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Theory that Sanrio’s My Melody played jump rope with a wolf’s intestines freaks the Internet out

Casey Baseel Nov 20, 2017
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Loyal fans come to the defense of the adorable bunny character from Hello Kitty’s parent company.

While she’s spent a lot of her career overshadowed by Hello Kitty, My Melody remains one of Sanrio’s most popular characters. At the time of her debut, in 1975, the character was squarely aimed at little kids, but these days My Melody is reaping the benefits of multi-generational appeal, as she’s loved by adult women who grew up with her as well as the children of today.

But even though My Melody has plenty of grown-up fans, Japanese Twitter users were shocked at how non-kid-friendly one origin theory for Sanrio’s famous bunny is.

https://twitter.com/6ethponpo/status/931315089847631872

Twitter user @6ethponpo recently made a shocking tweet which claimed:

“I just found out that My Melody is supposed to have been born from the stomach of a wolf, and that before she was born she used the wolf’s small intestine as a jump rope. All I can say is ‘Wow.’”

On the one hand, Sanrio isn’t entirely averse to a little dark humor. At the Gudetama Cafe, for example, a chicken dish subtly references the fact that you might be eating the anthropomorphic egg’s mom. But still, @6ethponpo’s story sounds far too morbid for the ordinarily sweetly innocent My Melody.

ウィンクの　れんしゅう　しないと〜♪ pic.twitter.com/F9JXhMmMJb

— マイメロディ【公式】 (@Melody_Mariland) November 14, 2017

But as the shocking theory made its way around the Japanese Internet, another Twitter user, @m8q_, came forward with what seemed to be visual proof, in the form of a pamphlet showing My Melody trying to crawl back into the wolf’s womb, and also a sketch of her skipping rope while holding a wiggly piece of intestine.

マイメロってこういう設定やったん…赤ずきんなのな。にしても胎内回帰ってワード…狼から生まれてたの知らなかったし、なんか内容不穏…。そんで小腸なわとび…っ！？(思考崩壊) pic.twitter.com/rRwfogClkw

— sk (@m8q_) November 18, 2017

However, a loyal fan came to defend the honor of My Melody. @sui_9h, who also has a copy of the pamphlet in question, pointed out that it’s from a 2015 art exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of My Melody, as well as Sanrio’s twin angels Kiki and Lala. The illustrations are the work of designer Shin Sobue, the event’s art director, but not from My Melody’s original designer or from Sanrio itself, and thus don’t constitute the character’s official backstory.

https://twitter.com/sui_9h/status/932187714136317952

Yet another Twitter user then came forward to say that the April, 2016 edition of Japanese women’s magazine Moe also says that the unusual illustrations are merely Sobue’s personal artistic exercise, and don’t constitute My Melody’s actual origin story.

手元にMOEの2016年4月号があったから引っ張り出してみた。縄跳びの話は、キキ&ララ展とマイメロディ展のアートディレクションを担当した祖父江慎（≠サンリオデザイナー）さんが、自身の制作ノートにアイディアレベルでメモ書きしたものであって、これを「公式設定」と呼ぶのは無理がある。 pic.twitter.com/RkABuj3Rjb

— Kohei (@pla_vmelo) November 19, 2017

So in the end, it seems My Melody really is as angelic as we’ve always believed…