Top five Japanese characters

1. Astro Boy

Postwar Japan took a shining to the boy robot with the enormous eyes, pointy hairdo and machine gun derriere – a cheery personification of modern technology and atomic power. Tetsuwan Atom (literally ‘Iron Arm Atom’) first appeared in his own manga series in 1952 but it was the 1960s television series (and the English redub) that rocketed him to international stardom – Japan’s answer to Mickey Mouse and the world’s first anime star. Such is Japan’s enduring love for the character, in fact, that Tetsuwan Atom was legally registered as an actual resident of Japan in 2003, the year (according to the original story) of his creation. 
Created by: Osama Tekuza
First appearance: 1952
Theme song: “There you go, Astro Boy! On your mission today! Here's the countdown and the blastoff! Everything is go, Astro Boy!”

2. Pikachu

Originally just one of 151 peculiar ‘pocket monsters' created for a Japanese GameBoy game in 1996, Pikachu soon became the pudgy yellow face of the biggest kids' craze in the world: Pokemon. The phenomenon is, as ever, capitalism at its most barefaced ("Gotta catch 'em all!"), and the retina-piercing yellow of this particular rodent continues to be emblazoned across comic books, animated series, feature films, trading cards, Boeing aircraft and more. Pretty good for a character whose vocabulary consists entirely of variations on its own name. 
Created by: Ken Sugimori 
First appearance: 1996 
Special abilities: Electric discharge, formidable cuteness, looks good as a pencil case

3. Mario

Nintendo has kept its moustachioed mascot - the portly Italian plumber formerly known as ‘Jumpman' - extremely busy. What with all the damsel rescuing, kart racing, brawling, partying and Olympic Game competing he gets up to, it's a wonder that Mario finds the time to fix people's drains. 
Created by: Shigeru Miyamoto 
First appearance: 1981 
Catch phrases: "It's-a-me, Mario!' "Let's-a-go!" "Here we go!" "It's-a Mario Time!" "Thank you so much for to playing my game!"

4. Totoro

No film has captured the magic of childhood quite like Studio Ghibli's family fable My Neighbour Totoro, and no character is so beloved in Japan as Totoro, the giant furry tanuki (raccoon) that lives in a camphor tree and watches over the forest. He features in the Studio Ghibli logo and also has a main-belt asteroid named after him. 
Created by: Hayao Miyazaki 
First appearance: 1988 
Preferred mode of transport: Catbus

5. Hello Kitty

More than any other character on this list, the Hello Kitty brand epitomises the Japanese obsession with kawaii, or ‘cuteness'. Kitty (full name ‘Kitty White') first appeared on a coin purse - a white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow and no mouth, part of a veritable army of cuddly critters developed by full-time purveyors of cute, Japan's Sanrio company. 
Created by: Yuko Shimizu 
First appearance: 1974 
Friends: Tippy the Bear, Jodie the Dog, Cathy the Bunny; also owns a pet cat