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[[File:construction_barriers.jpg|frame| Where construction meets cuddliness.]]
Since the 1970s, cuteness
The word "kawaii" in Japanese has a broader definition than the English word "cute". When applied to pop culture, "cute" will suffice; however "kawaii" refers primarily to the affection of a parent toward a child coupled with the protectiveness for the innocent and weak. Thus a pop cartoon character is considered "kawaii" because it exemplifies the innocence of a child and evokes general protective, caring instincts in the viewer. Other translations of "kawaii" can include "precious", "lovable", "adorable" or "innocent". Can very easily mean "[[Tastes Like Diabetes]]". It could be considered a factor on why the [[Christmas Cake]] [[Trope]] exists. Cuteness saturates Japanese culture so much that one can call this "The Cult of Cute". Just like being sexy and attractive is considered desirable for Western women, this is considered a desirable trait for a Japanese woman, [[Yamato Nadeshiko|among other feminine traits]]. Women in their twenties or even thirties might use a high-pitched voice simply because it sounds cute, despite the rest of the world finding it rather weird.
▲Since the 1970s, cuteness (可愛さ kawaisa) has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, iconography and mannerisms. Foreign observers can find this cuteness odd because the Japanese are stereotypically seen as stoic and employ it in a vast array of situations and demographics where, in other cultures, it would be considered incongruously juvenile or frivolous (public service warnings, office environments, commercial airlines, government publications -- even ''military advertisements'').
▲The word "kawaii" in Japanese has a broader definition than the English word "cute". When applied to pop culture, "cute" will suffice; however "kawaii" refers primarily to the affection of a parent toward a child coupled with the protectiveness for the innocent and weak. Thus a pop cartoon character is considered "kawaii" because it exemplifies the innocence of a child and evokes general protective, caring instincts in the viewer. Other translations of "kawaii" can include "precious", "lovable", "adorable" or "innocent". Can very easily mean "[[Tastes Like Diabetes]]". It could be considered a factor on why the [[Christmas Cake]] [[Trope]] exists. Cuteness saturates Japanese culture so much that one can call this "The Cult of Cute". Just like being sexy and attractive is considered desirable for Western women, this is considered a desirable trait for a Japanese woman, [[Yamato Nadeshiko|among other feminine traits]]. Women in their twenties or even thirties might use a high-pitched voice simply because it sounds cute, despite the rest of the world finding it rather weird.
Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward and town offices. Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public.
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Cute merchandise and products are especially popular in some parts of east Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. In America, however, [[American Kirby Is Hardcore|the opposite applies]].
This phenomenon probably explains why it's hard to pin down the ages of [[Anime]] characters, particularly females, as they tend to combine young characteristics (wide eyes, overall cuteness/vulnerability) with 'older' characteristics (such as disproportionate intelligence, wisdom... or breasts). See "[[Generic Cuteness]]" for related information.
In Japanese culture, the polar opposite of this is [[Hentai]].
* [[Adorably Precocious Child]]
* [[American Kirby Is Hardcore]]
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* [[Shotacon]]
* [[Super-Deformed]] versions of [[Anime]] characters.
* [[Token
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Pokémon (
*
▲** There was a line of <s>massagers</s> vibrators with [[Hello Kitty]]'s head on it. ([[Cuteness Proximity|But it's soooo kyuute!]])
* ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' is a long study in the dark side of Kawaisa aesthetics, implying that the real reason for its success is the generalized immaturity of the current generation -- or, for those of you who like shorter words, the problem is that Japan ''simply will not '''grow the fuck up'''''.
** [http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200703/global-psyche-one-nation-under-cute This article from Psychology Today] came to the same conclusion. It's worth noting that according to it, Kawaisa has a somewhat ancient pedigree--simply because Japan's constant social stratification needed ''something'' to soften the edges. Kawaisa: Feudalism's version of a rollover bug?
* ''[[
* The Tachikomas from ''[[Ghost in
** Unless you're fighting them, in which case they're probably more like the sentry turrets from [[Portal (
*** Which, incidentally, are the cutest sentry turrets ever.
** It is telling that the Tachikomas can be cute while still looking like completely pragmatically designed and functional weapons, their cuteness having more to do with their voices and personalities than anything else. Further, it is a credit to the writers, art directors, and animators that they can maintain their cuteness without clashing with an otherwise relatively serious and realistically animated series.
* Saito Ayaka is the queen of kawaisa. Apparently, her voice is soft and high-pitched even for a female seiyuu.
* ''[[Potemayo]]'' (the series) is very, very cute and very, very weird. Potemayo herself is a 2-foot-tall blob of [[Moe]] features who acts like a 8-year-old... and was found in a fridge.
== Art ==
* The Japanese artist [
** Junko Mizuno's work is in this vein, as well. Her twisted fairy-tale ''Cinderalla'', for instance, casts the heroine's cruel stepmother and stepsisters as zombies, and Cinderalla has to be magically transformed into a zombie for her big chance to meet the handsome zombie prince. Instead of dropping a glass slipper at midnight, Cinderalla drops her ''eyeball''.
== [[Fan
* ''[[Averted Trope|Nothing at all]]'' in ''[[My Immortal]]'', despite Enoby's (and Tara's) [[You Keep Using That Word|fondness for the term.]]
== [[Film]] ==
* Parodied in the ''[[Battle Royale]]'' film, where the rules of the titular deathmatch are explained by a cute and cheerful young woman
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
* The [[Kirby]] series is a notable deconstruction of this trope. While most of its inhabitants carefree and Dreamland is pretty much an idyllic paradise, it is always constantly being invaded by [[Nightmare Fuel|dark forces]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], some of which even possess said cute inhabitants. Things tend to get dramatically serious when [[Sugar Apocalypse|the lives of the Dreamlanders are at stake]], and Kirby himself changes gears from being just a cute moeblob to the assertive [[Badass]].▼
* Many [[Video Games]], so much so that many foreign video games don't do well in Japan. The main reason for this is because [[American Kirby Is Hardcore|western video game characters]] are considered "ugly" by Japanese standards.▼
** Notably, [[Ratchet and Clank]] got a cuteness makeover that was basically the inverse of [[American Kirby Is Hardcore]]. The second game was a pack-in for the [[
*** The cultural dissonance in video games between Japan and America is very noticeable in ''[[
* Moogles in the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games seems to serve no other purpose than cutifying every where they exist.▼
* The beta flash game ''Whirled'' has been having a war over this. Statics, avatars that are non-moving sprites or images, are fighting pretty much the other majority. Not including regular, Kawaii, Chibi (Famous artist: Kristie Kraiser, her site is www.insanitycentral.com), and the dreaded TOFUS (default avatars). [[Scare Chord|DUN DUN DUUUUUN.]]▼
* The whole premise of [https://web.archive.org/web/20131024120904/http://www.kawaiinot.com/ Kawaiinot] is to parody this trope.▼
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The [[Powerpuff Girls]]' popularity in Japan is due in part to this.▼
* Reportedly Chip and Dale are the most popular Disney characters in Japan; no doubt this is why. [[Lilo and Stitch|Stitch]] is also very popular.▼
* ''[[
== [[Real Life]] ==
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* The Japan Post "Yū-Pack" mascot is a stylized mailbox. The Japan Post also uses other cute mascot characters, for example, on stamps.
* Some police forces in Japan have their own [[Moe]] mascots, which sometimes adorn the front of koban [police boxes].
* [[OS-
* Several Japanese-language blogs have this.
* This is, supposedly, the reason why babies are so adorable; teddy bears show a marked trend towards cuteness, and research has proved that this is to get the adults to buy them as a gift (the kids themselves didn't seem to care as long as they got a fun toy).
* Strangely, parts of this seem to be headed towards being a [[Dead Horse Trope]] -- for example, the taste for high-pitched female voices has faded to the point that it's not heard much anymore.
** Might vary by area-- just two years ago{{when}} a Western woman could get much entertainment by listening to the difference between Japanese women talking to other women and the change in pitch as soon as a man came into view-- Japanese or Western!
* In 2017, Japan activated the [http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kiboexp/news/170714_int_ball_en.html JEM Internal Ball Camera] - a cute spherical camera drone - aboard the International Space Station.
* As of 2020, [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/what-does-it-meme-why-we-re-especially-drawn-to-cuteness-right-now-1.5812419 Tokyo Gagukei University has a professor specializing in Cute Studies.] He has [https://www.cutestudies.org/ an English-language website.]
▲== [[Video Games]] ==
▲* The [[Kirby]] series is a notable deconstruction of this trope. While most of its inhabitants carefree and Dreamland is pretty much an idyllic paradise, it is always constantly being invaded by [[Nightmare Fuel|dark forces]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], some of which even possess said cute inhabitants. Things tend to get dramatically serious when [[Sugar Apocalypse|the lives of the Dreamlanders are at stake]], and Kirby himself changes gears from being just a cute moeblob to the assertive [[Badass]].
▲* Many [[Video Games]], so much so that many foreign video games don't do well in Japan. The main reason for this is because [[American Kirby Is Hardcore|western video game characters]] are considered "ugly" by Japanese standards.
▲** Notably, [[Ratchet and Clank]] got a cuteness makeover that was basically the inverse of [[American Kirby Is Hardcore]]. The second game was a pack-in for the [[PS 2]].
▲*** The cultural dissonance in video games between Japan and America is very noticeable in ''[[Nie R]]''. Two versions of essentially the same game were made and marketed distinctly for American and Japanese audiences. The American version has a gruff, hard male protagonist, while the Japanese version has an effeminate, sensitive male protagonist. Again, these two characters are, essentially, the same character in both games.
▲* Moogles in the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games seems to serve no other purpose than cutifying every where they exist.
▲* The beta flash game Whirled has been having a war over this. Statics, avatars that are non-moving sprites or images, are fighting pretty much the other majority. Not including regular, Kawaii, Chibi (Famous artist: Kristie Kraiser, her site is www.insanitycentral.com), and the dreaded TOFUS(default avatars). [[Scare Chord|DUN DUN DUUUUUN.]]
▲* The whole premise of [http://kawaiinot.com/ Kawaiinot] is to parody this trope.
▲== [[Western Animation]] ==
▲* The [[Powerpuff Girls]]' popularity in Japan is due in part to this.
▲* Reportedly Chip and Dale are the most popular Disney characters in Japan; no doubt this is why. [[Lilo and Stitch|Stitch]] is also very popular.
▲* ''[[Chalk Zone]]'' was one of Nick Japan's most popular shows. [[Moe|No surprise there]].
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Happiness Tropes]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
[[Category:index]]
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