A.U (阿U or 阿优) is a Chinese media franchise comprising comedy manhua, cartoons and games that was introduced in 2009.[1] It is a brand owned by Hangzhou A.U Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd. It centers on a boy of the same name and his friends.[2]
A.U comic books were first published by Zhejiang Juvenile and Children's Publishing House in 2011, and as of 2013 over 100 million copies were sold.[3] The first A.U animated series premiered on China Central Television in August 2012 and A.U cartoons have since become popular.[1] In 2014, the fifth season (阿U之神奇萝卜) introduced rabbit characters to the show.
There is an A.U clothing brand for children with the chief designer being Yves Castaldi.[4] Other branded products include snacks, footwear, and wallpaper. Electronic educational devices for young children including a smart rabbit-like robot called A.U Rabbit for families[5] have also been released.[6] There are A.U games on the Apple App Store and the A.U electronic devices.[1] Brand awareness for A.U among primary school students had reached 63.3%.[7]
A theme park called A.U Cartoon Island (阿U国际卡通岛) in Xianghu Lake in Hangzhou was planned and would feature digital interactivity.[1]