Matt Schley
August 5, 2025 
Hoppe-chan, the cute blob character from Sunhoseki, is getting its own original anime in 2026.
Hoppe-chan, who has been known to crossover with Kitty and other Sanrio characters and even has some Nintendo 3DS games, will star in the anime series titled HOPPECHAN -Mystery of the Sun Kingdom and the Black-Cheek Team-. (In Japanese “hoppe” means “cheek.”)
Here’s how Natalie describes the series:
The setting for the anime is Sun Kingdom, a world created by “kawaii.” Hoppe-chan, a lost child who has amnesia, appears in Sun Kingdom. Behind the scenes, poisonous Hoppe-chans are creating a “not-so-kawaii place,” so the original Hoppe-chan joins the ‘Guardians’ who protect the kingdom. Meanwhile, in the real world, office worker Hoho is gradually losing her self-esteem through her daily work and life, and is on the verge of becoming lost. The two stories unfold around the revival of the Sun Kingdom in this parallel fantasy comedy.
The series will be directed by Nabeshige, with scripts supervised by Yoko Yonaiyama (Ya Boy Kongming!) and character designs by Gurin. Original Hoppe-chan will be played by Rin Kusumi, and Hoho will be played by Sachi.
The words “Again” and “Reboot” on the poster ostensibly refer to the period during the Covid pandemic when Sun Hoseki faced hard economic times and had to file for Civil Rehabilitation (which seems to be something like the Japanese equivalent of Chapter 11). According to Natalie, the Hoppe-chan brand is showing signs of a comeback.
Here’s hoppe-ing this is a fun series for 2026.
Source: Natalie
