On July 26th, AKB48 members Sashihara Rino,�Kitahara Rie,�Minegishi Minami,�Kasai Tomomi, and�Takajou Aki attended a product launch event for "AKB48 x Hello Kitty" at Sanrio Puroland.

As tokyohive reported earlier, AKB48 collaborated with Hello Kitty for a brand new line of products called, "AKB48 x Hello Kitty". The new series was designed after AKB48's stage costumes, and comes in three different versions: A, K, and B.

While holding the collaboration goods in her hands, Kitahara excitedly commented, "I'm happy to be able to collaborate with Kitty-chan, who is loved by people all around the world. For us, this is a step forward to the world. We want to become cute like Kitty-chan."

"I'm running out of the word cute. Kitty-chan is a 'senpai' to idols. I want to study this cuteness," said�Minegishi, showing her aspiration of becoming like Hello Kitty. While Kasai stated, "Kitty-chan is really cute. Even her movements are cute; I want to learn from her."

When the group was asked what other Sanrio character they would like to collaborate with, Takajou answered, "If possible, I really like Kiki and Lala, so I would like to collaborate with them." Sashihara also responded, "I like Hangyodon the most."

The first 12 items of the "AKB48 x Hello Kitty" series was released in advance during the event at Sanrio Puroland. It will be generally released in the beginning of August.

Check out photos from the event below!

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Source + Photos: Oricon