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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"More chibis," Simon said gloomily. All the characters on screen had turned into baby-sized versions of themselves and were chasing each other around waving pots and pans.''
|'''[[Mortal Instruments|Cassandra Clare]]'''|''City of Ashes''}}
An artistic style in anime that is generally considered both "[[Kawaisa|cutesy]]" and humorous, in which a character is rendered in a shorter, rounder form somewhat resembling a caricature of themselves as a plump toddler.
Although most commonly used in parody or as part of promotional material, it can be found in some shows at points of extreme comedy/slapstick, or when characters are seen to be acting extremely "cute" or immature. This use of [[Artistic Age]] can mask the true age of characters, making forty somethings and fourteen year olds seem the same age.
Also known as "chibi" (Japanese for "small") in some circles, although not just confined to
In older video games with small characters compared to screen, Super-Deformed style was used mainly due to graphical limitations so a head size wouldn't be just a single pixel. In newer games, characters in cutscenes or character portraits will still depict them in more realistic proportions (for an example, in ''[[Disgaea]]'' and ''[[Cave Story]]''). See [[Graphics Induced Super Deformed]] for that.
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{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* Around 2009, Kellogg dropped its [[Don Hertzfeldt]]-inspired "Crazy Good" ad campaign for Pop-Tarts toaster pastries in favor of "Made for Fun", which has super-deformed CGI children along with far-less-deformed adults. But then you realize that the kids' heads are ''bigger'' than those of the adults, and the only [[Epileptic Tree|conclusion you can draw]] is that adults in this world don't eat Pop-Tarts. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDkjWHuX0u0 This video] exposes the [[Fridge Logic]].
* At least a quarter of ''[[Dragon Half]]'' is spent with various
▲== Anime & Manga ==
▲* At least a quarter of ''[[Dragon Half]]'' is spent with various characters -- up to and including the story's [[Big Bad]] -- Super-Deformed.
* ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'', naturally, plays this to total exhaustion.
* The magic knights of ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' punctuate their rather serious situation with occasional brief forays into Super-Deformed comedy.
* The deities and demons in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' can transform into multiple Super-Deformed miniatures of themselves. There is also a spinoff of ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' called ''[[Adventures of Mini-Goddess|Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses]]'' which concentrates solely on the goddesses' miniature selves (and a rat of their acquaintance).
** When the rats turned into [[Ninja]]-girls showed up, Keiichi referred to the first of them as Super-Deformed. This was '''after''' she'd used an air pump, nozzle in her mouth, to increase her size.
* Similarly, the trainee angels and demons in ''[[Wish]]'' have chibi forms; Angels being full-size during the day and chibi in the night, and vice versa for the demons.
* ''[[Rozen Maiden]]'' contrasts its characters' elegant designs with ventures into Super-Deformed states.
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* Displayed and somewhat subverted in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]''. For most of the characters, it's simply an artistic style; for the shape-shifting Chichiri, comments by other characters imply he actually takes on that appearance, or at least the height.
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' characters (particularly Usagi) often lapse into chibi style.
** All five of the main Sailors were drawn in super-deformed style in the [[eyecatch]] for ''Sailor Moon R''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061103212747im_/http://www.tcp.com/doi/images/smoon/senshi2.gif See them here].
* Happens occasionally in ''[[Love Hina]]''.
* ''[[School Rumble]]'', too, uses this with some frequency.
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* The characters of ''[[High School Kimengumi]]'' spend almost half of their time in chibi form.
* Surprisingly prevalent in ''[[Gundam]]''. ''SD Gundam'' is a sub-franchise in and of itself with model kits, shows, and games. Some stories (like the comedy shorts and ''[[BB Senshi Sangokuden]]'') have the super-deformed mecha as characters who talk and interact with super-deformed human characters, while in others (like the ''[[SD Gundam G Generation]]'' games) the mecha are still piloted weapons as normal. Interestingly, the design of the super-deformed MS has evolved over time: in earlier works they had proportions like regular SD characters, while later works like ''[[SD Gundam Force]]'' and ''[[MS Saga]]'' use a less exaggerated version where the head and torso are large but the limbs are still detailed and jointed, making them more reasonable.
* ''[[Prince of Tennis]]'' occasionally has entire episodes devoted to showing the adventures of the super-deformed main characters in alternate universes. When the first of these gag episodes was shown just before a much-anticipated showdown, it cemented the show's reputation as one of the most bi-polar creations in all of anime.
* Ginji of ''[[GetBackers]]'' sometimes becomes super-deformed for extended periods of time, even when the rest of the characters are drawn normally. Other characters even comment on it in the manga.
* The ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' manga includes a few side stories called ''Petite Mew Mew'', set in a fantasy land and involving kid/chibi versions of the major characters playing in a kindergarten.
* Used ''heavily'' in ''[[Kare Kano]]''. The female lead spends at least half her time onscreen in this form.
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* The DVDs of ''[[Mariasama ga Miteru]]'' contain parody [[Omake]] episodes in which all the characters appear in Super-Deformed mode.
* ''[[Slayers]]'' does this quite frequently for a laugh. One notable instance in ''Slayers Next'' has Lina casting a Dragon Slave to save Seillune and Amelia asking Shabranigdu to make it work; Gourry and Zelgadis are quick to berate her in Super-Deformed style ("You're a shrine maiden! Don't pray to Dark Lords!").
* ''[[Transformers Victory]]'' uses chibi versions of the characters on its title cards and [[
* Though its maintenance mode may suggest otherwise, Kemeko from ''[[Kemeko Deluxe]]'' is surprisingly stumpy for a [[Powered Armor|human-piloted machine]].
* Even ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hKxd8B4RS8 this], including the Rei clones and a Deformed version of Unit 01.
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* ''[[Koihime Musou]]'' makes extensive use of this.
* ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' has usually avoided this (with the exception of some of the novel pictures). The anime version of the ''[[Nyoron Churuya-san]]'' [[Yonkoma]] finally invokes this, with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGWn4cnJXU4 predictably adorable results]. Nyoron~
** There's [http://www.animenewsnetwork.
* Hikari's SD mode in ''
* ''[[Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro na]]: Crescent Love'' uses this quite a bit.
* The manga version of ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka de]]'' has chibi-style [[Omake]], sometimes in [[Yonkoma]] format (such as "Go Go Haruka Kindergarten").
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* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' uses this sparingly, although Misora does it in her drawings. While it doesn't use it often in the traditional sense, it makes up for it with Chibi-Setsuna, a shikigami that Setsuna uses to remotely contact people. When Chibi-Setsuna disappears, Chibi-Sayo (a Super-Deformed voodoo doll that [[Cute Ghost Girl|Sayo]] possesses) pops up.
* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' had a joke-strip about this with cell phones. Monta asks whether cell phones should be equally proportioned to their head for actual talking, at the cost of a huge and inconvenient size, or if they should be small like in real life, meaning you can't both listen and talk over the phone. Monta and Sena decided it's best just to stay normal.
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' likes using this to lighten up an otherwise depressing series. Though in [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime version]], it drops this halfway through (with the exception of the Chibi Wrap Party OVA). This trope gives Armor!Al a chance to be absolutely [[media:
* Happens sometimes in ''[[Bleach]]'', for example in anime episode #24 when Orihime was trying to deny that she was hungry.
* Happens a lot in [[Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru]]. Sometimes they stay in chibi-mode for a moment when in the "real world", then immediately transform back to normal.
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* Occurs often in [[Axis Powers Hetalia]], usually in funny moments like drunk England.
== Comic Books ==
* In ''[[The Sandman]]'', Abel tells a sweet story about how he and his brother Cain came to live in the Dreaming. It's far more sugary than what ''really'' happened, and is drawn in this style by vaunted Jill Thompson.
** She went on to produce two actual Endless kids' books in the same style, ''The Little Endless Storybook'' and ''Delirium's Party''.
* ''[[
* Every so often, the characters in ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'' are rendered like this.
* One issue of ''[[Justice League of America|Justice League]]'' had Superman perceive everyone like this.
** Not to mention (seemingly) the entire inhabitants of the 5th dimension.
* [[Batgirl|Stephanie Brown]] narrates history of the Batfamily to [[Justice Friends|Wendy]], complete with a chibi Darkseid.
== Literature ==
* Inverted in the Precious Girls Club books. [[Precious Moments]] drawings, figurines, animated specials, etc. ordinarily use SD proportions, roughly 2.6 heads tall, for child characters. To appeal to young girls, the Precious Girls Club brand extension [http://www.preciousmoments.com/talk/blog/blogpost.cfm?threadid=48&catid=60 intentionally went with less-deformed proportions]{{Dead link}} while keeping the distinctive eye shape.
== Tabletop Games ==
* Running off the ''[[Gundam]]'' and ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' examples, ''[[Mekton]]'' has rules for SD mecha in one supplement.
== Toys ==
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* Nendoroid figure line from Good Smile Company is this to all sorts of anime characters.
* A British company, Speed Freaks Studio, makes super-deformed clay models of real life cars and bikes, including Ferraris and Lotuses, as well as super-deformed clay models of people.
== Video Games ==
* Most games in the ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' series portray the mecha as being Super-Deformed in their battle animations. Characters, close-ups of the mecha in battle, and in the Original Generation animes, are shown at normal sizes and proportions. This is at least party done to hide [[Units Not to Scale|the immense scale differences between the various units]], given it is entirely possible to have a 12 meter tall Macross Battleroid backing up the 250 meter tall [[Gunbuster]]. This does, however, occasionally lead to odd consequences in attack animations. ''Super Robot Wars W'' finds a way to complicate thing even further, Not only having such things as as a seven-foot-tall [[Tekkaman Blade|Tekkaman]] lifting up a 300-meter-long Battleship one-handed and impaling it on their spear, but also things like the differences in size between the cyborg Renee in [[GaoGaiGar|KorRyu and AnRyu's]] attacks, and the [[Powered Armor]]-wearing heroes who are their own units.
** However, the style has become iconic with the series. One game, ''Shin [[Super Robot Wars]]'', used non-SD models for battle animations. Fans didn't really like it.
** But ''[[Super Robot Wars Gaiden]]'' used non-Super-Deformed models and it is seen as the best on the SNES. [[Scrappy Mechanic|Then again, that elevation and facing thing may have been an adequate distraction...]]
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* The first handheld port of the ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' games was a Super-Deformed version of the arcade game, ''Guilty Gear Petit'' (also known as ''Guilty Gear Puchi'' because of [[Spell My Name with an "S"|romanisation issues]]). The characters of ''[[Street Fighter]]'' also appear in chibi form in the games ''Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo'' and ''Pocket Fighter''.
** Both of these were preceded by the [[Game Boy]] ports of [[Samurai Shodown]] and [[Battle Arena Toshinden]], which chibified the characters to better fit them to the screen.
** This technique is also employed in the [[Neo Geo Pocket]] fighting games, like ''[[The King of Fighters]] R-1'' and ''R-2'' (which are pocket versions of ''{{'}}97'' and ''{{'}}98'', respectively) and ''[[SNK vs. Capcom|The Match of the Millennium]]''.
* All the characters of the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series appeared like this up to ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''. The eighth game was the first with realistically proportioned characters, and while the ninth went back to slightly Super-Deformed (mostly for nostalgia's sake), every game since has had realistic characters.
** While the ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' and ''[[Crystal Chronicles]]'' spinoffs have so far kept this style, ''[[The Crystal Bearers]]'' uses a more realistic style.
** While ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' uses generally realistic proportions, the Tarutaru race's build is intentionally reminiscent of a super-deformed style.
** ''Theatrhythm Final Fantasy'' has all of the characters in smaller, cuter versions of their original designs.
* Almost the entire point of the ''[[Puzzle Fighter]]'' games.
* A special move (unique for each character) lets you turn your fighter into one of these in ''[[Samurai Shodown]] 2''.
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IGPZflaBdM The framing device] of the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' [[The Anime of the Game|mini-scenario]] from the ''[[Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～]]'' fanbox used chibi versions of Nanoha and the kitsune Kuon.
* A brief scene in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai]]'', when Rika gets mad at Hanyuu's fatalism and punishes her by eating spicy food and drinking alcohol. "Our senses are linked..."
** The [http://keikakudoori.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hg141.jpg original] sound novel [http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4170/higurashioriginaldoujinqs3.jpg art] is chibi-like.
* "Super-Deformed" is the default art style of the main ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' series of games (1 through 10), and all the characters are deformed even further in ''[[Mega Man Powered Up]]''.
* Half of the ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' franchise, considered [[Lighter and Softer]] by the [[Broken Base]].
* Not used in the ''[[Touhou]]'' itself, but the fan-made [[Virtual Paper Doll]] "create.swf" uses this style.
* This has become [[Nitrome]]'s [[Signature Style]], used to depict all humans (and, in one case, zombies.) [[Sugar Bowl|Results]] [[Grotesque Cute|vary]].
* The "Teach Me, Miss Litchi!" segments of ''[[
* In the [[Have a Nice Death|Tiger Dojo]] in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', Taiga and Illya sometimes take chibi form. Any other characters in the Dojo always appear as chibi.
* ''[[Tales of Graces]]'' has this as apart of their groovy chats. During time to time, you'd see a mini cut-in photo of the characters in their chibi form. This is just for laughs.
* ''[[SD Snatcher]]'', an RPG adaptation of ''[[Snatcher]]'' with super-deformed characters and a slightly different storyline.
* ''Mighty Final Fight'' was obviously created because the NES couldn't handle the huge sprites of ''[[Final Fight]]'', but the [[Lighter and Softer]] characterization affirms the super-deformed aesthetic.
* ''[[Super Dodge Ball]]'', ''[[River City Ransom]]'' and most other [[Kunio
* [[Jackie Chan]] and Josephine in ''[[Jackie
== Web Comics ==
* The now-defunct ''[[Ghastly's Ghastly Comic]]'' has chibis as
* Durkon, Belkar and all other dwarf and halfling characters in ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' have smaller bodies than humans and elves but their heads are the same size, and so look disproportionately large on them.
** Lampshaded by Belkar [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0165.html here].
* The Succubus protagonist from ''[http://www.krakowstudios.com/index.php Krakow]'', Kia, has a demonic spell that can Chibi-fy
* ''[[Loserz]]'' used this as a kind of special effect several times, like [https://web.archive.org/web/20101213230031/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/192 here].
** There's also [https://web.archive.org/web/20110521125921/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/40 this one]. The author himself defines the last panel as "the best panel EVER".
* Occasionally used in ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'', for example [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=136045 here].
* The characters of ''[[Misfile]]'' periodically become chibified.
* ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' will turn a scared character into this form for a panel.
* ''[http://www.lilformers.com Lilformers]'' does this with [[Transformers]] and other pop-culture characters.
* ''[[Lizzy]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130906202247/http://comics.cyberneticevilstudios.com/pages/1/30a.html page 30] makes fun of these.
{{quote|
* ''[[Blip]]'' uses this during a [[Pensieve Flashback]]: Partway through Liz's memory of a nasty argument, both K and Mary [https://web.archive.org/web/20120809163712/http://www.blipcomic.com/265/ transform into chibis] and remain that way until the flashback ends. This seems to be indicative that Liz thought they were both acting immaturely, and it's certainly indicative that Liz is [[Rashomon Style|deliberately exaggerating]] the events for the benefit of her audience.
** Lesser angels and demons are depicted as chibis all the time.
* Done stealthily in ''[[Homestuck]]'': It's hard to see because it's permanent and the protagonists are kids, but when they do something awesome (AKA Hero Mode), they're dechibified.
** And now [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] with Aradia, whose first appearances had been in non-chibi form: [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004033 Render the girl in a more symbolic manner.]
* ''[[Khaos Komix]]'' goes a little heavy on the chibis, usually for comic relief.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110517050758/http://www.khaoskomix.com/cgi-bin/comic.cgi?chp=1&page=10 Whether the characters are hanging out at Steve's place...]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110517045242/http://www.khaoskomix.com/cgi-bin/comic.cgi?chp=5&page=14 ...or their mom catches them smoking.]
* ''[[Springiette]]'' is all-chibi.
* ''Dangerously Chloe'' has characters chibi-fied when someone is having a "cute" moment. Including cases when characters are [http://www.dangerouslychloe.com/strips-dc/morning_already being cute about something].
* ''[[Questionable Content]]'' got anthro-PCs somewhat chibi-like. And then there's deliberately chibi [//questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1440 Momo], with jokes about her [[Animesque]]-ness. Eventually, an update turning those blobs into proper hands is [//www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1496 released].
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Open Blue]]'''s [[Series Mascot]] is a Super-Deformed [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[Cthulhu Mythos|Cthulhu]] known as "Kukulu".
* ''[[RWBY]]'''s Ruby when she geeks out in her first moments on the Beacon campus; also the images in her "thought bubble" as she races to find a partner in the Emerald Forest during the Beacon initiation.
** The [[Spin-Off]] ''[[RWBY Chibi]]'' is all about this.
* There are whole [[deviant ART]] groups collecting chibifications. Such as [http://chibisanonymous.deviantart.com/ Chibis Anonymous]. Or [http://theemperorschibis.deviantart.com/ The Emperor's Chibis] (yes, it's chibi- ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'').
== Western Animation ==
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* Used in the [[Chibi Avatar|out-of-continuity shorts]] of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' that were available online and on the second season DVD. To achieve the main series's particular sense of realism, the creators set down some boundaries as to what they could and couldn't use for comic effect. With the shorts, Mike and Bryan, who are fans of the crazier variety of manga and anime, were able to pretty much let themselves go.
* One episode of ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' had Jazz revealing her plans to Maddie and Sam on how to stop the villains, shown in Super-Deformed style. Also, Chibi Paulina.
* Snarf from ''[[Thundercats]]'' and ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' is basically a [[Chibi]]-[[The Hobbit (novel)|Smaug]] as a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Rankin Bass]]' film adaptation of ''[[The Hobbit (animation)|The Hobbit]]''.
* ''[[The Superhero Squad Show]],'' and even moreso the accompanying toys.
* ''[[Martin Mystery]]'' Has these moments from time to time, as well as its sister show ''[[Totally Spies!]]!''
* ''[[Wakfu]]'''s season 1 has a whole spin-off, ''Mini-Wakfu'', using the characters as Chibi for short vignettes mirroring the plot of the episodes they follow. Super-Deformed version of the characters appears also in the series proper, in [[Flash Back|Flashbacks]] or [[Imagine Spot
* ''[[My Life Me]]'' uses this at least [[Once an Episode]], often at strange moments.
* ''[[Handy Manny]]'' is all chibi all the time.
* ''[[Super Why!]]'' is likewise all chibi all the time.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Rule of Cute]]
[[Category:Japanese Visual Arts Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Osu]]
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