Badtz-Maru

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Badtz-Maru, or "bad penguin", is one of the many fictional characters produced by Japanese corporation Sanrio.

[edit] Official profile of Badtz Maru

Name: Badtz Maru
Birthday: April 1, 1993
Place of birth: Oahu, Hawaii
Pet: Alligator named Pochi
Friends: Pandaba, a Giant Panda who always wears a very short red skirt, and significant other Hana Maru, a white seal
School: Gorgeous Academy, enrolled in the 1st grade
Residence: Gorgeoustown, lives with mother and pinball-playing father
Description: "Has dreams of greatness when he grows up, but for now he rolls his eyes at his humorous life in Gorgeoustown." [1]

In Japanese "badtz" (batsu) is a term for X, the cross signifying a wrong answer. "Maru" is a term for O, or a correct answer. So, Badtz Maru not only means "bad penguin;" it is also a pun that means "wrong-correct," and is frequently represented by "XO". Indeed, with his friends Pandaba and Hana Maru, Badtz runs the mischievous XO clan.

Badtz-Maru was the mascot for the 2006 FIBA World Championship of basketball, which was held in Japan.<ref name="FIBA">FIBA media release, 13 Dec 2005. [2]</ref>