Most visitors to Shibuya today were aware of Halloween. Before the pandemic, the neighborhood's famous Scramble Crossing and its vicinity regularly attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors in the days leading up to Halloween, many of them costumed. While restrictions and the prevailing mood resulted in a much more modest turnout this year, the neighborhood probably saw more Halloween costumes than anywhere else in Japan.

Kuromi's sudden appearance in Shibuya

However, there was something else that stood out in Shibuya today. The sudden appearance of popular Sanrio character Kuromi all over the neighborhood, beginning with over 200 posters...

Fans of Sanrio characters will surely know that Kuromi, the self-proclaimed rival of My Melody known as much for her black hood and pink skull as she is for her mischievous nature, celebrates her birthday on October 31st.

KUROMIfy the World Project

Celebrating the occasion in a big way this year, content studio CHOCOLATE Inc. and Sanrio Inc. launched the "KUROMIfy the World" project!

In addition to promoting the charms of Kuromi, the "KUROMIfy the World" project hopes to invite people to join her in creating "a world where everyone can aim to be the best they can ever be." As her first activity, Kuromi has released the single "Greedy Greedy," which the press release describes as "Kuromi's debut singing an original song representing her feelings as an artist."

Kuromi's original single "Greedy Greedy"

With lyrics by Ameko Kodama 児玉雨子, who has written for anime songs and artists such as Morning Musume, and music composed and arranged by Takafumi "CO-K" Kōkei, "Greedy Greedy" is a cute and positive song with a bit of spunk. In the music video, you can see Kuromi walking on the streets of Shibuya and the cityscape of Shibuya turning into Kuromi's colors, symbolizing the "KUROMIfy the World" project.

Moreover, in addition to the posters mentioned above, a statue symbolizing Kuromi at a press conference, presumably announcing the project to the world, has been installed in front of the famous 109 shopping center.

Special KUROMIfy the World Project x Shibuya 109 collaboration goods have also been announced.

This map shows the locations of all the Kuromi items throughout the neighborhood:

The posters and statue will be in place until November 13th, 2021

Related Links

For more information about the project, visit the links below:

• "Kuromify the World" Project Website
• KUROMify the World Twitter account
• KUROMify the World Instagram account
• Official hashtags: #KUROMIfytheWorld #世界クロミ化計画

Revised on 11/3 to add information on tie-up goods and to clarify the meaning of Kuromi's debut as an artist.