SpongeBob defies skeptics by winning fans in cute-loving Japan

TOKYO — Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn't supposed to have much chance for success in Japan, a nation famous for its love of more cuddly characters like Hello Kitty and Pikachu.

But the perky, bucktoothed American cartoon is proving the skeptics wrong. "SpongeBob SquarePants" attracts nearly 1.9 million Japanese households to his TV show daily and is raking in a growing share of the $5 billion in annual retail sales for Nickelodeon, the Viacom Inc. unit behind the show.

And he's doing it by capturing the hearts of Japan's young women — not children, his most loyal fans in the U.S.

"I started collecting Bob because I think he's cute and he stands out," said Mayu Takahashi, a 21-year-old student, shopping in Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku district holding a SpongeBob tote bag. "Some of my friends say he's a creepy kind of cute."

SpongeBob's popularity is unusual in that his show — the No. 1 children's program in the U.S — runs as specials on Japanese broadcast channels and only airs regularly on satellite and some cable systems, which only some households here get.

Even in the U.S., no one expected a story about a sponge that lives in a pineapple-shaped home to catch on when it started airing in 1999. SpongeBob, created by Stephen Hillenburg, a former marine biology teacher, was a surprise hit.

New York-based Viacom carefully orchestrated SpongeBob's introduction to Japan in 2000. It targeted young women, viewed as trendsetters, through licensed products and sought to give SpongeBob an underground appeal through word of mouth.

Showings of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" were restricted to artsy theaters. A hip-hop designer created SpongeBob jewelry. A pop star was signed to praise the cartoon character in the local media. Glossy magazines targeting teenagers ran stories on him.

Viacom believed this strategy would overcome the risk that SpongeBob might end up a short-lived fad in Japan, where consumers tend to get quickly bored with characters.

Hardly visible at first in items such as handbag charms for trendy high school girls, SpongeBob is now popping up in knickknack stores, mobile phone sites and blogger chatter. More than 30 Japanese companies are churning out goods plastered with SpongeBob's likeness, from a $1.70 eraser to a $300 stuffed doll the size of a giant cushion.