Kogepan (こげぱん) is a Japanese character who, not unlike fellow Sanrio creations Hello Kitty and Badtz Maru, can be found in books, anime, toys, stationery, and a number of other formats. The character is a burned roll or bun who lives in a panya (Japanese bakery), trying to fit in and make friends with the other bread items. The name comes from kogeru, meaning to burn or char, and pan, a gairaigo word taken from Portuguese and meaning bread.

There are a number of other characters (breads) in the panya with Kogepan, including ichigopan (strawberry bread), kireipan (beautiful bread), and kuriimupan (cream bread).

The anime series, created by Animax and Pony Canyon, consisted of ten 4-minute shorts, the majority of which introduce simple aspects of the character.

There have been three children's picture books published in the Kogepan series, written & drawn by Takahashi Miki:

• こげぱん：パンにも出会いがあるらしい... (Kogepan: Even Among Bread, They Meet One Another)
• こげぱん：パンにもいろいろあるらしい... (Kogepan: Even Among Bread, There Are Many Kinds)
• こげぱん：パンのしあわせってなんだろう... (Kogepan: What Is the Happiness of Bread?)

External Links

• Official Page - Anime
• Sanrio Official Kogepan Page