Tare Panda Boots Hello Kitty Off Culture Shelf

Move over Hello Kitty, there's a new Japanese pop culture must-have and its name is Tare Panda, a flatish looking panda bear which is fast becoming the want of the tween/teen set. Created in 1995, Tare Panda is one of the most famous cartoon characters in Japan, has no feet and is also known as "Pa-pa Panda" or "Lazy Panda." Since it has no feet, it moves around by rolling - at a speed of 2.7 meters per second to be exact. Tare Panda is also lazy unless near it favorite fruit, Swama, which then causes the little guy to actually exude some energy.