MINNA NO TABO

Minna no Tabo (みんなのたあ坊, Min'na No Tābō) is a human boy Sanrio character. He is a friendly, happy boy who gives all he's got even though he might not always be successful. Tabo is intelligent, energetic, and always honest. He likes sports especially swimming which he is good at. Tabo makes friends wherever he goes, having about 40 friends, most of them animals. His dream is to one day become Santa Claus.

History[]

Minna no Tabo was created on a random winter afternoon in the Sanrio office where many staff were in a meeting room while the air conditioning was off which made the room very hot.

The staff including Tabo's creator Akiko Shimasue were working hard to create summer postcards. Shimasue was having a tough time dealing with the heat and had a hard time thinking of any ideas. She starting writing things like "Duh~~, it's so hot~~" on her papers and decided to add a silly drawing of a strange looking boy saying those lines.

Minna no Tabo first officially appeared in 1984 as a summer postcard design. Two years later, his name "Tabo" was officially announced to the readers of The Strawberry News. The postcards became a huge hit and sold over a million copies!

When he first debuted, Tabo had no hair.

Minna no Tabo's popularity kept growing from then on, and soon an official stationary set appeared in stores. Minna no Tabo went on to star in many different Sanrio OVA films of his own (see Media) and had a series of over 100 comic strips that appeared throughout various issues of The Strawberry News.

Ranking in the Sanrio Character Ranking[]

In the 2013 Sanrio Character Ranking if he reached 10th place or higher, he would take an ID photo with a serious face! However he failed to reach that rank.

1986: not in top 10
1987: 3rd place
1988: 1st place
1989: 1st place
1990: 2nd place
1991: 4th place
1992-2004: not in top 10
2005: 10th place
2006-2009: not in top 10
2010: 19th place
2011: 19th place
2012: 28th place
2013: 26th place
2014: 20th place (4th place in Group A)
2015: 29th place
2016: 27th place
2017: 27th place
2018: 32nd place
2019: 31st place
2020: 29th place
2021: 22nd place (2nd in Hong Kong)
2022: 28th place (1st in Hong Kong)
2023: 27th place (2nd in Hong Kong, 6th in Thailand)

Trivia[]

His favorite food is an omelette made by his mother.
Tabo dislikes tongue twisters and green peppers.
Tabo is said to be mysterious which adds to his charm, some things that are mysteries are his real name and his blood type.
- His birthday was a mystery until it was announced in the Strawberry News in June 1996, 12 years after his debut. Pictures of him as a baby were also revealed in the same issue.
Tabo's birthday is on May 5th which is Children's Day in Japan. It is traditional to eat Kashiwa mochi on the day, so Tabo is said to eat both birthday cake and kashiwa mochi.
His name may mean "everyone's altruistic boy" from 皆 [みんな] (everyone), 他愛 [たあい] (altruistic) and 坊や [ぼうや] (boy). Alternatively, his name could simply translate to Everyone's Tabo.
Minna no Tabo was the first character to win first place in two consecutive years in the Sanrio Character Ranking.

Media[]

Tabo stars in different Sanrio anime films of his own such as Taabou no Ryuuguusei Daitanken, Minna no Taabou Konnichiwa, Uchuu Bouei-tai Taabou no Toki no Tomatta Hoshi, and Uchuu Bouei-tai Taabou no Shinkirou Hoshi wo Sukue!.
Tabo makes an appearance in Sam to Chip no wa Hachamecha Dai Race as a food vendor.
- Tabo appears in the audience among other Sanrio characters such as The Friendly Club in Pokopon no Satogaeri.
  - In the same OVA, Tabo is revealed to have an uncle who greatly resembles him, along with having his signature sleepy eyes.
Minna No Tabo appears in the Roblox game My Hello Kitty Cafe.