McDonald's Japan Confirms a New Set of Hello Kitty Happy Meal Toys for Fall

Sanrio's Hello Kitty is no stranger to official McDonald's collaborations, with the popular mascot and several of her friends most recently appearing in the U.S. as part of a Happy Meal crossover with major anime and card game franchise Yu-Gi-Oh. Now, McDonald's Japan has announced a new set of Happy Meal toys featuring just Hello Kitty, this time depicting the kawaii kitten as a sports star and cheerleader.

McDonald's Japan's newest lineup of Hello Kitty toys will occur over three waves, with the first beginning on Sept. 13, the second the following week starting Sept. 27, and the third and final occurring on Oct. 11. Each wave lasts for that one week, making the new toys limited-edition items that fans of the kitten will definitely want to get their hands on. The theme coincides with Japan's upcoming sports season, with fall being synonymous with both Sports Day as well as school sports festivals held across the country.

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McDonald's Japan Sees Sanrio's Hello Kitty Dressed for Sports & Cheerleading

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The first wave of toys features four miniature sporty sets: table tennis, mini-golf, basketball and bowling, with the artwork adorning each item showing Hello Kitty dressed for the sport in question and with her face also decorating the balls for each activity. Meanwhile, the second wave takes more of a spectator approach, with Hello Kitty depicted as a cheerleader with all the necessary items this tends to entail in Japan: a pair of binoculars, a towel case, a comb and mirror with the latter shaped like a tennis racket, and a cheering stick clapper.

Finally, the third and final wave of products will bring back every item previously introduced throughout the new Happy Meal toy release (assuming they're still in stock), along with a mystery toy yet to be revealed. Hello Kitty fans can also look forward to a special weekend release of a large Hello Kitty sticker portraying the mascot character as a cheerleader, complete with traditional outfit and orange pom poms. The sticker comes with the purchase of a Hello Kitty Happy Meal, but only on Sept. 14, 15 and 16 (the latter is a Monday, but also a national holiday in Japan, allowing for a 'long weekend' release).

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While no overseas release has been announced for the new Happy Meal collectibles, Hello Kitty remains a major franchise in the West -- and given recent releases by McDonald's U.S., it's not out of the question that international fans may see a similar reveal at some point in the future.

Source: McDonald's Japan

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