From our other sites
The story
A thread titled “Chiikawa — what’s even good about it?” popped up on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry board (Geha) and pulled in over 40 replies. The discussion ranged widely — from claims that the creator is a woman, to similarities with Sanrio’s Kitty and Kanahei’s characters, to debate over adults enjoying character merch. What stood out most was the observation that “the art style is cute, but underneath it’s a brutal, FromSoftware-style world,” with reply after reply arguing that this gap between cuteness and brutality is exactly Chiikawa’s appeal.
What people said
Wait, the creator's a woman? Just found that out.
Pretty sure that was never actually confirmed.
Wasn't there some talk event for the old LINE stickers a while back? There's a photo of the creator speaking there that made it clear she's a woman. You could probably dig up the image if you search for it.
Sanrio's already coexisting just fine with Chiikawa collabs.
Funny how it's always the clueless internet newcomers — the ones who don't even know Chiikawa's been popular for ages — who lump it in with the Crocodile thing.
Is that the thing from Re: #1?
The art style's just cute, but apparently they live a life closer to death than in Monster Hunter…
Yeah, I think that's part of it.
Demon Slayer is really just a kids' anime too, when you get down to it. Things already felt off back then.
An anime about decapitation… for elementary schoolers?
It runs in Weekly Shonen Jump. That's for kids.
I don't really see it that way. He just comes off as an ordinary guy to me. If anything, even a guy with a grubby image would suddenly seem more clean-cut for it.
That's exactly my point — Jump is a manga magazine for middle and high schoolers!
It's not aimed at adults, no.
It's a manga magazine adults read too, you know.
That's like adults watching Doraemon, Precure, or Anpanman.
Those are purely for kids. Jump is for middle/high schoolers. That's a completely different thing.
Lol, so it's totally fine for adults to watch them then.
It's fine for adults to enjoy something while knowing full well it's made for kids. Insisting "this is something adults can enjoy too" is what doesn't make sense.
It's a fact that adults enjoy it too, so there's no problem at all. Jump is aimed at adults as well, to begin with.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Chiikawa began as a character illustrator Nagano posted on social media, and went on to become a nationwide hit through an anime adaptation and merchandise. In the thread, opinions were split over whether it runs in a Kodansha or Shogakukan publication — a mix-up likely rooted in the fact that it started as SNS content before being collected into print volumes. The creator’s gender has also never been officially confirmed; the only basis offered in the thread was speculation drawn from an old photo of the creator giving a talk, not hard fact. The most frequently cited reason for the series’ popularity was “the gap between the cute art style and its brutal setting,” with many commenters comparing it to FromSoftware games or Monster Hunter. Meanwhile, the thread also branched off into a separate debate over whether it’s appropriate for adults to enjoy character merchandise.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “Chiikawa — what’s even good about it?“
Leave a Reply