Thursday, April 7, 2011

Will Miss #306 - "chibification"

A tengu, transformed from its ugly, fearsome self into this cute little doll.

Most people who are interested in Japan know the word "chibi". For those who don't, I'll say that it means small or child-like, but "cute" is generally also a part of that. In Japan, there seems to be literally  nothing that can't be "chibi-fied" or turned into a small, cute thing and many pop culture icons are examples of "chibi". Though I am surrounded by cute things on a daily basis, I am taken by surprise at some of the things that have been altered in this fashion, and those are the things which I'll miss. Something which is adult-oriented, spiritual, or just plain ugly can be "chibified" and it's an interesting sight.

I'll miss these surprisingly "chibified" things.