| Mell | |
| Series: | Sanrio |
| First: | 2010 |
| Last: | present |
| Creator: | Miyuki Okamura |
| Nickname: | Wish me mell |
| Species: | Rabbit |
| Occupation: | Mail carrier |
| Gender: | Female |
| Nationality: | French |
is a character series created by Sanrio on December 27, 2010,[1] [2] with character designs done by Miyuki Okumura, who designed Cinnamoroll.[3] The main heroine of the series is a rabbit named Mell, who is meant to be a character that expresses the feelings everyone has, simply stating "Thank you", "I am sorry" or "I like you!", connecting hearts in the process.
The series image song is "Stay the Same," performed by Japanese singer Mai Kuraki. The song itself is used in some Sanrio Puroland events.
The series debuted on December 27, 2010, and is officially targeted toward girls ages 15–20, mainly high school and college students, who were too shy to express their feelings toward others. On its official debut, the main character design was not revealed[4] and that the character "Just won't come out" of her egg-shaped house. Sanrio stated that her official release describes her as being "withdrawn" and implores her fans to send her as many messages and Tweets as possible to encourage her to show her face, leading to criticisms of her being a hikikomori.[1] On January 25, 2011, the official character design of Mell was revealed for the first time.[5] An official Ameba blog, Facebook, Twitter and Vine account were made for the fans to interact with the characters of the series. The official blog is updated with site and story updates for the series.
A special promotion of Wish me mell were done in collaboration with the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto during June 2011 for its Journey of Cheer event,[6] making it the first Sanrio series to have a joint collaboration between the company and the academia.
In July 2011, the official blog stated that the series had ended its first chapter.[7] It began the second chapter a day later.[8] The second chapter introduces to two new characters: an alpaca named Roseanne and a puppy named Maimai. Maimai is based on the Japanese pop singer Mai Kuraki, who collaborated with Sanrio on releasing the series's image song "Stay the Same".[9] The official PV and the song is included in Mai's 10th album Over the Rainbow, released January 11, 2012.
In a new blog entry, Sanrio announced that the company will collaborate with the Japanese fashion company Angelic Pretty[10] to release special accessories based on Wish me mell.[11] [12] On October 2, Sanrio will introduce another collaboration to the series, with two several teaser blogs showing a new character's arrival in Merci Hills.[13] [14] In October 6, the character is revealed to be Buzzy, the official mascot of Karel Capek, a tea shop in Japan.[15] Sanrio announced the collaboration with Karel Capek to make merchandise and tea-related goods based on the Wish me mell series, with illustrations from Utako Yamada.[16]
On October 12, 2012, Sanrio released several stamps of the Wish me mell characters for the instant messaging software LINE.[17]
Mell lives in the magical world of, located beyond the rainbow where everyone is living happily while their feelings are connected toward each other and words like "Thank you" can bring warmth to everyone's hearts. Mell and her friends were guided by the rainbow fairy, Ciel, who gives them advice. All the denizens of Merci Hills are students who came from other countries. Mell and her friends are also students living in Merci Hills, but they have their own mission given to them by Ciel.
The story depends on the blog entries on the official blog, excluding site updates and promotions.
The series's first chapter focuses on Mell, a rabbit from France who is withdrawn from everyone, believing she doesn't have any friends. Ciel, looking at this situation, asked everyone to send as many letters to everyone to make her come out. At the same time, Mell's friends came to study at the Hills and Ciel asked them to take care of the special eggs and told them if they polish them every day, the eggs will change color. And when all seven eggs were gathered, something good will happen. Each of the students accepted the mission and they all received the eggs from Ciel. Then, they went to Mell's house and decided to cheer her up and wanted to help her, though it never worked as her house stayed shut. One day, Poco found a strange egg on the Merci lake and brings it into Mell's house. He told Mell to take good care of it and it will be a secret between the two. As the days go by, Lutz, the postman of Merci Hills visited Mell's house and delivered a special letter to her and also said that it's his last day in Merci Hills as his studies are over and is leaving the place so he can go back to his country, Kenya. As Mell reads the letter, she felt for the first time, the warmth of caring in her heart, reminding her that she really has friends to care for her. Mell herself decides to come out of her house for the first time and meet up with Lutz, deciding to become a postman in order to connect everyone's hearts, just like how everyone connected theirs to her. As Lutz is happy with the rabbit's determination, he gave her his red mailbag as a keepsake and leaves.
Mell is then introduced to another friend from Australia, a koala named Lou who recently moved into the Hills to study. Ciel gave her the egg for him to polish on. One day, the egg that Poco entrusted to Mell started to crack and later hatched into a young dragon girl named Nina. Ciel explained that Nina is from Nordic Countries, and her egg got washed up onto the lake of Merci Hills. She has no idea who her mother was, confusing Mell and her friends about her origin but decided to find out who Nina's mother was. Ciel asked Nina if she can handle the mission of taking care of the egg and she agrees. On each hardship she and her friends endure, they never forgot their mission of polishing the eggs. But each of them has their own goal: Marin's goal is to have good food, Poco's goal is to make everyone laugh and smile, Chico's goal is to find the charming points to her friends, Aro's goal is to believe in someone, Lou's goal is to confront each difficulty and obstacle he faces, Nina's goal is to find her mother and Mell's goal is to connect everyone's hearts. In those times, each of the eggs that have been polished changed its colors. Mell then received a letter from Lutz along with a souvenir: a keychain with red Masai beads. Mell keeps it as a lucky charm.[18]
One day in Merci Hills, a circus came to town with the main attraction a dragon who can use the Aurora Flame. She was a great performer in the circus and believed from the rumors that she could be Nina's mother. As the day of the performance came, everyone went to see the dragon and find out if she is Nina's mother. Nina is very anxious, thinking that she may not be the one she's been searching for. As the dragon blows its Aurora Flame, everyone was dazzled and amazed by the colors. At long last, Nina is happy that she finally found her mother, continuing her performance in the circus. After the performance, Nina's mother asked Mell to deliver a very special letter to Nina before leaving Merci Hills. Nina received the letter from her mother through Mell later on, saying how she was doing. At the same time, the last egg has shone in its bright color. As the seven eggs were gathered, a rainbow formed above the skies of Merci Hills, connecting it to the human world.
However, during the fortunate event, Mell received a special letter from the college students in Japan, saying that she can deliver and connect the feelings of everyone there. Mell accepted the mission and decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge, leaving Merci Hills as she ventures to Japan to connect everyone's feelings in the human world. The others were studying back at Merci Hills to fulfill their goals.[7]
The second chapter of the series focuses on Mell visiting the human world for the first time as well as introducing to two new characters in Merci Hills: Roseanne and Maimai.[8] The story mostly focuses on the meeting between Mell and Maimai and the mysteries behind the Prism Candy.
Buzzy herself is one of the creations of Utako Yamada, who first appeared in the children's book, which was published in October 2006.[36] She is also the mascot character of Karel Capek, a tea shop in Japan, and Sanrio collaborated with the company to make merchandise and tea-related goods based on the Wish me mell series.[16]
Several animated shorts that coincides with the storyline of the series were released by Sanrio and animated by Fanworks, who animated The Bears' School and Hanoka. The first short, "Miracle Circus" is released in June 2011, limited to Mobile Users only. It was released on YouTube several days later. The second short, "Maimai's Humming Concert" is also connected to the story blogs, which explains how Mell met Maimai.
Shufunotomo published a storybook based on the series titled on May 26, 2011.[37]
The titular character appeared in Sanrio Puroland live shows, sometimes featuring other Sanrio characters.
Wish me mell was dubbed as the 17th highly voted Sanrio character franchise in the 26th Sanrio Character Ranking in 2011. In 2012, after the introduction of Maimai, Mell became the 12th highly voted Sanrio character while Maimai became the 14th highly voted Sanrio character in the 27th Sanrio Character Ranking.[38]