show provided a surprising but a very much appreciated reality-check. For the series, Sanrio Danshi could have played up the “you shouldn’t feel ashamed to like what you like” card. While that did exist and it was another major element of the story, there was another aspect to counterbalance it.
Being loud and proud of your fandom is easier said than done. Also, there are certain lines a person wouldn’t want to cross when admitting they like a particular thing. This show never touched on those more complicated intricacies. But given the nature of what Sanrio Danshi was, it was never going to do that. Nor should it have.
Please don’t think I’m saying Sanrio Danshi presented its message in a profound or meaningful way. I’m only acknowledging something was here, and the fact this show had anything below its surface was remarkable. That is why I can recommend the first half of this series.
From episode one to episode seven, Sanrio Danshi wasn’t that bad. The show was funny, well-paced, and it focused in on what it was trying to do. And again, what this series was trying to do was showcase Sanrio’s top mascots. Of all the shows I could have chosen, I would never have thought this one would have been able to introduce its main characters in a timely and effective manner.
While each of the five main guys got their own specific, full introduction to this story, the series made it clear everyone at least existed back in episode one. For instance, we didn’t learn that both Seiichiro and Ryou were fans of Sanrio until the end of episode six. And when they did become part of the larger story, their inclusion wasn’t a surprise. They had been around since the beginning.
Before that happened, we got one full episode dedicated to Yuu and another devoted to Shunsuke. Not only that, Kouta coming to terms with his love for Pompompurin comprised the first two episodes of the series. By the time the group became one, we had a solid idea of who everyone was.
Without any hint of exaggeration, the best part of Sanrio Danshi were its five main characters. There was more to each of them besides their respective mascots. And this build-up culminated in the group’s trip to Sanrio Puroland.
And yes, Sanrio Puroland is a real theme park you can visit in Tokyo. If I’m ever in the city with a group of friends because like hell I am going to go there alone, I might have the makings of a long-awaited Out and About entry for this site.
This may be all well and good, but I’m not in the habit of only recommending half a show. Despite there being plenty of points of note, Sanrio Danshi is not worth your time. Earlier I said that this series got rather insufferable. Well, things got so grating, whatever positivity that existed didn’t amount to much.
Series Negatives
I’m not sure the best place to start. I have one massive issue with this show, but I suppose I’ll save that for last. But three comparatively smaller problems are bugging me like crazy. In the grand scheme of Sanrio Danshi, these elements weren’t the worst things about this show. Except if they were in any other series, they would be super annoying.
If I had to pick one as being the least egregious, it would have to be the unnecessary fanservice. I’m not saying Sanrio Danshi was explicit in what it showed. What I am saying is, this series had fanservice. Why?
I’m going to make an assumption. If I’m wrong, I would be okay with that. And if I am indeed wrong, it would work in this show’s favor. Given the mascots of Sanrio, Hello Kitty, My Melody, Pompompurin, etc., I can’t imagine the majority of the people who might watch this series will be male. I have a pretty strong feeling Sanrio Danshi knew who its viewership was going to be.
If I plan to comment on needless fanservice when the target audience is guys, I better do the same when the target is females.
To be fair though, not all of the fanservice in Sanrio Danshi was bad. This was only true in the beginning, but the show did meet my rule when it comes to effective fanservice. If you take it out, are you still left with a story? For the first half of this series, the answer was yes. There was plenty of character development and growth to act as support rather than the good looking, not to mention cut, main characters.
Unfortunately, everything about this show, fanservice included, took a nose dive when the story reached episode eight, Sparkling Rhapsody. This was when Sanrio Danshi became a horrifically generic slice-of-life anime. This series became painfully predictable. Any sense of identity that existed vanished. And among the things to disappear, the Sanrio mascots.
The story threw in quick callbacks here and there, but when you can forget Hello Kitty is a part of a show with her creator company in the title, that’s a problem. 
In the last few episodes, Sanrio Danshi tried to hit every note you would expect a slice-of-life series to hit. Too bad this series forgot something important. When other shows do the things Sanrio Danshi thought it needed to force in, they have a reason. Other slice-of-life anime build up to a problem, and then something comes along to trigger the finale.
The route Sanrio Danshi went down might have been the tiniest bit less infuriating had the show not shot itself in the foot immediately. The opening scene of this series was the ending. And that’s not me spoiling anything. Kouta’s narration openly admitted this story was about how he and his friends got to this point. A point where they were all smiling, having fun, and didn’t have a care in the world.
Okay then show, indulge me. How do you plan to get to this ending? Oh, you’re going to go that way. Why?
This was the thing that ruined Sanrio Danshi. Everything this series had been doing well came undone with this.
But before I go into that, I brought up this show’s fanservice and its predictability. Except I said, there were three smaller problems. What was the third? That’s easy. The animation of Sanrio Danshi looked cheap. And nowhere was this more evident than when the story went to Sanrio Puroland.
Visually, this show was underwhelming. And that is a crying shame given how this series was a Studio Pierrot production. This is the same company that gave us incredible feats of animation in the form of Yu Yu Hakusho and, if you can believe it, Tokyo Ghoul. Granted, knowing that, I think I might give Sanrio Danshi a pass on this front. I want to think Pierrot put most of its efforts into Tokyo Ghoul:re. I guess we will just have to find out later this year.
Getting back to the more pressing matter, the thing that killed Sanrio Danshi started off as one of this show’s better elements.
Kouta’s Breakdown
I have no idea what happened. That’s not me saying that because I am having trouble making sense of what I saw. No, I actually have no idea what happened.
Out of complete nowhere, Kouta became the whiniest brat. With nothing pushing him down this particular road, he came to the conclusion he was inferior to his friends. I’m sorry show, but did you watch Sanrio Danshi? That was never once a thing before this.
While it was true that Kouta denied his love for Pompompurin, that storyline ended back in episode two. After that, it was Kouta who was nothing except the entire drive for the group. Thanks to his actions, the insecurities that were going on within his friend's heads got cleared up. It was Kouta who guided Yuu, Shunsuke, Ryou, and Seiichiro to become the people he later felt detached from.
This sudden change in Kouta’s character and outlook made no sense.
For the final obstacle of the show, the group decided to put on a play for their school’s cultural festival. Since Yuu, Shunsuke, Ryou, and Seiichiro were committed to other projects, most of the setup work fell to Kouta. This sounds like the perfect recipe for a stress-induced breakdown.
Except this was all one-hundred percent Kouta’s fault.
It was Kouta who suggested the play. It was Kouta who volunteered to do the heavy lifting. It was Kouta who denied any help from his friends who were more than willing to lend their assistance. Assistance they gave regardless. The rest of the group did more than their fair share of the work despite their prior responsibilities.
And Kouta feeling small when compared to the other four, that wasn’t an excuse. He didn’t start feeling that way until after work on the play had begun. So I have to ask again. Where did this come from?
This then led to a confrontation between Kouta and his friends outside Sanrio Puroland. And this was when Sanrio Danshi’s whimsical talk got out of control. This scene was nauseating.
The entire time I was watching it, I don’t think I heard a single word. As the characters were speaking, the only thing I could think about was, “Shut up! For the love of all that is holy, shut your God damn mouth!”
I would say Sanrio Danshi needed to take these last few episodes and shove them up its ass, except its head was already so far in there, there wasn’t any room left.
Had this show been way better than it was beforehand, it could have survived this hit. But since it was only ever teetering on passable, this just knocked the series down to its doom.
Final Thoughts
I did not think I was going to like this show when I started it. That was why I was surprised when it managed to get pretty good at parts. I wish that had never been the case. It made the series’ later crash and burn that much harder to get through.
When this show knew what it was, that was when it was at its best. This series took the time to get to know its main characters and pulled them away from what could have been flat, one-note personalities. Then somewhere along the line, the story said piss to that and decided to become like every other slice-of-life anime out there. Minus the necessary effort needed to make such a thing work.
Even if this series had maintained its average pace, I don’t know if I would have ended up recommending it. What I can say though, the show would have resulted in something a lot better than what it turned out to be.
Sanrio Danshi is a series you can skip.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Sanrio Danshi? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.
I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
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